Advertisement
9 Delicious High-Protein Meals That Are Filling & Easy To Make
Eating a high-protein diet has numerous health benefits, yet many people struggle to consume even the bare minimum amount of this macronutrient.
It's often a matter of the nutritional demand getting lost in the shuffle of priorities, but eating enough protein is as vital to your health as exercising or meditating.
The trick is to prioritize foods with high protein when crafting your grocery list. We've spoken to experts and done the work for you—here are nine of our favorite high-protein meals to make at home.
The importance of protein in your diet
A protein is a string of amino acids that structure, function, and regulate different bodily functions, from tissue growth and repair to balancing your hormones and immune antibodies, says Maggie Michalczyk, R.D. "Your hair, skin, and nails are also made up of protein1 (keratin)," while collagen "is the most abundant protein in the body providing structure to our bones, tendons, and skin2."
The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for the average sedentary adult is a conservative 0.8 gram per kilogram of body weight per day (g/kg/d)3.
New Jersey–based registered dietitians Maria Guerra and Gabrielle Knors stress that the numbers will vary from person to person.
"It's difficult to put a number on a 'high-' versus 'low-' protein meal [because everyone has their own dietary needs]; it's individually based and calculated in reference to body weight," Guerra and Knors explain.
Protein experts along with the International Society of Sports Nutrition4 suggest a higher range than the RDA for active people looking to build or maintain muscle. Those individuals should aim for 1.4 to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight4.
Summary
Animal protein vs. plant protein
There are two categories of protein: animal protein and plant protein. Animal protein is protein sourced from animal meat, including poultry and fish.
Plant-based proteins are found primarily in the seeds of grains, legumes, and nuts. It's also worth noting that in addition to plant-protein powders and soy products, there are many high-protein vegetables too.
Author of the upcoming book Live Nourished Shana Minei Spence, M.S., RDN, CDN, explains that animal proteins and soy are "complete proteins," meaning they have all of the essential amino acids. Plant proteins are considered "incomplete" proteins, as they are usually low in one or two of the essential amino acids.
Leucine is one amino acid, in particular, that can be difficult to obtain on a strictly plant-based diet. One of the three branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), leucine plays an important role in the mTOR signaling pathway that helps regulate muscle growth and triggers the production of new muscle proteins5.
Protein experts recommend 2.5 to 3 grams of leucine per meal as the sweet spot for stimulating mTOR. Animal proteins contain higher amounts of leucine6 than plant proteins. If you are plant-based, try leucine-rich foods like tofu, tempeh, edamame, and pumpkin seeds.
If you're struggling to meet your protein goals, a protein powder supplement can be an easy way to help meet your needs. Choose a high-quality protein powder that has 2 to 3 grams of leucine per serving.
Editor's Note
Grocery tips
When shopping for animal and plant protein, you want to pay attention to where the protein is sourced from.
Prioritize wild-caught, grass-fed, lean meats and other clean versions of animal protein, and limit red meat and processed meats (think sausages, hot dogs, deli meats, and plant-based meats loaded with additives). As for plant proteins, Guerra and Knors stress the importance of reading food labels.
"No matter what you are shopping for, you should always be reading food labels, but [this is even more crucial] if you are adventuring into prepackaged plant-based proteins. Remember, just because it comes from a plant does not make it healthy. (Anything with a bunch of additives and such probably isn't the best choice.)"
9 high-protein meal ideas
Chicken Shwarma Salad
Home-cook-turned-chef Sabrina Ghayour recently shared her recipe for Chicken Shawarma Salad with mbg, and one serving packs roughly 30 grams of protein, thanks to its inclusion of chicken and Greek yogurt.
The best part is that the only cooking required is 40-45 minutes of roasting the chicken. Once your meat has cooled, combine all your salad fixings (lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickled cucumbers, and either Ghayour's homemade dressing or one of your choice).
Dilly Chicken Salad on Toast
According to the CEO and co-founder of Baked by Melissa Melissa Ben-Ishay, pickles can be an awesome addition to many meals, including chicken salad. "Adding fresh dill and briny pickles to chicken salad takes it from ordinary to addictive," she previously told mbg. "There's just the right amount of crunch from extra veggies (carrots, celery, and the pickles) and a tangy bite from the mustard."
Ishay's recipe for her signature open-faced Dilly Chicken Salad sandwich makes a whopping 4-6 servings, and a single serving contains about 30 grams of protein from the skinless chicken breast. In addition to chicken, Ben-Ishay tells mbg you can mix chickpeas into the salad for even more protein.
Lemon Feta Salmon
mindbodygreen's editorial operations manager Emily Kelleher has dubbed salmon a "quintessential health food." The fish is loaded with omega-3 fatty acids that are great for brain health, lower blood pressure7, and the risk of heart disease8, plus it's chock-full of protein. B
ut seasoned salmon can get tired, so to mix up this high-protein meal, Kelleher previously shared her go-to recipe for Lemon Feta Salmon, which she says is "creamy, crunchy, bright," takes only 30 minutes to whip up, and contains a whopping 40 grams of protein per serving.
Kale & Feta Turkey Burgers
While there's nothing wrong with enjoying a beef burger occasionally, a popular alternative to the red meat patty is a turkey substitution. Turkey burgers are a high-protein food, with the bonus of being low in saturated fat. But turkey patties can also be bland, so to enhance their flavor profile, the chef, recipe developer, and digital creator behind Kat Can Cook, Kat Ashmore, got creative in the kitchen to create a Kale & Feta Turkey Burger that yields 33 grams of protein per serving, is peppered with puddles of creamy feta cheese, and boasts some leafy greens for a micronutrient boost.
A Protein Smoothie
Adding a whey or plant-based protein powder to a smoothie can help those who struggle to meet their daily protein intake. Just two scoops of mindbodygreen's grass-fed whey protein isolate+ yields 25 grams of animal protein, while a serving of the Vega Plant-Based Original Protein Powder contains 25 grams of plant protein. Add a serving of peanut butter (8 grams of protein) and you're already up to 32 grams of protein in a single meal.
Curried Chicken & Kale Salad
If you don't associate high protein with salad, recipe developer and the founder of The Defined Dish Alex Snodgrass’ Curried Chicken & Kale Salad will change your mind. The bed of leafy greens is topped with warm chicken and garnished with goat cheese, crisp apple slices, raisins, pumpkin seeds, and a drizzle of creamy harissa dressing.
Though this salad is more hands on than others (it calls for homemade dressing and cooking the chicken on the stove), its delicious taste and nutritious benefits are well worth the extra time and effort. Just one serving yields 54 grams of protein.
Spicy-Sweet Salmon Lettuce Wraps
During the warmer-weather months, this high-protein meal serves a burst of bright, fresh flavors you crave, with a slew of health benefits that make it equally delicious and nutritious. The recipe calls for sockeye salmon, a firm and flaky fish native to the West Coast of North America, enhanced with a spicy-sweet sauce and garnished with a fresh and fruity peach slaw.
*If fruity isn't your forte, try this Crispy Salmon recipe with coconut rice and a peanut-ginger crackle sauce.
Lentil Ragu
Are you pasta? You can have your carbs and a generous serving of protein too, with this comfort food recipe developed by food writer, author, and co-founder of TastED, Bee Wilson. The lentil ragu acts like a meat sauce but caters to carnivores' and herbivores' tastebuds. It's also kid-approved, as Wilson's youngest son proclaimed, "It's not weird and I like it," upon tasting the dish.
Lentils can be cooked so that the legume mimics meat's taste and texture. Not only will your hunger pangs be satisfied, but you'll be nutritiously fulfilled too, as lentils are loaded with protein (1 tablespoon yields 1 gram), plus the dish is packed with micronutrient-rich veggies like carrots and mushrooms. You can also swap regular pasta for a plant-based alternative for extra protein.
Masala Egg Bites
Rumor has it that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so why not kill two birds with one stone and pack a ton of protein into your first meal? An easy high-protein meal you can make ahead and grab on your way out the door is egg bites—specifically, these Masala Egg Bites developed by cookbook author Vasudha Viswanath.
The high-protein content comes from a few sources in this bite-sized breakfast dish: eggs, cottage cheese, and cheddar. Plus, red bell pepper, onion, green chile, and spices deliver a burst of flavor in every cup, which is only 25 calories each.
The takeaway
High-protein diets help the human body function optimally. When brainstorming what to eat in the week ahead, including high-protein foods that translate to high-protein meals and high-protein snacks on your grocery list is key.
8 Sources
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2386534/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29939531/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28298271/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28642676/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5650960/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6723444/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8339414/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25720716/
Watch Next
Enjoy some of our favorite clips from classes
Enjoy some of our favorite clips from classes
What Is Meditation?
Mindfulness/Spirituality | Light Watkins
Box Breathing
Mindfulness/Spirituality | Gwen Dittmar
What Breathwork Can Address
Mindfulness/Spirituality | Gwen Dittmar
The 8 Limbs of Yoga - What is Asana?
Yoga | Caley Alyssa
Two Standing Postures to Open Up Tight Hips
Yoga | Caley Alyssa
How Plants Can Optimize Athletic Performance
Nutrition | Rich Roll
What to Eat Before a Workout
Nutrition | Rich Roll
How Ayurveda Helps Us Navigate Modern Life
Nutrition | Sahara Rose
Messages About Love & Relationships
Love & Relationships | Esther Perel
Love Languages
Love & Relationships | Esther Perel
What Is Meditation?
Box Breathing
What Breathwork Can Address
The 8 Limbs of Yoga - What is Asana?
Two Standing Postures to Open Up Tight Hips
How Plants Can Optimize Athletic Performance
What to Eat Before a Workout
How Ayurveda Helps Us Navigate Modern Life
Messages About Love & Relationships
Love Languages
Advertisement
Electrolytes Go From Sports To Everyday Wellness (Hydration Is For Everyone)
Molly Knudsen, M.S., RDN
Eating High-Protein? These Foods Will Likely Be On Your Plate In 2025
Molly Knudsen, M.S., RDN
Electrolytes Go From Sports To Everyday Wellness (Hydration Is For Everyone)
Molly Knudsen, M.S., RDN
Eating High-Protein? These Foods Will Likely Be On Your Plate In 2025
Molly Knudsen, M.S., RDN
Electrolytes Go From Sports To Everyday Wellness (Hydration Is For Everyone)
Molly Knudsen, M.S., RDN
Eating High-Protein? These Foods Will Likely Be On Your Plate In 2025
Molly Knudsen, M.S., RDN
Electrolytes Go From Sports To Everyday Wellness (Hydration Is For Everyone)
Molly Knudsen, M.S., RDN
Eating High-Protein? These Foods Will Likely Be On Your Plate In 2025
Molly Knudsen, M.S., RDN