High-Protein Snacks: A Real List

A high-protein snack is one that carries a real amount of protein for its size, not just a label that says so. Below are 15 that actually deliver, with protein, calories, and (where it matters) sodium per serving, all calculated from USDA FoodData Central rather than guessed. If you want a narrower list, I’ve also broken out snacks for kids, low-carb snacks, and what to actually buy at the store.

What I usually keep around: hard-boiled eggs, Greek yogurt, beef jerky, cheese sticks, deli meat, and mixed nuts. When I want something more substantial, I’ll eat leftover chicken or turkey, and 3 oz of cooked chicken breast carries about 26g of protein, more than anything in the table below. I pick snacks that bring a decent amount of protein without a bunch of carbs I don’t need along with it.

The whole list at a glance

Sorted by protein per 100 calories, which is the number that tells you how much of a snack’s calorie cost is going toward protein. Where a snack varies a lot by product, I show the range between two USDA entries instead of picking one. I call a snack high-protein at 10g or more per serving, so the ones under that line work better as half of a pairing than on their own.

Snack	Serving	Protein	Calories	Protein per 100 cal
Tuna, light, canned in water	3 oz, drained	16g	75	23g
Greek yogurt, plain nonfat	1 container (170g)	17g	100	17g
Whey protein powder	1 scoop	17 to 25g	110 to 115	16 to 22g
Deli turkey breast	2 oz	8 to 12g	60	14 to 20g
Cottage cheese, 4%	1/2 cup	13g	110	11g
Edamame	1 cup	18g	190	10g
Hard-boiled eggs	2 large	13g	155	8g
String cheese	1 stick	7g	85	8g
Beef jerky	1 oz	9g	115	8g
Cheddar	1 oz	6g	115	6g
Pumpkin seeds, roasted	1 oz	8g	165	5g
Peanuts, dry-roasted	1 oz	7g	165	4g
Pistachios, dry-roasted	1 oz	6g	160	4g
Peanut butter	2 tablespoons	7g	190	4g
Almonds, dry-roasted	1 oz (about 23)	6g	170	3.5g

Dairy snacks

Greek yogurt, plain nonfat

A 170g container carries about 17g of protein for 100 calories, the best ratio of the dairy options here. It’s also the lowest in sodium of any dairy, meat, or egg snack on this list, at about 60mg. Plain is the version these numbers describe. Flavored cups add sugar and calories, so the ratio drops, and only the label tells you by how much.

Cottage cheese, 4%

Half a cup runs about 13g of protein for 110 calories, and a full cup doubles that to about 24g for 215. It’s the saltiest dairy option here, around 355mg per half cup, close to double a stick of string cheese. I eat it straight from the tub when I want a quick snack, and blend it when it’s going into a recipe. Blended, it turns smooth and creamy, which is what lets it work in dips, in sauces like the one in the high-protein pasta, and in desserts like the chocolate pudding. It’s an easy way to add protein to a recipe without relying on protein powder. The cottage cheese bowl starts the same way.

String cheese

One stick is about 7g of protein and 85 calories. That’s under the 10g line, so I count it as a pairing snack, something that gets a piece of fruit or a handful of crackers into protein territory. The advantage it has over a block of cheese is that the wrapper decides the portion, so the number on the label is the number you actually ate.

Cheddar

An ounce of cheddar is about 6g of protein for 115 calories. That’s close to string cheese on protein but roughly 30 more calories per ounce, because cheddar is a full-fat cheese and string cheese is part-skim mozzarella. Sodium lands in the same place for both, around 185mg.

See everything tagged cottage cheese or greek yogurt for recipes built on these.

Meat and egg snacks

Tuna, canned in water

Three ounces of drained light tuna carries about 16g of protein for 75 calories, the highest protein per calorie on this page. It’s shelf-stable until you open it, which puts it in the same camp as jerky and nuts for keeping at work, but it needs a fork and somewhere to put the empty can. Tuna packed in oil is a different number entirely, covered on the Foods High in Protein list.

Deli turkey breast, rolled

Two ounces runs 8 to 12g of protein depending on the product, both at about 60 calories. The two USDA entries I checked differ by that much, so this is one to read the package on. Sodium is the tradeoff: 440 to 510mg per 2 oz across those same entries. I haven’t sourced chicken deli meat here, so read its label the same way.

Hard-boiled eggs

Two large eggs carry about 13g of protein for 155 calories, with the fat from the yolk making up most of the rest. Sodium is low for an animal snack at about 125mg for the pair. They need to stay cold, though, so they don’t work as a bag snack the way jerky does.

Beef jerky

An ounce is about 9g of protein for 115 calories. Jerky needs no fridge and no utensils, and it’s also the saltiest thing on this list: about 505mg per ounce, roughly 22 percent of the 2,300mg Daily Value printed on nutrition labels. Brands vary widely on both sugar and sodium, so the label beats this average for any specific bag.

Nuts, seeds, and protein powder

Whey protein powder

One scoop mixed into water lands between 17 and 25g of protein for about 110 calories. The spread comes from two different USDA entries, and commercial powders differ by scoop size and formula too, so the label on your tub is the number that counts. Mixed into a cup of 2% milk instead of water, a scoop picks up about 8g more protein and 120 more calories. The smoothie here stacks powder, milk, and Greek yogurt together.

Pumpkin seeds, roasted

An ounce carries about 8g of protein for 165 calories, the most protein of any nut or seed on this list. That also makes them the best of the group per calorie, at about 5g per 100 calories, which is still well below any of the dairy or meat snacks.

Peanuts, dry-roasted

About 7g of protein per ounce for 165 calories, a gram ahead of almonds and pistachios at about the same calories. Peanuts are technically a legume, not a tree nut, though they’re eaten the same way.

Pistachios and almonds

Both land at about 6g of protein per ounce, with pistachios at about 160 calories and almonds at about 170. An ounce of almonds is roughly 23 nuts. More on almonds specifically in Are Almonds High in Protein?

Peanut butter

Two tablespoons is about 7g of protein for 190 calories, a slightly worse ratio than whole peanuts: USDA’s smooth peanut butter entry carries a little less protein per 100g than dry-roasted peanuts at about the same calories. It’s also the easiest one to mismeasure, since the numbers are for 2 level tablespoons and a heaping spoonful holds more. The peanut butter cookies here use it alongside protein powder rather than counting on it to carry the protein alone.

Every nut and seed number here is for the unsalted version. Salted nuts carry the same protein with added sodium, and how much depends on the brand.

Produce and plant-based snacks

Edamame

A cup of shelled edamame carries about 18g of protein for 190 calories, the most protein per serving of anything on this list that isn’t powder. It’s the one plant snack that clears 10g without being combined with anything. I buy it frozen and already shelled, microwave or steam it, and eat it with a little sea salt. That matches the USDA entry used here, which is for frozen edamame, cooked. It’s also the only vegetable that makes a real dent in a protein number, more on that in High-Protein Vegetables.

Packaged roasted chickpea snacks and hummus both carry real protein too, but the exact number swings a lot by brand and flavor coating, too much for me to cite one figure here. Check the label if it needs to hit a specific target.

What actually separates these

Three things separate snacks that look alike on protein alone.

Calories per gram of protein. Two snacks can carry similar protein at very different costs. An ounce of pumpkin seeds and half a cup of cottage cheese are only 5g apart on protein, but the seeds run about 55 more calories to get there. Nuts are the extreme case: matching the 17g of protein in one Greek yogurt container takes about 2.9 oz of almonds, somewhere around 65 to 70 nuts and 490 calories. Most of what’s in a handful of nuts is fat, and the protein comes along with it.

Sodium. Per serving, from highest to lowest among the dairy, meat, and egg snacks: beef jerky about 505mg, deli turkey 440 to 510mg, cottage cheese about 355mg, canned tuna about 210mg, string cheese and cheddar about 185mg each, two hard-boiled eggs about 125mg, and Greek yogurt about 60mg. The unsalted nuts, seeds, and edamame above carry very little.

Where it has to live. Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, string cheese, eggs, and deli meat all need a fridge. Jerky, nuts, seeds, peanut butter, whey powder, and unopened canned tuna don’t, so those are the ones that work from a desk drawer or a gym bag. Frozen edamame has to be cooked first, so it’s more of a kitchen snack than a portable one.

Where this shows up in real recipes

For snack-sized recipes rather than single foods, browse High-Protein Snack Recipes. These are the ones on this site that clear 10g per serving:

Cottage cheese bowl: 21g protein
Buffalo chicken dip: 14g protein
Cottage cheese chocolate pudding: 14g protein
Granola: 12g protein
High-protein cookies: 13g protein
Peanut butter cookies: 11g protein

More specific snack guides

FAQ

What actually counts as a high-protein snack?

There’s no official cutoff, but I treat anything carrying 10g of protein or more in a normal snack-size serving as genuinely high-protein. Below that, it might still be a fine snack, it’s just not doing much of the protein work.

Is a protein bar a good snack?

Sometimes, but the numbers swing a lot by brand. Some bars carry 20g of protein and relatively little sugar, others are closer to a candy bar with a protein claim on the wrapper. Check the label rather than trusting the front of the packaging.

Do I need to eat a snack between meals?

That’s a personal call. Some people eat three meals and feel fine, others need something between meals to stay full or hit a daily protein number. Either way is normal, this is a reference for what’s actually in the food if you do want one.