Want to start using a vegan protein powder in your diet? Learn how to choose a healthy protein powder for YOU. With so many protein powder options out there, it’s overwhelming knowing where to start. Use this guide to learn what to look for when trying a new protein powder as well as the best protein powder to choose for women.
Vegan protein powder isn't just for muscle growth.
It is an easy way to bump up your daily protein intake, get in some essential amino acids, stay full, and enjoy some tasty, high-protein recipes like no-bake protein balls, baked goods, and smoothies!
Loaded with essential amino acids it's an easy choice for busy lifestyles.
However, there are a TON of options on the market. Do you opt for whey protein isolate, pea, soy protein, or casein?
Not to mention that they all come with different flavors, profiles, and health claims.
So, it’s no wonder that women are nervous when learning to choose a protein powder best suited to their goals.
Jump To
- Why Is Protein Important?
- How Much Protein Do We Need?
- Whey Protein, Casein, Or Plant Based Protein Powders?
- What To Look For When Choosing A Vegan Protein Powder
- Flavored Protein Powder
- Texture Of Vegan (Plant-Based) Protein Powders
- Quick Cheat Sheet On Using Vegan Protein Powders
- Top 3 Vegan Protein Powders For Women
- Do I NEED To Use A Vegan Protein Powder To Achieve My Goals?
- Wicked Protein Powder Recipes You’ll Love
- Can Using A Protein Powder Help Weight Loss?
- Frequently Asked Questions About Choosing Protein Powder
Why Is Protein Important?
Most people think that protein is just for muscle growth and workout junkies as post-workout fuel but those are just protein myths.
However, protein does so much more than that in our bodies. Protein helps almost every function in our bodies, not limited to:
- Healing our gut and boosting our immune system
- Replenish essential amino acids that our body cannot make
- Having healthy hair, skin, and nails
- Replenishing muscle mass
- Regulating hunger
- Boosting muscle protein synthesis
- Healing from cuts, scrapes, and bruises
Regardless of whether you choose whey protein or vegan protein, you'll experience mega benefits bumping up your intake (and here are 30 vegan protein powder recipes to get you on your way!).
On top of what protein can DO, it needs to be replenished daily. There are essential amino acids we can't make. As well, we can’t store all the protein we need.
Thus, we need to continuously take more in. Think of a large sink full of water… without a plug. To keep the sink full, we need to keep the water on.
Learn more about how to increase your protein intake.
How Much Protein Do We Need?
This is a bit controversial at the moment. Technically speaking, we only NEED about 0.36 grams per pound of bodyweight.
However, this is what we need to SURVIVE, not thrive. In my experience as a Nutrition Coach, most people thrive and achieve their goals best with roughly 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day.
If you're looking to use protein for muscle growth, you'll probably want a bit more than that. Now, obviously, there are exceptions to this rule. But in general, it’s a good place to start. Learn more about how much protein we need at a bare minimum.
This is what I aim for in my mom-inspired meal plans as well as myself personally.
Whey Protein, Casein, Or Plant Based Protein Powders?
This blog post is formatted around choosing a vegan protein powder for women.
If you’re looking for more information about the differences between the kinds of proteins, Precision Nutrition has a great guide on the breakdown.
While all three proteins can be beneficial, you need to choose the one best for YOU.
Below are a few things to consider:
- Are you allergic to or avoiding dairy? If so, you’ll need a vegan protein powder. Given roughly 65% of people do not tolerate dairy well (source), you may want to consider a vegan powder if you'll be consuming it frequently
- Whey protein powders will bake very differently than vegan protein. Whey protein will absorb less liquid for starters.
- In my experience, whey protein is sweeter and contains more additives
- Most vegan proteins are a blend of brown rice, pea and hemp protein. Brown rice protein tends to leave a "chalky" taste when taken straight so pea protein is more common.
What To Look For When Choosing A Vegan Protein Powder
How do you know which protein powder is right for you?
If you’re taking a peek at vegan proteins, you may be wondering what to look for! Below are six things to look for when choosing a protein powder:
The protein powder ingredients. Look for a powder that has at least 20g of protein per serving and all essential amino acids.
The carbohydrate and sugar totals. Ideally, you want less than five grams of carbohydrates and three grams of sugars
Make sure there are no processed oils in the ingredients. If you’re looking to use a vegan protein powder to boost your health, you’ll want to avoid ingredients like “sunflower oil”, “safflower oil”, “canola oil”. Learn more about the detrimental effects of seed oil.
Fewer ingredients the better. Ideally, the protein powder you choose will have minimal ingredients.
Sweetened with more natural options like date sugar, monk fruit, stevia etc
Flavored Protein Powder
My top three vegan powders are all vanilla or chocolate-based.
This is because I would personally rather add the flavor than be stuck with it the whole time. Every so often I’ll grab chocolate.
But really, it’s much easier to alter a vanilla protein powder than it is a flavored one.
Plus, many flavored options have some funky ingredients in them to get them to taste that way. So, use it with caution
Texture Of Vegan (Plant-Based) Protein Powders
More often than not, the biggest complaint when it comes to a healthy vegan protein powder is the texture!
Because they are normally grain-based, the powders can be extremely “chalky” and horrible when blended. Much of this is dependent on the kind of protein (it's breakdown mix) as well as how it's being used, like in a smoothie or baked goods.
Learn more about how to make homemade protein bars and about how to make protein pancakes so that you know which proteins are best for them.
The vegan proteins below do not have this issue. They definitely absorb a lot of liquid, but they blend into smoothies extremely well.
Quick Cheat Sheet On Using Vegan Protein Powders
Rice protein powder: tends not to absorb a lot of liquid so great for baking but almost always has a very gritty, chalky texture.
Pea protein: absorbs a lot of liquid when mixing so can be used to replace flour in baked goods. However, each blend is different in how much it absorbs. Tends to leave smoothies very thick.
Fermented protein powder: absorbs the most liquid out of all of them and is very difficult to bake with.
Blends: the best kind of vegan protein powders for beginners are often a blended protein powder with coconut as it's first ingredient. These only absorb a bit of liquid, tend to taste great, and are not chalky in smoothies. Powders like Botanica protein powder or Orgain are great.
Botanica Perfect Protein
Great for: anyone new to protein supplements.
Flavor: naturally a sweet protein.
Texture: blends into everything really well and with no chalky texture.
The Benefits:
- Contains 20g of protein per serving
- Does not absorb as much as other vegan blends because it does not contain pea protein
- Is sweetened with monk fruit juice
- Non-GMO, dairy and gluten-free, sugar-free, pea protein-free, and more
Botanica Protein Powder is one of my favorites because it has just four ingredients. That’s right, FOUR.
Unfortunately, though you can purchase Botanica Protein Powder On Amazon I believe only for Canadians. A substitute to this protein powder would be Orgain protein which has a very similar taste and texture but more ingredients.
Naked Nutrition Protein Powder
Great for: everyone
Flavor: moderately sweet protein but best with something added to it
Texture: blends into everything really well and with no chalky texture.
The Benefits:
- Contains 25g of protein per serving
- Absorbs liquid as it is pea protein based
- Is sweetened with coconut sugar
- Free of additives and artificial sweeteners and easily aborbed.
I love this protein powder because it has only 3 ingredients and the brand is very transparent. I used it to make peanut butter brownies as well as chocolate mousse and it definitely gives desserts a crazy rich flavor.
Buy Naked Nutrition Protein powder off amazon. I personally like the chocolate pea protein as I find the rice extremely grainy and chalky. They have amazing whey protein powders also I just haven't tried them.
Transformation Protein Powder
Great for: anyone new to protein supplements.
Flavor: extremely sweet, almost like dessert.
Texture: blends easily and no chalky taste.
The Benefits:
- Contains 30g of protein per serving
- Blends into absolutely everything
- Lots of superfood ingredients.
A new favorite of mine because it just tastes so good! It's not a vegan protein powder and instead, is made with collagen powder, egg whites, and plant proteins.
I used it to make coffee brownies and have been hooked ever since.
Get the chocolate lava Transformation protein powder if you're a natural chocolate lover!
Do I NEED To Use A Vegan Protein Powder To Achieve My Goals?
Absolutely not. So long as you’re taking in adequate protein and getting your essential amino acids, you don’t need a powdered version. Though it is a great high protein food staple.
The reason most people opt for a protein powder is that it’s easy. Most pea proteins contain 20-25g of protein per serving.
Not to mention that protein powder supplements are normally a complete protein (contains all nine essential amino acids).
So, having a scoop or so a day is a simple way to boost your all-around intake.
Plus, protein powder makes it easy to grab a bar or smoothie while running out the door. Basically, protein powders are quick fixes for everyday life situations.
Easy Alternative To Protein Powder
As mentioned above, protein powder is not a must to achieve your goals. Or even to be healthy. It’s just an easy way to boost essential amino acids.
That said, many proteins do contain a lot of “extras”.If you want to cut out the middleman, still get your amino acids, and have a protein boost in its rawest form while still benefiting from the everyday convenience of a powder, choose collagen powder.
Collagen is a beneficial part of bone broth and is wonderful for your hair, skin, and nails. Learn more about collagen and why you may want to boost your intake.
However, unlike bone broth, it doesn’t taste like well, bone broth. Similarly, collagen powder is odorless and flavorless.
Plus, if ethically sourced is one of the purest forms of protein you can give to your kids! I grab my collagen from Perfect Supplements as it's the easiest way to boost protein in smoothies, vegan yogurts, oatmeal, or any other dish. It blends and mixes well and there are zero flavors to it.
Plus, Perfect Supplements sources their collagen from pasture-raised (grass-fed) cows. So, I trust it. Grab some collagen powder and use code mamabear10 to save some money.
Wicked Protein Powder Recipes You’ll Love
- Peanut butter and jam protein balls
- Easy protein pancakes
- Vanilla protein bars with chocolate
- Fudgy protein brownies
- Protein granola
- Flourless peanut butter protein muffins
- Overnight cookie dough protein oats
- Chocolate chia protein balls
- Chocolate protein fluff
- High protein cookies
- High protein snack recipes
Can Using A Protein Powder Help Weight Loss?
Yes! Protein is the macronutrient that keeps us full the longest because it takes longer to absorb.
The fuller you are, the less likely you are to snack aimlessly. Less snacking normally means better calorie control and thus weight loss (though you can learn more about the pillars of weight loss).
That said, there are lots of different kinds of proteins to choose from and each one will have its own unique benefits.
Frequently Asked Questions About Choosing Protein Powder
It depends on the protein powder. Whey protein powder does not absorb liquid and cannot be directly used as flour. Vegan protein powder can sometimes be used to replace flour but each brand absorbs liquid differently so you may need to adjust your ratios a bit to get the best texture.
Look for protein powders with a high protein content per scoop of powder (20-30 grams), minimal ingredients, no artificial sweeteners, and a low carbohydrate content.
Kayla DiMaggio
Thank you for this! I am always trying to find a good protein powder!
fitasamamabear
It's a challenge for sure, there's SO MANY brands out there!
Dusty
Thanks for the info! What about powdered egg whites to use as protein powder?
fitasamamabear
Okay so I haven't tried powdered egg whites but I SO want to! Naked nutrition has an egg white protein and it looks amazing.
Ann
Can you suggest best whey protein powders also.
fitasamamabear
So, I haven't used whey in a long time because I'm dairy-intolerant. However, I would give Naked Whey a go (https://amzn.to/3G0yuNn <-- affiliate link). I use their pea blend and love that there's only a few ingredients in it!
Sage Scott
What great info! As someone who has to avoid protein powders made from mammals, I especially appreciated the section on selecting a vegan protein powder. Originally, I just grabbed what I could find, but now I can be much more informed when making my next purchase.