Your diet is as crucial as your workouts when it comes to fitness goals, and protein plays a big part in it. Whether your goal is to build muscle or maintain a healthy diet, proper protein intake can support a healthier body. But it's not easy to get all the protein you need. That's where protein powders can help, but not everybody likes the taste or texture you get from mixing them at home. Premade protein shakes can help there, but picking the right one can be difficult. If you've been struggling to find a non-clumpy protein powder or need to take your protein on the go, we've found the best protein shakes on the market.
There are two common types of protein shakes: whey-based and plant-based. We've tested many protein shakes for taste and nutritional value to help you determine which ones are worth your money.
Kate Farms
Editor's note, Aug. 11, 2022: Kate Farms parent company Lyons Magnus voluntarily recalled some of its pediatric, standard beverages and nutrition shakes. See the details of the recall.
Kate Farms uses organic yellow pea protein in its plant-based shakes that are free of gluten, soy, dairy and artificial sweeteners. I loved how creamy and delicious these protein shakes were. They're higher in calories (330 calories), which isn't a problem since it's considered a meal replacement beverage, not just a protein shake. This product almost made the best list, but it fell short in one important area: It only has 16 grams of protein per serving compared to the other plant-based brands, which have at least 20 grams of protein. If Kate Farms reworked its formula to include 20 grams or more of protein, it would've easily made the best list.
Orgain Organic Nutrition Shake
I'm familiar with Orgain's plant-based protein powders because I've had them in the past. I had never tried its shakes before, and they fell short for me. I really wanted to like them, but they had an aftertaste that their powders normally don't have, and even the creamy chocolate fudge flavor (that I usually like) didn't taste the same to me. If it were up to me, I'd stick to Orgain in powder form and mix it with my dairy-free milk of choice as I normally do.
Iconic Life Protein Drink
This whey-based protein shake was not a hit for me as I could not get past the artificial taste. I often enjoy vanilla flavors, but I was not a fan of this version of vanilla protein. The chocolate flavor was slightly better, but ultimately the mix of sweeteners was not the right fit for me.
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