20+ High Protein Snacks For Kids That Keep Them Full

These high protein after school snacks for kids are perfect for keeping kids full and satisfied until dinner time!

Hi friends!

Today we’re chatting high protein after school snacks for kids. I’ve written several snack posts over the years, including 10 Healthy After School Snacks, High Protein Kid Lunches, After School Healthy Snacks and Kid-Friendly Protein Energy Balls, but none that focus specifically on high protein after school snacks.

How To Keep Kids Full Until Dinner

As parents, we know how critical the after school snack can be. It needs to be hearty enough to keep them from asking for a million more snacks and ruining their dinner! Pairing protein with carbs and fiber will help kids stay full and prevent constant snacking. This post has lots of good options that are good for active kiddos who are constantly on the move, playing sports etc.

And if you’re looking for high protein snacks for adults, check out:

How much protein do kids need each day?

Protein needs vary by age but are typically 0.5g per pound body weight:

1-3 years: 13 grams of protein
4-8 years: 19 grams of protein
9-13 years: 34 grams of protein
14-18 years: 46 grams (girls) or 52 grams (boys)

Active kids may have slightly increased needs. Here’s a more detailed article about how much protein your child needs.

What is a high protein snack for kids?

For older kids, I tend to aim for 10+ grams of protein for a high protein snack. Remember that most kids are already getting enough protein throughout the day and not every snack needs to be high protein.

Balanced Snack Formula For Kids

More important than total protein, I encourage you to aim for balanced snacks- snacks that have at least some protein and fiber, not just empty carbs. This will help kids feel full and satisfied longer.

Ideally, most snacks with be a mix of protein + carbs (whole grains are great!) + fiber and/or healthy fats. This formula will help ensure snacks are balanced to keep blood sugar from spiking and also filling and satisfying.

Why are high protein snacks for kids important?

Not every snack needs to be high protein, however, many kids tend to eat better at snack time than meal time. If that’s the case, aiming for high protein snacks can be important and beneficial to help meet total daily needs.

Protein Snacks For Sports Practice

For athletes, it’s important to ensure they’re getting enough protein to help with muscle repair and recovery. However, pre-practice or game, the focus should be on carbs to ensure they have enough energy to compete. After practice, the focus should be on a mix of protein and carbs for muscle recovery.

Protein Snacks for Kids Who Don’t Like Meat

For kids who don’t like meat, dairy-based snacks can be great options! Also beans and legumes in things like pasta, baked goods and quesadillas help add both protein and fiber!

If you’re looking for real life examples about how I combine some of these ideas (like the photo above) and serve them to my kids, scroll down!

Here’s a list of some high protein after school snack ideas that will actually keep kids full until dinner:

After School Snacks with Eggs

Egg wraps – These can be filled with cheese, pepperoni, turkey, avocado etc or just eaten plain. There is 6g of protein per egg and if you add a few slices of turkey (10g protein) and a slice of cheese (6g protein) you have a snack with 20+ grams of protein.
Hard Boiled eggs – Super easy to make in big batches, especially in the Instant pot. Most kids will eat at least 2 hard boiled eggs which is 12g protein.
Microwave egg sandwich – Easy enough that kids can make one themselves! The egg has 6g protein, two slices of bread gave give you 6-8g protein and a slice of cheese is 6g protein.
Egg muffins – Fill them with chopped veggies, cheese, bacon, etc.

After School Snacks with Dairy

Yogurt bark – Let the kids choose their favorite mix-ins like fruit, mini chocolate chips, pumpkin seeds and more! Use Greek yogurt for more protein- most have at least 15g protein in a 3/4 cup serving. Cut the sugar by using half plain yogurt/half flavored. And mixing in pumpkin seeds adds even more protein.
Yogurt parfait – Layer yogurt with fresh fruit and cereal for an easy snack that feels fancy. If you use Greek yogurt you’ll get 15g protein, and you can add more by choosing a higher protein cereal.
Overnight oats – Another option that’s easy to customize and can be made ahead of time. 1/2 cup oats has approximately 5g protein, plus 3/4 cup milk has 6 grams. Adding chia seeds and a bit of Greek yogurt adds even more protein.
Smoothies – Use your favorite frozen fruit and combine with milk or yogurt to add protein.
Kefir – Lots of flavors to try. Mix half plain, half flavored to cut the sugar. An 8oz glass of Lifeway Kefir has 10g protein.

*Photo credit: Hummusapien*

Kid-Friendly Snacks with Cottage Cheese

Cottage cheese egg bites – Make them in mini muffin tins to make them more kid-friendly
Cottage cheese pancakes – Make a double batch and freeze some! A serving should have about 15 grams of protein.
Cottage cheese cookie dough bites – Easy to make and keep in the freezer. Each bite has approximately 3g of protein.
Cottage Cheese Smoothie – A fun change from regular yogurt or milk in your smoothie. Adding 1/2 cup cottage cheese to a smoothie adds at least 12g protein.

Go-To Energy Ball Recipe great for kids or snack for breastfeeding moms

Kid-Friendly Snacks with Nuts & Seeds

Energy balls – Form them into balls or press into a pan and cut into bars
Trail mix – Grab some from the store or make your own with roasted edamame and roasted chickpeas for protein. 1/3 cup roasted edamame has 14g of protein.
Steamed edamame – Quick to microwave and top with a little salt. Has 14g protein per serving.
Frozen bananas – Top with peanut butter and hemp seeds and freeze! 2 Tbsp peanut butter adds 8g protein and 3 Tbsp hemp seeds adds another 10g to your batch of frozen bananas.

*Photo credit: Yummy Toddler Food*

After School Snacks with Meat

Chicken salad – Kids tend to like chicken better than tuna. Use canned chicken to make it easy. Serve with their favorite crackers. 3oz of canned chicken has 15g protein.
Mini meatballs – Can be eaten cold or serve with some pasta! 6 small meatballs can add 13g protein.
Half a sandwich – Whatever their favorite is
Turkey cheese and apple rollups – Roll cheese and turkey around a cheese stick!
Quesadilla – Add some beans or chicken for extra protein
Cheese, crackers and jerky- Cut jerky and cheese into cubes and pair with crackers

High Protein After School Snacks for Kids

I wanted to give you some actual visuals so you can get an idea how I serve these options to my kids as after school snacks. Here are some real-life examples. I tried to give you some rough estimations on protein content. Some will vary based on brands, ingredients used etc so it’s just to give you a general idea!

Most of these snacks examples contain more than enough protein for kids. These are snack examples for my older kids who are 9 &11 and are very active athletes.

Feel free to decrease portion sizes, which will decrease the grams of protein to closer to 10 grams if needed, depending on your child’s age and activity level.

Protein Snack Pairings with 15+ Grams of Protein

High Protein Snacks For Kids with Eggs

Turkey, Cheese & Avocado Egg Wrap + Clementine (10g protein in the turkey, 6g in the slice of cheese and 6g in the egg = 22g protein)
Hard Boiled Eggs + Veggies + Kefir (12g protein from the eggs + 10g from the kefir = 22g protein)
Sausage & Egg Cups + Frozen Bananas with peanut butter and hemp (12g protein from eggs + 6g from the sausage + 5g from the pb bananas = 23g protein)
Microwave Egg Sandwich + Grapes (6g protein from the egg + 8 grams from the bread + 6 g from the cheese = 20g protein)

High Protein Dairy Snacks for Kids

Yogurt Bark + Lentil Banana Muffin (Rough estimation – 15g from yogurt bark + 4g from muffin = 19g protein)
Overnight Oats + Trail Mix (Approximately 15g protein in the overnight oats + 5g protein from the trailmix = 20g protein
Yogurt parfait + Kodiak Cakes Pancakes (Approximately 15g protein from the yogurt + 10-15g protein from the pancakes = 25-30g protein)
Smoothie + Aloha Bar mini (aff link) Protein will vary depending on your smoothie recipe but most will have 15-20g protein at least, plus 6g protein from the bar = at least 25g protein)
Roasted Edamame & Roasted Chickpea Snack Mix + Cheese cubes & jerky (Approx 15g protein from the snack mix + 5g from the cheese + 10g from the beef stick =30g protein)

High Protein Meat Snacks For Kids

Chicken Salad + Crackers (Approximately 15g protein in the chicken salad -more if you use Greek yogurt or cottage cheese instead of mayo- plus a few grams protein from the crackers depending what kind you have = approximately 20g protein)
Protein Pasta + Meatballs (we like Simek’s) + Raisins (10g protein from the pasta + 15g protein from the meatballs = 25g protein)
Turkey, cheese & apple roll-up + crackers (10g protein from the turkey + 6g from the cheese + 2-4g from the tortilla + up to 4g from the crackers depending on brand = 20ish grams protein)
Chicken & Bean Quesadilla + Steamed Edamame (10-15g protein from the quesadila + 10+grams from the edamame = at least 20g protein)

Quick Store-Bought Protein Snacks for Kids

Here are a few examples of quick store-bought snacks with protein:

Yogurt or Cottage Cheese Cup + crackers
Frozen Power Waffle + pb&J
Hard boiled eggs + Roasted Edamame
Beef stick + Hippeas
Nut butter packet with apple + cheese stick
Aloha Bar or Clif Nut Butter Bar + fruit

Protein Snacks For Toddlers

If you’re looking for toddler snack ideas, check out these Healthy Snacks For Toddlers or these 150+ Toddler Meal Ideas. Remember that toddlers only need about 13 grams of protein total per day.

High Protein Snacks For Picky Eaters

Some snacks that may be favored by picky eaters include smoothies, yogurt, milk, protein pasta and whole grain bread.

Travel-Friendly Protein Snacks For Kids

Check out this post for Healthy Road Trip Snacks. Bring a cooler to pack things like yogurt, hard boiled eggs and turkey and look for shelf-stable options like tuna pouches, beef sticks, trail mix and more.

Nut-Free Protein Snacks For Kids

Nut-free favorites include things like roasted edamame or chickepeas in trail mix, high protein cereal, yogurt, string cheese, Harvest Snaps, Hippeas and more. Here is the Ultimate Guide to Nut-Free Snacks.

Freezer-Friendly Protein Snacks For Kids

Some of my favorites to keep in the freezer include:

Pancakes or Waffles (make them with a high protein mix like Kodiak Cakes
Muffins or Bars (with protein mix-ins like Lentil Banana Muffins or Sweet Potato Bean Bars)
Smoothies
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (add some hemp seeds!)

Here are more Healthy Freezer Snacks!

High Protein Snacks For Kids FAQs

What are the best protein snacks for kids?

The best protein snacks are those that are well balanced and contain a combination of both protein and fiber. This will help kids stay full and focused for several hours between meals.

What are easy high protein snacks for kids?

Some easy high protein snacks for kids include hard boiled eggs, Greek yogurt, trail mix, sandwiches and quesadaillas.

How much protein should kids have in a snack?

This will vary depending on the age of the child. In general, 10+ grams of protein is a good goal for a high protein snack for kids.

What are healthy protein snacks for kids after school?

When trying to bridge the gap between the end of school and dinner time, many kids will need a robust snack that contains protein, fiber and healthy carbs. This will help ensure blood sugar levels do not spike quickly after eating and the fiber and healthy fats will help the snack be more satisfying. Adding fruits and veggies to snack time is also a great option.

What are high protein snacks for picky eaters?

Some options for high protein snacks for picky eaters include yogurt parfaits, fruit smoothies, turkey rollups, beef sticks and high protein cereal.

What are good protein snacks for young athletes?

Young athletes need a good balance of carbs that they can use as fuel and protein to help build and repair muscles. Aim for carbs before practice and a mix of carbs and protein after practice. Chocolate milk of flavored kefir can be a great post-practice snack. Same with smoothies, yogurt with a muffin, or protein pasta with meatballs.

What are nut-free protein snacks for kids?

Some nut-free high protein snacks include roasted edamame and chickpeas, pancakes, yogurt bark, egg wraps and more.

What are sweet protein snacks for kids?

Yogurt parfaits made with Greek yogurt and fresh fruit are a great option for a sweet snack. Also adding dried fruit to a high protein trail mix, energy balls and smoothies can be good otions.

What are protein snacks kids can make themselves?

Simple high protein snacks that kids can make themselves include microwave egg sandwiches or quesadillas, yogurt parfaits or turkey roll-ups.

What are high protein snacks for kids without meat?

Check out this post for high protein vegan snacks, many of which are kid-friendly.

Can kids eat protein bars for snacks?

For younger kids I tend to recommend homemade energy balls. Here are 15+ Kid-Friendly Energy Balls. Older kids might like Aloha Bar minis, Larabars, Skout Bars or Go Macro Bars.

What are high protein snacks kids can take to sports practice?

Aim for carbs before sports practice! After practice, chocolate milk, smoothies, yogurt plus muffin or turkey sandwich can provide a good mix of protein and carbs for recovery.

What are freezer-friendly protein snacks for kids?

Pancakes, waffles, muffins and bars, smoothies, frozen bananas with peanut butter and pb&j sandwiches are all great options to keep in the freezer for protein snacks for kids.

These high protein after school snacks for kids are perfect for keeping kids full and satisfied until dinner time!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

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