If you’re aiming to ramp up your protein intake (welcome to the club), protein bars and shakes might come to mind first—these products are indeed turbocharged with the muscle-building macro. But you actually may not need to load up on such supplemental forms to get enough of it, nor is downing a whole bunch in a few gulps or bites necessarily the best approach to getting your recommended 50 to 80-ish grams per day.
Spacing out your protein intake is going to be the better choice, Nicole Addison, RD, of Nourished by Nic, tells SELF. There are a couple reasons for this: For one, protein breaks down slower than some other nutrients, so eating it throughout the day (snacks, included) will make sure you aren’t leaving the table hungry. Going this route also encourages more stable blood sugar, which contributes greatly to sustaining energy levels all day long.
But it’s not always so simple to dial up your protein consumption at each meal (lookin’ at you, breakfast). So we’ve compiled a list of expert tips for fitting in just a little bit more of it.
1. Use some creative tricks to beef up your oatmeal.
Eating enough protein at breakfast is especially important because it sets your body up for good blood sugar regulation throughout the day, Rhyan Geiger, RDN, a Phoenix-based registered dietitian and founder of Phoenix Vegan Dietitian, tells SELF. But lots of morning staples fall short on the nutrient, oatmeal included. Fortunately, it’s easy to boost the protein in a bowl of oats, because the grain’s neutral flavor makes it amenable to all kinds of ingredients.
You could whisk in an egg white or two while cooking to give it a fluffy texture and a few extra grams of protein. Or you could simply cook it with milk instead of water; if you use a cup of it, that’s eight extra grams right there. Even incorporating a can of beans into the breakfast classic won’t greatly alter the classic taste you know and love but will make sure it satisfies you until lunch. Both white beans and chickpeas have neutral flavors that meld well with oats, and mashing them up beforehand will make their texture almost unnoticeable.
2. Take avocado toast to the next level.
Yes, it’s quick and easy to make, but if you eat it alone, it’s not big on the protein, Geiger says. That’s why, when she’s mashing everything up, she likes to add other protein-rich ingredients to guarantee her needs are met. Some of her favorites include edamame, white beans, and green peas, all of which are shelf-stable or freezer-friendly and can easily boost avocado toast’s protein count by at least a few grams.
To add some tang, you can also throw a scoop of cottage cheese in with the avocado, Addison says. If you add just half a cup, that’s 11 more grams of protein.
3. Add a dollop of yogurt to your scrambled eggs.
Eggs on their own have a decent amount of protein—roughly six grams in each—but you might not quite get the satisfaction you need from only eating one or two, Cara Harbstreet, MS, RD of Street Smart Nutrition, tells SELF. A quick fix for scrambled eggs? Add a few spoonfuls of yogurt while you whisk for one or two more grams of protein. That might not seem like a lot, but making multiple of these kinds of additions can really tally up by the end of the day. Bonus: The extra ingredient will also make the curds fluffier and more flavorful.
4. Keep protein-rich seeds on hand.
Seeds are such a practical way to eat more protein: They’re small and easy to store, shelf-stable, and don’t add a huge burst of flavor, so you can put them on pretty much anything, Addison says. Not to mention, they’re also rich in fiber and healthy fats, two other nutrients that contribute to satiety. In particular, she’s a big fan of hemp seeds because they contain a little more than three grams of protein per tablespoon, and they’ll give an irresistible crunch to anything from breakfast cereal to pasta. Pumpkin, chia, and sunflower seeds all also deliver the goods and taste great on tons of things like soups and salads.
5. Put an egg on it.
And by “it,” we mean pretty much anything. Throwing a quick fried or hard-boiled egg—again, that’s six grams of protein—on top of a salad, soup, rice bowl, or pasta dish, for example, will tip the scale with little extra effort, Harbstreet says. You can buy the premade hard-boiled ones in the store, meal-prep a whole batch so you can grab and go, or fry up your own in just a couple minutes.
6. Try a different drink.
One of the easiest ways to add more protein to your diet is to rethink what you drink, Harbstreet says. Of course there’s nothing wrong with water, but swapping H2O for a cup of a dairy-based beverage like milk or kefir, or even a fortified nut milk, will give you between eight and nine extra grams of the stuff in one fell swoop.
7. Choose the highest-protein option for your milk (or alt milk) needs.
Speaking of milk, it’s worth considering the type you’re using in your cereal, coffee, smoothies, and beyond—as all aren’t created equal on the protein front. If you’re a dairy consumer, switching to an ultrafiltered milk can seriously up your intake: It has 13 to 18 grams per cup, compared to typical milk’s eight grams. (Not to mention, it’s been stripped of lactose, so is typically a great choice for the lactose-free folks.)
If you generally go for a plant-based milk alternative? Opt for soy or pea milk to get the most protein bang for your buck. These types have around seven to eight grams per serving—substantially more than their popular counterparts oat, almond, and hemp.
8. Add lentils to your ground beef.
Addison loves adding lentils to any recipe that includes ground meat because they mimic its taste and texture—and help her eat more fiber to boot. You don’t even have to cut the amount of meat in your recipe. Just add a cup of lentils to the mix, and enjoy the extra benefits. She recommends trying this trick anywhere you’d normally only use ground beef, so in things like pasta bolognese, shepherd’s pie, and meatballs.
9. Don’t sleep on tinned fish.
Tinned fish has been on the upswing, thanks to an influx of tasty new offerings—we even included a roundup of our favorite tinned fish options in the 2025 SELF Pantry Awards. Harbstreet says she’s been recommending it to clients for years as a way to infuse everything from salads to pasta with that much more protein. A three-ounce can of tuna, for instance, packs 22 grams. The fact that canned fish is shelf-stable also makes it a great choice for on-the-go meal-making. You can pop it onto a salad right at your desk, Harbstreet says.
10. When in doubt, sprinkle on the cheese.
There’s no bad reason to finish a meal with cheese, but the hit of protein might be a particularly good one. All it takes is a heavy dusting of Parmesan on your pasta or a couple cubes of cheddar on a salad to add a few more grams; for reference, harder cheeses tend to have more protein than softer ones. (And of course, any kind of cheese can make a great protein-rich snack too: A single stick of string cheese boasts six to eight grams, for one example.)
11. Fill your freezer with precooked meats.
If you struggle to use up things like chicken and beef before they go bad, you’re not alone. Harbstreet says it’s much easier to rely on animal proteins if they don’t have a ticking clock attached to them, which is why she recommends opting for frozen versions instead. It’s even more convenient if they’re already pre-cooked. That way, you literally just have to warm up a few pieces and throw them into something like a stir-fry, pasta sauce, or soup to enjoy.
12. Keep a bag of peas in the freezer for fried rice and beyond.
You may already have one in there, but chances are, it’s been neglected for way too long. Well, put it to good use, because half a cup of these little green guys offers about four grams of protein, Geiger says. Adding them to fried rice is classic, but they’ll also be right at home in creamy pasta dishes and salads.
13. Use baby spinach as your go-to salad base.
You might know spinach for its high-fiber content or health-boosting mix of vitamins and minerals—but it also packs substantially more protein than many of the other leafy greens at about six grams per cooked cup, topping our list of high-protein veggies (because, yep, that’s a thing). So swapping it in for, say, Romaine or Iceberg lettuce can easily protein-ify a salad, not to mention all the other ways you might work more spinach into your life, like in stews, dips, scrambles, smoothies, and more.
14. Swap mayo for yogurt or cottage cheese (or both).
Mayonnaise is one of the most beloved ways to add moisture and creaminess to sandwiches and salad dressings. But Addison says you’ll get roughly the same effect and a few more grams of protein by using yogurt or cottage cheese instead. If you wouldn’t dream of skipping mayo, consider combining it with one of those two higher-protein options to get a little more oomph from your sauce.
15. Eat cookies with milk—or another dairy-based treat.
Milk is a classic cookie counterpart, but Addison also recommends a side of Greek yogurt for something a little more exciting (and surprising). She likes to drizzle it with honey and cinnamon and dip her cookies right in, but you could even crush the cookies directly into the mix for a delicious parfait.
16. Make a cheesecake with silken tofu.
As a vegan, Geiger is always on the lookout for ways to recreate classic desserts in a plant-based format. Silken tofu helps her achieve an uncanny dairy-free cheesecake recipe, and this substitute also happens to deliver a significant amount of protein. Adding one block of the stuff will leave you with a cake with 20 grams of protein total, equalling out to about a couple grams of the stuff in each slice—and that doesn’t even include any protein you might be getting from nuts in the crust. (Not that into cheesecake? Blending silken tofu into melted dark chocolate to make a mousse is another protein-smart way to use it.)
17. Bake with a different kind of flour.
Making baked goods richer in protein can be as simple as swapping traditional flour for a higher-protein alternative, like almond or cashew flour, Harbstreet says. When using this approach, try to find recipes that already instruct you to use an alternative flour. Making a one-to-one swap in a recipe that doesn’t might mess with the texture and appearance of the final product, and the last thing you want is a cake that doesn’t rise. For an even bigger boost, toss in some peanut butter powder too.
Related:
- 9 Foods You Might Think Are High in Protein, but Actually Aren’t
- Are Protein Shakes Actually Good for You?
- 4 Signs You’re Eating Too Much Protein, According to GI Docs
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