Craving less while eating better? High-satiety foods help you stay full, crush cravings, and lose fat — without the hunger games.
This guide showcases popular high-satiety foods that will empower you to escape food addiction, crush your cravings with less energy and supercharge your fat loss journey.
The Most Satisfying Popular Foods Ranked
Foods like these aid in effortless weight management while providing an excellent nutrient profile to help curb your cravings.
- egg whites – 100%
- spinach – 100%
- Greek yogurt (non-fat) – 94%
- asparagus – 88%
- oysters – 80%
- turkey breast -74%
- shrimp/prawns – 72%
- chicken breast – 71%
- salmon – 70%
- cottage cheese (low fat) – 70%
- sirloin steak (fat not eaten) – 69%
- broccoli – 65%
- The Most Satisfying Popular Foods Ranked
- The Best (and Worst) Food Groups for Satiety
- Seafood: The High-Satiety Superstars of the Sea
- Lean Meats That Crush Hunger and Maximise Protein
- Top Veggies That Fill You Up, Not Out
- High-Satiety Dairy and Eggs: What to Choose and Why
- Sweet and Satisfying: High-Satiety Fruits You’ll Love
- Best and Worst Grains and Legumes for Satiety
- The Science Behind Our Satiety Algorithm
- Explore Your Satiety Score with Our Interactive Tools
- Learn More About High-Satiety Foods
The Best (and Worst) Food Groups for Satiety
Each food has a unique satiety score based on its nutritional profile; however, we can also examine the average satiety score for each food group.
| food group | satiety score |
| seafood | 69% |
| vegetables | 65% |
| meat | 56% |
| offal | 54% |
| dairy | 49% |
| fruit | 44% |
| beans & legumes | 39% |
| fats | 26% |
| processed | 23% |
| nuts & seeds | 21% |
| grains | 20% |
| average | 41% |
Ever wonder why you can demolish a bag of chips but feel stuffed after a grilled shrimp salad? That’s satiety in action—and these food groups are the secret weapon.
It’s hard to go too far wrong if you build the foundation of your diet on the higher-satiety food groups. However, to help you level up your journey, the following sections highlight the satiety scores of popular foods from each food group.
Seafood: The High-Satiety Superstars of the Sea
Seafood is an excellent choice for high satiety and nutrient density.
- crab – 92%
- anchovies – 82%
- tuna – 80%
- oysters – 80%
- salmon – 80%
- sardines – 74%
- mackerel – 73%
- shrimp/prawns – 72%
- mussels – 70%
- squid – 70%
- cod – 67%
- caviar – 45%
Lean Meats That Crush Hunger and Maximise Protein
Lean, protein-rich meat satisfies our cravings with a generous amount of bioavailable protein. The key to boosting satiety per calorie is to choose leaner cuts of meat.
- ground beef (95% lean) – 75%
- liver – 73%
- pork steak – 72%
- chicken breast – 71%
- ribeye steak (fat eaten) – 70%
- drumstick – 69%
- fillet mignon – 69%
- sirloin steak (fat trimmed) – 69%
- pork chops – 66%
- lamb roast – 64%
- ground beef (70% lean) – 55%
- T-bone (fat eaten) – 49%
Top Veggies That Fill You Up, Not Out
High-satiety vegetables, rich in fibre, water, vitamins, and minerals, help you feel full and satisfied without excessive calories. Their low energy density and high fibre content slow digestion, providing a steady energy release and preventing hunger between meals.
- spinach – 100%
- mushrooms – 95%
- asparagus – 88%
- zucchini – 87%
- lettuce – 74%
- cauliflower – 72%
- cucumber – 70%
- broccoli – 65%
- kale – 65%
- bell peppers – 59%
- onion – 56%
- potato (boiled) – 39%
High-Satiety Dairy and Eggs: What to Choose and Why
From egg whites and Greek yogurt to high-fat cheeses, dairy and eggs offer a wide range of satiety scores. While high-fat dairy can be a great source of energy when needed, lower-fat options offer greater satiety per calorie.
- egg whites – 100%
- milk (skim) – 95%
- Greek yogurt (non-fat) – 94%
- cottage cheese (low-fat) – 70%
- parmesan cheese – 67%
- Gruyere – 56%
- whey powder – 55%
- Jarlsberg – 54%
- mozzarella (skim) – 54%
- Swiss cheese – 54%
- whole eggs – 24%
- egg yolk – 23%
Sweet and Satisfying: High-Satiety Fruits You’ll Love
Although fruit contains a lot of sugar and minimal protein, some popular fruits get a respectable satiety score due to their low energy density, high fibre content and high levels of potassium and vitamin B2.
- orange – 63%
- tomato – 62%
- pineapple – 58%
- cantaloupe – 56%
- blackberries – 56%
- grapefruit – 54%
- kiwi fruit – 50%
- peach – 48%
- watermelon – 46%
- apricot – 46%
- strawberries – 43%
- raspberries – 41%
Best and Worst Grains and Legumes for Satiety
As you can see from the list of satiety scores of popular grains, beans and legumes, there is a wide range of satiety scores.
- lupini beans – 65%
- edamame – 55%
- tempeh – 53%
- natto – 47%
- lentils – 46%
- kidney beans – 38%
- tofu – 35%
- baked beans – 29%
- pasta – 19%
- peanuts (oil roasted with salt) – 19%
- white rice – 16%
- white bread – 10%
The Science Behind Our Satiety Algorithm
Our data-driven satiety algorithm reveals that:
- addictive foods engineered for maximum profit at the expense of your health target your nutrient bliss points to make you eat more, while
- high-satiety foods that we naturally eat less of pack in more of the critical nutrients we need to thrive.
Our analysis of 872,925 days of food logs from people all over the world reveals that we can most accurately estimate our daily food intake based on the consumption of seven key nutrients. For more details, see Unlocking Satiety: The Breakthrough Algorithm That Decodes Your Cravings.
Explore Your Satiety Score with Our Interactive Tools
We’ve created a wide range of tools for those wanting to explore high-satiety foods more deeply.
Popular Foods – Interactive Search Tool
Check out our interactive search tool, which contains the 750 foods most popular with our Optimisers.
Complete USDA Database: 8535 Foods!
For those who want ALL the data, we just published an interactive chart showing where all 8,535 foods in the USDA database sit on the spectrum of satiety vs. nutrient density, which you can view here.
20/20 Macros: Build Your Dream Meal Plan One Tweak at a Time
However, after years of working with Optimisers, we’ve found that the best way to help them increase satiety is to focus on upgrading their core list of foods and meals that they consume regularly.
In 20/20 Macros, we’ll show you how to overcome food addiction and crush your cravings by making incremental changes to your current eating habits and discovering Your Optimal 20/20 foods and meals that you love eating every day! We’d love you to join us.
Learn More About High-Satiety Foods
- Unlocking Satiety: The Breakthrough Algorithm That Decodes Your Cravings
- Seafood: Maximise Satiety with Nutritious Choices
- Top Meats to Keep You Full and Satisfied
- High-Satiety Vegetables: Boost Fullness and Cut Calories
- Best High-Satiety Dairy and Egg Products
- Filling Fruit: Curb Your Cravings with Nature’s Sweet Treats
- Will Beans, Legumes and Nuts Keep You Full?
- Discover Why Nuts and Seeds Are So Irresistible
- The Science Behind Low-Satiety “Addictive” Foods
interesting, I have been tailoring my diet these past 3 plus months to higher satiey foods and carbs with protein and fiber (like beans) salads sometimes I get tired of eating salads sometimes, but I have found other ways to use veggies, so when I want cereal I make sure the caloires are modest adn fiber is high and it still has a little sweetness frm say raisins for example, and eat only one serving. I use lower carbs fruits when I can such as blueberries and strawberries eat a half of banana with a meal when i want it, which latly has not be often. your really did alot of work onthis post. I hope alot of people see it and consider it in their food choices to fight obesity and all the other healht problems caused by malnorishment
cheers. glad you found it useful.
A food I haven’t seen on any of the satiety lists is sourdough bread. I make whole-wheat sourdough and it keeps me amazingly full & satisfied for hours. Much longer than regular whole-wheat bread would. I usually eat it with a lean protein, but often just by itself.
Sourdough bread will definitely be more satiating per calorie than more refined bread options. However, not as satiating as non-starchy vege, meat and seafood which are more nutritious and have a higher protein %.
As an Australian I have noticed very different attitudes here towards good nutrition compared to the USA. We have a government research body CSIRO that promotes a evidence-based higher protein, high vegetable, moderate fat diet, and hitting most of your recommendations. Around half the households in Australia have one of their books at home. We also have substantial research coming from USydney and other universities that encourages evidence-based recommendations – for glycaemic load, protein, etc. These are taken up in women’s magazines and TV (along with crazy diets too, unfortunately!) Plus we don’t have the powerful anti-meat lobbyists seen in the USA, so our mental pictures of what is ‘normal’ are different. Fortunately our longevity rates are up there with Italy and Japan (etc) – higher than the USA.