Easy High-Protein Dinner Recipes for Every Diet

Combine protein-rich shrimp (33 grams per cup) with sweet peppers and pineapple in a trendy foil-pack dinner that’s done in a mere 15 minutes in the oven. Quick cooking rice steams right inside the package, making this dinner a no-fuss, low clean-up meal.

Salmon is a protein-high ingredient already (about 40 grams per cup), and pairing it with powerhouse edamame (18.5 grams per cup) makes for a delicious and satiating dinner. With a sweet-sour honey and lime glaze, this dish cooks in a flash under the broiler.

A unique take on a Korean bibimbap bowl, this recipe uses seasonal sour cherries for a faux-hoisin sauce that adds a subtle tartness to cut through the richness of the ground pork (51.4 grams of protein per cup) and fried eggs (25 grams per cup).

Quick cooking orange lentils (masoor dal) and turmeric make a bright impact on a plate, and a big hit on the protein scale with almost 18 grams per cup. Add a drizzle of garlic butter right before serving for another layer of flavour.

Fresh, high-quality tuna (almost 50 grams of protein per cup) is a joy best prepared simply, and oil poaching allows the flavours to shine through. Be sure to use a good olive oil, as the flavours will intensify when heated, and use some of the poaching liquid for the dressing for a warm chickpea salad.

Skirt steak (52 grams per cup) is the staple of summer grills and superlative sandwiches, and cooks quickly on the grill for an inexpensive and fast dinner. In this recipe, humble skirt steak is made special with the addition of a simple pesto compound butter.

Creamy saag paneer (44 grams of protein per cup) takes just over 30 minutes in this Instant Pot update on a classic Indian dish. Greek yogurt acts as a thickener and protein booster with 20 grams per cup.

Blackened halibut (about 54 grams of protein per cup) adds smoky flavour to this non-traditional fish taco, laden with three sauces: creamy chipotle, savoury honey-vinegar dipping sauce and a guacamole smoothed out with sour cream.

An Instant Pot makes short work of this satisfying meal that’s heavy on protein thanks to lean chicken and pistachios (40 grams per cup) but light on the dishes.

Meaty grilled shiitake and creamy pressed tofu sub in for the sliced cold cuts and pate of a traditional banh mi sandwich. At around 16 grams per cup, tofu is a good way for vegetarians to get some protein.

Trimming back the fat, but keeping the protein, on meatloaf is as simple as adding lean ground beef (28 grams per cup) and turkey (52 grams per cup) to the mix. Serve with a hefty helping of quinoa, with added colour from vibrant spinach and cilantro.

Slathering meat with mustard and sour cream is a traditional breading method that keeps boneless pork chops (48 grams per cup) moist and ensures the Panko crumbs stick. Buying thin pork chops means that dinner is cooked in eight minutes in the oven.

A little bit of feta cheese in this recipe (8 grams of protein per cup) and chopped black olives add plenty of salty goodness to virtuous quinoa (8 grams per cup) and oyster mushrooms. Rice flour helps bind the patties together without adding heaviness.

A whopping two cups of black beans provides around 30.4 grams of protein per cup for this chili, made spicy in true Bobby Flay fashion with three types of chiles and a fourth one in the accompanying avocado relish.

A long simmer is turned into a speedy supper with the use of a pressure cooker and hand blender, making sublime black bean soup a reality in under an hour. At around 30 grams of protein per cup, black beans are a protein superstar that deserve a front and centre role in dinner prep.

Keep the oven off and the kitchen cool with this ingenious method for stovetop lasagna. Dollops of ricotta and mozzarella (about 22 and 48 grams of protein per cup respectively) make for a low-mess, one-pot dinner, and boost the protein to boot.