If you’re trying to add more protein to your meals without making lunch feel heavy, these high protein salad ideas with 20G+ protein are a great place to start. They’re fresh, filling, and easy enough for busy weekdays.
You’ll find simple high protein salads for lunch, dinner, and meal prep, with plenty of options made with chicken, eggs, beans, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, and other protein-rich ingredients.
These salads are perfect for work lunches, healthy dinners, gym meal prep, or anytime you want a balanced meal that keeps you full for longer.
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1. Homemade Chicken Orzo Salad with Red Bell Peppers and Feta
Rotisserie chicken, orzo, feta, and kalamata olives in a lemon-oregano dressing — this one eats more like a meal than a side. The chicken and feta do the heavy lifting on protein, and it holds up in the fridge for four days, so it doubles as real meal prep. Chill it at least 30 minutes before serving; the orzo needs time to soak up the dressing.
Protein: ~26g | Calories: ~300 per serving
→ Get the full recipe: Homemade Chicken Orzo Salad with Red Bell Peppers and Feta
2. Asian Chicken Cranberry Salad
Shredded chicken breast over mixed greens with mandarin oranges, almonds, and a sesame-soy dressing.
It reads light, but a full cup of chicken breast per serving keeps it filling instead of just crunchy — this is the one to make when you want something that doesn’t taste like a “diet” salad.
Protein: 25g | Calories: ~300 per serving
→ Get the full recipe: Asian Chicken Cranberry Salad
3. Broccoli Bacon Alfredo Pasta Salad
This one’s a pasta salad in name only. Penne, bacon, broccoli, and a Parmesan-Alfredo sauce make it closer to a cold pasta dinner, and it’s the richest recipe on this list, so treat it as a main, not a side.
Bacon and Parmesan push the protein up, but the calories climb right along with it — portion accordingly.
Protein: ~23g (site range 18–28g) | Calories: ~550
→ Get the full recipe: Broccoli Bacon Alfredo Pasta Salad
4. Quick Mediterranean Tuna Salad with No Mayo
Two cans of tuna and a can of chickpeas, tossed with cherry tomatoes, mint, and a Greek yogurt dressing instead of mayo.
It comes together in 15 minutes with zero cooking, and the tuna-chickpea combo is what gets it up near 25 grams of protein without feeling heavy.
Protein: ~23g | Calories: ~240 per serving
→ Get the full recipe: Quick Mediterranean Tuna Salad with No Mayo
5. Healthy Avocado Chicken Salad Wrap with Greek Yogurt
Shredded chicken and mashed avocado bound with Greek yogurt instead of mayo, wrapped up with celery and grapes for crunch. It’s built as a wrap, but the filling works just as well spooned over greens if you’d rather skip the tortilla.
Protein: ~21g | Calories: ~300 per serving
→ Get the full recipe: Healthy Avocado Chicken Salad Wrap with Greek Yogurt
6. Carnivore Creamy Egg Salad Dip
Six eggs, butter, and mayo — that’s the whole ingredient list. It’s technically sold as a dip, but it eats exactly like an egg salad, and it’s the simplest recipe on this list by a wide margin.
That short ingredient list still gets you close to 20 grams of protein a serving.
Protein: ~20g | Calories: 300 per serving
→ Get the full recipe: Carnivore Creamy Egg Salad Dip
7. Mediterranean Lentil Tabbouleh
Lentils stand in for the bulgur in this tabbouleh, which is what pushes the protein past a typical parsley salad. Tomatoes, cucumber, mint, and a lemon dressing keep it fresh, and it’s naturally vegan if that’s a box you need to check.
Protein: 16g | Calories: 319 per serving
→ Get the full recipe: Mediterranean Lentil Tabbouleh
8. Tuscan Tuna Salad with White Beans
Just tuna, cannellini beans, red onion, and a squeeze of lemon — no mayo, no cutting board full of vegetables. It’s the fastest recipe on this list, ready in about 10 minutes, and the beans stretch the tuna further without watering down the protein much.
Protein: ~14g | Calories: ~200 per serving
→ Get the full recipe: Tuscan Tuna Salad with White Beans
9. Avocado Chickpea Tomato Salad with Lime
Chickpeas, avocado, and feta in a bright lime dressing — this is the one to make when you want a salad that actually keeps you full instead of leaving you hungry an hour later. The site lists a wide calorie range since bowl size varies a lot here, so treat these numbers as a starting point, not gospel.
Protein: ~14g (site range 10–18g) | Calories: ~390
→ Get the full recipe: Avocado Chickpea Tomato Salad with Lime
10. Chickpea Feta Avocado Salad
A simpler cousin of the salad above — cucumber, chickpeas, avocado, and cubed feta in a lemon-garlic dressing. It’s a good option if you want fewer ingredients and less feta than the lime version, without losing much protein.
Protein: ~13g (site range 12–13g) | Calories: ~335
→ Get the full recipe: Chickpea Feta Avocado Salad
11. Spicy Peach and Chickpea Salad
Peaches, tomatoes, jalapeño, and chickpeas over arugula with a chipotle-lime dressing. This is the lowest-protein recipe on the list, and it earns its spot on flavor as much as macros — pair it with grilled chicken or fish if you want the whole plate to hit higher.
Protein: ~10g (site range 8–12g) | Calories: ~375
