Edamame Guide: Nutrition, Benefits, Side Effects, More
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Edamame 101: A Complete Guide

Edamame 101: A Complete Guide
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Updated on July 31, 2024
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Edamame is a staple in stir-fries as well as vegetarian meals, and offers a variety of nutritional benefits.

 In the United States, edamame is most popular as a snack food. But people are starting to catch on that this soybean can be a source of protein in many types of dishes.
Part of edamame’s popularity stems from the fact that it’s a complete protein. This means that it has all the essential amino acids (the building blocks of protein) needed for muscle maintenance, hormone balance, healthy blood, and more.

Read on to learn more about edamame and how you can fit it into your diet.

What Is Edamame?

Edamame means “beans on a branch.” While you eat the beans of this plant, edamame is technically considered a legume.

Edamame is the immature version of a soybean. When soybeans mature, they become a beige or brown color. If picked early, they are green. Edamame are whole and unprocessed soy. Other foods made from soy include tempeh, miso, tofu, and soy milk.

While gaining popularity in Western cultures, edamame is anything but new. It’s thought that edamame has been around for over 2,000 years. First harvested in China, it was then introduced to Japan and has since become a staple in many Asian diets. Yet some food historians estimate that edamame could have existed even before that, according to ancient Chinese texts.

Edamame Nutrition Facts

Eating edamame is a great way to vary your protein sources, which gives your body access to a broader range of nutrients.

Aside from protein content, edamame is a valuable source of a variety of other nutrients, as outlined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Here are the nutritional facts for 100 grams (g) of shelled edamame:

Nutrient
Amount
Percentage of Daily Value (DV)
Calories
118
5.9 percent
Total fat
5.29 g
7.6 percent
Saturated fat
0.59 g
2.4 percent
Trans fat
0 g
0 percent
Cholesterol
0 grams
0 percent
Sodium
6 milligrams (mg)
0.3 percent
Total carbohydrates
9.41 g
3.6 percent
Dietary fiber
4.7 g
15.7 percent
Total sugars
2.35 g
7.8 percent
Added sugar
0 g
0 percent
Protein
10.6 g
21.2 percent
Vitamin D
0 grams
0 percent
Vitamin C
5.6 mg
6.8 percent
Calcium
71 mg
7.1 percent
Iron
2.12 mg
16.3 percent
Potassium
436 mg
12.46 percent

Potential Health Benefits of Edamame

There are many potential health benefits to eating edamame.

Support Heart Health

Edamame is a good source of plant-based protein, purportedly as good in quality as animal protein, but it doesn’t contain unhealthy saturated fat. It’s also much higher in vitamins, minerals, and fiber compared with animal protein. Eating 25 g per day of soy protein such as tofu may reduce your overall risk of heart disease. Eating soy foods may also help reduce blood cholesterol.

Lower Risk of Heart Disease

Soybeans like edamame are a good plant-based source of the omega-3 fatty acids called alpha-linoleic acids (ALAs). Getting enough omega-3s on a regular basis can help reduce your risk for heart disease.

Alleviate Perimenopause Symptoms

Like other soybeans, edamame contains natural levels of phytoestrogens called isoflavones. These natural estrogens may potentially help alleviate symptoms of perimenopause, including hot flashes and night sweats.

Lower Cancer Risk

A moderate intake of isoflavones throughout adulthood may reduce the risk of hormone-related cancers in some women.

Support Skin Health

Isoflavones, which are anti-inflammatory compounds, have been studied for skin health but with mixed results. The idea is that isoflavones in edamame and other soy foods may boost collagen in the skin while also decreasing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Collagen is a protein that helps form our bones, skin, nails, hair, and connective tissue.

While some people take supplements to boost their collagen and smooth wrinkles, you should never take soy in supplemental form without talking to your doctor first. You’re better off eating foods like edamame to reap the benefits of soy from the inside out.

Can Edamame Help With Weight Loss?

The protein and fiber in edamame may indeed help you drop unwanted pounds. A review published in the journal Nutrients notes the potential cardiovascular health benefits of soybeans. This includes lowering inflammation, which is a common issue in obesity.

Plant-based proteins also don’t have the saturated fats that animal-based proteins have. 

 This can help decrease your risk of high cholesterol over time.

By adding more plant-based protein to your diet, you’ll gain heart-healthy benefits compared with increasing saturated fat intake from eating more animal protein. A study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, concludes that eating more plant-based protein reduces LDL (“bad”) cholesterol.

Being overweight is one of many risk factors for high cholesterol. By losing weight, you may decrease your overall cholesterol numbers.

How to Select and Store Edamame

Here’s how to select and store edamame.

Selection

You can buy edamame fresh or frozen. When choosing frozen versions, follow the package instructions for cooking, and make note of the product’s expiration date. Select frozen edamame without added sauces and salt. Aso consider how you would like to use the edamame. If you are serving it as a side or appetizer, buy it in the pods. But if you’d like to throw it into a soup or stir-fry, the shelled (removed from the pod) version will make that much easier.

Look for pods or beans that are bright green in color and firm to the touch.

Storage

Fresh edamame can last in the refrigerator for four to five days, or in the freezer for up to six months.

How to Eat Edamame

Before cooking edamame, be sure to rinse the bean pods well to wash away any residue from the growing and harvesting process. To eat edamame, apply a small amount of pressure to the bean pod and gently squeeze out the beans. Add a bit of sea salt to bring out the flavors, if your diet allows.

Edamame is extremely versatile when it comes to cooking. You can boil, steam, or even microwave it in a small amount of water. Edamame cooks fast — 1 cup takes less than a minute to cook in a microwave with 1 teaspoon of water. Boiling or steaming takes an average of four to seven minutes.

You can also blanch and freeze fresh edamame to use later. When stored this way, edamame can last up to six months. Frozen edamame is available at the grocery store for convenience.

Health Risks of Edamame

Unless you have a soy allergy, edamame is likely safe to eat. Some people experience mild side effects, such as diarrhea, constipation, and stomach cramps. This most likely occurs if you’re not used to eating fiber-rich foods on a regular basis.

While isoflavones in edamame are considered helpful in reducing your overall cancer risk, some concerns have been raised over possible links between soy consumption and hormone-related cancers, such as certain types of breast cancer. One concern was that edamame tends to contain more isoflavones compared with other sources of soy, at about 18 mg in 100 g.

That said, in 2021 the American Institute for Cancer Research announced that it found no increased risk for breast cancer survivors who consume soy foods. It also said that limited evidence showed the potential for greater overall survival and perhaps decreased recurrence among women a year or more after diagnosis who included moderate amounts of soy in their diets. (The institute considered moderate amounts of soy to be “one to two standard servings daily of whole-soy foods, such as tofu, soy milk, edamame, and soy nuts.”)

Other possible health risks of too much soy need further research. One that has been discussed is thyroid gland disruption. While the effects on people without thyroid disease aren’t clear-cut, people with underactive thyroid, called hypothyroidism, may be most at risk for soy-induced disruptions. This is primarily attributed to disruptions in hormone replacement. 

Still, you may be able to work around this issue — because thyroid hormones are taken in the morning, you can likely eat edamame several hours later in the afternoon as a snack or as part of a meal for lunch or dinner.

It’s now generally accepted that soy products and their related isoflavone content are safe and associated with better health, but it’s always best to talk to your doctor about soy consumption and how much might be safe based on your own health history.

As a rule of thumb, soy is best enjoyed in moderation. Whole forms like edamame are preferable to manufactured products, such as soy isolate (often found in packaged meat replacements).

The Takeaway

Edamame, or young green soybeans, offers valuable nutrients including protein, fiber, iron, potassium, calcium, and vitamin C. It makes for an excellent alternative to complete animal protein, serving as an easy snack or an umami addition to stir-fries and salads.

Its potential benefits as part of a balanced approach to nutrition include supporting heart health, reducing menopause symptoms, controlling cancer risk, and promoting weight loss. Edamame beans are available fresh or frozen, and you can boil or steam them for a nutritious boost (or for blanching and freezing to eat later).

Common Questions & Answers

What is edamame?
Edamame is a type of soybean. It is considered a legume. It has been around for over 2,000 years and is popular in Asian diets.
Edamame and sugar snap peas are both legumes, but they differ in taste, appearance, and nutrition. Edamame is slightly more bitter and has thicker pods with fewer beans, while sugar snap peas are sweeter, the pods contain multiple peas, and you can eat the pods whole.
Edamame is a complete protein, meaning it contains all of the essential amino acids. It is also a source of fiber, calcium, iron, and vitamin C. It can help with muscle maintenance and hormone balance, and in reducing the risk of heart disease.
Edamame's protein and fiber content can contribute to weight loss. It is low in saturated fat and can help lower inflammation and cholesterol levels. Adding more plant-based protein to your diet can have heart-health benefits.
Edamame can be bought fresh or frozen. When selecting frozen edamame, choose options without added sauces or salt. Fresh edamame should be bright green and firm. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days or in the freezer for up to six months.
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