How to Add Protein to Soup: 12 Easy Ways

Use bone broth in place of regular broth. Bone broth simmers for hours, so it pulls far more protein out of the bones than a quick stock does. Store-bought bone broth runs around 9 grams per cup. A homemade batch depends on your bones and your simmering time, which is why our Low Sodium Bone Broth lands at 3 grams a serving with only 68 mg of sodium.

Add beans or lentils. A cup of canned white beans brings roughly 15 grams of protein plus the fiber that makes a bowl feel heavier. Lentils do even better at about 18 grams a cup, and they cook right in the pot.

Stir in a protein at the end. Shredded chicken, turkey, tofu or a spoon of Greek yogurt all work, and the last five minutes of cooking is the moment to add them.

The numbers below come from the USDA database, so you can plan a bowl instead of guessing at one. Our GLP-1 soup guide suggests landing each serving between 15 and 25 grams of protein, and most of these get you there with one addition.]

Add-in

Amount

Protein

Chicken breast, roasted

3 oz

26 g

Turkey breast, roasted

3 oz

26 g

Add-in Amount Protein

Chicken breast, roasted

3 oz

26 g

Turkey breast, roasted

3 oz

26 g

Ground turkey, 93% lean

3 oz

23 g

Tofu, firm

1/2 cup

22 g

Lentils, cooked

1 cup

18 g

Chickpeas, canned and drained

1 can

18 g

White or cannellini beans, canned

1 cup

15 g

Black beans, canned

1 cup

14.5 g

Cottage cheese, 1%

1/2 cup

14 g

Edamame, shelled

1 cup

13 g

Greek yogurt, nonfat

1/2 cup

11 g

Nonfat milk powder

1/4 cup

11 g

Bone broth

1 cup

about 9 g

Quinoa, cooked

1 cup

8 g

Egg, large

1 egg

6 g

1. Shredded chicken. Three ounces of roasted breast adds 26 grams, and rotisserie chicken from the store does the same job on a weeknight. Stir it in during the last five minutes so it stays tender. Our Heart Healthy Chicken Noodle Soup reaches 25 grams a serving this way.
2. Ground turkey. Brown it first, drain it, then let it simmer in the broth for ten minutes. Plain ground turkey keeps the sodium low, while turkey sausage can add several hundred milligrams a serving.
3. Canned beans. Drain and rinse them, which also washes away up to 40% of their sodium, then add them with about ten minutes left. A pound of dried beans is what gives our High Protein Vegetable Soup its 16 grams a serving.
4. Lentils. Brown and green lentils hold their shape in 20 to 25 minutes of simmering. Red lentils break down instead and thicken the pot, so they suit blended soups. Our High-Protein Chicken Lentil Stew pairs 2 cups of lentils with a pound of chicken for 15 grams a serving.
5. Tofu and edamame. Cube firm tofu and let it warm through for five minutes, or drop frozen shelled edamame straight into the broth. Half a cup of firm tofu carries about 22 grams, though brands vary enough that the label is worth a look.
6. Quinoa. A cup of cooked quinoa adds 8 grams and a little body. Cook it separately when you want a clear broth, or let it cook in the soup when you want a thicker one. Our Chicken Quinoa Soup uses both quinoa and chicken to reach 20 grams.
7. Greek yogurt. Half a cup adds around 11 grams and a creamy finish. Take the pot off the heat first, stir a spoon of hot broth into the yogurt to warm it, then stir that mixture back in.
8. Cottage cheese. Blended cottage cheese disappears into a creamy soup and brings 14 grams per half cup. This is the move behind the high protein tomato soups all over social media right now.
9. Nonfat milk powder. A quarter cup whisked into a chowder adds 11 grams without thinning the soup, which is useful when you want protein and no extra liquid.
10. Eggs. A beaten egg poured slowly into simmering broth sets into ribbons and adds 6 grams. Our Easy Egg Drop Soup uses four eggs and a can of chickpeas for 11 grams a serving.
11. Bone broth. Swapping the broth is the easiest change on this list, since it needs no new ingredient and no extra step.
12. Unflavored protein powder. Around 20 to 25 grams a scoop, depending on the brand. The method matters, so there is a section on it below.

A high protein vegetarian soup comes down to combining plants, because each one carries part of the load. Picture a pot that serves four. A can of chickpeas, a cup of lentils and a cup of quinoa put about 44 grams into that pot, which works out at 11 grams a bowl. Add a second can of beans and every bowl clears 15 grams, the same range as a chicken soup. Beans, edamame and tofu all hold their shape in broth, so none of this costs you texture.

Blended white beans deserve a mention of their own. They add protein and creaminess at once, which means you can skip the cream and still get a rich bowl.

Yes, and the only difficulty is texture. Protein powder clumps when it hits hot liquid, so it needs to be mixed with warm liquid first.

Take a half cup of warm broth, not boiling, and whisk the powder into it until smooth. Pull the pot off the heat, stir that mixture back into the soup, then serve. Boiling the soup after the powder goes in is what makes it grainy. Unflavored whey isolate and collagen powder both dissolve well, while flavored powders bring a taste that fights with the broth.

Between 15 and 25 grams per serving is the range our dietitians use for a soup that stands in for a meal. A cup of lentils, a can of chickpeas or three ounces of chicken each get you there on their own. Under 10 grams, soup works better as a starter next to a sandwich or a salad. Protein and fiber together are what keep a bowl filling, which is why the recipes in our high protein soup collection lean on beans and chicken.

A bowl that lands short is easy to fix at the table. Grilled cheese with cottage cheese blended into the filling turns the classic tomato soup lunch into a full meal. A handful of edamame brings 13 grams a cup, a hard-boiled egg brings 6, and a small pot of Greek yogurt on the side brings about 11.

• Heart Healthy Chicken Noodle Soup (25 g protein)
• Chicken Quinoa Soup (20 g protein, 240 mg sodium)
• High Protein Vegetable Soup (16 g protein from beans)
• High-Protein Chicken Lentil Stew (15 g protein)
• Easy Egg Drop Soup (11 g protein, under 15 minutes)
• 12 High Protein Soup Recipes for Weight Loss (the full collection)