Whether you are lactose intolerant, allergic to dairy, or eating a plant-based diet, here are the best high-protein, dairy-free snack ideas and easy recipes for you!
Through my studies in holistic nutrition, I learned to get protein from whole-food ingredients in my everyday diet. I have eaten dairy-free for many periods of my life, even years at a time. Let me spill the tea on my favorite dairy-free snacks that are also high in protein!
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Quick high-protein snacks without dairy
Plant-based protein snacks:
- Tortilla Bites: Spread with nut butter, topped with banana and chopped nuts, rolled up and cut like sushi
- Banana or apple slices topped with nut butter and sprinkled with hemp hearts
- Almond butter and Medjool dates
- Almond flour crackers
- Roasted crunchy chickpeas
- Homemade high-protein hummus with fresh vegetables
- Whole grain toast with nut butter and hemp hearts
- Plant-based yogurt or plant-based ice cream
- Healthy homemade trail mix
Animal-based high-protein snack:
- Lunch meat and multi-seed crackers
- Jerky or meat sticks
- Boiled eggs
- Scrambled eggs on whole-grain bread
- Bell pepper filled with tuna salad
Tip: Have a sandwich for a snack! You can easily find bread these days that has 12 grams of protein per 2 slices! I like Silver Hills bread as it is so high in protein. They use grains that are whole and sprouted.
Avocado toast with hemp hearts is one of my go-to whole-food snacks - now that is an easy way to eat a great source of protein!
High-protein foods that don't have dairy in them
- Nuts and nut butter: Almonds, walnuts, pistachios, cashews, peanuts.
- Almond flour: Use this high-protein flour in muffins, bars, cookies, and crackers!
- Seeds: Pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, hemp hearts, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds.
- Legumes: Chickpeas, black beans, edamame, kidney beans, white beans.
- Soy: Tofu, soy milk.
- Eggs: I have recipes for boiled eggs (so they peel easily), or they can be baked into easy egg bites.
- Meat: Jerky, lunch meat, meat cubes, leftover dinner meat.
- Tuna: Fill a wrap, fresh bell pepper, or piece of toast with flaky tuna - a great source of protein!
- Grains: Rolled oats, whole grain bread, sprouted grains.
- Quinoa: This grain contains all the essential amino acids! Make a smoothie with quinoa or use it in high-protein quinoa egg bites.
- Plant-based yogurt: There are some dairy-free yogurts that are high in protein.
Add hemp hearts to get a whole food protein boost
Special shout-out to hemp hearts. I eat them every day; it's been an easy way to increase my protein. 3 tablespoons of hemp hearts contain 9.4 grams of protein - that's excellent!
Add them to:
- My high-protein hummus
- Cereal or homemade fall granola
- Cookie dough
- Guacamole
- Avocado toast
- Healthy blackberry muffins
- Banana turmeric smoothie
Store-bought, dairy-free protein bars
These bars contain a variety of protein sources such as nuts, seeds, hemp, pea protein, and dried eggs, making them all dairy-free snack bars. Find these wholesome dairy-free snacks at your local grocery store. Listed in order of highest grams of protein for each bar:
- Clif Builders (about 20 grams of protein each)
- RXBAR (about 12 grams of protein each)
- Simply Protein (about 8 grams of protein each)
- KIND Bars (5-8 grams protein each)
- Hemp Yeah! Protein Super Seed Bars (6-7 grams protein each)
25 High-protein dairy-free snack recipes
These snack recipes have at least 5 grams of protein per serving (but usually more).
1. No-Bake Protein Bars with Almond Butter
Why I love these: Soft and nutty, they can be made with almond butter, peanut butter, or seed butter. Almonds are what make this high in plant-based protein!
2. Quinoa Smoothie
Why I love this smoothie: The flavor of bananas, tahini, cinnamon, ice cubes, and sweet dates is incredible and creamy, then add cooked quinoa and blend it together, making a 17-gram smoothie.
3. Chocolate Berry Protein Smoothie (without Protein Powder)
Why I love these: This creamy smoothie is bursting with flavor! Hemp hearts and almond butter increase the protein, and it calls for a non-dairy milk like almond milk.
4. Homemade RX Bars
Why I love these: Chocolate sea salt protein bars are easy to make at home. You will need a food processor or blender for this recipe. They are high in protein (9 grams each) from the hemp hearts, almonds, and cashews.
5. Pineapple Smoothie with Quinoa
Why I love this smoothie: Tropical flavors meet high protein, which gives you an energy-boosting, dairy-free smoothie. The cooked quinoa boosts the protein to 11 grams per smoothie - a filling snack.
6. Protein Balls with Dates and Ginger
Why I love these: These taste like gingerbread cookie dough, made with almonds, oats, and hemp hearts. Simple to make in a food processor or high-power blender.
7. Easy Lemon Chia Seed Pudding
Why I love these: Creamy and heavenly, these lemon puddings are made with coconut milk (a dairy alternative) and fresh lemon juice. Meal prep this chia pudding in jars - 10 grams of protein each.
8. Healthy Blackberry Muffins
Why I love these: The base of these muffins is ground-up oats instead of flour! You can use whatever berries you have if it's not blackberry season, and then add the optional hemp hearts to boost the protein!
9. Quinoa Bars (fruit and nut)
These quinoa bars are packed with dried fruit, nuts, seeds, and coconut. A high-energy snack with healthy whole-food ingredients.
10. Raspberry Protein Balls
Maybe my favorite energy ball recipe - the combo of sweet chocolate and dates mixed with tangy raspberries is delicious. 4 grams of protein for each energy bite.
11. Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies
These 3-ingredient almond flour, peanut butter cookies are vegan, gluten-free, and healthy. They are naturally sweetened with maple syrup to give them a moist and soft texture with no egg or butter.
12. Chickpea Blondies
Soft, fudgy, sweet yet wholesome. This recipe uses more maple syrup and nut butter than most chickpea blondie recipes, so it minimizes any possible chickpea flavor. A delicious snack with whole-food ingredients.
13. Easy Energy Balls
Why I love these: The nuts, seeds, and coconut are toasted together and then mixed with nut butter, chocolate chips, and honey - a delicious treat, high in healthy fats. It's a rare energy ball where no dates are needed.
14. Banana Protein Bars with Walnuts & Chocolate
Why I love these: A no-bake recipe made out of nuts and hemp hearts for high protein. Dehydrated banana chips and walnuts make this incredible flavor!! It's a copycat RX bar recipe.
Savoury recipes without protein powder
15. Homemade Beef Jerky
Instructions for making beef jerky in a dehydrator or a convection oven are included so you can easily make this protein-rich snack at home.
16. High Protein Hummus
This creamy, delightful, high-protein hummus is made with hemp hearts to give a double boost of protein. Made with chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, lemon, and cumin.
17. Crispy Air Fryer Edamame
Crispy air fryer frozen edamame is an awesome, healthy and high-protein vegan snack.
18. Pumpkin Seed Hummus
Made with pumpkin puree and pumpkin seeds, this bright yellow hummus is delicious!
19. Quinoa Egg Bites
A super easy recipe to make with cooked quinoa, eggs, and greens baked into a muffin pan for a delicious savoury snack. Use dairy-free cheese like VioLife or skip the cheese to make sure these are dairy-free.
20. Crispy Sriracha Maple Chickpeas (Air Fryer)
Crispy chickpeas made in the air fryer! There is something about the crunchy, salty flavor of them - yum. Perfect for a high-protein snack that doesn't contain dairy!
High-protein, non-dairy snack recipes with protein powder
Protein powder is added to these recipes, increasing the protein to at least 10 grams per serving.
21. Protein Cookies
Chewy, soft, and sweet, these vegan protein cookies will be your next favorite snack! Each cookie has 10g of protein and under 150 calories.
22. Homemade Protein Gummies
These protein gummies are sugar-free and can be made in just minutes with gelatin and clear protein powder!
23. Homemade Perfect Bars
This is a copycat recipe for the high-protein Perfect Bars. Made with peanut butter, honey, vanilla, protein powder, oat flour, salt, and of course, chocolate chips.
24. Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Protein Muffins
These muffins are a perfect high-protein breakfast recipe. It's made with simple and clean ingredients.
25. Chocolate Banana Smoothie
Chocolate banana smoothie recipe has all the flavor of a classic shake, but packs protein, healthy fats, and fiber too!
What dairy-free protein powder options are there?
I recommend looking for a whole-food option, with a short list of ingredients such as pea protein, hemp protein, soy protein, pumpkin seed powder, or my go-to after just plain hemp hearts is this one made of coconut, brown rice, and quinoa mix.
I hope you found some new favorite high-protein, dairy-free snacks! Let me know in the comments down below what you are going to make and eat next!
This blog is dedicated to healthy snack recipes my family loves. If you want more, stick around - that's what I share here! Or come hang out on Instagram!
Danika Vanderpyl, C.H.N
I create snack recipes with healthy ingredients that are mostly already in your kitchen. I'm certified in Holistic Nutrition and I care about giving my kids real food. Let me share my nutrient-dense easy snacks with you.
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