Soya Bean (boiled)

High FODMAP

By Michael EisenwasserUpdated October 6, 2026

Serving sizes

Soya Bean (boiled) changes rating with portion size. These are the amounts tested in the literature behind our ratings.

About 1⅓ tablespoons (25g) Low
Larger portions Moderate
Much larger portions High

Fructans GOS

Soya beans (boiled) are High FODMAP at a usual serving, though about 1⅓ tablespoons (25g) is low.

At about 1⅓ tablespoons (25g) boiled soya beans are low.
Like most legumes they are rich in GOS, with Fructans too, so larger portions are moderate and much larger portions are high.

For that savory bean flavor, try firm or extra-firm tofu, which is made from soya but has most of the GOS drained away during processing.

Why soya bean (boiled) is rated high

Boiled soya beans are rated high, and the culprits are GOS, the chain of sugars that legumes store and that the human gut has no enzyme to break apart, along with fructans. What makes soya beans awkward is how small the low serve is: about 1⅓ tablespoons (25g) is low, a larger portion is moderate, and a much larger portion, such as a normal bowlful, is high. Boiling them longer will not help, because heat does not break FODMAPs down. The load sits in the bean itself rather than in anything added to it, so a plain bowl of boiled soya beans carries the same load as a dressed one.

What changes your risk

Serving size About 1⅓ tablespoons (25g) is low, larger portions are moderate and much larger portions are high. That is a scatter on top of a dish, not a side of beans.
Water is the only real lever GOS and fructans dissolve in water. Legumes that come canned in liquid and are then drained and rinsed run consistently lower than the same legume boiled from dried, because a share of the load leaves with the liquid. That is a genuine effect, not a loophole, and it does not turn a high legume into a free one.
Draining the boiling water If dried beans are boiled in plenty of water and that water is poured away rather than kept, some GOS goes with it. Anything that keeps the liquid, such as a bean stew or a soup thickened with its own cooking broth, keeps the GOS in the bowl.
Stacking with other GOS foods GOS and fructans add up across a meal. Soya beans alongside chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans, baked beans, cashews or pistachios in the same sitting builds one large load out of several smaller ones.
Processing into tofu Firm and extra firm tofu are made by pressing the liquid out of soya, and most of the GOS leaves with that liquid. This is why firm tofu is treated very differently from the whole boiled bean.

Swaps

For the protein and the chew, firm or extra firm tofu is the honest swap, since the pressing step takes most of the GOS away with the liquid. Eggs, plain chicken, fish and plain meat fill the same slot in a bowl or salad without any FODMAP question at all. For crunch and a savoury, nutty note where the beans were scattered on top, peanuts, walnuts, macadamias, pecans and pumpkin seeds all work, while cashews and pistachios do not, because they carry GOS just like the beans do. For bulk in the bowl, rice, quinoa, polenta, potato, carrots, green beans and bok choy carry the meal. Do not reach for chickpeas, lentils or kidney beans as the gentler bean, since they carry the same groups.

How to lower the load

Edamame, poke bowls, buddha bowls and grain salads are where whole soya beans turn up most, often shelled and stirred through so they are easy to miss once the dressing is on. When ordering, ask for the beans left off or kept to a small scatter rather than picked out later, because a normal helping is a much larger portion. Cooking at home is simpler if the beans are cooked in a separate pot for everyone else and a block of firm tofu is pressed and pan fried for you, so one meal still feeds the table. If a recipe calls for soya beans in a stew, build the pot on garlic infused oil and thicken it with potato and carrot instead, keeping any beans to about 1⅓ tablespoons (25g) per bowl.

Common questions

are soya beans low fodmap

Only in a small amount. About 1⅓ tablespoons (25g) is low, but larger portions are moderate and much larger portions are high, driven by GOS and fructans.

how much soya bean can i eat on a low fodmap diet

About 1⅓ tablespoons (25g) is the low serve. Larger portions are moderate and a normal bowlful is high.

is tofu high fodmap if soya beans are

Firm and extra firm tofu are made by pressing the liquid out of the soya, and most of the GOS leaves with that liquid, which is why firm tofu is a reasonable swap where boiled soya beans are not.

does rinsing canned beans lower fodmaps

Yes, to a degree. GOS and fructans dissolve in water, so canned legumes that are drained and rinsed well run lower than the same legume boiled from dried, though that does not make a high legume a low FODMAP food.

is edamame the same as soya beans

Edamame is the immature green soya bean, so it is the same bean eaten younger. It is listed as its own food, and boiled mature soya beans on this page are high in normal helpings.

Learn more

Where this rating comes from

Soya Bean (boiled) is rated from published lab measurements of its FODMAP content, using the low, moderate and high cutoffs of Varney et al. (2017).

Feedback sent through the FODMAP Foods app has led to changes in this list.

See our full rating method →

Sources

Fructan and free fructose content of common Australian vegetables and fruit. Muir et al. (2007), J. Agricultural and Food Chemistry 55(16):6619-6627.
Measurement of short-chain carbohydrates in common Australian vegetables and fruits by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Muir et al. (2009), J. Agricultural and Food Chemistry 57(2):554-565.
Quantification of fructans, galacto-oligosaccharides and other short-chain carbohydrates in processed grains and cereals. Biesiekierski et al. (2011), J. Human Nutrition and Dietetics 24(2):154-176.
Dietary sorbitol and mannitol: food content and distinct absorption patterns between healthy individuals and patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Yao et al. (2014), J. Human Nutrition and Dietetics 27(Suppl 2):263-275.
FODMAPs: food composition, defining cutoff values and international application. Varney et al. (2017), J. Gastroenterology and Hepatology 32(Suppl 1):53-61. Supplies the low, moderate and high cutoffs used on this page.