High Protein Grocery List + Staple Meals

If you struggle to eat enough protein every day, put this high-protein staples grocery list on your fridge and check it before you head to the grocery store every week. If you have all or most of these on hand, it becomes a lot easier to make sure your meals and snacks prioritize protein.

In case you missed it, make sure to read this blog post: How much protein you actually need. You’ll learn all about protein, why it’s so important, how much you need every day, and tips for how to eat enough.

High-protein staple meal recipes

Below is a list of some of my favorite high protein (all are between 30-40g of protein per serving) go-to recipes that mostly use pantry, fridge, and freezer staples for when you need a low effort, high protein meal.

If you ever need help figuring out which other meals to make during the week to supplement your weekly Cooking Club menu, this is a great list to have handy or go through and create your own list based on your favorites.

Make sure to read the substitutions section for each to see how you can easily adapt them to be vegetarian, etc… 

High protein staple meal recipes:

• Cheesy Kimchi Beef and Veggie Bowls – use any meat and any veggie for this super fast and easy meal!
• Instant Pot White Chicken Chili – this uses both chicken and quinoa to pack in protein. Just throw everything in the Instant Pot and wait until it’s done.
• Spiced Chicken Beans and Greens Skillet – all you need is one skillet, canned beans, chicken, and frozen or fresh greens.
• Skillet Pizza Chicken – a family friendly super easy skillet dinner.
• Instant Pot Curried Lentils and Rice with Lemony Yogurt – a vegetarian instant pot meal that packs in protein from whole grains, lentils, and Greek yogurt.
• Anything Goes Stir-Fry – use any thinly sliced meat (or tofu) and any veggies in this simple stir-fry that can be eaten alone or bulked up with rice.
• Skillet Chicken Beans and Greens with Tomatoes – another chicken, beans, and greens combo but with the addition of canned tomatoes and cheese.
• One Pot Salmon + Coconut Rice – rice, greens, and salmon get cooked in one pot and topped with an easy sauce.
• Colleen Quigley’s Yogurt Fettuccine – the combination of greek yogurt, egg, and cheese makes this pasta packed full of protein.
• Moroccan Spiced Beef and Cauliflower Bowls – ground beef (or use any ground meat or even beans/tofu) gets cooked in spices and served over yummy roasted cauliflower (or any roasted veg).
• Easy Skillet Enchiladas – meat, veggies, tortillas, enchilada sauce, and cheese is all you need.
• Instant Pot Penne Ragu – an easy high-protein pasta.

High-protein staple meals (non-recipes)

Below are a few of my personal go-to meals that don’t really require a recipe, just a formula!

• Quinoa bowl with 1 cup quinoa + 2 fried eggs + avo + salsa + 1/4 cup feta cheese = 30g protein
• Quesadilla with 1/2 cup cheese and 3/4 cup shredded chicken (4 oz) = 35-40g protein
• Avocado toast with 2 fried eggs + 1/2 cup cottage cheese topped with fruit = 26g protein
• Tacos or rice bowl with ground meat and/or beans, slaw, avocado, salsa = 30=35g protein

I hope these help you visualize and understand what it looks like to eat at least 100g of protein per day. It’s all about stocking your fridge, freezer, and pantry with high-protein foods!

Comment below with your favorite high-protein staple meals!