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High-Protein Breakfasts: What Common Options Provide, by the Numbers

High-protein breakfast ideas with real numbers: protein and calories for eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese, oats, toast and burritos, from USDA data.

By Published 4 min read

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AI-assisted article. Drafted with AI tools from the sources cited below and checked by automated tests and an AI editorial review. No person has reviewed it yet. How we write and check articles.

Key takeaways

  • Common breakfasts range widely: oats cooked in water with a banana give about 7 g of protein, a breakfast burrito with eggs, beans and cheese about 30 g (figures per portion, as listed).
  • Cottage cheese with blueberries and Greek yogurt with almonds both give about 23–25 g of protein for around 265 calories.
  • Cooking oats in milk instead of water adds about 8 g of protein per cup of 2% milk.
  • Two scrambled eggs on a slice of whole-wheat toast give about 16 g; a tofu scramble on toast about 15 g.
  • Figures are worked out from USDA SR Legacy data; brands, portions and recipes vary.

This guide puts figures on familiar breakfasts, so you can see what each one actually provides and how small changes move the total. Every value is worked out from the US Department of Agriculture's SR Legacy data in FoodData Central, using the portion weights USDA lists, and every figure is per breakfast as described, not per 100 g. The entries used are "Egg, whole, cooked, scrambled" (61 g per large egg), "Bread, whole-wheat, commercially prepared" (32 g slice), "Cereals, oats, regular and quick, not fortified, dry" (81 g per cup) and the matching cooked-with-water entry (234 g per cup), "Milk, reduced fat, fluid, 2% milkfat, with added vitamin A and vitamin D" (244 g per cup), "Tofu, firm, prepared with calcium sulfate and magnesium chloride (nigari)" (126 g per half cup), "Cheese, cottage, lowfat, 2% milkfat" (226 g per cup), "Yogurt, Greek, plain, nonfat" (170 g container) and "Cheese, cheddar" (28.35 g per ounce).

Common breakfasts, compared

Breakfast Protein Calories Protein per 100 kcal
1 cup oats cooked in water + 1 medium banana 7.2 g 271 2.7 g
½ cup dry oats cooked in 1 cup 2% milk 13.4 g 275 4.9 g
2 slices whole-wheat toast + 2 tbsp peanut butter 15.1 g 353 4.3 g
Tofu scramble (½ cup firm tofu) + 1 slice whole-wheat toast 15.4 g 179 8.6 g
2 scrambled eggs + 1 slice whole-wheat toast 16.2 g 262 6.2 g
Plain bagel + 2 tbsp cream cheese + 2 oz smoked salmon 22.6 g 429 5.3 g
Plain nonfat Greek yogurt (170 g) + 1 oz almonds 23.3 g 264 8.8 g
1 cup 2% cottage cheese + 1 cup blueberries 24.7 g 267 9.2 g
Burrito: 48 g flour tortilla, 2 scrambled eggs, ½ cup black beans, 1 oz cheddar 30.2 g 556 5.4 g

The spread is large: the burrito has more than four times the protein of oats with a banana. The yogurt and cottage cheese bowls stand out for protein per calorie, giving about 23–25 g for roughly 265 calories.

Small swaps that add protein

Many breakfasts can gain protein without changing much:

  • Cook oats in milk instead of water. A cup of 2% milk adds about 8.1 g of protein, and a cup of fortified soymilk about 6.3 g, according to USDA data.
  • Choose whole-wheat bread. A 32 g whole-wheat slice has about 4.0 g of protein, against 2.6 g in a 29 g white slice.
  • Add a second protein source. Beans and cheese turn two eggs in a tortilla into a 30 g breakfast.
  • Use Greek yogurt as a base. A 170 g container of plain nonfat Greek yogurt has about 17.3 g on its own.

A worked example. Start from oats cooked in water with a banana: 7.2 g. Make the oats with half a cup of dry oats and a cup of 2% milk instead, then add the banana back, and the bowl rises to about 14.7 g, roughly double, for about 380 calories. Stir in two tablespoons of peanut butter and it reaches about 21.8 g, at about 570 calories. Each step adds protein, but also calories, which is why protein per 100 calories is a useful column.

What a target per meal looks like

Some people aim for a set amount of protein at each meal, such as 20 or 30 g; protein per meal explained looks at what research says about that idea. As a point of reference, the FDA's Daily Value for protein on food labels is 50 g a day; it is a labelling reference, not a personal target, so ask a health professional about your own needs. On the table above, seven of the nine breakfasts clear 15 g, and four clear 22 g.

Without meat or dairy

Plant-based breakfasts can reach similar numbers with soy and beans. The tofu scramble on toast gives about 15.4 g for under 180 calories. Half a cup of dry oats cooked in a cup of fortified soymilk gives about 11.6 g for about 258 calories, and adding half a cup of black beans to a tortilla adds about 7.6 g more.

Reading the numbers sensibly

The figures are reference values. Branded yogurts, breads and tortillas differ from USDA's generic entries, and a home "cup" of oats or cottage cheese may not weigh what USDA's portion does. USDA's scrambled egg entry also reflects eggs cooked as scrambled, not raw. If you track protein closely, weigh your usual portions once and log those. Protein in common foods lists the single foods behind these breakfasts, and how to read protein powder labels covers adding powder to a breakfast.

Protein Diet Tracker, one of our health and nutrition apps, rolls meals and snacks into daily totals for protein, calories, carbohydrates and fat against goals you set yourself.

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

How much protein is in two eggs and toast?
About 16 g. USDA data give about 6.1 g of protein per large scrambled egg (61 g) and about 4.0 g in a 32 g slice of whole-wheat bread, for roughly 262 calories in total.
Does oatmeal have much protein?
Some, but not a lot on its own. A cup of oats cooked in water has about 5.9 g of protein, and with a medium banana about 7.2 g. Cooking half a cup of dry oats in a cup of 2% milk instead gives about 13.4 g.
How can I get 30 g of protein at breakfast?
Combine two or three protein sources. A breakfast burrito with a 48 g flour tortilla, two scrambled eggs, half a cup of black beans and an ounce of cheddar comes to about 30.2 g, at about 556 calories, using USDA SR Legacy values.
What is a high-protein breakfast without eggs?
A cup of 2% cottage cheese with a cup of blueberries gives about 24.7 g of protein; plain nonfat Greek yogurt with an ounce of almonds about 23.3 g; and a tofu scramble with half a cup of firm (nigari) tofu on a slice of whole-wheat toast about 15.4 g, using USDA SR Legacy values.

Sources

  1. FoodData Central: SR Legacy (April 2018 release) (opens in a new tab)US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service — accessed
  2. Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels (opens in a new tab)US Food and Drug Administration — accessed

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