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What do you eat during pregnancy when you are absolutely famished? Why, you turn to a delicious protein-loaded pregnancy snack, of course! There’s no better way to fill you up and give you the energy you need to make it to the next meal.

It wasn’t until about half way through my second pregnancy that I really started to understand how important protein is in pregnancy. And I didn’t do much about it until this third pregnancy. While the average person only needs about 40-50 grams of protein a day, pregnant and breastfeeding women need at least 70 and ideally more like 80-100 grams IN ONE DAY! Talk about pretty much doubling what you’re used to!

I thought it would be incredibly helpful for you and me to get a good idea of what foods contain protein and their protein amounts, and then share some wonderful protein-loaded pregnancy snacks in case you need some great ideas.

Foods with Protein

Let’s go down a list of foods that have protein. I’ll list these foods by the most abundant to the least abundant (although, each food has different serving sizes to get that amount of protein).

Chicken breast, 4 oz. – 29 g

Salmon, 4 oz. – 25 g

Shrimp, 4 oz. – 24 g

Ground beef, 3 oz. – 21.5 g

Tuna, canned, 1/4 cup – 16 g

Cottage cheese, 1/2 cup – 14 g

Pinto beans, 1 cup – 12 g

Yogurt, 1 cup – 8-12 g

Lentils, 1/2 cup – 9 g

Edamame, 1/2 cup – 8.5 g

Black beans, 1/2 cup – 8 g

Green peas, 1 cup – 8 g

Milk, 1 cup – 8 g

Peanut butter, 2 T. – 8 g

Pumpkin seeds, 1/4 cup – 8 g

Quinoa, 1 cup – 8 g

Almonds, 1 cup – 7 g

Cheddar cheese, 1 oz. – 7 g

Chickpeas, 1/2 cup – 6 g

Eggs, large – 6 g

Oatmeal, 1 cup – 6 g

Brown rice, 1 cup – 5 g

Chia seeds, 2 T. – 5 g

Spinach, 1 cup – 5 g

Artichokes, 1/2 cup – 4 g

Asparagus, 1 cup – 4 g

Avocado, 1 – 4 g

Broccoli, 1 cup – 4 g

Green beans, 1/2 cup – 4 g

Potato, 1 – 4 g

Sweet potato, 1 cup baked – 4 g

White rice, 1 cup – 4 g

Brussels sprouts, 1 cup – 3 g

Popcorn, 1 cup – 1 g

Flax seed, 1 tsp. ground – .5 g

40+ Amazing Protein-Loaded Pregnancy Snacks

Now that you have a basic idea of what foods to eat to get more protein, here are some excellent protein-loaded pregnancy snacks to get you through to the next meal!

For each recipe, I will list the ingredients you need as well as how many people it serves. I would love to take a stab at how much protein you can get by eating one serving, but I’ll let you figure that out, since it could take me several hours for all these recipes!

I was given permission to use the pictures below, so please, please, please do NOT pin these pictures from this post. If you want to pin a specific picture, click on the link and go to that specific post and pin it from there. I (and the owners of the pictures) appreciate it! You can also obviously pin the main image from this post to reference all the recipes.

And, I added popcorn snacks in here even though they don’t give you that much protein. Because popcorn is da bomb. And every small amount counts. 🙂

Avocado Toast with Eggs from Two Peas and Their Pod

Shallot, spinach, egg, bread, avocado, and tomatoes

Serves 1

Roasted Chickpeas from This Grandma Is Fun

Chickpeas, olive oil, various seasonings and sweeteners for the different flavors

Cookie Dough Greek Yogurt from Family Fresh Meals

Plain Greek yogurt, chocolate chips, peanut butter, vanilla extract, and honey

Serves 1

Spinach Artichoke Dip from Lil’ Luna

Parmesan cheese, spinach, artichoke hearts, garlic, sour cream, cream cheese, and mayonnaise

Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Bowls from Mom to Mom Nutrition

Apple, cottage cheese, granola, chia seeds, and cinnamon

Serves 1

Greek Yogurt Biscuits from Lovely Little Kitchen

Flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, butter, Greek yogurt, and egg

Serves 8

10 Minute White Bean Artichoke Basil Toasts from Pinch of Yum

Garlic, white beans, basil, lemon, olive oil, artichoke hearts, spinach, and bread

Serves 10

Apple Oat Greek Yogurt Muffins from Running with Spoons

Flour, old-fashioned oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, egg, plain Greek yogurt, applesauce, brown sugar, vanilla extract, apple, and raisins

Serves 12

Cranberry Almond Protein Bars from Gimme Some Oven

Almonds, puffed rice cereal, dried cranberries, coconut flakes, brown rice syrup, honey, and vanilla extract

Serves 8

Fudgy Maple Flourless Black Bean Brownies from Eating Bird Food

Black beans, eggs, coconut oil, cocoa powder, sea salt, vanilla extract, pure maple syrup, and chocolate chips

Serves 16 (or 4 very hungry pregnant women 🙂 )

Spinach Artichoke Hand Pies from Will Cook for Smiles

Pre-made pie crusts, frozen chopped spinach, artichoke hearts, garlic, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, and egg white

Serves 4

Salted Lime Popcorn from My Sequined Life

Coconut oil, salt, popcorn kernels, and a lime

Serves 7 or 8 (1 cup servings)

5 Ingredient Peanut Butter Energy Bites from Chef Savvy

Peanut butter, chocolate chips, old-fashioned oats, ground flax seed, and honey

Serves 12 (1 bite per person)

Avocado Bacon and Eggs from Lil’ Luna

Avocado, eggs, bacon, and cheese

Serves 1

Sweet and Spicy Rosemary Bar Nuts from Good Life Eats

Unsalted nuts, olive oil, rosemary leaves, cayenne pepper, ground cumin, dark brown sugar, maple syrup, coarse salt, and unsalted butter

Deviled Avocado Eggs from To Simply Inspire

Hard-boiled eggs, avocado, lime juice, cilantro, garlic powder, and paprika

Serves 3-6

Avocado Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie from A Cookie Named Desire

Avocado, frozen banana, cocoa powder, peanut butter, vanilla almond milk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract

Serves 1-2

5 Minute Black Bean Dip from Cookin’ Canuck

Black beans, salsa, garlic, lime juice, ground cumin, and cilantro

Makes 2 and 3/4 cups

Breakfast Banana Split from Natural Noshing

Banana, cottage cheese, fruit preserves, ground flax seed, chia seeds, and nuts

Serves 1

Skinny Peanut Butter Dip from Crazy for Crust

Plain Greek yogurt, peanut butter, honey (or maple syrup), and dippers (apples, celery, carrots, chocolate chips, etc.)

Makes 1 cup

Falafel from Gimme Some Oven

Garlic, chickpeas, parsley, cilantro, onion, flour, lemon juice, baking powder, ground cumin, and oil

Makes 16-18 falafels

Avocado Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip from Cooking Classy

Plain Greek yogurt, avocado, lime juice, and Ranch mix

Unfortunately, there are no pictures for the next ones, but these are also fabulous ideas!

Avocado Cucumber Egg Salad (eggs, cucumber, avocado, mayo, paprika, bread) from The 36th Avenue

Chocolate + Black Bean Smoothie (black beans, almond milk, vanilla extract, peanut butter, spinach, frozen banana, and cocoa powder) from (Never) Homemaker

Garlic Herb Roasted Nuts (raw mixed nuts, egg white, sea salt, rosemary, ground sage, garlic powder, and smoked paprika) from Little Bits Of

High Protein Energy Balls (almonds, chickpeas, peanut butter, honey, and vanilla) from Happy Healthy Mama

Avocado Banana Smoothie (bananas, coconut water, avocado, honey, ice cubes, cinnamon, and vanilla extract) from Popsugar

FroYo Berry Bites (almond meal, coconut sugar, coconut oil, plain Greek yogurt, honey, and strawberries or raspberries) from SkinnyMs.

Margherita Pizza Popcorn (yellow popcorn kernels, kosher salt, oil, dried oregano, dried basil, sundried tomatoes, butter, Parmesan cheese, and fresh basil) from Nosh On.It (link no longer available)

Oven Roasted Artichokes with Roasted Garlic Butter (artichokes, lemons, olive oil, garlic, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, and salted butter) from From a Chef’s Kitchen

Creamy Chocolate and Peanut Butter Greek Yogurt Popsicles (Greek yogurt, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and sugar) from Ella Claire

Rosemary Parmesan Garlic Popcorn (fresh rosemary, garlic, olive oil, garlic salt, popcorn kernels, and Parmesan cheese) from Five Heart Home

Other really simple protein-loaded pregnancy snacks:

Hard-boiled eggs

Yogurt parfaits

Smoothies (you can add beans, spinach, Greek yogurt, nuts, oats, etc.)

Almonds with raisins or craisins

Hummus with fresh veggies

Avocado with a sprinkle of sea salt (thanks for this suggestion from reader, Jessi!)

Apples with cheese

Cottage cheese with fruit

Baked sweet potato sprinkled with flax seed

I hope you got some great ideas for getting more protein in your pregnancy diet!