How Much Protein Is in Oatmeal? It May Be Less Than You Think

Just mash one-quarter cup of garbanzo beans into your bowl. Then add the rolled oats, liquid, sweetener, and toppings of your choice, heat it up, and boom — for 65 extra calories, you get 3.5 grams of protein.

The smashed chickpeas add a creaminess that blends right into the oatmeal, so you won't notice them one bit. This hack works with white beans, too, and if your oatmeal is chocolate flavoured, you can use black beans.

Try this recipe: banana cashew overnight oats

Stir in two tablespoons of a nut butter. Both sunflower seed and peanut butter add eight extra grams of protein, and almond butter adds seven grams.

Try this recipe: chocolate peanut butter overnight oats

Instead of just using rolled oats, throw in hemp hearts (raw shelled hemp seeds). One tablespoon offers 3.3 grams of protein and one gram of carbs, so this little bowl packs in over 19 grams of protein!

Try this recipe: overnight hemp seed and oat cereal

Forget cooking your oats in plain water. Increase the protein by swapping soy milk (or cow's milk if you eat dairy). Half a cup of soy milk adds 3.5 grams of protein. Ripple milk made with pea protein is another excellent choice — it offers four grams of protein per half-cup serving.

Try this recipe: slow-cooker pumpkin steel-cut oats

Mix a little protein powder to transform your bowl of toasty warm oatmeal into a protein-packed breakfast (over 18 grams!).

Try this recipe: high-protein oatmeal

One tablespoon of flaxmeal offers one gram of protein, so this can be one of many protein-packed ingredients you add to your bowl.

Try this recipe: blueberry banana protein-packed baked oatmeal

Mix in some Greek yoghurt (or soy or almond yoghurt if you're dairy-free), and you'll not only up the protein in your bowl, but increase the creaminess as well!

Try this recipe: cookie dough overnight oats

Mix a tablespoon of chia seeds into your oatmeal and you add two grams of protein. You may prefer this texture better than straight-up chia pudding.

Try this recipe: vanilla almond raspberry overnight oats

Try adding powdered peanut butter, like the brand Crazy Richard's (which is unsweetened), to your oats. A two-tablespoon serving adds six grams of protein for just 50 calories.

Try this recipe: peanut butter and banana oatmeal (use peanut butter powder instead of peanut butter)

Sprinkle on some pecans, walnuts, chopped almonds, peanuts, or pistachios — they'll add protein plus fibre and hunger-satiating healthy fats.

Try this recipe: slow-cooker banana steel-cut oatmeal

Leslie recommends adding three tablespoons of almond meal to oatmeal to increase the protein. It adds four grams of protein.

Try this recipe: overnight oatmeal cookie (use it in place of the flaxmeal and peanut butter)