Best foods for clean bulking
Foods that pack calories without empty volume. Lean bulk staples for adding muscle without unnecessary fat gain.
Bulking failures usually come from too much processed food. These calorie-dense whole foods support the surplus while delivering nutrition.
20 top picks
- 🥜
1. Peanut butter
94 kcal · 4g P · 1 tbsp
- 🥜
2. Almond butter
98 kcal · 3.4g P · 1 tbsp
- 🫒
3. Olive oil
124 kcal · 0g P · 1 tbsp
- 🥑
4. Avocado
320 kcal · 4g P · 1 medium
- 🥣
5. Oatmeal (cooked)
166 kcal · 5.8g P · 1 cup cooked
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6. White rice (cooked)
205 kcal · 4.3g P · 1 cup cooked
- 🍠
7. Sweet potato
112 kcal · 2.1g P · 1 medium baked
- 🍝
8. Pasta (cooked)
221 kcal · 8.1g P · 1 cup cooked
- 🐟
9. Salmon
235 kcal · 24.9g P · 4 oz fillet
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10. Chicken thigh
199 kcal · 24.7g P · 1 thigh boneless
- 🥩
11. Ground beef (90/10)
221 kcal · 30.5g P · 4 oz patty
- 🥚
12. Eggs (large)
78 kcal · 6.5g P · 1 large egg
- 🥛
13. Milk (whole)
146 kcal · 7.7g P · 1 cup (8 oz)
- 🌰
14. Almonds (raw)
162 kcal · 5.9g P · 1 oz (~23 nuts)
- 🌰
15. Walnuts
183 kcal · 4.2g P · 1 oz (7 halves)
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16. Pecans
193 kcal · 2.5g P · 1 oz
- 🌴
17. Dates (Medjool)
66 kcal · 0.4g P · 1 date
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18. Banana
105 kcal · 1.3g P · 1 medium
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19. Dark chocolate (70%)
167 kcal · 2.2g P · 1 oz (~28g)
- 🥤
20. Whey protein (1 scoop)
114 kcal · 24g P · 1 scoop (~30g)
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