Backyard BBQ Protein Swaps
This recipe was created before I started documenting my recipes online, so there isn't a photo or video for it yet. But I've made it, loved it, and wanted to share it with you anyway. 🤎
Easy ways to make your next cookout a little more protein-packed—without making it feel like a fitness meal.
Summer BBQs don't need to be chicken breast and sad lettuce.
You can have the burgers, the potato salad, the grilled corn, the homemade desserts and still build a meal that gives you plenty of protein. Here are some of my favorite swaps for your next backyard cookout.
🍔 Swap #1: The Burger
Instead of: A small burger with a thin patty
Try: A generous beef patty with your favorite toppings.
Use 90/10 or 93/7 ground beef, make your own patties, and don't be afraid to make them substantial.
Easy protein boost: Add another small patty instead of piling on extra cheese.
From-scratch idea: Make your own burger buns, homemade pickles, or your own BBQ sauce.
🌭 Swap #2: Hot Dogs
Instead of: Treating the hot dog as your entire protein source
Try: Pairing one with another protein.
Add grilled chicken, a burger, or even a scoop of your favorite bean salad alongside it.
From-scratch idea: Look for locally made sausage or brats, or make your own if that's part of your kitchen someday.
🍗 Swap #3: BBQ Chicken
Chicken is one of the easiest ways to get a lot of protein onto a cookout plate.
Try:
- Grilled chicken thighs
- Chicken breast
- BBQ chicken skewers
- Chicken drumsticks
- Pulled chicken
Brush with your favorite BBQ sauce during the final few minutes of grilling so you get that sticky, caramelized coating without burning the sauce.
From-scratch idea: Make your own BBQ sauce using tomato sauce, honey, vinegar, spices, and whatever else you love.
🥩 Swap #4: Steak or Steak Bites
Want something a little heartier? Grill steak and cut it into bite-sized pieces for an easy protein to serve alongside all your BBQ favorites.
Or use a more affordable cut, marinate it well, and slice it thinly after cooking.
From-scratch girlie move: Save those leftovers for tomorrow's breakfast, salad, or sandwich.
🍤 Swap #5: Shrimp Skewers
Shrimp cooks incredibly quickly on the grill and gives you another high-protein option that isn't chicken or beef.
Thread shrimp onto skewers with bell peppers, onion, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and pineapple. Brush with olive oil, season generously, and grill until cooked through.
My Gym Girlies 💪
You don't need to show up to a BBQ with your Tupperware container of plain chicken.
Instead, think about building your plate around a protein source you actually want to eat. A simple BBQ plate could be: protein — burger + grilled chicken; carb — potato salad + corn on the cob; veggies — grilled vegetables; fun stuff — chips, dessert, whatever sounds good.
If you're trying to hit a specific protein target, start with your protein and then build the rest of the plate around it.
And remember: one cookout isn't going to undo your progress. Eat the food. Enjoy your people. Go home and get back to your normal routine.
My From-Scratch Girlies 🌿
This is where a backyard BBQ can become SO much fun.
Instead of thinking about "healthy swaps," think about making more of the meal yourself. Try: homemade BBQ sauce, homemade hamburger buns, garden-grown lettuce and tomatoes, homemade pickles, fresh garden onions, homemade coleslaw, potato salad with potatoes from the garden, homemade lemonade, fresh berries for dessert.
You don't have to make every single thing from scratch. Maybe this year it's just the BBQ sauce. Next year it's the pickles. Eventually you're standing in your kitchen with a basket of tomatoes and wondering what you're going to preserve before dinner. That's the fun part.
And For Both Girlies 💪🌿
The goal isn't to create a "clean" BBQ. It's to make a cookout that feels like real life.
You can care about protein and muscle. You can care about growing your own food. You can track your macros Monday through Friday and eat your grandma's potato salad on Saturday. You can grill a 40-gram-protein dinner and then make homemade peach cobbler.
You don't have to choose between being the gym girl and the from-scratch girl. You can be both.