Best Healthful Foods to Gain Weight Fast
Best Healthful Foods to Gain Weight Fast
When people think of gaining weight, they often assume it involves eating unhealthy junk food. However, healthily gaining weight requires consuming nutrient-dense, high-calorie foods that support muscle growth, energy, and overall well-being.
The best foods for weight gain usually contain plant and animal protein, fats and oils, complex carbohydrates, and dairy products made with whole milk. What you should eat, however, depends on your specific weight and health goals.
For some people, gaining weight or adding muscle can feel as difficult as losing weight is for others.
For weight gain, you need to try to take in more calories than you burn throughout the day by eating many frequent, smaller meals. Adding certain foods to your diet can provide extra calories and nutrients, like protein, to make weight gain efforts both safe and effective.
Why Choose Healthy High-Calorie Foods for Weight Gain?
Healthy weight gain is about building muscle and strength, not just increasing body fat. The key is choosing nutrient-rich, whole foods that provide essential vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats instead of relying on processed or sugary options. Whether you're underweight, an athlete, or just looking to bulk up, these foods can help you achieve your goals.
Top Healthy High-Calorie Foods for Weight Gain
Protein
A protein smoothie offers a great way to increase your daily calories in a portable way that meets your taste preferences. Homemade protein smoothies can be a highly nutritious and effective way to gain weight. Making your own smoothies gives you full control over the ingredients and can help you boost calories.Here are a few tasty variations you can try. You can combine each with 2 cups or 470 milliliters (mL) of dairy milk or soy milk if you have lactose intolerance. Both have more nutrients and calories than other milk alternatives.
- Chocolate banana nut shake: Combine 1 banana, 1 scoop of chocolate whey protein, and 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of peanut or another nut butter.
- Vanilla berry shake: Combine 1 cup (237 mL) of fresh or frozen mixed berries, ice, 1 cup (237 mL) of high protein, whole milk Greek yogurt, and 1 scoop of vanilla whey protein.
- Super green shake: Combine 1 cup (237 mL) of spinach, 1 avocado, 1 banana, 1 cup (237 mL) of pineapple, and 1 scoop of unflavored or vanilla whey protein.
Nuts and Nut Butter
Nuts are calorie-dense and packed with healthy fats, protein, and fiber, making them ideal for weight gain.
Almonds, Walnuts, Peanuts, Pecans Hazelnuts, Cashews, Peanut Butter
Avocados
Avocados are full of important fats and nutrients. They’re versatile and can be added to many different meals or eaten on their own to increase your daily calorie intake.
Avocados are loaded with monounsaturated fats and provide more than 200 calories per fruit.
- Cheese
Cheese is a high-calorie source of protein, calcium, and healthy fats, making it perfect for weight gain. Cheese has been a staple food for centuries. It provides calories and fats. Just 1 oz of cheddar cheese (28 g) has 110 calories and 7 g of protein.
Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Red Leicester, Stilton
Dairy milk
Dairy products are rich in protein, healthy fats, and calcium, helping to build muscle and add healthy weight. Drinking milk is a great way to add protein to your diet. It contains both casein and whey proteins that are linked with supporting muscle growth.
Try drinking 1 cup of whole milk (237 mL) as a snack, with a meal, or before and after a workout if you’re training for a quick 149 calories and 8 grams (g) of protein per serving
Whole Grains (Oats, Brown Rice, Quinoa)
Whole grains provide complex carbohydrates and fiber, helping to sustain energy levels and promote healthy weight gain.
Rice is a source of calories and carbs that can be part of many frequent, smaller meals throughout the day.
Red meats
Packed with protein, iron, and B vitamins, red meat is an excellent choice for those interested in building muscle. Red meat is an excellent source of protein that can help support muscle growth with resistance exercise. It contains leucine, an amino acid that helps stimulate muscle protein synthesis. Fatty cuts of meat tend to be high in calories.
Oily Fish (Salmon, Mackerel, Sardines)
Rich in omega-3s and protein, oily fish can help you build muscle and gain a healthy weight. Like red meat, salmon and oily fish are excellent sources of protein and essential fats, including omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids provide numerous benefits and may reduce the risk of various diseases, such as heart disease.
Dried Fruits (Dates, Raisins, Apricots)
A great source of natural sugar, fiber, and vitamins—ideal for increasing calorie intake quickly. Dried fruit provides calories, antioxidants, and micronutrients. You can get many different types of dried fruit, and they all have naturally high sugar content. Since they’re convenient to eat and taste great, they can be combined with a protein source, such as cuts of meat, cheese, or a whey protein shake.
Eggs
A high-protein food with healthy fats, eggs help in muscle development and weight gain.
Eggs are one of the best foods for building muscle and can be a part of a weight gain eating plan. For most otherwise healthy people, there’s no limit to the number of eggs you should eat in a day, and they’re full of nutrients.
Full-fat dairy (Milk, Yogurt, Greek Yogurt)
Dairy products are rich in protein, healthy fats, and calcium, helping to build muscle and add healthy weight.
One trendier way of consuming fats is having butter coffee or olive oil coffee for breakfast or as a high calorie snack. You could also try blending up a cup of brewed coffee with coconut oil and unsalted butter until it looks like a foamy latte.
Dark Chocolate (70% Cocoa or Higher)
High-quality dark chocolate provides a ton of antioxidants and health benefits. Contains antioxidants, healthy fats, and sugar to boost calorie intake in a nutritious way.
Supermarket aisles have many types and qualities of dark chocolate. Be sure to choose a high quality one with at least 70% cacao.
Cereal bars
Some of the healthier cereal bars on the market can be a great snack when you’re on the go and in need of calories. Most bars average between 150–200 calories. They’re also a good choice before or after a training session since they tend to contain a mix of slow- and fast-digesting carbs.
Potatoes and complex carbohydrates
Complex carbohydrates can increase important nutrients and calories and improve your muscle glycogen stores. Potatoes and other complex carbohydrates are a cost-effective way to add extra calories.
Try to choose one of these sources of complex carbs:
- Quinoa
- Oats
- Corn
- Buckwheat
- Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes
- Squash
- Winter Root Vegetables
- Beans and Legumes
Final Thoughts
For those in the USA and UK, gaining weight healthily is all about choosing nutrient-dense foods that help you build muscle and strength rather than simply consuming empty calories. By focusing on whole, unprocessed options, you can achieve your weight gain goals without compromising your health.
