15 Easy Ways to Add More Protein to Your Day

To add a tangy, rich taste to the smooth avocado, you can also throw a scoop of cottage cheese in with it when you’re mixing it all up, Addison says. If you add just half a cup, that’s 11 grams more of protein—plus some more creaminess to boot.

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, says Cara Harbstreet, MS, RD, of Street Smart Nutrition. 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 lots of little additions will tally up in a big way at the end of the day. Bonus: The extra ingredient will also make the curds fluffier and more flavourful.

4. Keep protein-rich seeds on hand

Seeds are such a practical source of protein: They’re small and easy to store, shelf stable, and don’t add a huge burst of flavour, so you can pretty much put them on anything, Addison says. Not to mention, they’re also rich in fibre 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 one 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, salads, and more.

5. Put an egg on it

And by “it,” we mean pretty much anything. Throwing a quick fried or hard-boiled egg—that’s six grams of protein—on top of a salad, soup, rice bowl pasta, or pretty much anything else you can think of will tip the scale with little to no 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 two to three minutes or so.

6. Try a different drink

One of the easiest ways to add more protein to your diet is to rethink what you drink, says Harbstreet. 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 fortified nut milks, will give you between eight and nine extra grams of the stuff in one fell swoop.

And if you’re making a smoothie, you’ll definitely want to give your base a little extra consideration. If you normally add oat milk, try a dairy-free alternative with more protein like soy milk instead.

7. Add lentils to your ground beef

Addison loves adding lentils to any recipes that include ground meat because they mimic its taste and texture—and help her eat more fibre at the same time. 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 even meatballs.

8. Don’t sleep on tinned fish

In case you haven’t already heard, tinned fish is on the upswing. Yes, it’s thanks in part to its image makeover—so many trendy TikToks—but also to the fact that it’s finally being recognised as an excellent source of protein. 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, will pack in 22 more grams.