Dinner ideas / High-protein

Dinner ideas

High-protein dinner ideas the whole family will eat

A high-protein family dinner puts one protein food at the centre, such as chicken, mince, fish, eggs, tofu or lentils, and keeps the sides flexible so each person can take more or less. Here are twelve, timed from start to table, with the allergens flagged and a swap for each.

Every dinner also has a way to set up a plate for a picky eater. Mince is ground beef in the US and Canada, and capsicum is bell pepper.

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Last checked: 14 October 2026

Twelve high-protein dinners

Times run from starting to cook to food on the table. Tap Method for the steps.

About 20 minutes

• Garlic prawns with rice and greens About 20 minutes, with the rice cooking alongside. Protein: prawns. Allergens: crustaceans (prawns), milk.
  Cook a handful of prawns in plain butter before the garlic goes in. Swap: for crustaceans, use thin strips of chicken thigh and cook them 2 minutes longer. For milk, use olive oil instead of butter.
  Method

  1. Start the rice.
  2. Melt butter with a little oil in a frying pan. Add peeled prawns and cook 2 minutes a side until pink all the way through.
  3. Add crushed garlic and a squeeze of lemon for the last minute.
  4. Steam or microwave broccolini or green beans.
  5. Serve the prawns over rice with the greens on the side.
• Egg fried rice with edamame About 15 minutes, with rice cooked the day before. Protein: eggs. Allergens: egg, soy, gluten, sesame.
  Take out a bowl of plain rice and scrambled egg before the soy sauce goes in. Swap: for gluten, use a soy sauce labelled gluten free. For egg, crumble firm tofu into the pan instead.
  Method

  1. Scramble 4 to 6 eggs in a hot oiled wok, then tip them onto a plate.
  2. Stir-fry frozen edamame and peas for 3 minutes.
  3. Add cold cooked rice and fry until hot right through.
  4. Stir the egg back in with a splash of soy sauce and a few drops of sesame oil.
• Tuna and white bean pasta About 20 minutes. Protein: tinned tuna and cannellini beans. Allergens: fish, gluten, milk (if you add parmesan).
  Toss one bowl of pasta in butter or olive oil and put the tuna next to it, not through it. Swap: for fish, use tinned chickpeas. For gluten, use gluten-free pasta.
  Method

  1. Cook the pasta.
  2. Warm olive oil, garlic and a drained tin of cannellini beans in a pan.
  3. Add drained tinned tuna, lemon juice and a handful of baby spinach until it wilts.
  4. Toss through the pasta with a little cooking water. Parmesan on the table.

One tray

• Chicken thighs, potatoes and broccoli About 45 minutes, 10 of them hands-on. Protein: chicken thigh. Allergens: check the labels on the stock and spice mix you use.
  Leave one corner of the tray unseasoned. Swap: nothing to swap. Season with oil, salt and paprika, or plain.
  Method

  1. Heat the oven to 220°C (425°F).
  2. Toss halved small potatoes in oil and salt and roast for 15 minutes.
  3. Add boneless chicken thighs and roast 20 minutes.
  4. Add broccoli florets for the last 10 minutes. Check the chicken is cooked through before serving.
• Salmon, potatoes and green beans About 35 minutes. Protein: salmon. Allergens: fish.
  Bake one fillet with just oil and salt, no lemon or herbs. Swap: for fish, use chicken thigh pieces and add 10 minutes.
  Method

  1. Heat the oven to 220°C (425°F).
  2. Roast sliced potatoes in oil and salt for 20 minutes.
  3. Add salmon fillets and green beans, with lemon slices on the fillets that want them.
  4. Roast 12 to 15 minutes until the salmon flakes.
• Chicken and chickpea tray with a yoghurt sauce About 40 minutes. Protein: chicken thigh and chickpeas. Allergens: milk.
  Plain chicken and potatoes from the same tray, sauce in its own bowl. Swap: for milk, skip the yoghurt sauce and serve with hummus (check the label for sesame).
  Method

  1. Heat the oven to 220°C (425°F).
  2. Toss chicken thigh pieces, a drained tin of chickpeas, sweet potato chunks and red onion in oil and a mild spice like cumin.
  3. Roast 30 to 35 minutes, turning once.
  4. Mix yoghurt with lemon and a pinch of salt for the sauce.

Make ahead

• Beef and lentil bolognese About 45 minutes, and it freezes. Protein: beef mince and lentils. Allergens: gluten, milk (parmesan).
  Toss one bowl of pasta in butter and parmesan before any sauce goes near it. Swap: for gluten, use gluten-free pasta or serve on rice. For milk, leave off the parmesan.
  Method

  1. Brown 500 g mince with a chopped onion and a grated carrot.
  2. Add a tin of drained lentils, a tin of tomatoes and a spoon of tomato paste.
  3. Simmer 20 to 25 minutes.
  4. Serve on pasta. Cool what you are keeping and follow your local food safety advice on storing it.
• Chicken burrito bowls About 40 minutes, or all day in a slow cooker. Protein: chicken thigh and black beans. Allergens: milk (cheese and sour cream), gluten (if you add tortillas).
  Everyone builds their own bowl, so a plain chicken and rice bowl is still dinner. Swap: for milk, skip the cheese and sour cream and use avocado. For gluten, serve on rice only.
  Method

  1. Simmer chicken thighs in a jar of mild salsa with a drained tin of black beans for 30 minutes (or 6 hours on low in a slow cooker).
  2. Shred the chicken with two forks.
  3. Serve on rice with corn, lettuce, cheese and sour cream in separate bowls.
• Mild chicken and bean chilli About 40 minutes, and it freezes. Protein: chicken mince and kidney beans. Allergens: milk (toppings).
  Keep the pot mild and put the chilli sauce on the table. Swap: for milk, top with avocado instead of cheese and sour cream.
  Method

  1. Brown 500 g chicken mince with an onion.
  2. Add a mild chilli spice mix, a tin of tomatoes and a drained tin of kidney beans.
  3. Simmer 25 minutes.
  4. Serve with rice, and cheese and sour cream on the side.

Meat-free

• Tofu and vegetable noodles About 25 minutes. Protein: firm tofu. Allergens: soy, gluten, sesame.
  Take out plain noodles and a few cubes of tofu before the sauce goes in. Swap: for gluten, use rice noodles and a soy sauce labelled gluten free. For sesame, leave out the sesame oil.
  Method

  1. Press firm tofu dry, cube it and fry in oil until golden.
  2. Cook the noodles.
  3. Stir-fry sliced capsicum (bell pepper), carrot and snow peas for 3 minutes.
  4. Toss everything with soy sauce, a little honey and a few drops of sesame oil.
• Mild lentil and sweet potato curry About 35 minutes. Protein: lentils. Allergens: check the label on the curry paste you use.
  Serve plain rice with sweet potato from the pot before the sauce is stirred through. Swap: nothing to swap. Use a mild paste and keep the chilli on the side.
  Method

  1. Soften an onion, then stir in a spoon of mild curry paste.
  2. Add diced sweet potato, a drained tin of lentils, a tin of tomatoes and a tin of coconut milk.
  3. Simmer 20 minutes until the sweet potato is soft.
  4. Serve with rice and a handful of spinach stirred in.
• Eggs baked in tomato and chickpeas (shakshuka) About 25 minutes. Protein: eggs and chickpeas. Allergens: egg, gluten (bread), milk (if you add feta).
  Fry a plain egg for toast on the side. Swap: for egg, add an extra tin of chickpeas and skip the eggs. For gluten, serve with rice.
  Method

  1. Soften an onion and capsicum (bell pepper) in oil.
  2. Add a tin of tomatoes, a drained tin of chickpeas and a pinch of cumin. Simmer 10 minutes.
  3. Make wells, crack in the eggs, cover and cook 6 to 8 minutes until the whites set.
  4. Serve with bread. Feta on the side.

One dinner, three plates

• A bigger appetite. A bigger serve of the protein, and the sides as wanted.
• A child's plate. A smaller serve, set up the way they'll eat it: plain, separate, or with the sauce on the side.
• Someone eating less that day. Keep the protein on the plate and go lighter on the sides. If someone's needs are different for a health reason, their doctor or dietitian is the person to ask.

How much protein is in common dinner foods

Per 100 g, cooked as named. Source: Australian Food Composition Database, Release 3 (Food Standards Australia New Zealand). Figures vary by cut, brand and cooking.

For reference, Australia and New Zealand's Nutrient Reference Values set the recommended dietary intake of protein at 64 g a day for men and 46 g a day for women aged 19 to 70, and 20 g a day for children aged 4 to 8. The US recommended dietary allowance is 0.8 g per kg of body weight for adults. These are population references, not personal targets.

Check your labels

The allergens above are the ones in the usual version of each dish. Brands differ, and so do stock, spice mixes, curry pastes and sauces. In Australia and New Zealand, labels must declare wheat and other cereals with gluten, crustaceans, molluscs, fish, egg, milk, lupin, peanut, soy, sesame, each tree nut (such as almond, cashew and walnut) and added sulphites. The lists differ in the US and Canada. Read the label on everything you buy.

How PULS3 helps

PULS3 is a team of coaches in an iPhone app that plans training, food and sleep together. Dinner is one part of it.

• The week's dinners are planned for everyone at the table. Each dinner is checked against everyone's allergies. That is a second check, not a replacement for reading the label.
• Tell PULS3 what each person won't eat. The week's dinners are planned around it: a dinner someone doesn't like comes with a version that leaves it out, or the night is re-planned.
• Photograph your fridge or pantry. It lists what it spotted for you to confirm, and when it plans your week of dinners it prefers what you've confirmed.

PULS3 is coaching, not medical care. It does not diagnose or treat allergies, and it is not a replacement for advice from your doctor. More dinners: 15, 20 and 30 minute dinners, dinner for picky eaters and mince recipes.

Free for everyone until 31 October 2026. From 1 November, every plan starts with a 7-day free trial. Seven days to see if it fits your week. If it doesn't, cancel before the trial ends and you pay nothing. A$9.99 a month in Australia, US$9.99 in the US, C$9.99 in Canada or NZ$9.99 in New Zealand, or 89.99 a year in the same currency.

Questions

What is a quick high-protein dinner?

Garlic prawns with rice, egg fried rice with edamame, or tuna and white bean pasta. Each takes about 15 to 20 minutes, and all three are on this page with methods and allergens.

What are the highest-protein foods for dinner?

Per 100 g, the Australian Food Composition Database lists stir-fried beef mince at 29.5 g, cooked prawns at 27.1 g, tinned tuna at 26.1 g, baked chicken thigh at 24.2 g and grilled salmon at 22.9 g. Firm tofu has 12.8 g and hard-boiled eggs 12.4 g.

How do I make a high-protein dinner the whole family will eat?

Put one protein food at the centre, keep the sides flexible, and plate it three ways: a bigger serve for an adult with a bigger appetite, a smaller plate for a child, and less of the sides for anyone eating less that day, keeping the protein.

What are high-protein dinners without meat?

Tofu and vegetable noodles, a mild lentil and sweet potato curry, and eggs baked in tomato and chickpeas. Lentils, chickpeas, tofu and eggs are pantry or fridge staples that keep.

PULS3 provides coaching guidance, not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Allergen notes on this page are general and are not a guarantee. Always read the label.