25 High-Protein Meals You Can Make In 30 Minutes Or Less
Not only is protein essential to weight loss and better sleep, it also helps with muscle recovery post-workout and improving your muscle gains after an extra tough sweat session.
Related: 50 Quick & Easy Salad Recipes for Busy Nights
With at least 15 grams of protein per serving, these recipes will give you the power to stabilize blood sugar, improve weight-loss management, and increase energy levels for the whole day.
Grilled Chicken Gyros With Yogurt-Cucumber Sauce
Soft pita bread, crisp and crunchy vegetables, and creamy yogurt sauce make this recovery-friendly sandwich impossible to resist.
Get the Grilled Chicken Gyros With Yogurt-Cucumber Sauce recipe from Runner's World Meals on the Run
Protein Parfait
Studies show that breakfast eaters eat less overall and gain less weight than breakfast skimpers. Here is a healthy Flat Belly and high-protein way to start your day.
Get the Protein Parfait recipe from Flat Belly Diet! For Men
Mussels with White Wine and Shallots
Inexpensive, tasty, and easy to prepare, mussels are a good source of protein and iron, providing 32 percent of your daily need in 3 ounces. They're also a good source of zinc, which plays a role in maintaining a healthy immune system. Serve with salad greens and fresh, crusty bread to dip in the flavorful broth.
Get the Mussels with White Wine and Shallots recipe from Runner's World Meals on the Run
For a protein-packed snack, try this vanilla almond yogurt dip:
Protein Power Baked Ziti
This recipe turns a carb bomb into a muscle-building feast that keeps blood sugar balanced.
Get the Protein Power Baked Ziti recipe from The New Abs Diet Cookbook
Creamy Fish Chowder
This quick soup has everything a good chowder needs—creamy broth, tender fish, salty bacon, and fresh-herb flavor (and 27 grams of protein per serving)—without cups of heavy cream and butter to weigh you down. Serve with a crusty bread or the classic pairing, oyster crackers.
Get the Creamy Fish Chowder recipe from Runner's World Meals on the Run
Related: 5 Foods with More Protein Than an Egg
High-Protein Vegetarian Chili
Black soybeans and texturized vegetable protein (TVP) give this vegetarian chili its protein boost. Look for them in natural foods stores, and get to work.
Get the High-Protein Vegetarian Chili recipe from The Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook
Thai Fish Curry
Firm, meaty cod is a good match for this fast, flavorful curry. Most Atlantic cod is imported from well-managed fisheries. Alaskan cod is also an eco-friendly choice. Red curry paste (made from a blend of chiles, herbs, and spices) is essential to any Thai curry. Look for it in the Asian aisle at most grocery stores. For a carb boost (in addition to the 28 grams of protein you'll get), serve over rice noodles or rice.
Get the Thai Fish Curry recipe from Runner's World Meals on the Run
Steak and Peach Salad
Meaty steak, juicy peaches, and a cocoa and chili infused dressing may seem like an unusual combination, but they provide an irresistible mix of textures and flavors that balance each other perfectly. With 2 grams of fat per ounce, flank is one of the leaner steak options, and it's rich in muscle-building protein (29 grams per serving) and iron.
Get the Steak and Peach Salad recipe from Runner's World Meals on the Run
Whole Wheat Blueberry Protein Pancakes
Start your day with a protein boost that includes a healthy dose of whole wheat goodness and antioxidant blueberries.
Get the Whole Wheat Blueberry Protein Pancakes recipe from The Sugar Smart Diet
Related: The Crazy High-Protein Snack Angelina Jolie’s Kids Love
Broiled Lamb Chop with Spinach and White Bean Saute
Most of the fat in lamb is easily trimmed off before cooking, making it a lean, flavorful protein choice that's also a good source of vitamin B12 and niacin. Pairing the meat with a quick bean saute makes for a complete meal.
Get the Broiled Lamb Chop with Spinach and White Bean Saute recipe from Runner's World Meals on the Run
Protein-Boosted Oatmeal with Berries
Morning workout? Consider this meal a bowl full of the nutrition you need. The oatmeal provides a slow-digesting source of carbohydrates, and the jolt of whey powder helps prime your muscle growth for bigger gym gains.
Get the Protein-Boosted Oatmeal with Berries recipe from Guy Gourmet
Tofu Peanut Stir-Fry
Hoisin sauce and seasoned rice vinegar add loads of flavor to this protein-packed dish. Look for both condiments in the Asian aisle in most grocery stores and keep your pantry stocked with a bottle of each for quick dinners like this one.
Get the Tofu Peanut Stir-Fry recipe from Runner's World Meals on the Run
Cheesy Polenta With Caramelized Mushrooms
While traditional polenta requires 30 minutes of constant stirring, quick-cooking (or "instant") versions take just a few minutes from start to finish and produce creamy, irresistible results.
Get the Cheesy Polenta With Caramelized Mushrooms recipe from Runner's World Meals on the Run
Scrambled Breakfast Tacos with Chunky Guacamole
With 16 grams of protein per serving, you'll also get fan-favorite avocado and eggs for a hearty breakfast dish.
Get the Scrambled Breakfast Tacos with Chunky Guacamole recipe from Flat Belly Diet! For Men
Broiled Tilapia with Mango Chutney
Mild-tasting, quick-cooking tilapia is the perfect base for a full-flavored, fresh Indian chutney. Tank-farmed tilapia from the United States or Canada and pond-raised fish from Ecuador are the most environmentally friendly choices. When paired with 10-minute brown rice, this dish can work for a pre-run or recovery meal.
Get the Broiled Tilapia with Mango Chutney recipe from Runner's World Meals on the Run
Quick-Cooking Barley and Kale Soup
Quick-cooking barley is rolled thinner than traditional pearl barley, so the cooking time is 20 to 30 minutes shorter. Look for it at the supermarket and natural foods stores. Be sure to use lean ground turkey (not ground turkey breast). The former contains dark meat, which helps boost flavor and provides more zinc and iron, in addition to the 23 grams of protein you'll get from one serving of this hearty soup.
Get the Quick-Cooking Barley and Kale Soup recipe from Runner's World Meals on the Run
Asian Soup with Rice Noodles
A good stock and just a few ingredients will give you a rich, flavorful dinner in a bowl. If you don't have homemade stock on hand, the addition of ginger, scallions, and garlic will boost the flavor of store-bought broth. Either way, dinner will be ready in a flash.
Get the Asian Soup with Rice Noodles recipe from The Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook
Steak and Pepper Rice Bowl
Top sirloin steak is a lean cut of beef that provides easily absorbed, energy-boosting iron, and 33 grams of protein. Serving it over brown rice (along with a charred pepper-and-corn combo) provides additional carbs and antioxidants.
Get the Steak and Pepper Rice Bowl recipe from Runner's World Meals on the Run
Orange-Chipotle Chicken Thighs
Compared to white meat, chicken thighs contain more iron and zinc—two important nutrients for runners—while broiled orange slices add a burst of juice with every bite, giving you a whopping 44 grams of protein per serving. Serve with a side of black beans and steamed green beans.
Get the Orange-Chipotle Chicken Thighs recipe from Runner's World Meals on the Run
Related: 5 Scary Things That Happen When You Eat Too Much Protein
Perfect Fit Protein Pancakes
Sweetened with banana and no refined grains (or any grains, in fact) in sight, these Perfect Fit-based protein pancakes are the answer to your flapjack fantasies.
Get the Perfect Fit Protein Pancakes recipe from Tone It Up
Chocolate-Banana Granola Bowls
Swap out your usual yogurt-and-granola breakfast for this power-packed upgrade that blends thick and creamy Greek yogurt with frozen bananas. The fruit adds energizing carbs, potassium, and vitamin B6, a nutrient that bolsters brain functioning. Greek yogurt has about twice the protein of regular yogurt and will give you sustained energy all morning.
Get the Chocolate-Banana Granola Bowls recipe from Runner's World Meals on the Run
Rotini with Pears and Prosciutto
Salty prosciutto helps replenish lost electrolytes after a sweaty run and strikes a perfect balance with sweet, juicy pears. Look for packages of already-chopped prosciutto next to bacon in the refrigerated section at the grocery store.
Get the Rotini with Pears and Prosciutto recipe from Runner's World Meals on the Run
Double Vanilla French Toast
With plenty of sweet vanilla flavor, this hearty, whole grain French toast is destined to become one of your weekend breakfast staples. It supplies all the nutrients needed for recovery after a long run, while satisfying that well-earned appetite.
Get the Double Vanilla French Toast recipe from The Runner's World Cookbook
Seared Scallops with Baby Spinach
Sweet, tender, and quick cooking, scallops look impressive but couldn't be simpler to serve on a busy weeknight (for more, try these quick weeknight dinner recipes!). There are two basic types—sea scallops (used here), which are quite large, and bay scallops, which are much smaller and too delicate to sear. When shopping, look for farmed scallops, which are easy to find and are an eco-friendly choice, thanks to sustainable farming practices worldwide. Serve with sweet potato pumpkin seed salad. Or pair with rice for a pre-run meal.
Get the Seared Scallops with Baby Spinach recipe from Runner's World Meals on the Run
Italian Frittata With Zucchini, Leeks, and Parmesan
Whereas a plain omelette can certainly fall in that blah channel, Harley Pasternak's recipe incorporates leeks and zucchini to make it both more filling and more flavorful.
Get the Italian Frittata With Zucchini, Leeks, and Parmesan recipe from 5 Pounds
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