6 Ways To Make Plant-Based Protein Powder Not Taste Like Dirt

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I’ve been vegan for over 5 years now, and for the last two years, I’ve actively been trying to get stronger and build muscle. So far, so good. Overall, it’s been quite easy to gain strength on a plant-based diet, but one thing has bothered me throughout: the taste of plant protein powder.

Quite frankly, I’m surprised how many plant protein powders are sold that, quite literally, taste like absolute dirt. It’s astonishing and a little crazy to me that companies seem to have accepted that putting out a product that tastes the way it does is acceptable.

In this blog, I’ll therefore help you attempt something most companies aren’t able to achieve: make plant protein powder taste like something you can consume without making weird faces. As a bonus, I’ll also share with you the one protein powder that I use myself that actually tastes great.

1. Don’t Put In A Full Scoop

Allow me to explain. (Most) plant protein powders have quite an overwhelming taste. No matter what I’ve tried, you can’t fix this completely. However, by using less, you do give yourself a fighting chance.

Having said that, throwing 30 grams of protein into anything (a shake, a bowl, or anything else) makes it impossible to recover taste-wise. Instead, I recommend using a maximum of 15 grams if you’re using a protein powder of which you don’t like the taste that much. Yes, you will get less protein, but at least you’ll still get quite a decent amount, and you won’t suffer in the process.

2. Use The Right Plant Protein

I already wrote an extensive blog about this topic here: Choosing The Right Vegan Protein Powder for Strength Building. The main point of that blog post is that protein powders made from soy or hemp seeds are the best nutrition-wise (they’re what we refer to as “complete proteins”). However, they also taste horrible.

Instead, I’m going to suggest you try out a particular pea/sacha inchi protein I found after doing a lot of research myself. It’s called BioTRUST low-carb and it happens to be one of the few protein powders that I think actually tastes nice. On top of that, it doesn’t leave you with a weird stevia aftertaste and still only has 160 calories. It’s my personal favorite. You can find it by clicking the button below.

BioTRUST Low-Carb Plant-Protein Powder

BioTRUST’s Low Carb Plant Based Protein Powder with Superfoods. non-GMO, vegan protein powder with 20g of protein for only 160 calories.

• Delicious plant-based protein shake mixes up smooth and creamy
• 20 grams of protein per serving
• 5 grams of fiber per serving
• Loaded with 15 superfoods

Learn More

3. Mix With Fruits Or Vegetables

Let’s say you do pick a protein powder, like the ones made from pea, pumpkin, or sunflower seeds. Do you know what works well in this case? Mixing it with fruits and vegetables. That’s because these flavors complement each other. I mean, a vegan banana pumpkin smoothie doesn’t sound all that bad, right?

If you’re used to drinking green/savory smoothies, then this is probably your best bet. Mixing a sunflower or pumpkin seed protein powder with some greens (spinach, avocado etc.) or other strong-tasting veggies (like sweet potato) will definitely help mask the taste of the powder.

Basically, I suggest you see plant protein powders like an ingredient you have in a cabinet rather than how protein powders are usually used (e.g., throw a scoop of whey protein powder into milk and call it a day).

4. Select Carefully

Another thing I strongly recommend you do before you buy 2 pounds of protein powder is to taste test a bunch of them. Doesn’t matter what kind you’re buying: some brands really are better than others. I’ve had multiple soy protein powders over the years and some were unbearable whereas others were doable. That’s still a big gap.

On top of that, it doesn’t depend solely on the brand. It also highly depends on the flavor you’re ordering. In some cases, a brand will have a good vanilla protein powder, but their chocolate one will taste horrendous.

If you’re buying your protein powder online, you can often order samples. I highly suggest you buy a couple of samples before buying larger packages.

5. Use Very Strong-Tasting Ingredients

Occasionally, regardless of what you do, the plant protein powder will still ruin the taste of what you’re trying to make. In this case, I recommend you use very strong-tasting ingredients such as peanut butter and cocoa.

Especially when you combine the two with some plant-based sweetened milk, there’s a good chance the taste of the protein powder will be masked sufficiently.

In my experience, this can work, but you should take the first tip on this list into account: don’t use too much. For example, I’ve mixed soy protein powders with peanut butter and cocoa, and it still wasn’t enough to mask the taste. When I used half a scoop, it was a lot better.

6. Pancakes Or Baked Goods

Another way I incorporate plant protein powders into my diet is by using them as an ingredient in pancakes or baked goods (although I mainly use them for pancakes).

If you get the quantities right, you won’t taste the protein powder anymore. Especially if your pancake mixture has bananas, peanut butter, or cocoa in it. You do need something sweet in there to completely mask the taste and make the food delicious.

It takes a bit of figuring out, but mixing some protein powder into a recipe like this one will definitely make your life a bit easier: Vegan Banana Protein Pancakes.

Avoid This Mistake

Finally, I suggest you don’t mix plant protein powder with unsweetened milk/yogurts. Take unsweetened soy milk, for example. That already has an earthy taste to it. Mixing in concentrated protein powder will only make that taste worse. If you’re going to mix it with a milk/yogurt substitute, I suggest you pick the sweetened version.

Stefan K.

Stefan has been vegan since 2019 and has been regularly working on his strength since the beginning of 2023. He’s on a mission to help other vegans get stronger and have all of them achieve the quality of life they deserve.