Top 6 High Protein Oatmeal Brands

As much as we might love a hearty omelet or our favorite chocolate protein shake, we usually don’t have time to whip up our dream high protein breakfast every morning. But common convenient options like frozen waffles or a bacon cheddar breakfast burrito don’t tend to offer the nutritional boost we need to kick off a productive day. That’s where instant high protein oatmeal comes in.

With its high fiber content and its quick prep time, instant oatmeal is hard to beat as far as microwavable breakfasts are concerned.

Whether you need something to fuel you for hours during your workday or give you a boost before your morning workout, choosing a meal that’s higher in protein can help you feel satiated more quickly and keep you fuller for longer (1). Protein also plays a vital role in muscle recovery, growth, and maintenance during and after exercise (2).

Here is a breakdown of the 9 best high protein oatmeal brands on the market, tips for making high protein oatmeal at home, and how to choose a healthy high protein oatmeal.

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How to choose a healthy high protein oatmeal

When choosing a healthy high protein oatmeal, here are some things to look for: 

• Protein. While oatmeal tends to provide some protein on its own — on average, about 3-4 grams in one packet (3) — some brands have added sources of protein including soy protein isolate, flax seeds, and nuts. Other brands use whole grain steel cut oats or add other high protein grains like quinoa to increase protein content.
  
• Fiber. Fiber plays a key role in helping you absorb nutrients, regulating blood sugar, and keeping your gut healthy (4). All of the oatmeal brands listed below are considered a good or excellent source of fiber — more than 10% of the daily value.
  
• Added sugar. In many flavored instant oatmeal products, added sugars like cane sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, and honey are often added to provide a touch of sweetness and bring out other flavors (5). If you’re interested in reducing your added sugar intake, try fresh or dried fruit instead to upgrade your plain old oats. For an oatmeal that’s low in added sugar, look for products that contain less than 5% of the daily value (6).
  
• USDA Organic Label. Compared with organic, conventionally grown oats are known to have higher levels of glyphosate, a weed killer that may be harmful in high amounts. For those who eat oats regularly, buying organic can prevent unsafe levels of exposure to the pesticide (7). To learn more about potentially unsafe levels of pesticides in oat-based items & other products, you can explore the Food Safety GreenScores of thousands of products on GreenChoice.
  
  To simplify your search for a convenient, healthy, high protein breakfast, here are our top 9 picks for high protein oatmeal. Based on GreenChoice data from over 200 types of oatmeal, we’ve selected products with 10 grams of protein or more and with GreenScore ratings of 65 or greater.

1. Kodiak Cakes Oatmeal Unleashed Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip

Powerful Oatmeal High Protein Oatmeal Cup

6 pack, 2.3 oz each

Powerful Oatmeal High Protein Oatmeal Cup has some nutritional value, is moderately processed, and is estimated to have a very low carbon footprint and a moderate water footprint.

Allergen info: Contains milk, tree nut. Manufactured in a facility that processes peanuts, tree nuts, soy, egg, wheat and milk.

Ingredients: Rolled oats, whey protein concentrate, milk protein isolate, fructose, apples, brown sugar, natural flavor, pecans, pure maple, syrup, salt, stevia.

• 74/100 GreenScore®
• Good source of Fiber (11% DV)

• 20g of Protein, 4g of Fiber and 8g of Added sugar per serving
• Moderately processed

2. Kodiak Oatmeal Cup Maple Brown Sugar

3. Rx A M Chocolate Oats

4. Kodiak Cakes Protein Packed Instant Oatmeal

5. Purely Elizabeth Collagen Protein Oat Cup Vanilla Pecan

6. Garden Of Light – Almond & Vanilla Organic Oats Happiness

Key takeaways for choosing a high protein oatmeal

There’s a reason they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Now more than ever, we need that extra boost of energy to keep us productive and ready to take on the day. We hope we’ve given you the knowledge you need to pick out your perfect high protein oatmeal.

To recap, for a good source of protein, look for oatmeals that contain more than 10% of the daily value. Also, if you’re looking to reduce added sugars, opt for an oatmeal that contains less than 5% of the daily value, or 2.5g per serving.

If staying full after breakfast is especially important to you, or you’re just looking for added health benefits, choose an oatmeal that’s high in fiber, or more than 10% of the daily value.

Lastly, if the oatmeal products on this list didn’t make the cut, you always have the option of adding nuts, nut butter, yogurt, seeds, or protein powders to create your perfect bowl of high protein oatmeal.

There are 1,000s of food products that won’t be right for you

Let GreenChoice find the ones that are

Tell us your dietary needs & values and we’ll show you foods that match!

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GreenChoice, PBC has evaluated and rated more than 340,000 food & beverage products across hundreds of attributes related to diet, health, and sustainability. Easily find the best products for you, the planet, & your budget. Sign up to access the GreenChoice marketplace, the first carbon-neutral online grocery marketplace for healthy, climate-friendly shopping.

Katherine

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