High-protein breakfast cereals and breakfast picks
Protein cereal, waffles, yogurt and fast-food breakfast, ranked by protein per calorie.
Breakfast is the meal where it's easiest to get a lot of calories and not much protein. Cereal, pastries and breakfast sandwiches are often built around carbs. So we pulled every breakfast-style item we track and ranked them by grams of protein per 100 calories, the same metric as our leaderboard.
That's 15 things you'd eat at home (protein cereal, protein waffles, high-protein yogurt and skyr) and 13 breakfast items from Chick-fil-A, Starbucks and McDonald's. All numbers are from the brands' and restaurants' own published nutrition info.
At home: yogurt, cereal and waffles
| # | Item | Protein | Calories | Protein / 100 cal | Leaderboard rank | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | siggi's Skyr – Plain Nonfat 3/4 cup (170 g) | 19 g | 100 | 19.0 | #15 | label |
| 2 | Oikos Pro Yogurt Cup (7 flavors) Vanilla, Strawberry, Mixed Berry, Peach, Cherry, Banana, Key Lime · 1 cup (150 g) | 20 g | 130 | 15.4 | #43–49 | label |
| 3 | siggi's Skyr – Vanilla Nonfat (5.3 oz cup) 1 cup (150 g) | 16 g | 110 | 14.5 | #54 | label |
| 4 | siggi's Skyr – Vanilla & Cinnamon Lowfat (5.3 oz cup) 1 cup (150 g) | 15 g | 140 | 10.7 | #92 | label |
| 5 | Magic Spoon Protein Cereal – Birthday Cake about 1 cup (39 g), dry, no milk | 14 g | 150 | 9.3 | #109 | label |
| 6 | Magic Spoon Protein Cereal – Cocoa about 1 cup (37 g), dry, no milk | 13 g | 140 | 9.3 | #110 | label |
| 7 | Magic Spoon Protein Cereal – Blueberry Muffin about 1 cup (38 g), dry, no milk | 13 g | 150 | 8.7 | #114 | label |
| 8 | Kodiak Homestyle Power Waffles 2 waffles (70 g) | 16 g | 210 | 7.6 | #119 | label |
| 9 | Kodiak Chocolate Chip Thick & Fluffy Power Waffles 1 waffle (70 g) | 10 g | 230 | 4.3 | #145 | label |
On the go: fast-food breakfast
| # | Item | Protein | Calories | Protein / 100 cal | Leaderboard rank | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chick-fil-A Egg White Grill 1 item (as listed) | 27 g | 300 | 9.0 | #113 | label |
| 2 | Starbucks Egg White & Roasted Red Pepper Egg Bites 1 order (2 bites, 130 g) | 12 g | 170 | 7.1 | #122 | label |
| 3 | Starbucks Spinach, Feta & Egg White Wrap 1 item (as listed) | 20 g | 290 | 6.9 | #124 | label |
| 4 | Chick-fil-A Chicken, Egg & Cheese Muffin 1 item (as listed) | 27 g | 410 | 6.6 | #125 | label |
| 5 | Starbucks Turkey Bacon, Cheddar & Egg White Sandwich 1 item (as listed) | 17 g | 260 | 6.5 | #126 | label |
| 6 | Starbucks Bacon & Gruyère Egg Bites 1 order (2 bites, 130 g) | 19 g | 300 | 6.3 | #131 | label |
| 7 | McDonald's Egg McMuffin 1 item (as listed) | 17 g | 310 | 5.5 | #139 | label |
| 8 | Starbucks Egg, Pesto & Mozzarella Sandwich 1 item (as listed) | 21 g | 390 | 5.4 | #140 | label |
| 9 | Chick-fil-A Hash Brown Scramble Burrito 1 item (as listed) | 34 g | 700 | 4.9 | #142 | label |
| 10 | Chick-fil-A Sausage, Egg & Cheese Muffin 1 item (as listed) | 23 g | 490 | 4.7 | #143 | label |
| 11 | Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Biscuit 1 item (as listed) | 19 g | 450 | 4.2 | #148 | label |
| 12 | McDonald's Sausage McMuffin with Egg 1 item (as listed) | 20 g | 480 | 4.2 | #149 | label |
| 13 | Chick-fil-A Chicken Biscuit 1 item (as listed) | 19 g | 460 | 4.1 | #150 | label |
What stands out
Plain skyr is the breakfast winner. siggi's Skyr – Plain Nonfat has 19 g of protein for 100 calories, or 19.0 per 100 calories. That puts it at #15 on the whole leaderboard. Flavor costs a little: siggi's Vanilla Nonfat is 14.5, and Vanilla & Cinnamon Lowfat is 10.7.
Oikos Pro cups are consistent. All 7 Oikos Pro Yogurt Cup flavors we track are 20 g for 130 calories (15.4). If you like variety, flavor doesn't change the numbers here.
Protein cereal is decent, but it isn't a shake. Magic Spoon's three flavors land between 8.7 and 9.3: for example, Magic Spoon Protein Cereal – Birthday Cake lists 14 g for 150 calories. That's at the low end of the protein bars we track. We don't track regular cereal, so we can't compare it here, but yogurt clearly wins on this metric.
Kodiak waffles vary a lot by product. Kodiak Homestyle Power Waffles are 16 g for 210 calories (7.6). Kodiak Chocolate Chip Thick & Fluffy Power Waffles are 10 g for 230 (4.3). Same brand, very different numbers, so check which box you're buying.
Egg whites win at the drive-through. Chick-fil-A's Egg White Grill is the top fast-food breakfast we track at 9.0, with 27 g of protein for 300 calories. At Starbucks, the Starbucks Egg White & Roasted Red Pepper Egg Bites lead at 7.1. At McDonald's, the McDonald's Egg McMuffin (5.5) beats the McDonald's Sausage McMuffin with Egg (4.2).
Biscuits sit at the bottom. The lowest breakfast item we track is Chick-fil-A Chicken Biscuit at 4.1. The Chick-fil-A Hash Brown Scramble Burrito has the most protein of any fast-food breakfast here (34 g), but it comes with 700 calories (4.9).
How to use this list
- Most protein per calorie: plain skyr or a high-protein yogurt cup, then add your own fruit.
- Want cereal? Protein cereal gets you to bar-level protein per calorie. See best bars per calorie to compare.
- Buying breakfast out? Look for egg-white items. See Starbucks and McDonald's rankings for more detail.
Caveats
- Magic Spoon numbers are for about 1 cup of dry cereal (37–39 g depending on flavor), without milk. Adding milk changes both numbers. Kodiak numbers are per the box serving: 2 waffles (70 g) for Homestyle and 1 waffle (70 g) for Chocolate Chip Thick & Fluffy.
- Toppings, fruit and milk aren't included anywhere on this page.
- Fast-food breakfast items are the standard U.S. recipes and vary by location. We picked which fast-food items count as "breakfast" based on how each chain sells them.
- We don't track eggs, oats or cottage cheese yet, which are common high-protein breakfasts.
See every product side by side on the full leaderboard.
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Disclaimer: All numbers come from manufacturer labels, brand websites and restaurant nutrition pages on the dates shown on the leaderboard. They can change without notice, vary by location, flavor or customization, or differ from the product in your hand. Always check the current label. This article is general information only and is not medical, dietary or health advice.