Good protein for breakfast

July 13, 2023 7:13 PM

I usually make pork sausage for breakfast for me and the family, but I want to reduce or even eliminate red meat. But I think protein is important for breakfast. What are some examples of good breakfast proteins?

I should say that I also make eggs as well, and of course that's protein but I want to serve a bit more than an egg. I would like to switch to soy-based or turkey sausage but they are hard to get or too expensive where I live (Tokyo). As for carbs we'll usually eat bread or rice.

What do you guys do for morning protein?

posted by zardoz to Health & Fitness (39 answers total)

Best answer: I like chicken breakfast sausage patties.

I also like ful medames / fava beans for breakfast. I usually serve it with an assortment of vegetables - cucumber, carrot, tomato, etc.
posted by saeculorum at 7:16 PM on July 13, 2023 [6 favorites]

Tofu scramble
posted by briank at 7:21 PM on July 13, 2023 [9 favorites]

Skyr
posted by jonathanhughes at 7:26 PM on July 13, 2023 [2 favorites]

Cottage cheese and ricotta are high-protein and great to mix with fruit and nuts.
posted by staggernation at 7:33 PM on July 13, 2023 [5 favorites]

Egg whites with turkey bacon are a great non-red meat option. A cup of egg whites and a couple strips of turkey bacon start your morning off with an easy 30-40 grams of protein. Will second cottage cheese as well.
posted by Method Man at 7:36 PM on July 13, 2023 [2 favorites]

Mushrooms are high in protein. Serve them scrambled in or sauteed on the side.
posted by SteveInMaine at 7:41 PM on July 13, 2023 [3 favorites]

I like salted buckwheat groats with ghee.. good source for protein and butterfat.
posted by hortense at 7:44 PM on July 13, 2023

You can take inspiration from British breakfast fry-ups and include beans in addition to the mushrooms suggested by SteveInMaine.
posted by telophase at 7:52 PM on July 13, 2023 [6 favorites]

My everyday breakfast is a smoothie with Greek yogurt (like FAGE, which has 20g protein per serving), 3TB Hemp Hearts (10g protein. I order these in bulk online from Manitoba Harvest), and whatever fruit is in season + banana (mandatory for texture). This ends up being about 30g protein, and very delicious!
posted by oxisos at 7:59 PM on July 13, 2023 [4 favorites]

Eggs. Salmon, chicken or turkey bacon.

I have a smoothie with pea protein powder, peanut butter, banana and plant milk literally every day for breakfast. Has about 20g protein.
posted by thereader at 8:03 PM on July 13, 2023

Lentils cooked in better-than-bouillon plus a bit of turmeric, over crushed tortilla chips, with a spoonful of sour cream, sounds weird but it's tasty and sustaining.
posted by anadem at 8:03 PM on July 13, 2023 [6 favorites]

Protein powder + almond/peanut butter + oatmeal. Fruit if I have some in the house (for taste, not protein). I keep meaning to buy some hemp hearts or chia seeds to add an extra boost.
posted by A Blue Moon at 8:11 PM on July 13, 2023 [4 favorites]

Several companies make turkey sausage, such as Brown n Server and Jimmy Dean, in both links and patties. We find them to be good enough replacements for breakfast.
posted by TimHare at 8:13 PM on July 13, 2023

Best answer: Bummer you can't get good/affordable plant-based sausage!
I do breakfast beans: could be Mexican style (borracho pintos), or British, or Mediterranean (Eg Ful mudammas). I often make these ahead and reheat small portions with breakfast.

Another area you may have overlooked that may be affordable is dried or canned fish products, those can go well with eggs or toast etc.
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:14 PM on July 13, 2023 [1 favorite]

Eggs eggs eggs!

And cheese on them.

My son is soon going to be a college athlete. And he is a vegetarian. So he eats a LOT of eggs. Also, refried beans are great for breakfast. A tortilla, with beans and eggs? Yum.
posted by Windopaene at 8:18 PM on July 13, 2023 [6 favorites]

Since you're in Japan, how about salmon? I make this recipe for salted salmon a lot, and it makes a great breakfast.

I'm also on board with breakfast beans.
posted by lulu68 at 8:19 PM on July 13, 2023 [2 favorites]

Fish. I’ve done smoked salmon and smoked trout, but I’m sure the fish options in Tokyo are nearly limitless.
posted by mr_roboto at 8:20 PM on July 13, 2023

I generally avoid meat with breakfast. Hummus, peanut butter, and yoghurt are my gotos for protein, particularly when I want quick and easy.
posted by Candleman at 8:27 PM on July 13, 2023 [2 favorites]

I usually do either Greek yogurt or other high fat yogurt, or cottage cheese, topped with frozen blueberries and either walnuts or pecans. Very filling!
posted by sucre at 8:28 PM on July 13, 2023

Best answer: Fish is amazing for breakfast. Since you are in Tokyo why don’t you go full Japanese breakfast? Miso soup has protein and you can increase it with toppings like tofu, those tiny clams or shrimp, mushrooms, edemame, ham, and more. It’s one of the two things I refuse to eat but natto is really good for you if you enjoy it. You can broil fish or chicken ahead and heat it up in a pan in the morning, crisping up the skin. Do fried rice with protein heavy leftovers and put an egg on it. Sardines are great on rice especially with pickles, also definitely try whatever smoked or salted fish is available to you. If you want to mix in some dairy, try different kinds of fresh cheeses, served with fruits and some salad vegetables, or melted on toast. Try toast with cheese and tomatoes run under the broiler until just melted and the tomatoes are soft; amazing with basil or shiso and a sprinkle of sweet soy sauce.
posted by Mizu at 8:29 PM on July 13, 2023 [8 favorites]

1 cup greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon chia seeds, 1 cup strawberries or blackberries, 1 scoop whey powder, 1/2 cup water, 4 ice cubes. Blend for 1 minute. Enjoy!
posted by SPrintF at 8:37 PM on July 13, 2023

Sunflower seed butter on bread, with honey drizzled on top.
posted by spinifex23 at 9:40 PM on July 13, 2023 [1 favorite]

I make & freeze a big batch of breakfast burritos. Tortilla, scrambled eggs, cheese, black beans, cilantro, salsa. Nice for a quick microwave breakfast. I also like fish and rice for breakfast. Oat groats are reasonably high in protein, and are easy to make the night before in a crock pot. 1 cup groats, 3 cups water, 1 cup milk. Throw in some apple slices and spices, 8 hours on low and breakfast is ready when you wake up. Makes a very hearty oatmeal.
posted by xedrik at 9:43 PM on July 13, 2023

yogurt, mixed non-salted nuts (no peanuts), granola (some nuts in there as well) -- this tends to be my morning protein. With fresh fruit, of course. And if I'm still hungry, maybe a slice of healthy bread (whole grain etc) with peanut (or almond or cashew) butter.

I don't do eggs. Nothing to do with being a vegetarian. I just don't like them.
posted by philip-random at 10:17 PM on July 13, 2023

Smoked salmon
Lox salmon
Chicken in an egg-and-veggie scramble or hash
Southern fried chicken and waffles
Crab or shrimp in an omelette
Chicken or seafood shakshuka
posted by erst at 10:24 PM on July 13, 2023

Response by poster: I favorited a few but feel like favoriting everyone! Great suggestions, people. Gives me a lot of ideas. Beans are where I am leaning towards, but lots of other great foods here.
posted by zardoz at 11:41 PM on July 13, 2023

In a cold climate, a bowl of Curried Chicken Soup is super high-protein and an extremely satisfying breakfast.

Brown 1kg chicken thighs in ghee in a cast iron pot. Remove chicken, and brown onions, garlic, fresh ginger, carrot, celery, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, mustard seeds and smoked paprika. Deglaze the pan with a splosh of apple cider vinegar. Add the chicken back in with a 500g pack of red lentils and 2L chicken stock. Slow cook for a couple hours until the house smells delicious. It all disintegrates into a thick hearty stew.

I like this with buttered dark rye toast, or just some yoghurt if you want lower-carb. It is super quick to make if you whiz the celery, carrots, onions, garlic and ginger lightly in a blender, then no chopping required.
posted by Weng at 12:34 AM on July 14, 2023

Just noting that oats as a grain are really high in protein, generally 14% or more, so if you have a reasonable serving then even your "carb" component can be a good contributor.

I do not live in Japan but still make pathetically easy tofu in miso soup, with just way more tofu than a Japanese person would (because I am lifting weights and need to eat a bunch of protein). I would hope both tofu and miso are even cheaper in Japan.

Anyway my standard, every day, I mean EVERY DAY breakfast is 100g of wholegrain oats made into porridge and served with 100mls of milk, that's nearly 20g of protein and a ton of good fiber and will hold you until lunchtime.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 1:36 AM on July 14, 2023 [3 favorites]

Breakfast burrito: scrambled eggs, cheese, rice, black beans (4th highest for protein in beans apparently), hot sauce (optional, obv).
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:38 AM on July 14, 2023

And seconding that breakfast burritos freeze and reheat in the microwave really well. Yes, even the egg. I've never had one that suffered from being frozen and reheated.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:39 AM on July 14, 2023

Bread and noodles vary a lot in protein content, and recipies for homemade high protein bread are easy to find. Sugars, on the other hand, are probably things to reduce where possible. The discussion on fats shifted from how much to what kind about 25 years ago.

The Mexican favorite huevos ranchero is basically fried eggs on a tortilla with a tomato sauce. It's usually served with side dishes, the most common of which is boiled and mashed black beans.
posted by SemiSalt at 4:38 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

Anyway my standard, every day, I mean EVERY DAY breakfast is 100g of wholegrain oats made into porridge and served with 100mls of milk

Similar, except I add a handful of mixed nuts and some chopped pear or apple, or berries.
posted by fabius at 4:56 AM on July 14, 2023

Beans are great but don't have nearly as much protein, so you may want to consider a combination of these ideas. (Personally, I'm team greek yogurt these days.)
posted by beyond_pink at 6:05 AM on July 14, 2023

I used to mash a can of sardines with mustard and green onion and eat that on toast or crackers.

(Beans have sufficient protein. And literally anything you eat them with unless it's a glass of Coke will also have protein.)
posted by FencingGal at 6:21 AM on July 14, 2023

Don't forget about lox as a potential breakfast protein. Lots of protein and omegas.

Or also hot smoked salmon
posted by CleverClover at 6:48 AM on July 14, 2023

Porridge with milk and a couple of spoonful of ground almonds is a high protein breakfast. It's not super low fat because of the almond oil. But you could change it to a high value fat by adding walnuts instead.

An oatmeal muffin with walnuts, eaten with a glass of milk is going to be good too.

Leftover dal heats up nicely.
posted by Jane the Brown at 8:08 AM on July 14, 2023

Mushrooms are high in protein.

Counterpoint: they are not.

Mushrooms have some protein, but they are not high in protein, relative to things we think of as proteins. Less than a third of the equivalent quantity of green yogurt. Less than a quarter of egg. About 10% of beans or chicken. A bowl of mushrooms has about as much protein as a bowl of plain oatmeal.
posted by phunniemee at 8:37 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

Seconding the tofu scramble idea, only to add that a liberal shake of turmeric on top of it makes it look more like eggs and also makes it taste incredible!

(And don't be afraid to cook the heck out of it. The number one mistake people make with tofu is to not cook it for long enough. Wait until you're certain that it's burned, then give it another minute and flip it over and wait twice as long.)
posted by fader at 8:53 AM on July 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

Turmeric for color and a scant pinch of black salt for the sulphur taste!

In addition to all these suggestions, might I add: grilled cheese.
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:30 AM on July 14, 2023