Need some budget-friendly healthy protein sources? I got you. Check out these 10 affordable protein ideas for healthy eating! I even included recipes and more frugal ideas for your high-protein meals.
It’s time to talk about budget-friendly protein! If you’re trying to save money and eat healthy, you’ve probably wondered how to get enough protein in your diet. The message is everywhere: eat more protein, build your muscles, feed your brain, eat more chicken and rice, etc.
As a life-long lover of healthy eating, living on a budget, and a 10+ year weight-lifting enthusiast, I’ve thought a lot about protein and how to afford it on a budget.
Food prices are going up, and if you have a growing family, your eaters are only getting bigger too. I remember when a pound of meat could feed my whole family for dinner. Now, with three teenagers, that’s an afternoon snack.
The Best Budget-Friendly Protein Sources for Healthy, Frugal Meals
Okay, you’re a responsible shopper who wants to afford good quality protein on a budget. Here are 10 simple inexpensive sources of protein. You can find them at nearly any grocery store, and you can make tons of different meals with them.
Eggs
Eggs are an inexpensive and easy source of protein. One egg has 6 grams of protein; you can cook them in about 5 minutes! Keep in mind that eggs are also a source of fat (about 5 grams per egg).
Simple recipes that use eggs:
Canned Tuna Fish
Easy, budget-friendly, and delicious, canned tuna fish is a staple protein source at our house. We make tuna salad, top regular salads with it, and we use it in sandwiches or with crackers, or on a bed of lettuce.
A 3-ounce can of tuna packed in water has about 20 grams of protein and very little fat. We usually buy ours from Aldi because they carry sustainably caught tuna for a reasonable price.
This is an easy protein source for older kids to make on their own, making it a perfect cheap and healthy protein source for families.
Simple Recipes That Use Canned Tuna:
Cottage Cheese
Often overlooked because of its off-putting texture, cottage cheese isn’t just for dieters. Cottage cheese is budget-friendly, high-protein, and easy to incorporate into meals for your family.
Half a cup of cottage cheese has around 12 grams of protein. Add it to baked goods and smoothies, or sprinkle it with seasonings and olive oil, and eat it with crackers.
To save money, you can buy it in bulk and freeze it. Keep in mind that freezing cottage cheese changes the texture, so bake it or blend it after you thaw it.
Simple Recipes That Use Cottage Cheese:
You might also like this post on how to save money on milk and dairy products.
Greek Yogurt
Greek yogurt is easy and versatile like cottage cheese, but it’s more expensive and a great source of probiotics. Use this for smoothies, breakfasts, dips, and baked goods.
Half a cup of greek yogurt has around 10-15 grams of protein. We avoid the flavored varieties of greek yogurt and instead, leave it plain or sweeten it with honey or maple syrup.
Simple Recipes That Use Greek Yogurt:
You might also like this post on how to save money on yogurt.
Canned Salmon
Slightly more expensive than tuna but but still very budget-friendly, canned salmon is the perfect way to add variety and frugal protein sources to your diet.
3.5 ounces of canned salmon has about 20-25 grams of protein.
You can make salads and patties just like with tuna, but the flavor and texture is fresh and delicious.
Simple Recipes That Use Canned Salmon:
Beans
A classic plant-based source of protein, beans are budget-friendly and family-friendly. However, while they are a good source of protein, they mostly qualify as carbohydrates.
Beans can have anywhere from 5-10 grams of protein per serving. Navy beans and black beans have some of the highest protein per serving. At the same time, they have about 20 grams of carbohydrates per serving, so keep that in mind if you are tracking your macros.
Black beans and navy beans are an especially great source of protein, so we add these to our chili recipes, burrito bowls, soups, tacos, and more.
Simple Recipes That Use Beans:
You might also like this post on how to cook dry beans (3 ways: Instant pot, slow cooker, and stovetop).
Lentils
Lentils are one of my favorite plant-based protein sources. They are budget-friendly, easy to cook, and don’t cause the same digestive problems that beans cause. The flavor and texture of lentils is family-friendly (even my picky eaters love them!), and you can use them in tons of recipes.
Like beans, lentils have more carbohydrates than protein, but they are still a great source of plant-based protein. Lentils have about 12 grams of protein per serving and about 20 grams of carbohydrates.
Simple Recipes That Use Lentils:
TIP: When you use ground meat in a recipe, try substituting up to half of it with lentils! This works great for chili and tacos.
Ground Turkey
Ground turkey is one of my favorite hacks for budget-friendly, versatile protein. We usually buy it frozen and use it in any recipe that calls for ground beef. It has a slightly different flavor, but it’s delicious and works for so many recipes.
Half a cup of ground turkey has about 22 grams of protein.
Simple Recipes That Use Ground Turkey:
Ground Beef
Ground beef is another easy way to add protein to your meals and make family-friendly dinners. We usually buy ground beef that is labeled 85/15 (that’s ground beef that is 85% lean meat and 15% fat). It’s less expensive than the lower-fat ground beef options, and it’s more flavorful.
Half a cup of ground beef has about 22 grams of protein, similar to ground turkey.
We love using ground beef as a budget-friendly protein for all kinds of meals!
Simple Recipes That Use Ground Beef:
You might also like this post on 17 ways to stretch ground beef and save money.
Chicken Thighs
Chicken is a great source of protein, but you don’t have to eat dry (and expensive) chicken breasts to hit your protein goals. We prefer boneless skinless chicken thighs at our house. They are just as easy to cook as chicken breasts, cheaper, and far more flavorful and tender.
Boneless, skinless chicken thighs have about 25-30 grams of protein.
I meal-prep chicken thighs every week for easy meals. We serve them with salad, rice, quinoa & veggies, and more!
Simple Recipes That Use Chicken Thighs:
You might also like this post on how to save money on good-quality meat.
How to Get More Protein Without Breaking the Bank
Did you know that there are more cheap ways to hit your daily protein goals?
One very important protein hack when you’re on a budget:
Plan meals where the protein content for each serving is flexible.
Different family members need different amounts of protein. If you’re working out to build muscle, you probably need more protein than your five-year-old son. Plan meals with flexible amounts of protein that you can personalize for every family member.
Instead of making a casserole where everyone gets the same amount of protein, try this:
- Meal prep some protein ahead of time (we like this easy make-ahead beef recipe and make-ahead chicken recipe)
- Make your dinner using one of the recipes in this post (or one you already love)
- Add more protein to the portions that need more protein
For example, stir some ground turkey into that bowl of soup, or add more diced chicken to that chicken burrito bowl. It’s easy, and you don’t have to come up with a bunch of new recipes.
Recipes where you can customize the protein amounts:
Try these recipes with the “flexible protein” hack I shared above:
5 Ways to Save Money on Protein
There are many practical ways to add more protein to your diet without overspending. Here are all of the ways my family buys quality meat without breaking the bank.
Try some of these budget-friendly protein hacks:
- How to stretch a chicken across multiple meals
- Homemade broth is a great source of protein and it’s very inexpensive
- Add beans to ground meat for tacos
- Add ground beef or ground turkey to lentils and rice
- Use ground turkey instead of ground beef
Healthy Protein for Every Budget: Options for All Family Sizes
No matter the size of you family or budget, you can use these tips to save money and eat more protein!
Use these budget-friendly protein sources:
- Eggs
- Canned Tuna Fish
- Cottage Cheese
- Greek Yogurt
- Canned Salmon
- Beans
- Lentils
- Ground Turkey
- Ground Beef
- Chicken Thighs
Remember to plan meals with flexible protein amounts for each serving. Meal prep extra protein so you can make easy meals like the many recipes shared in this post. Lastly, use money-saving hacks like stretching a chicken across multiple meals, making homemade broth, adding ground beef or ground turkey to your lentils and rice, or using ground turkey instead of ground beef.
