How to Build Your Own High Protein Yogurt Bowl in 2 Minutes

I’ll be shouting into the void about the fact that we all need more protein. You need more whether you’re an athlete, whether you want to build muscle or lose weight, or whether you want to stay nimble and strong as you age.

Instead of continuing to shout, today I thought I’d share what I’ve been eating for breakfast pretty much every day.

I’m a huge fan of smoothies, but only when I have my nice blender at home. For the last few months I’ve been in Barcelona, so I switched from a smoothie breakfast to a yogurt bowl breakfast.

Use This As a Framework

The truth is, you can mix and match the stuff you like. Customize it with fruits, nut butter and other items like nuts and seeds if that’s your thing.

But the steps are what’s important

1. High protein yogurt
2. Protein powder
3. Your favorite fruits
4. Nut butter

This bowl literally takes me two minutes to make.

4 Steps to Make Your Own High Protein Yogurt Bowl

You can make this exact bowl or just use this as a framework

1) Get a High Protein Yogurt

You’re fighting an uphill battle if you’re using regular yogurt.

Start with Greek yogurt or other high protein yogurt

In my bowl here, I get 15g of protein with just three big spoonfuls. Greek yogurt also has a thicker texture that’s better for bowls. I opt for fat-free Greek yogurt since we’ll be getting healthy fats from the nut butter later.

2) Add Protein Powder

You can get away with a protein that doesn’t taste as good, but if you have a yummy protein you love, then it’ll make this yogurt protein bowl taste like dessert. My target is to put in half a scoop, which gets me around 12-15g of protein.

After you add the protein, mix it into the yogurt. I do this before I add any fruit or other stuff, because it’s easier to mix up with just the protein and yogurt.

For some protein powder options, you can check out this article on the best lactose-free protein powders.

3) Add Fruit

It’s true that the fruit won’t contribute much to the protein content, but it gives you fiber and nutrients. My advice on the fruit is to mix it up.

I’ll admit, I do almost always add half a banana, but then I’ll usually add a second fruit. I try to eat in-season, so it depends where I am and the time of year.

But some favorites include blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and even kiwi. Mixing up the fruit also means I mix up the nutrients I get. As they say, “eat the rainbow.”

High Protein Fruit Ideas

I never count this as protein, but if you want to chase a few extra grams, I asked our AI overlords for some high protein fruit ideas. Turns out some of the ones I use have a couple grams. Nice.

• Guava: A tropical fruit with a sweet and tangy flavor, guava is one of the best fruits for protein, with 4.2 grams per cup. It’s also rich in vitamin C and fiber. You can slice it up or eat it right into it like an apple.
• Blackberries: Blackberries are a good source of protein, with 2 grams per cup. They also have a high concentration of antioxidants and fiber.
• Raspberries: Like blackberries, raspberries are a good source of protein, with 1.5 grams per cup. They’re also a good source of vitamin C and fiber.
• Dried Figs: Half a cup of dried figs contains about 2 grams of protein and 3.7 grams of fiber. They also have a naturally sweet flavor that pairs well with yogurt.
• Kiwi: A kiwi fruit contains about 1.5 grams of protein per cup and is also high in vitamin C and fiber.

4) Add Nut Butter

This is both for taste, healthy fats, and a protein boost. You’ll get about four extra grams with a big spoonful that’s a little over a tablespoon.

Don’t go overboard on the nut butter, though, as it has a lot of calories.

As for the almond butter vs peanut butter vs seed butter or whatever… who cares. I just got peanut butter. I’m not spending $11 on a jar of almond butter.

For a sweet treat, sometimes I add maple syrup.

You can take the boy out of Vermont, but you can’t take the Vermont out of the boy.

A Simple, Reliable 35g of Protein Yogurt Bowl

I usually have it for breakfast, but it’s great as a snack too.

Protein: 35g

Fat: 10g

Carbs: 15g

This is around 290 calories. Of course, it’ll vary based on what you put in and how much.

What About Oats? Seeds? Granola?

I have also experimented with adding stuff like chia seeds (see that chia seed yogurt recipe here), flaxseeds, oats, and the like. Here’s the simple deal. I do this every day. I don’t need to turn my high protein yogurt bowl excursion into something that belongs on The Food Network. Some of the better seeds, like chia seeds, I also haven’t found in the Spanish grocery store.

Sometimes to mix it up, I will add other stuff. But in general, I’ll go for higher fiber and lower sugar options, which means granola is out, but flaxseeds are in.

It depends what your goals are though. If this is a pre-workout snack and you’re training legs in an hour, then granola sounds perfect.

Grocery Shopping Tips to Make This Easy

Luckily, most of this, you can just buy once and have for a while. For example, once you have your tub of protein, it’ll last probably a month.

Buy your Greek yogurt in the big tubs. It’s cheaper that way and it’ll last longer. I add three big spoonfuls and it hits the serving size.

Buy lots of bananas, freeze any that are about to go bad. Before you freeze them, cut them up and put them in a bag. I don’t love the frozen ones every day, but it does make this bowl feel like desert sometimes.

How Can I Make This Vegan?

That’s a good question, and it’s tough because most vegan yogurts don’t have a lot of protein.

So you’ll have to make up for it elsewhere, as if often the challenge of vegan eating. Add extra protein powder and consider adding a high-protein seed like chia seed.