High Protein Snacks: What to Eat, When to Eat It, and Why It Works

While the word snacking often gets a bad rap, it’s usually what’s in the snack that has the problem. Just a few chips or a sugary granola bar raises blood sugar and leaves you hungry in no time at all. Protein-rich snacks do just the opposite: they help slow down digestion, dampen hunger hormones and make you feel full.

This guide explains the science behind why protein snacking works, how much protein you actually need, and which protein snacks are appropriate for your fitness objective, whether it be muscle building, fat burning, weight gain or just helping to get through that 3 p.m. slump without eating out of the vending machine.

Why Protein Snacks Work: The Science

Unlike carbohydrates and fat, protein has an impact on appetite. A review of dozens of controlled feeding studies reveals that eating more protein causes a drop in ghrelin levels (hungry hormone) and an increase in levels of GLP-1 and cholecystokinin (CCK) (fullness hormones), which explains why higher-protein intakes are associated with lower total calorie consumption. (Belski et al., ScienceDirect; Journal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome).

On a metabolic level, too. Also known as the thermic effect of food (TEF), each macronutrient requires a certain amount of energy to break down. The cost of fat is virtually zero (0-3% of fat calories), carbohydrate costs are higher (5-10% of carbohydrate calories), and protein is the highest cost (20-30% of protein calories) (Examine.com). That’s not to say that protein is a stand-alone weight-loss tool, but it does indicate that protein-based snack foods contain fewer “net” and calorie-for-calorie calories than sugar- or refined starch-based snack foods.

How Much Protein Do You Actually Need?

The official Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, or around 47 grams for a 130-pound adult, but this is the minimum amount required to prevent protein deficiency, not an amount for maximum health or performance. (American Institute for Cancer Research).

The position stand of ISSN advises 1.4–2.0 g/kg/day for strength trainers building and maintaining muscle, which may be of benefit when in a calorie deficit to preserve lean mass (Journal of the ISSN). The same position stand notes that protein spreads over the day in small amounts of about 20-40 grams of protein every 3-4 hours is ideal, and that is where snacks come in.

High Protein Snacks to Make at Home

Protein snacks are a convenient way to get protein, but many of these are loaded with additional sugar or saturated fat. Here are a few homemade ones that provide a substantial protein boost:

• Oven-free energy bites: protein powder, nut butter and oats all rolled up into a bite.
• Egg bites (eggs beaten with vegetables and poured into muffin tins before baking) contain about 6g of protein per large egg (USDA FoodData Central), and are a good source of vitamins A, B12, and D.
• Fiber-rich and plant-based, roasted chickpeas are a snack that crisp up in the oven with a bit of oil and seasoning.
• Homemade trail mix (nuts and seeds and some dried fruit – with almonds for extra protein).
• Greek yogurt parfaits are made from the traditional, low-fat yogurt, but are thicker due to the process, and contain approximately 16 grams of protein per 156-gram container of plain Greek yogurt, which is twice the amount of the regular yogurt (USDA FoodData Central).

High Protein Snacks for Muscle Gain

The key to muscle growth is resistance training combined with sufficient amounts of protein delivered often enough to maintain an elevated muscle protein synthesis rate. The general recommendation from the ISSN is to supplement with 0.25 g/kg body weight of good quality protein or a definite dosage of 700-3000 mg of leucine per meal (Journal of the ISSN).
Some good snack size foods that make that range:

• Cottage cheese (1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese contains approximately 14 grams of protein, or ~69% of calories) (USDA FoodData Central)
• The USDA FoodData Central database lists canned tuna, which has about 22 grams of protein per can.
• Whey or plant protein powder protein shake, or smoothie, with protein powder.
• Edamame (13g of protein per cooked cup) (USDA FoodData Central)
• Interestingly, research also suggests that pre-sleep casein protein (30-40 grams) can boost muscle protein synthesis (MPS) overnight, without disrupting fat metabolism — which is another reason to consider it as a late snack on training days (Journal of the ISSN).

High Protein Snacks for Weight Loss

When it comes to weight loss, it’s important to select something that will fill you up at a moderate amount of calories. Low fat, high protein foods are most effective: protein satiates more calories than carbs or fat.

• Plain greek yoghurt with berries
• Vegetables in slices with a dip of yoghurt.
• Hard-boiled eggs
• A little bit of cottage cheese
• An edamame dish served roasted (130 calories and 13 grams of protein for every 1/4 cup serving) (Naked Nutrition)

In a randomized crossover study, the authors compared high protein Greek yogurt (with low fat) to high fat crackers and chocolate during the afternoon snack time and found that the yogurt group reported a significantly greater reduction in hunger in the afternoon than the chocolate group, despite the nutrient content of each group being matched for calories. (PMC study, University of Missouri). That’s a useful data point if you’re deciding between a protein-forward snack and a “treat” snack of similar calorie count.

High Protein Snacks for Weight Gain

The key to healthy weight gain is to consume a greater number of calories than you burn, although it’s important to not only increase calories, but also protein to ensure the weight is gained in muscle. Snacks that contain a high amount of calories and protein are common choices for a dietician to recommend:

• Greek yogurt with whole milk, granola, nuts and dried fruit.
• Packed snacks containing nuts, seeds and a bit of dried fruit.
• Smoothies with Greek yogurt, whole milk, nut butter and protein powder, which can provide 400–600 calories per smoothie. 
• Use nut butter on whole-grain toast or crackers (around 190 calories and 8 grams of protein in 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, alone). 
• Normally, a moderate surplus (about 5-20% above maintenance calories) with resistance training is recommended rather than a very high surplus, since this is more likely to result in fat gain than muscle gain.

High Protein Snacks (Vegetarian)

Protein can be obtained without meat, fish, or eggs—the myth that plant proteins need to be “combined” at each meal is considered “very old science” since the early ’80s, and the body maintains a protein pool which it can draw on and from which it can build protein at any meal (American Institute for Cancer Research). Solid vegetarian snack options include:

• Baked tofu
• Roasted chickpeas
• Edamame
• Cottage cheese or greek yogurt (for lacto-vegetarians)
• Raised lentils ( 18 g of protein per cup) (USDA FoodData Central)
• Quinoa (about 8 grams of protein per cooked cup)  (USDA FoodData Central)
• Pumpkin seeds (about 8.5 grams of protein per ounce) (USDA FoodData Central)

Plant protein lacks digestibility and digestibility is also slightly lower than in animal protein and the vegetarians or vegans given the reference value of 1.0 g/kg/day, consumption of slightly more than the reference value is recommended, around 1.0–1.2 g/kg/day, or higher if physically active. (Abbott Nutrition News).

High Protein Snacks for Morning

When it comes to eating, there’s good evidence that eating a high-protein breakfast has more of an impact than just “starting the day right.When it comes to eating, a high-protein breakfast works, much more than “starting the day right.” Teenage girls who ate a 350 calorie/35 gram breakfast of protein (eggs and beef), compared with a low-protein cereal breakfast or skipping breakfast, had lower levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin and higher levels of the fullness hormone PYY, both in the morning and evening, and there was less consumption of evening snacks in the protein group, especially high-fat foods.(American Journal of Clinical Nutrition). Good morning options built around that principle include:

• Greek yogurt with fruit and nuts
• Overnight oats made with milk or a protein-fortified base
• Hard-boiled or baked egg bites
• A smoothie with Greek yogurt or protein powder

High Protein Snacks for Evening

Evening is when high-fat, high-sugar snacking tends to creep in, and the same research suggests a high-protein diet earlier in the day helps curb that (ScienceDaily coverage of Leidy et al.). If you do want a protein snack in the evening itself, reasonable choices include:

• A small portion of cottage cheese
• A slice of cheese with a few whole-grain crackers
• Roasted pumpkin or watermelon seeds
• Casein-rich options like cottage cheese or Greek yogurt before bed, which some evidence suggests can support overnight muscle repair without disrupting fat metabolism (Journal of the ISSN)

The Bottom Line

When it comes to a high protein snack, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, as what’s best is dependent on your fitness goal, whether it’s muscle gain, fat loss, weight gain, or avoiding a 4 p.m. energy dip. What the research has consistently shown is that snacks with 15-30 grams of protein throughout the day help lower hunger hormones, boost the metabolic demands of food, and — if you’re strength training — provide your muscles with the building blocks they need to grow. This may be from a can of tuna, a serving of greek yogurt or a handful of roasted chickpeas, but it’s the same mechanism.

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