Contrary to popular belief, it is much easier to get enough protein in a vegan diet than people imagine. There are plenty of plant-based foods that have enough protein to adequately meet the nutritional needs of anyone. But for any vegan who wants to up their protein intake even more, it can be hard to find a plant-based, vegan protein powder that doesn't taste like dirt (I'm looking at you Vega).
There are countless protein powders to choose from, but it seems that almost every one of them uses whey, a dairy derived protein, as their source. And although there seems to be more vegan protein powders everyday, most of them taste absolutely vile. Here's a roundup of the best vegan protein powders from a vegan herself.
Aloha
Aloha seems to be everywhere in the Instagram health world recently. With respectable influencers like @rachlmansfield constantly promoting it, you know it can't be bad.
The 18g of vegan protein in Aloha comes from a mixture of pea, pumpkin, and hempseed proteins. It comes in vanilla, chocolate, banana, and berry, and every one of them has earned a rating of 4.5 stars. The ingredients are minimal and clean, with no artificial fillers or sweeteners.
Olly Nutrition
Olly is a personal favorite of mine. It isn't chalky or grainy at all and the 11 different flavors all taste great. The 18g of protein in each serving comes from a blend of pea protein and flax seeds.
It is sweetened with a mixture of cane sugar, coconut juice powder, and stevia and has about 9g of sugar per serving. It also has added nutrition from ingredients like spinach, carrots, beets, broccoli, apples, and more. If you don't want to commit to buying the entire $30, 22oz tub, they have single serving packets to taste.
Nuzest
This one is another favorite vegan protein powder of mine. It comes in flavors like vanilla, chocolate, cappuccino, strawberry, and natural, with no added artificial sweeteners.
It has 20g of pea protein and is only 90 calories (not that you should be counting calories anyway) per serving with minimal and all-natural ingredients. It doesn't taste gritty and is the perfect addition to any recipe. The only downside to this brand is that the price is a bit steep, but they come in individual samples to try before committing to a full tub.
Bob's Red Mill
Bob's Red Mill is known for having a variety of different gluten free flours and ingredients, but they also have a slew of different varieties of protein supplements. They carry whey, hemp, pea, and soy proteins, so there is something for everyone.
Their best seller is the chai protein powder. The 20g of protein in each serving is derived from pea protein and it is sweetened with monk fruit extract, a fruit native to China and Thailand. It is also modestly priced for a 16oz bag compared to its competition.
Super Elixir
The Super Elixir by Welleco is an Australian company starting to become more popular in the US. It only comes in two flavors, chocolate and vanilla, and both have a consumer rating of 5 stars. This protein has no chalky or gritty taste to it and the flavor is on point thanks to its all natural ingredients.
There is 16g of protein per serving which comes from a blend of pea and brown rice proteins. It is also jam packed with key nutrients and B vitamins. Unfortunately, it is the most expensive protein powder coming in at $60 for a 500g tub.
Garden of Life
Garden of Life has tons of different varieties and flavors to meet the needs of any vegans fitness goals. All of their supplements have a huge amount of protein— their Raw Organic Fit Protein has a whopping 28g per serving.
Their protein comes from a blend of mainly pea and brown rice protein, but also several other all natural ingredients. The taste is a bit gritty to me, but it is pretty easy to get over.
Sun Warrior
Sunwarrior is another powder that is a bit gritty, but it is not to the point where it is impossible to drink. It comes in chocolate, vanilla, and natural flavor, and also has some very clean ingredients.
There is 16g of protein per serving which comes from a mix of pea and hemp protein. The chocolate and vanilla flavors do have some added sugar from the stevia which can be overwhelming for some, but the natural flavor has zero added sugar.
Amazing Grass
I have not heard of this company until recently, but I have heard nothing but good things. Not only does it come in the typical chocolate, vanilla, and natural, but also chocolate peanut butter (a winner for me).
There are 20g of protein per serving which comes from pea, hemp, chia, and quinoa protein. A bonus in this supplement is that it also contains 2 full servings of fruits and vegetables per serving alongside 7 alkalizing greens.
These vegan protein powders make it easy for anyone to increase their protein intake. You can't go wrong with any of these companies and you definitely won't be suffering through any gritty, chalkiness while doing it.