What is the highest protein snack for the calories?
Biltong and jerky lead among solid foods (around 20g of protein per 40g serving), with 0% Greek yogurt and a whey shake close behind.
High Protein Snacks Under 200 Calories
A good protein snack is 15g or more for under 200 calories. Most packaged 'protein snacks' fail one of those two tests.
Snacks are where daily protein quietly disappears. Fruit, crisps and biscuits sit between 0 and 3g, so three snacks a day can mean 600 calories and almost no protein.
Every option below was chosen on protein per calorie, using the app's own database numbers.
Best snack protein sources
Protein and calories per 100g, from the Protein Hunter database.
| Food | Protein | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| 🥤 Whey protein isolate | 90g | 400 |
| 🥩 South African Biltong | 50g | 280 |
| 🥩 Beef jerky | 33g | 212 |
| 🎃 Pumpkin seeds | 30g | 559 |
| 🐟 Tuna (canned in water) | 29g | 131 |
| 🫘 Lupini beans | 16g | 119 |
| 🥚 Whole egg | 13g | 155 |
| 🧀 Cottage cheese (low-fat) | 12g | 72 |
| 🥣 Quark | 12g | 77 |
| 🥣 Skyr | 11g | 63 |
| 🫛 Edamame (cooked) | 11g | 122 |
| 🥣 Greek yogurt (plain, 0%) | 10g | 59 |
Per 100g.
Snacks that pass the test
- 170g pot of 0% Greek yogurt — 17g protein, about 100 calories.
- 2 boiled eggs — 13g protein, 155 calories.
- 40g biltong — 20g protein, about 112 calories.
- 1 tin of tuna — 29g protein, about 130 calories.
- 150g edamame in the pod — 16g protein, about 183 calories.
- 1 scoop of whey in water — 24g protein, about 110 calories.
Add up your whole meal
Type what you ate in plain words and Protein Hunter returns protein and calories for the full plate.
Try the Protein CalculatorCommon questions
Are protein bars a good snack?
Some are — check that the bar carries at least 15g of protein and under 250 calories. Many are closer to a chocolate bar with added protein.
How many protein snacks a day?
One or two. Snacks are best used to close the gap between meals, not to replace a proper protein-anchored meal.
Keep reading
Protein CalculatorAdd up any meal in plain words.Protein database230+ foods with protein and calories.How much protein per daySet the target these foods feed into.What is Protein Hunter?
Protein Hunter is a protein and nutrition app with a database of 232 foods — from a leaf of kale to a wagyu steak — plus AI tools that answer protein questions, count a whole meal, build recipes to a macro target, and track what you actually eat.
- Search any food
- Count a full meal
- Recipes to your macros
- Scan a plate or label
Why it's different: the numbers are calculated from a fixed ingredient database rather than guessed, and when a target is not physically achievable the app says so instead of inventing a figure.
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