Danny Palumbo
Justine Sterling
Gwynedd Stuart
What is the best protein shake? For us, it all comes down to the best tasting protein shake. Sure, we’re looking for lots of protein and “macros,” but mostly we’re looking to enjoy drinking the dang thing. Over the course of three taste tests, we tried 32 different protein shakes in order to find the best premade protein shakes that actually taste good. We’re very buff now (follow us on YouTube to see). Read on so you can be just as swole as us.
Here’s what we were looking for in the best tasting protein shakes
- The flavor and consistency of an actual shake. You know, rather than protein powder dissolved in sugar milk. An important question we asked throughout this process was, “What doesn’t taste like chalky gloop?” Ideally, we want a shake that’s thick and creamy like a good shake! Good protein shakes can be on the thinner end of the spectrum—more like whole chocolate milk—as long as they’re creamy rather than chalky.
- Protein (duh). We weren’t strict on this, but we mostly focused on drinks with at least 20g of protein. Some of the plant based shakes are a little lower, but not significantly.
Here’s our latest list of the best protein shakes you can buy if you’ve got flavor on your mind.
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- Koia Coconut Almond Protein Beverage (18g)
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In our most recent taste test, I set out to find more plant based protein shakes and more shakes that aren’t just chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla flavored. This Koia protein shake checks both of those boxes. The flavor is weird, but not too weird. Okay, it’s probably too weird for some people, but hey! It’s not chocolate again. It tastes like a Pina Colada infused with marzipan, and it’s super rich and creamy for being dairy free. If you’re bored with the standard flavors and don’t mind something sweet, try this protein bev. —Gwynedd Stuart
- Slim Fast Coffee House Rich Chocolate (20g)
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Slim Fast claims that one of these protein shakes (formerly “Advanced Energy,” now “Coffee House”) contains as much caffeine as a cup of coffee (100mg, to be precise). So if you’re looking to get a caffeine buzz along with your protein, this is the best protein shake for you. One shake contains 9g fat, which seems a touch high, but it contains a good amount of fiber, and it’s low sugar and low carb. Twenty grams of protein ain’t bad, either. But the caffeine is really the selling point with this one, since the flavor is pretty middling. It’s meant to be a meal replacement and it is filling, I’ll give it that. —Danny Palumbo
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Amazon
- Equate High Performance Chocolate Shake (30g)
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This shake’s chocolate flavor is really mellow, but still nice and milky. There’s a real hot cocoa vibe here which is pleasant to taste and to smell. Equate’s chocolate protein shakes are low in sugar, with 30g protein per serving. It’s hard to argue with the distinct chocolate flavor combined with the stacked amount of protein, especially for around two bucks a shake. —Danny Palumbo
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Walmart
- Muscle Milk Zero Sugar Chocolate Protein Shake (25g)
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No sugar and 25g protein. That’s pretty good, but how does this Muscle Milk shake taste? Intensely chocolatey, which certainly isn’t a bad thing. It’s got almost a chocolate goo thing going on, so it doesn’t feel so much like a shake as it does a delicious chocolate sludge (positive). —Danny Palumbo
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Amazon
- Iconic Vanilla Bean Protein Drink (20g)
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For a zero sugar protein shake, Iconic’s vanilla flavor is still pleasantly sweet. It reminds me of melted birthday party ice cream. It has a good, real vanilla flavor, and it’s so deliciously creamy. It’s gentle but it still packs 20g protein with 0g sugar and just 4g net carbs. I also can’t deny that the packaging is very cool. If you want one of the best protein shakes that also looks very good, Iconic Vanilla Bean is the one for you. (We also tried Iconic Caffe Latte, but it tasted a little meaty.) —Justine Sterling
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
- Koia Protein Chocolate Banana (18g)
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If your favorite dessert is a frozen banana from the boardwalk (or maybe you’re just a really big Arrested Development fan who firmly believes that there’s always money in the banana stand), then this is the best protein shake for you. It has more sugar (6g) and slightly less protein (18g plant protein) than other shakes we tried, but it’s thick with good quality cocoa flavor. It’s a tasty treat that happens to have added protein value. The best part, though, is that the banana flavor tastes like real banana—not Runts banana. Impressive! —Justine Sterling
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Chobani Complete Strawberry Cream (20g)
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If you like drinkable yogurt, Chobani makes the best premade protein shakes. We tried both Mixed Berry and Strawberry Cream, and the Strawberry Cream shake came out on top. It has a strong strawberry flavor, almost like homemade strawberry jam. There is that fake sugar twinge at the end (there’s 0g sugar), but the yogurty twang wins out. Twang over twinge, that’s what I always say. It has 20g protein and it’s quite filling—a good post-workout snack, for sure. —Justine Sterling
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Premier Protein Cafe Latte (30g)
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We recently taste tested nine Premier Protein flavors, and this caffeinated coffee flavor was our absolute fave. It tastes like a mix between a bottled Frappuccino and a coffee milkshake made with instant coffee rather than coffee or espresso beans. Plus, it has as much caffeine as a cup of coffee and only 160 calories per carton. (If coffee isn’t your thing but you’re a Premier Protein fan, Caramel was our runner up.) —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Premier Protein
- Aloha Chocolate Sea Salt (20g)
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Why do protein shake manufacturers think that everyone who wants to get a protein fix also wants to drink liquid cotton candy? Thankfully, Aloha knows there are a few of us out there who would prefer their protein shake not to taste like a melted Peep. As someone who doesn’t love super sweet things, this was the best protein shake I tasted. It has a lovely dark chocolate aroma and it tastes like a dark chocolate bar—-a real serious dark chocolate bar with just a hint of salt. It’s thick and creamy and contains 20g protein and zero artificial ingredients. It’s made with coconut milk, but it doesn’t come off too coconutty—it doesn’t taste like you should be drinking it on a beach. —Justine Sterling
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
- Fairlife Core Power Vanilla (26g)
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This tastes like melted vanilla ice cream in a bottle, and it can’t possibly get any better than that (flavor-wise) from a bottled protein shake. It’s just so creamy and delicious! The macros aren’t bad, either. The overall fat and saturated fat isn’t outrageous, and there’s only five grams of sugar plus 26 grams of protein. This is a delicious vanilla shake that just happens to contain a lot of protein. A big win and definitely the best protein shake if you like it sweet. —Danny Palumbo
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Amazon
Most Unique Flavor
Best Caffeinated (If You Don’t Like Coffee)
Best Budget
Best Zero Sugar
Best Creamy
Best Unique Flavor
Best Yogurt
Best Coffee Flavored
Best Not Sweet
Best of the Best
Other protein shakes we tried
Muscle Milk Vanilla Creme, Fairlife Core Power Chocolate, Orgain Creamy Chocolate Fudge, Orgain Smooth Chocolate Vegan Protein Shake, Premier Protein Chocolate, Premier Protein Vanilla, Atkins Iced Coffee Protein Shake, Atkins Dark Chocolate Shake, Kellogg’s Special K French Vanilla Protein Shake, Kellogg’s Special K Strawberry Protein Shake, Chobani Complete Mixed Berry Vanilla, Naked Protein Tropical, OWYN Cookies & Cream, OWYN Dark Chocolate, OWYN Cold Brewed Coffee, OWYN No Nut Butter Cup, Iconic Cafe Latte, Koia Chocolate Peanut Butter, Koia Cacao Bean, Pirq Protein + Superfoods Chocolate, Pirq Protein + Superfoods Coffee, Core Power Elite Chocolate
Jessica Block
Griffin Parker
Jordan Myrick
