The best meal prep snacks are ones you portion on Sunday and grab without thinking: hard-boiled eggs (78 calories, 6 g protein each), 6 oz cups of nonfat Greek yogurt (100 calories, 17 g protein), cottage cheese cups, cut vegetables with hummus, edamame, roasted chickpeas and nuts in 1 oz bags.
Below are 15 snack ideas with the calories and protein for each portion, calculated from USDA data, grouped by goal, plus how long they keep and a Sunday routine that covers the week.
Key takeaways
- Highest protein per calorie: tuna, plain Greek yogurt and cottage cheese, at about 13-23 g of protein per 100 calories.
- Most volume for the fewest calories: cut vegetables, air-popped popcorn and fruit.
- Lowest in carbs: nuts, cheese, eggs and deli meat.
- Hard-boiled eggs keep 1 week in the fridge; most other prepped snacks are best within a few days.
- Portion nuts by weight. An ounce of almonds is 164 calories, and it's an easy ounce to overshoot.
Meal prep snacks with calories and protein
All values from USDA FoodData Central for the portion listed.
| Snack | Portion | Calories (kcal) | Protein (g) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hard-boiled eggs | 2 large | 155 | 12.6 | Protein, low-carb |
| 2% cottage cheese | 1/2 cup (113 g) | 92 | 11.8 | Protein |
| Nonfat Greek yogurt with blueberries | 6 oz + 1/2 cup | 143 | 17.9 | Protein |
| Light tuna in water, drained | 2.6 oz (74 g) | 64 | 14.4 | Protein |
| Edamame, shelled | 1/2 cup (78 g) | 94 | 9.2 | Protein, fiber |
| Turkey and cheddar roll-ups | 3 slices turkey, 1 slice cheddar | 164 | 13.5 | Protein, low-carb |
| String cheese (part-skim mozzarella) | 1 oz (28 g) | 72 | 6.9 | Protein, low-carb |
| Protein balls | 2 balls | 236 | 10.4 | Energy, pre-workout |
| Vegetables with hummus | 85 g carrots, 1 celery stalk, 1/2 cup cucumber, 2 tbsp hummus | 114 | 3.5 | Low-calorie, volume |
| Air-popped popcorn | 3 cups (24 g) | 93 | 3.1 | Low-calorie, volume |
| Apple with peanut butter | 1 medium + 1 tbsp | 190 | 4.0 | Fiber |
| Roasted chickpeas | 1/4 of a can | 118 | 4.5 | Crunchy, fiber |
| Almonds | 1 oz (28 g) | 164 | 6.0 | Low-carb |
| Walnuts | 1 oz (28 g) | 185 | 4.3 | Low-carb |
| Celery with almond butter | 2 stalks + 1 tbsp | 109 | 3.9 | Low-carb |
High-protein meal prep snacks
Hard-boiled eggs
Boil a dozen on Sunday, cool them in ice water and refrigerate. 2 large eggs: 155 calories, 12.6 g protein. They keep 1 week in the fridge, per the FoodSafety.gov chart, and shouldn't be frozen. Toss them in everything bagel seasoning for flavor.
Cottage cheese cups
Portion a large tub of 2% cottage cheese into 1/2-cup containers. 92 calories, 12 g protein each. Add fruit, hot sauce or cucumber at snack time. Use them by the date on the tub.
Greek yogurt cups
A 6 oz (170 g) portion of plain nonfat Greek yogurt with 1/2 cup blueberries: 143 calories, 18 g protein. Plain yogurt with fruit you add yourself avoids the added sugar in many flavored cups. For brand comparisons, see high-protein yogurts ranked.
Tuna packs
No prep needed. 2.6 oz (74 g) of drained light tuna: 64 calories, 14 g protein, per USDA. Pouch labels vary a little by brand. Keep a few in a bag or desk with whole-grain crackers.
Edamame
Cook a bag of frozen shelled edamame, salt it lightly and portion into 1/2-cup containers. 94 calories, 9 g protein, 4 g fiber each.
Turkey and cheddar roll-ups
Cut a 1 oz slice of cheddar into thirds and roll each piece in a slice of deli turkey. Three roll-ups: 164 calories, 13.5 g protein, about 2 g carbs. Opened deli meat keeps 3-5 days in the fridge, so make these for the first half of the week.
Protein balls
Makes 20: 2 cups rolled oats, 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/3 cup honey, 2 scoops (64 g) whey protein, 1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips, 1 tsp vanilla, a pinch of salt. Mix, chill 30 minutes, then roll with a small cookie scoop.
Two balls: 236 calories, 10 g protein. They're more of an energy snack than a protein one, which makes them a good fit before a workout. Keep them in the fridge and freeze what you won't eat that week.
More ideas in the same vein: high-protein snacks for weight loss.
Low-calorie, high-volume snacks
These give you a lot to eat for few calories, which helps most in a calorie deficit.
Vegetables with hummus
Cut baby carrots, celery, cucumber and bell peppers. Portion hummus into 2-tbsp cups. 85 g baby carrots, a celery stalk, 1/2 cup cucumber and 2 tbsp hummus: 114 calories. Hummus is the calorie-dense part, at about 35 calories per tablespoon, so portion it rather than dipping from the tub.
Air-popped popcorn
Pop 1/4 cup of kernels and season with salt, nutritional yeast or cinnamon. 3 cups: 93 calories, 3.5 g fiber. Store in a sealed bag or jar; it softens after a few days.
Apple with peanut butter
Slice apples and toss them with lemon juice to slow browning. Portion 1 tbsp peanut butter into small cups. 190 calories, 5 g fiber. A whole apple on its own is 95 calories.
Roasted chickpeas
Rinse and dry a can of chickpeas, toss with 1 tbsp olive oil and spices, and roast at 400°F (200°C) until crisp, about 30-35 minutes. Cool completely before sealing. A quarter of the batch: 118 calories, 4.5 g protein, 4 g fiber. If they soften, a few minutes in the oven brings them back.
Cucumber hummus bites
Top cucumber rounds with a teaspoon of hummus each. Make these just before eating; they don't hold. About 13 calories per bite, mostly from the hummus.
For more under-100 ideas, see snacks under 100 calories.
Keto and low-carb snacks
Net carbs are total carbs minus fiber, from USDA values.
| Snack | Portion | Calories (kcal) | Protein (g) | Net carbs (g) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macadamia nuts | 1 oz (28 g) | 204 | 2.2 | 1.5 |
| Walnuts | 1 oz (28 g) | 185 | 4.3 | 2.0 |
| Almonds | 1 oz (28 g) | 164 | 6.0 | 2.6 |
| Turkey and cheddar roll-ups | 3 | 164 | 13.5 | 2.0 |
| Hard-boiled eggs | 2 large | 155 | 12.6 | 1.1 |
| Celery with almond butter | 2 stalks + 1 tbsp | 109 | 3.9 | 2.5 |
| String cheese | 1 oz (28 g) | 72 | 6.9 | 0.8 |
Nuts are the easiest snack to overeat, so weigh them into 1 oz bags on Sunday. Our nuts ranked by calories and protein compares more types.
How to prep a week of snacks
A routine that takes under an hour on Sunday:
- Start the oven-based snacks: chickpeas in at 400°F (200°C).
- Boil a dozen eggs while the chickpeas roast.
- Portion the dairy: cottage cheese and yogurt into small containers.
- Cut the vegetables and portion hummus.
- Bag the dry snacks: nuts by weight, popcorn by the cup.
- Mix and roll protein balls.
- Group by day: a fridge shelf for perishables and a basket for dry snacks, so each day's snacks are in one place.
Small 4-8 oz containers and snack bags make this easier; our meal prep containers guide covers sizes.
For shelf-stable backups in a work or gym bag, keep tuna pouches, nut butter packets and whole fruit. If you're choosing between bars, protein bars ranked compares the common ones.
How many snacks a day
There's no rule that you need snacks. What matters is that they fit inside your daily total rather than on top of it:
| Daily target (kcal) | Two 100-calorie snacks | Two 150-calorie snacks | Two 250-calorie snacks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,500 | 13% of the day | 20% | 33% |
| 2,000 | 10% | 15% | 25% |
| 2,500 | 8% | 12% | 20% |
If you're cutting, smaller snacks leave more room for meals. If you're trying to gain or have a higher target, bigger snacks help you get there without huge meals. To set the daily number, use the calorie deficit calculator.
Logging a snack you eat every day is quicker once it's saved. Nutrify, the app we make, logs from a photo, a barcode or a spoken description, and has a 7-day free trial, then a paid subscription.
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy), FDC IDs: hard-boiled egg 173424; 2% cottage cheese 172182; nonfat Greek yogurt 170894; blueberries 171711; light tuna in water 173709; edamame 168411; deli turkey breast 172941; cheddar 173414; part-skim mozzarella 170847; rolled oats 173904; peanut butter 172470; honey 169640; whey protein powder 173180; semisweet chocolate 167976; baby carrots 168568; celery 169988; cucumber 168409; hummus 174289; air-popped popcorn 167959; apple 171688; chickpeas, canned 173800; olive oil 171413; almonds 170567; walnuts 170187; macadamia nuts 170178; almond butter 168588; strawberries 167762. Search any ID at fdc.nal.usda.gov.
- FoodSafety.gov, Cold Food Storage Chart.
