- Calcium supports bone, heart, muscle, and nerve health.
- The recommended amount of calcium for adults is 1,000 to 1,200 milligrams per day.
- Dietitians say chia seed pudding, green smoothies, canned sardines with cheese and calcium-fortified cereal with milk provide even more calcium than a cup of yogurt.
When you open the fridge to look for a snack, what’s the first thing you are reaching for? For many, the answer is yogurt! There’s plenty to love about yogurt—it’s a creamy and satisfying snack option that also offers a variety of health benefits, from improved digestion to heart health. Not to mention all of the essential nutrients—like calcium—that it provides.
For those looking to up their calcium intake (a lot of us aren’t getting enough), it makes sense that yogurt is often a top pick. The recommended daily amount of calcium for adults is 1,000 to 1,200 milligrams, and just 1 cup of nonfat plain yogurt provides 488 mg. Beyond calcium’s well-known role in bone health, your heart, muscles and nerves also need this essential mineral to function properly. But if you’re tired of your daily yogurt bowl, it isn’t the only high-calcium snack option out there. Here are some other dietitian-recommended healthy snacks that have more calcium than a cup of yogurt.
4 Healthy Snacks That Have More Calcium Than a Cup of Yogurt
1. Canned Sardines with Cheese
Tuna isn’t the only snackable seafood—sardines are another tasty fish that deserves a spot in your lineup. Not only are they a great source of protein and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, sardines are especially rich in calcium too. “Most of the calcium in our bodies—more than 99%—is stored in our bones. And that’s true for fish as well. Sardine bones are soft and edible, so when you enjoy sardines, you’re loading up on the calcium stored in their skeleton,” says Alyssa Northrop, M.P.H., RD, LMT.
A can of sardines provides as much as 351 mg of calcium. While that’s just shy of the total calcium you’ll score from a cup of yogurt, you can easily boost it by adding some cheese. One ounce of Cheddar cheese provides 199 mg calcium. “A tasty way to enjoy sardines is to make sardine crackers by layering a cracker, sharp Cheddar cheese and sardines,” suggests Sarah Alsing, M.S., RD.
2. Chia Seed Pudding
Chia seeds don’t just help you poop, they are also surprisingly high in calcium. Just 1 ounce of chia seeds—about 2 tablespoons—provides 179 mg calcium or 14% of your daily needs. Soaking the chia seeds in milk to create the pudding adds even more calcium to the tally. Of course, any mix-ins you include to add more protein or flavor may also tack on more calcium. For example, this high-protein blueberry and peanut butter chia pudding provides an impressive 729 mg of calcium for a breakfast-size portion, but even pared down a little for snacking it still has an edge over plain yogurt.
3. Cereal and Milk
Good news for cereal lovers—this convenient breakfast option also makes a great calcium-rich snack, especially when you add a splash of milk. Here’s the rundown. A serving of calcium-fortified toasted oats cereal offers around 100 mg of calcium. But once you add 1 cup of low-fat milk, the calcium total for this snack goes up to an impressive 414 mg calcium or 32% of the daily recommendation.
What’s more, dairy milk isn’t the only milk that can boost the calcium in your bowl. Nondairy alternatives like soy, almond and even oat milk are often fortified with calcium to help you score enough in your diet. For example, a calcium-fortified almond milk will provide a whopping 422 mg per cup. Per Patricia Kolesa, M.S., RDN, “This is also a great choice for those requiring a dairy-free option.”
4. Green Smoothie
Dark leafy greens are a rich source of calcium, but munching on a handful of greens for a snack isn’t very appealing. One simple way to make them more palatable is to toss a handful into a smoothie. And if you include other calcium-rich ingredients in the mix, like chia seeds and calcium-fortified almond milk, it can really add up! If you need some inspiration, try this green smoothie recipe, which provides a whopping 676 mg of calcium per serving—that’s more than half the recommended calcium for the day.
Notable Mentions
If none of those calcium-rich snacks suit your taste buds, our dietitians had a few other notable snack mentions that are worth entertaining:
- Fortified orange juice: “I recommend fortified orange juice—many brands provide 300 mg of calcium in an 8-ounce glass, and it’s an easy, familiar choice for kids and adults,” says Jamie Lee McIntyre, M.S., RDN, CDN. She adds that you can even freeze it into popsicle molds for a frozen treat.
- Mozzarella cheese snack plate: Create a simple snack plate that’s packed with calcium by combining one stick of mozzarella string cheese, 1 ounce of unsalted almonds, and 1 cup of blackberries.,, This easy-to-assemble combo racks up the calcium, providing about 325 mg or about 25% of your daily needs.
- Canned salmon: Sardines aren’t the only canned fish that’s packed with calcium. “Canned salmon is a convenient, high-calcium, high-protein and omega-3-rich snack that can be enjoyed as a sandwich, salmon patties or straight out of the can,” says Sheri Gaw, RDN, CDCES. One can of pink salmon and bones provides up to 302 mg of calcium, about 23% of the recommended daily intake.
- Tofu chocolate pudding: Tofu can be an unexpectedly good source of calcium, since many brands use calcium sulfate to help solidify the soy milk to make tofu. For example, 1 cup of firm tofu provides as much as 506 mg calcium, or almost 40% of your daily needs. Per Avery Zenker, M.A.N., RD, one way to use tofu in a snack is to blend it into a pudding with calcium-fortified plant-based milk, cocoa powder, maple syrup, vanilla and a dash of salt. Snacking on a half-cup of this pudding provides over 200 mg of calcium.
Our Expert Take
Yogurt is likely one of the first snack foods that comes to mind when you need to increase your calcium intake. But if you’re feeling bored with your daily yogurt snack, there are plenty of other options that provide just as much (if not more!) calcium. Dietitians suggest adding chia pudding, green smoothies, canned sardines with cheese and calcium-fortified cereal with milk to your snack rotation. You’ll be adding plenty of variety to banish boredom and hit the mark on the recommended daily intake of this essential nutrient.
