Unless you avoid carbs or are on a low-carb diet – the chances are you enjoy a delicious bowl of pasta pretty regularly. Pasta dishes are one of the go-to meals on a weekly basis, and sometimes even more. Pasta meals are typically budget-friendly, and you can add anything you like to them!
But if you are on a journey looking for more energy or better health, then you might want to add more protein to your pasta meals. While pasta is very forgiving and you can add almost anything you like, there are a couple of protein options that go hand in hand with pasta.
Salmon
One of the best things about salmon is that you can do a lot of things with it, and it goes well with so many different pairings. You can have smoked salmon, cream, and lemon for a light but creamy sauce. Cook the salmon for a more meaty texture and add it with broccoli and spinach to pasta. Since salmon cooks so quickly, it is ideal for pasta dishes when you don’t have a lot of time.
100g of salmon will give you between 22 and 25 grams of protein.
Steak
When you think about protein, steak likely pops into your mind. Steak is one of the meatiest meats around – and surprisingly goes wonderfully in pasta. Typically unless it is in a Philly cheese steak, most of us consider steaks to be large cuts of meat. However, the steak can be trimmed down after the initial cooking (so it is exactly how you like it) and added to pasta. You can add a lot of the typical steak toppings like mushrooms and creamy sauces to the pasta and top it with some spicy arugula.
100g of steak will give you 25 grams of protein.
Chicken
Chicken is often the go-to when it comes to adding more protein to meals – it is cost-effective and takes on many different flavors. You can cook it however you want to. Chicken works for both cold and hot pasta dishes and is either creamy, veggie-packed, or tomato-based. If you like your pasta dishes versatile and prepare a lot of meals, this chicken pesto pasta for an easy dinner recipe is ideal.
100g of chicken will give you 27g of protein.
Veg Options
For those who don’t eat meat, or like to combine pasta with a meatless Monday, there are plenty of additions you can make. The bonus with going vegetable-heavy is that you are going to benefit from all of the other vitamins and minerals.
It’s not just vegetables you can add, though – things like walnuts are packed with omega-3 fatty acids, protein, and fiber. Beans and chickpeas are great options, as are tofu and broccoli. For an extra bump consider adding nutritional yeast too.
100g of tofu, you get about 8g of protein
Vegetables don’t rank nearly as high as meat when it comes to grams per 100g. Green peas for 100g are about 5g of protein. But for 100g of tofu, you get about 8g of protein, so ideally, you’ll need 200g and then extra vegetables on top – or a protein-boosting powder.
If you want to increase your protein overall, here are some tips to help: How Can You Increase Your Protein Intake?
