What to Eat for Lunch if You Need More Protein

You know what they say about protein: “It sticks to your bones.” Or maybe that was just something my parents said. Either way, I think what they meant is that protein keeps you fuller for longer (but I’ll ask them the next time I see them, because now I’m curious where they got that expression). So whether you are trying to stay full throughout the day or if you are trying to “get those gains” at the gym, this list of what to eat for lunch if you need more protein is your macro-packed guide.

Oikos Lemon Meringue Yogurt

Greek yogurt is a classic high-protein lunch option. But just because you are eating Greek yogurt doesn’t mean it has to be plain Greek yogurt. Mix it up a bit with this lemon meringue-flavored Greek yogurt from Oikos that Sporked managing editor Gwynedd Stuart described as rich and decadent, pointing out that its “overall tartness is tempered by the creamy meringue flavor they managed to cram into this little cup.” In other words, this yogurt tastes like a lemon meringue pie, and it has 11 whole grams of protein. Win-win!

Gatorade Chocolate Chip Protein Bar

Sometimes you are just girlbossing too hard to stop and take a lunch break. First of all go get it, girl! Second of all, you should try out this protein bar from Gatorade. It is ginormous, it doesn’t have any of that “weird chalkiness” other protein bars can sometimes have, and according to Gwynedd, it tastes like a “big, fat Nestle Crunch bar.” What more could you want in a protein bar? (Oh yeah, it has 20 grams of protein, too.)

Good & Gather Cinnamon Almond Butter

I know I know, protein bars are not necessarily a “meal” okay, Mom. Well never fear because cinnamon almond butter is here. Throw some of this on a piece of bread, fold it in half, e voila, you’ve got yourself a protein-packed sandwich. And trust us, this cinnamon almond butter is delicious. Sporked senior writer Jordan Myrick loved it so much they called it “hands down, the best flavored almond butter we tried” and described it as “great almond butter with a touch of cinnamon.” You need this almond butter in your life. Plus it has 6 grams of protein per serving!

Say it with me: COTTAGE CHEESE IS YOUNG AND HIP NOW (AND SO ARE THE WORDS “YOUNG” and “HIP”). And whether or not you believe me that cottage cheese is IN, then you have to believe me that it should be. I mean come on, it is an excuse to eat cheese curds with a spoon! Plus this particular cottage cheese is, according to our tasting team, “intensely flavorful and complex. It’s tangy, it’s creamy, it’s salty, and, more than anything, it tastes fresh.” If you are on the fence about cottage cheese, try this one – it just might blow your mind. Or blend it up like all the TikTok people are doing. Either way, 14 grams of protein per serving, baybee!

Chomps Original Beef Stick

We all love a good beef stick, but this beef stick is the one beef stick to rule them all (don’t @ me, I just watched LOTR for the first time). Chomps is not only made with 100% grass-fed and finished beef, these protein-packed (9 grams) sticks actually taste like beef. Out tasters described them as “so beefy that it actually makes me think of a specific cut of beef.” The cut of beef in question? A ribeye. These are that good.

Fairlife Core Power Vanilla

And of course, we had to have a protein shake on here, what more classic protein on-the-go option is there?! And while we of course recommend that you have more for lunch than simply a protein shake (like solid food, for instance), we don’t see anything wrong with adding a protein shake into your lunch routine to “boost those macros” as it were. And if you are going to add any protein shake to your lunch, this one is a keeper. It tastes like “melted vanilla ice cream in a bottle,” doesn’t have that weird protein aftertaste, and contains 26 grams of protein per bottle. As one taster put it, “This is a delicious vanilla shake that just happens to contain a lot of protein.”