5 High-Protein Costco Finds To Add To Meals

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There are plenty of reasons to love Costco. From regularly stocked truly gourmet foods to must-try staples, the beloved members-only warehouse store has it all. You can even do your holiday shopping at your local Costco if you're in a pinch. It's not surprising, then, that Costco is also a great place to find high-protein ingredients that will help you hit your macros without changing the meals you love too much. 

As you probably know, if you've been eating with health in mind, one of the best ways to achieve your nutrition goals is by incorporating foods that are lacking in your diet, such as protein, into meals and snacks you already regularly prepare. After all, you won't stick to a workout or a meal plan if it's a total slog. The Costco products below allow you to do just that, either as a swap for another ingredient or as a delicious new element in a well-known recipe. While you're in the store picking up these high-protein finds, why not grab a few high-protein Costco snacks, too? As usual, your local Costco has everything covered. 

Kirkland's Signature Organic Greek Yogurt offers that rare combination, both quality and quantity! As Greek yogurt takes so many meals to the next level, you'll be glad you have 48 ounces of this stuff. Although they don't taste exactly the same, and you should adjust exact measurements to taste, Greek yogurt can be used in many recipes where you might usually add cream or sour cream. This includes soups, sauces, curries, or even mashed potatoes. If you're trying to sneak an extra serving of protein into your kids' meals (or enjoy healthier family favorites yourself), why not try adding Greek yogurt to boxed mac and cheese, or using it as a binder in turkey burger patties? Once you understand the flavor profile of this protein-packed ingredient, you'll find endless uses for it.

Greek yogurt has higher protein than regular natural yogurt, due to the straining process used to make it. The same process also leaves the yogurt with fewer carbs and sugar than the regular, and makes it thick and creamy, even if you choose nonfat over 2% or 5%. Greek yogurt also contains a lot of good bacteria, as well as vitamin K and amino acids, so there are plenty of reasons to include it in meals wherever it makes sense. 

Quinoa is a seed that's prepared and eaten like a grain, and it is a staple in its native Peru. It's naturally gluten-free and packed with vitamins and minerals. It also contains ten times the protein of white rice and more than double the protein of brown rice, at 8 grams in a single cup. That cup also packs 5 grams of fiber, a nutrient of which studies say only 5% of Americans get enough. If that doesn't sufficiently convince you of the power of quinoa, it's also a complete protein, containing all 9 amino acids.  

Perhaps more importantly, quinoa is nutty, delicious, and simple to cook. The easiest way to incorporate it into your diet is by mixing it with rice, which helps balance the flavor while adding protein. If you aren't a quinoa lover, start by swapping a quarter of your rice for quinoa; you'll soon get used to it and be able to move to a fifty-fifty ratio. Just like rice, quinoa soaks up the flavors it's cooked in, so it would work great in a recipe like Spanish rice, which relies on a flavorful broth that will taste as great with quinoa as with rice. Costco's Kirkland quinoa is USDA certified and supplied by small farmers in the Andes, so you can eat it with peace of mind about this ancient grain's origin.

Although they're called Chicken Breast Bites, these individual serving packs from Costco contain just cooked, seasoned chicken breast. They're totally ready to eat, and make a great high-protein snack when you're on the run, but they're also perfect for meal prep, as keeping ingredients separate and stored appropriately can increase shelf life. This method also lets you mix and match elements, avoiding that humpday boredom that would otherwise have you swiping on Uber Eats. 

These packs contain 22 grams of protein each, so they'll go a long way in helping you hit your macros, whether you add them to a salad or grain bowl, or use them in a burrito or sandwich along with a sauce. Of course, you'll be adding cottage cheese to that sauce for an extra protein boost, too (unless you've been completely convinced by Greek yogurt).

PB Fit is great in yogurt, protein shakes, and overnight oats, but it works in savory dishes too. This Organic PB Fit from Costco does contain coconut sugar, so it is a little sweet, but mixed with water, it should taste like regular peanut butter. The other ingredients are just roasted peanuts and salt, making this powder a healthy choice all around.

There is a catch, though. The secret to using this ingredient to increase your protein intake is more about what else you put on your plate than the PB Fit itself. The powder's protein content is similar to regular peanut butter, but it has about 85% fewer calories. This means you can either eat way more of it, or add more protein-rich ingredients to use up those calories you now have to spare. 

Try making sesame-peanut noodles with PB Fit, or using it to replace the peanut butter in a peanut sauce. Use it as a dip for summer rolls, or, for a really quick meal, make a chicken satay with Costco's Chicken Breast Bites and a little of your sauce. PB Fit also works in baked goods, with powdered peanuts actually making it onto the list of pro tips we were offered for the perfect peanut cookies when we talked to Markita Lewis from the National Peanut Board, so it's a useful store-cupboard ingredient all around.

Hemp hearts might seem like an unusual ingredient, but you can use them just like you use other nuts, seeds, and toasted grains. And once you've started using them, you'll probably be a convert, as the seeds of the hemp plant are impressive. Hemp gives us rope, paper, and even biofuel, and yet, these seeds might be the best thing about it. They're about 25% protein, with one serving (about 3 tablespoons) netting you 10 grams of complete protein and 11 grams of fiber. Despite these impressive properties, hemp seeds are often overlooked because they need to be hulled before eating, and as they're small, this can be fiddly. Buying a big bag of pre-shelled hemp hearts, like this one from Kirkland, solves that problem (although you will need to keep the open bag in the fridge or freezer to keep them fresh).

Sweet and nutty, hemp hearts are often compared to pine nuts and sunflower seeds, with a flavor falling somewhere between the two. They're a great topper for pretty much any salad or homemade grain bowl, and can also be used to add creaminess to curries, soups, and stews, without adding dairy. If you want to be creative with this versatile ingredient, you could even take your chicken to the next level by using hemp seeds in your breading, adding extra protein as well as cutting down on carbs.