The 10 best (and worst) whey protein powders – taste-tested

Photograph: Tracy Allison/The GuardianView image in fullscreen Photograph: Tracy Allison/The GuardianThe 10 best (and worst) whey protein powders – taste-testedWhey protein powder is everywhere, but which ones will you savor and which will you choke down? The Guardian staff glugged them all so you don’t have to

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At a glance: the best protein powdersHow we testedBest overall: OptimumBest for travel: Factor FormFor creamy texture: ThorneFor a flavor twist: MindBodyGreenOther protein powders we testedJust IngredientsTransparent LabsTruvaniNakedPromixMomentousProteinmaxxing has gotten out of hand. It’s in everything from ice-cream to yogurt – yes, our protein has extra protein in it now. GLP-1 weight loss drugs are in part to blame; as Americans eat less overall, protein intake becomes more essential. And whey protein in particular has taken off.

The side effect: a price hike for whey protein concentrates as much as fivefold as demand sharply increased in the past few years, as we reported. In other words, whey protein powders are more expensive than ever.

So which ones are actually worth the steep price tag? To find out, we put 10 powders through rounds of testing. While many of our testers had less-than-thrilled reactions, comparing them to “watery coffee grounds” and calling them “Pepto Bismol-ish”, they weren’t all bad.

After a blind taste test in the Guardian’s New York office and a round of testing in our homes, a few stood out for their blend of convenience, nutritional content and least awful flavor – and one brand was unanimously crowned the winner.

How we testedWe spoke with registered dietitians to identify 10 whey protein powders that were the most popular on the market but also healthy choices: they had the shortest ingredient lists, least additives and artificial ingredients or strong third-party certifications by NSF, Informed Sport, Informed Choice or GMP. Those certifications are particularly important because protein powders are regulated by the FDA as food, not drugs.

That is also why you will not see brands such as Dymatize or Isopure on our list – while highly praised for taste, these brands have long ingredient lists with many additives.

As the Filter has done for protein bars, chocolate bars and non-alcoholic Guinness, we recruited Guardian staffers taste test 10 brands. For our blind test, we mixed protein powders with water using blender bottles. We tried the chocolate and vanilla flavors of each, pouring small, shot-sized servings. (While water is certainly the most cost-effective way to consume protein powder, it also proved to be the least appetizing.)

Then, we narrowed the list down to five finalists using the feedback from round one. Instead of a blind test, we asked four testers to prepare them at home with a milk of their choice to see if that would improve the flavor and texture from the less-than-palatable water round. (Spoiler: it did.)

View image in fullscreen$20 at Amazon (chocolate)$21 at Optimum (vanilla)What we loved

After two rounds of testing with water and milk, Optimum was the clear winner in taste. Even with water, testers noted that it was the “best so far” and didn’t “have the fake sugar taste the others had”. With milk, “It’s undoubtedly sweet, but it tastes like childhood.”

It’s a shame that … the texture was hard to mix, with one person noting: “The powder doesn’t smoothly mix in all the way. There were still some clumps after what I’d say was a normal amount of vigorous mixing.”

View image in fullscreen$48 for 15 packets at Factor Form (chocolate and vanilla)What we loved

Factor Form’s all-natural ingredient list is satisfyingly short, featuring sea salt and real cocoa powder. It comes in individual packets, making these the most travel-friendly option we tested. “I took a few packets with me on a trip abroad and they fit handily in one of my backpack’s pockets. For good protein powder on the go, I feel like Factor is hard to beat,” said Karen Yuan, a Filter commissioning editor, who was able to fuel up with Factor protein shakes in her hotel room before setting out for the day.

Our testers were split on flavor. “Do you know the marshmallow fluff in flutternutter sandwiches? That’s how it tasted – sweet and creamy,” one tester enthused. Others didn’t hate the flavor, although they noted it had a strong taste of artificial sweetener. “This particular vanilla flavor tastes like Christmas cookies dusted liberally with Stevia,” said one participant.

It’s a shame that … it isn’t third-party certified, which the registered dietitians we interviewed recommended when selecting a powder. Most of our blind taste-test participants were also not fans of Factor in water, saying that it tasted too artificially sweetened and calling out its chalky aftertaste. It was also tricky to combine with milk.

View image in fullscreen$65 at Thorne (vanilla)$65 at Amazon (chocolate)What we loved

The creamy texture – in both rounds of testing. “The chocolate flavor is particularly rich, and the mixture ended up creamy,” said one tester. Another said that the powder was “finer and mixed more easily, resulting in a consistently creamy texture”.

It’s a shame that … it was too sweet for many of our participants, who called it “very sweet in a fake way” when mixed with water and “definitely very stevia-forward, but the chocolate part is inoffensive” with milk.

View image in fullscreen$69 at MindBodyGreen (chocolate)$69 at MindBodyGreen (vanilla)What we loved

Our testers didn’t hate the cinnamon-tinged vanilla flavor, likening it to “watery horchata”. That doesn’t sound the most appetizing to us either, but it’s a twist on the usual vanilla, if you’re seeking something different. (Another staffer called the cinnamon “way better” than MindBodyGreen’s chocolate protein powder, at least.)

It’s a shame that … our blind tasters found this consistency too thin. This didn’t improve in round two of our test, in which one participant still found it thin mixed with oat milk.

View image in fullscreen Photograph: Tracy Allison/The GuardianOther protein powders we testedWe tried all 10 powders with water only (the most economical way to consume) before advancing the winners to the second round of our taste test. Be warned: our testers did not hold back with their feedback.

Note: We tested Just Ingredients with both water and milk, and the others with water only.

View image in fullscreen$50 at Amazon (vanilla)$50 at Amazon (chocolate)The verdict: “Tastes like it came straight out of a loveless, passion-free factory from Protein Inc.” “There’s something weirdly chemically in the taste, almost like toxin-free play-doh for tots.” “This needs something extra to be palatable, and I don’t know what that would be.”

View image in fullscreen$65 at Transparent Labs (vanilla)$65 at Amazon (chocolate)The verdict: “Generic vanilla, but also like a melted vanilla lip gloss.” “Very sweet fake chocolate milk taste, I suppose it’s fine for utility only?”

View image in fullscreen$55 at Amazon (vanilla)The verdict: “Sweet like mass-market chocolate.” “It feels like I’m drinking stevia water.” “Hints of … cinnamon, tempered with a hearty dose of something that feels like stevia.”

View image in fullscreen$63 at Amazon (chocolate)$63 at Amazon (vanilla)The verdict: “The most ‘natural’ by far, though that is a relatively subjective assessment.” “For someone who wants to ‘eat clean’ but still needs protein.” “Dishwater.”

View image in fullscreen$65 at Amazon (vanilla)The verdict: “Is this what protein tastes like?! Bleh.” “Like watery coffee grounds.”

View image in fullscreen$60 at Amazon (chocolate)The verdict: “Coconut water-esque. Fine.” “The color is disturbing but the flavor is better than most of the vanilla ones.” “Way too watery, looks like dirty dish water.”

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