Edamame

Food · Legume · Food, Typed Supps

Young soybeans — a rare plant food with complete protein, from tofu’s source crop.

Stage by stage

Intake (Young soybean structure): Chewing breaks down the pod’s young, tender soybeans.
Stomach (Protein digestion begins): Protein and fibre digestion begins.
Small intestine (Complete protein absorbed): Like other soy foods, edamame provides all nine essential amino acids, absorbed alongside iron, calcium, and isoflavones.
Muscle & bone tissue (Protein synthesis & mineral use): Absorbed amino acids support muscle repair; iron and calcium support blood and bone health.

Timing

Often eaten steamed and lightly salted, in or out of the pod.

Time to effect

Weeks: Regular intake contributes to protein, iron, and calcium status.

Allergens

Contains: Soya. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.

Eating patterns

Fits: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Halal, Kosher, Keto, Gluten-free. Depends on the product: Low-FODMAP.

Satiety

194 on the satiety index, where white bread is 100 — high. Modelled from the Holt et al. (1995) measurements.

Environmental footprint

3.2 kg CO2e and 149 litres of freshwater per kg, matched to "Tofu" in Poore & Nemecek (2018), Science 360.

Cost band

Mid — roughly £7 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.

Key nutrients

Complete plant protein
Non-heme iron
Calcium
Isoflavones

Nutrition per 100g

Calories: 121
Protein: 11.9g
Carbohydrate: 8.9g
of which sugars: 2.2g
Fat: 5.2g
of which saturated: 0.6g
Fibre: 5.2g
Sodium: 6mg

Food vs. supplement

Edamame is one of the few plant foods providing a complete amino acid profile like animal protein — similar to the soy-based protein sometimes used in supplement blends, but with fibre and isoflavones included.

Kitchen tip

Steaming in the pod for 5 minutes and salting lightly right after is the simplest way to prepare it without losing nutrients to boiling water.

Common myth

“Edamame and mature soybeans are nutritionally identical.” In reality: Edamame is harvested young and green, with a slightly different nutrient and sugar profile than fully mature, dried soybeans.

Recipes that use it

In the glossary

Absorption