You Need to Try These Creative High-Protein Snacks If You’re Constantly Hungry Between Meals (2024)

Chia seeds are rich in essential vitamins and nutrients like fiber, and they help reduce blood pressure and promote healthy digestion.

Stir them into coconut milk and fresh blood orange juice for a citrusy snack that’s full of vitamin C, fiber, and antioxidants. This immune-protecting combo is perfect for cold and flu season.

Plus, chia pudding offers nine grams of plant-based protein per serving (this snack is 100% vegan!) and can be prepped the night before for a ready-made snack or breakfast by morning.

Get the Blood Orange and Coconut Chia Pudding recipe

Humble alliums (onions, shallots, scallions, etc.) may not seem like much, but they’re actually high in antioxidants—and very low in calories.

If you’re feeding a crowd, prep these classic deviled eggs, which pack four grams of protein into each bite. We swapped out the mayo for Greek yogurt for a lower-fat option that packs in even more protein. Topped with pickled shallots, they’re definitely a step up from a regular old hard-boiled egg.

Get the recipe for Deviled Eggs With Pickled Shallots

Yes, cheese can be part of a healthy diet: In moderation, it’s actually a solid source of protein and calcium.

Blend up creamy goat cheese—which has lower levels of lactose, a perk for people with an intolerance to cow’s milk—with lemon zest for a fresh, tangy topper on crostini that works as both a snack and a party-ready app.

Three pieces of this classy starter contains eight grams of vegetarian protein. Every bite includes fruits and veggies, too, meaning you don’t have to worry about any empty calories.

Get the recipe for Lemony Whipped Goat Cheese

Greek yogurt isn’t just for eating with a spoon. It gives this dip a creamy texture with minimal added calories (the whole thing is less than 50 calories per serving). Served with a spread of fruits and veggies, like apples or celery sticks, it’s also a fiber-rich snack.

Prefer something sweet? Mix some yogurt with honey, or even peanut butter powder for the easiest protein-packed dessert-meets-dip around. All you need is some fresh strawberries and you’re ready for some sweet (healthy!) dunking.

Get the recipe for Spiced Chickpea-Yogurt Dip

We’ve all wished we could order a pizza as soon as that first pang of afternoon hunger hits. This recipe delivers on that craving, and it takes just 20 minutes to prepare.

Thanks to rich, cheesy feta and provolone, it packs in 12 grams of protein per serving, plus it contains a healthy dose of spinach. The dark leafy green is a helpful source of so many nutrients, including vitamin C, vitamin K, folic acid, iron, and calcium.

This is a smart example of bulking up a meal with nutrient-dense, low-calorie ingredients to increase the overall satisfaction of a snack.

Get the recipe for Spinach and Cheese Pita Pizzas

Getting your protein from eggs, which contain an impressive six grams of the macro per egg, is associated with reductions in appetite and weight loss. It’s a stellar vegetarian source of protein.

A hard-boiled egg sprinkled with salt and pepper is a tasty snack, but sometimes you crave something a little more exciting. Cook up egg muffins, which are endlessly customizable (we love adding in spinach, roasted red peppers and cheese). You can stash them in the freezer, then pop a couple in the microwave whenever you need a snack, stat. Two muffins provide eight grams of protein, plus extra nutrients (and flavor!) from all the add-ins.

Get the recipe for Spinach and Goat Cheese Egg Muffins

Serve this flavorful bowl of goodness with fresh-cut veggies for a fun dip situation—without filling up on saturated fat or cholesterol or all of the added oils you might find in a store-bought spread. Plus, you’ll get all the benefits of split peas: folate, thiamin, iron, and potassium, to name a few.

This nutritious dip quells cravings with six grams of protein and just 133 calories per serving. Dip baby carrots, celery, pita chips, or basically anything else you have on hand—it’ll all taste good.

Get the recipe for Yellow Split Pea Dip

Similar to cottage cheese, ricotta is a rich, creamy cheese that is chock-full of protein. One serving of this sweet-tangy toast contains nine grams of protein from whey, which may help reduce LDL cholesterol.

Dollop ricotta on a piece of crusty bread and top with sweet stone fruit for a can’t-miss trio of flavors. Combined with honey, olive oil, and cracked black pepper—which is rich in a potent antioxidant called piperine—this snack is enough to make even the dreariest day feel magical.

Get the recipe for Nectarine Bruschetta

These tater-less tots are loaded with calcium plus protein—an impressive 12 grams per serving—and a hefty dose of comfort.

This recipe makes four servings of indulgent (but still healthy) bites that provide just the right ratio of veggies to cheese. Broccoli provides several important nutrients, including fiber, vitamins (A, C, and K), minerals (calcium, potassium, and iron), and antioxidants. Plus, these tots are less than 200 calories per serving, meaning you can totally go for seconds.

Might we suggest dipping them in our favorite unsweetened ketchup?

Get the recipe for Broccoli Gruyère Tots

Shrimp is a good source of iodine, an important mineral that’s required for proper thyroid function and brain health—and many people don’t get enough of it.

Get your fix and wrap shrimp up with rice, scallions, avocado, and cucumber for four grams of protein and just 107 calories per roll. These snacks are perfect for sharing or eating alone as a mid-afternoon pick-me-up. Plus, they take just 10 minutes to make, meaning you don’t have to spend tons of time preparing your snack.

Get the recipe for Shrimp and Grapefruit Hand Rolls

This flatbread is completely vegan, but it packs in a whopping nine grams of protein per piece thanks to its chickpea flour-based crust. The legume is high in resistant starch, a carb that helps feed microbes in your gut and boost your overall gut health. Slightly nutty and heartier than white flour, chickpea flour also makes a handy swap for whole-wheat.

Top the flatbread with peppers, paprika, and plant-based mayo for a colorful, veggie-packed snack, or enjoy the flatbread on its own for something lighter.

Get the recipe for Roasted Pepper and Aioli Flatbread

Made with self-rising flour and cottage cheese, these genius bites don’t require any rising time and can be ready in under an hour. Each bagel hole has three grams of protein, making these a quick, light breakfast or grab-and-go snack.

They star a pinch of turmeric, which has been used for thousands of years as a medicinal herb. It has several potential benefits for your health, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

Get the recipe for Turmeric Bagel Holes from Women’s Health.

Toast can be a high-protein snack to enjoy morning, noon, and night, says Shaw. Be sure to choose a healthy bread made with 100% whole grain or sprouted grains with minimal ingredients. Whole grain bread is more nutrient-dense and may keep your blood sugar steady, while white bread has the opposite effect.

“Using your favorite whole-grain toast as a base, mix a little cinnamon and a dash of honey with full-fat cottage cheese and slather it on toast,” she says. This satisfying combo packs in about 14 grams of protein per slice.

Get the recipe for Pear and Cottage Cheese Toast

“Homemade protein bars can be prepped ahead and kept around to satisfy your snack cravings,” Shaw says. “I also love that you can really customize these,” she adds. Shaw shared her raw chocolate peanut butter protein bars, which contain 12 grams of protein her bar. Her recipe is made with dates, peanut butter, oats, chocolate protein powder, and roasted peanuts for a little crunch. These candy-like bars are also a good way to satisfy your sweet tooth!

Prefer store-bought protein bars? Check the label to ensure it’s not packed with sugar and the ingredients list contains whole foods.

Edamame beans are immature soybeans—yes, they’re the very same beans used to make tofu, soy sauce, etc. They have a similar taste as soybeans, but they’re slightly sweeter like a pea.

Find whole edamame pods in the freezer section at your grocery store. They often come in microwaveable bags that perfectly steam the green pods. Paired with a sprinkle of salt, these beans make a satisfying snack that serves up nine grams of plant-based protein per half cup and gut-filling fiber. One serving is just 95 calories.

Think beyond tortilla chips and hummus for an afternoon snack. Instead cut a whole wheat tortilla in half, spread it with hummus, then sprinkle it with 1/2 cup of black beans. Add any veggies you like, such as chopped bell pepper, onion, fresh herbs, or lettuce, and a squeeze of lime juice or dash of hot sauce.

Not only will you get about nine grams of protein per wrap from the hummus and black beans, but you’ll also get about eight grams of fiber from the black beans alone.

Jerky is made from lean cuts of meat (typically beef) that are spiced, processed, and dried to preserve their shelf life. For a packaged snack, jerky can be incredibly high in protein, with some sticks offering about 10 grams of protein.

Now there are many artisanal brands of jerky that contain just as much protein as conventional brands with fewer harmful additives.

Krave and Epic make interesting flavors, such as bacon cranberry and chili lime, while Chomps have a satisfying, snappy texture and clean taste.

Serious question: Do you peel your string cheese or take a bite out of it? Either way you decide to eat it, this portable snack contains just 80 calories and about seven grams of protein per stick. Bonus: each stick consists of a healthy dose of bone-building calcium.

String cheese can be made out of pretty much any cheese, but it’s often low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella cheese, which is ultra-stringy and relatively low in fat. You can also find Cheddar or Colby Jack cheese sticks, but they tend to be slightly higher in fat.

RELATED: The 7 Healthiest Cheeses You Can Buy

Think beyond tomatoes for salsa. This black bean-based version is higher in protein (about eight grams per 1/3 cup) and contains soluble fiber, insoluble fiber, and resistant starch, all of which are associated with gut health.

Plus it’s a cinch to put together with only five ingredients—beans, tomatoes, orange juice, cilantro, and salt—and tastes good on everything from tortilla chips to sliced veggies. We also love stirring salsa into a salad or grain bowl for a healthy topping that doubles as dressing.

Get the recipe for Black Bean Salsa

High-protein smoothies—which should contain about 10 grams of protein or more—can be made in so many different ways. If you don’t like protein powder or don’t want to buy it, you can always bulk up a smoothie with other forms of protein like Greek yogurt, milk, and nut butter.

You can opt for a coffee-flavored smoothie for an afternoon pick-me-up, an immune-boosting tropical sunshine smoothie, or choose something sweeter, like this blended concoction that packs in 21 grams of protein per serving.

Get the recipe for Banana Almond Protein Smoothie

RELATED: 12 Best Protein Powders, According to Dietitians