Hemp Seeds vs Chia Seeds: Which Is Better for What?

Hemp seeds and chia seeds are both small, mild seeds that get sprinkled on the same breakfasts. Their nutrition is very different. The numbers below come from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) and cover hulled hemp seeds (hemp hearts), dried chia seeds and whole flaxseed.

Want other seeds or your own serving size? Use the seed nutrition comparison tool. It compares hemp hearts, chia, flax, pumpkin, sunflower and sesame from the same USDA data.

Hemp vs chia vs flax per 30 g

Per 30 g, hemp has the most protein, chia has the most fiber and calcium, and flax has the highest omega-3 figure. Thirty grams is 3 tablespoons of hulled hemp seeds, at USDA’s 10 g per tablespoon.

Against FDA’s Daily Values, the same serving looks like this:

The protein percentages are a simple share of the Daily Value, not adjusted for protein quality.

Hemp vs chia vs flax per 100 g

Per 100 g the pattern is the same, and it is the fairest way to compare foods with different serving sizes.

Sources: USDA FoodData Central records 170148 (hemp), 170554 (chia) and 169414 (flaxseed).

A note on the omega-3 row: USDA’s flaxseed record gives a single total for 18:3 fatty acids and does not split it into ALA and GLA, so the flax figure is that total. The hemp record does split it, into 8.68 g ALA and 1.34 g GLA per 100 g.

One caveat on the hemp column: it describes hulled seeds. USDA has no SR Legacy record for whole hemp seeds, which keep their fibrous hull. See hemp hearts vs hemp seeds.

Which seed for what

Choose by the nutrient you are short of, because each seed leads on different lines.

Two notes help read the table.

Protein. Hemp gives almost twice the protein of chia per spoonful. More detail, including amino acids, is on hemp seeds protein.

Omega-3. All three seeds supply ALA, the plant omega-3. The Linus Pauling Institute lists the adult adequate intake as 1.6 g a day for men and 1.1 g for women, and 30 g of hemp (2.6 g) or chia (5.3 g) is above both figures. The institute also lists flaxseed among its food sources of ALA. Hemp also carries far more omega-6 linoleic acid: 27.5 g per 100 g against under 6 g for chia and flax. ALA is not the EPA and DHA found in fish, and the institute cites studies showing only a small share is converted.

These are differences in what the foods contain. None of them shows that one seed produces better health outcomes than another.

Texture and kitchen behavior

Chia thickens liquids and hemp is used as it is. That is the practical difference in the kitchen.

Chia seeds absorb liquid fast. Harvard’s Nutrition Source says they take up to 10 times their weight in liquid, because of mucilage, a soluble fiber that turns gluey when wet. Its method for chia gel is 1/4 cup of seeds stirred into 1 cup of liquid. For an egg replacer it gives 1 tablespoon of whole chia seeds mixed with 3 tablespoons of water, left for at least 5 minutes.

The same page carries a warning: do not eat dry chia seeds by themselves. It advises eating them already soaked or with a moist food, because they swell quickly.

Hulled hemp seeds behave differently. FDA’s letter on GRAS notice 765 describes them as looking like small, white nuts with green flecks. A 2020 review in Nutrients notes that much of the fiber in whole hempseed sits in the hull, which hemp hearts no longer have. USDA lists 4 g of fiber per 100 g for hulled hemp seeds against 34.4 g for chia. No source checked for this page describes hemp hearts forming a gel, so do not rely on them to set a pudding or replace an egg.

In practice:

• Chia: puddings, overnight oats that need to set, egg replacer in baking
• Hemp: toppings, smoothies, pesto, dressings, homemade hemp milk
• Both together: chia for body, hemp for protein

Next step

Run your own serving sizes through the seed nutrition comparison tool. For the full hemp numbers, see hemp hearts nutrition, and for ways to use them, hemp seed recipes.