The 7 Best Vegan Protein Powders Reviewed
While whey protein dominates protein powders in the supplement industry, some people want to avoid dairy products because they prefer a vegan or dairy-free diet. Don’t worry, you have several options available for plant-based protein, and these options often come with less gas, bloating, and upset stomach.
You will be happy to know vegan protein is just as beneficial for help you build muscle mass and improve your strength. Protein not only helps you build muscles but also to repair muscles too and recover from your workouts. All proteins are made from amino acids, and that’s what you are looking for to increase muscles and workout better.
We saved you hours or research and found the seven best protein powders. From the best tasting to the best ingredients, you can find your right fit here. Furthermore, you will find options without guar gums, maltodextrin, soy, or other creepy ingredients you don’t need in your diet. Stay on after for answers to your questions and extra information.
The Best Vegan Protein Powders
Here are our picks for some of the best vegan protein powders out there and why we like them:
1. Aqua Sprout Vegan Plant Protein Powder
As the only ingredient is water lentils, you may want to add the one scoop of powder to a flavored beverage to make it easier to drink. However, it has a very mild flavor most people find enjoyable. Also, you get a ton of amino acids, including the eighteen major amino acids. You also get a source of calcium, iron, potassium, vitamin A, B6, and E, riboflavin, folate, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, omega-3, and chlorophyll.
A dose equals one scoop, and the container holds twenty servings. Also, you don’t have to worry about any animal or dairy products or GMOs. Add the plant protein to a smoothie to get twenty percent of the protein you need plus a whole host of vital nutrients to improve your health. Find out why so many customers have chosen this amazing protein option.
2. Aspen Naturals Organic Pea Protein
The only ingredient in the package is organic yellow pea protein completely sourced from America and not from China. It’s a rich source of amino acids, including arginine, isoleucine, leucine, and valine, all of which help to boost the maintenance and growth of your muscle mass. Moreover, it’s free of dairy, gluten, and it’s perfect for vegan diets.
What’s wonderful about pea protein powder is it’s easy for the body to digest with no bloating or upset stomach. The supplemental powder also offers a massive dose of iron and a small amount of potassium. It’s also very low calorie with just 103 calories while still offering twenty grams of protein four about forty percent of your daily needs.
Furthermore, the supplement has no added sugar, so you can sweeten it your own way in juice, dairy-free milk, a smoothie, or even an acai bowl. All this from a company with responsible sourcing, high-quality ingredients, and absolutely no fillers. Get the muscles and the health you want without any of the stomach pain or dairy.
3. Sprout Living Epic Protein Powder
The active ingredients include yellow pea, sunflower seed, pumpkin seed, sacha inchi, cranberry seed, and Jerusalem artichoke. That’s it for ingredients as there are no fillers or added flavorings. This means you don’t get any sugars, gums, stevia, monk fruit or other sweeteners, many customers don’t like. Now you can sweeten it any way you like, such as with fruit in a smoothie.
Moreover, the supplement offers a dose of 26 grams of protein for just over half the protein you need a day. It’s also a mild source of calcium and iron. Thanks to the Sacha inchi, you get a dose of omega fatty acids and dietary fiber, too, while the cranberry provides flavonoids and antioxidants. Also, the Jerusalem artichoke offers fiber, minerals, electrolytes, and inulin – a prebiotic.
Finally, the supplement is ultra-clean, third party tested, and ready to jumpstart your day. You can use this protein powder to fuel your workouts for thirteen days per container by mixing two scoops into a liquid, all with just 186 calories.
4. EarthChimp Vegan Protein Powder
The ingredients are organic whenever possible, including an organic plant protein blend of pea, pumpkin, sunflower, and coconut. Next, you get cocoa for flavor and to better mask the flavors of the healthier ingredients. You also get organic fruits and veggies like dates, bananas, strawberry, beets, kale, and spinach.
Now we move on to even more healthy ingredients, including a superfood blend of flax, baobab, cinnamon, turmeric, and cacao, monk fruit extract, and natural flavors. End the list with a probiotic and digestive blend, including bacillus coagulans, amylase, protease, cellulase, lactase, and lipase. All of this leads to 20 grams of protein with 130 calories per serving.
Also, you get a whole host of vitamins and nutrients with a natural taste that’s not too sweet or artificial. The brand even has vanilla if you aren’t a big chocolate fan. Even better, you don’t get any nasty ingredients like sugar alcohols, gums, carrageenan, sugars, salt, soy, dairy, gluten, or lactose. Those who are fans of stevia will love this blend made in Ireland!
5. Organic Protein Powder by Peak Performance
Take the supplement before or after a workout and get all the benefits of the active proteins. All the ingredients are organic with a blend of pea protein, hemp protein, Sacha inchi, pumpkin protein, white chia protein, and moringa leaf. The other ingredients are also organic and include vanilla flavor, coconut milk, cinnamon, mesquite, stevia, and monk fruit.
The protein powder is paleo, vegan, grain-free, and plant-based. It also has a fabulous amino acid profile with eighteen different amino acids, including all of the essential amino acids. You get eighteen grams of protein, which is thirty-six percent of your daily value of protein. Also, get a healthy dose of iron along with smaller doses of calcium and potassium.
Get a twenty-day supply form the container by using two scoops of powder mixed any way you like. The brand does third party testing for full product safety. They even donate to no-profits for every purchase to help fight malnutrition. If you don’t love the product, then return it for a full refund, but with no fillers, artificial ingredients, less than a gram of sugar, you will love this addition to your diet.
6. Amazing Grass Protein Superfood: Vegan Protein Powder
The protein blend includes peanut flour, pea protein, hemp protein, chia seeds, and quinoa. For the green food blend, you get barley grass, wheatgrass, alfalfa grass, spinach, spirulina, chlorella, and broccoli. It also includes cocoa, natural flavors, silica, salt, and xanthan gum (which is why the product is lower on the list as this ingredient can cause stomach troubles). The blend also adds in fruits and veggies including acai, banana, beet, carrot, goji, pineapple, sweet potato, raspberry, rosehip, and a little stevia for sweetness.
What you will love is that every ingredient listed above is organic. It delivers thirty percent of your daily protein, thanks to twenty grams of protein. You also get healthy doses of iron, vitamin A, calcium, potassium, and vitamin K. What you don’t get is gluten, sugar, GMOs, or dairy.
You can stir the powder into a liquid, blend it in a smoothie, or even bake it into food. Moreover, the product is USDA organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, dairy-free, and grain-free, making it perfect for any diet. However, if you are allergic to peanuts, you need to avoid this option completely. Otherwise, it’s near perfect.
7. ATAQ Plant-Based Protein Powder
Inside the pouch, you will find a blend of golden pea, rice, flax, white chia, and pumpkin seed to provide you a massive protein profile. The other ingredients add flavor like alkalized cocoa, stevia, sea salt, and a digestive enzyme blend. What you don’t get is GMOs, gluten, soy, or dairy. You just get all-natural plant-based protein.
Moreover, the blend eighteen of the twenty amino acids, both essential and non-essential. Also, you get fifteen percent of the calcium you need a day, along with six percent of the potassium and magnesium you need. What you really want to know is how much protein you get a day, which is 26 grams or 28 percent of your daily value! All this with only six grams of carbs with only three grams of total sugars.
It’s all stored in an easy to use pouch with a scoop for easy measuring. Furthermore, it’s easy to digest with a special enzyme blend designed to help your stomach work better. All this with a complaint brand. One container offers 13 servings of two scoops to increase your protein the natural way.
Buying Guide for Vegan Protein Powder
Before picking a vegan protein powder, take a look at the different factors to make the best decision for your body.
Ingredients
Protein helps to build lean muscle tissue and is necessary for organ function. Every cell of your body needs protein for proper regeneration. Take a look at the benefits of each of the main plant-based proteins.
Pea protein is by far the most readily available plant protein. It’s gluten-free and made from peas making it a perfect option for your health. Not only does it offer a ton of protein, but it also aids in weight loss, supports heart and kidney health, balances blood sugars, and increases muscle thickness.
Water lentils are also known as duckweed and bayroot as they grow on water. They grow incredibly fast and year-round, making it readily accessible. Furthermore, this plant offers digestive support, an anti-inflammatory, eye, and heart health, and promotes detoxification.
Brown rice protein comes from rice but has lower levels of amino acids, which is why it usually is paired with other planted-based proteins. It can help you lose weight, reduces glycemic response, improve liver function, regulate cholesterol, improves heart and kidney health, and it’s easy to digest.
Sunflower seeds are the seeds from sunflower and not just a great snack but also healthy in multiple ways. The seeds can reduce heart risk, fight cancer, improve thyroid function, fight bone loss and muscle cramps, balance blood sugar, and improve skin health.
Pumpkin seeds are the part you pull out of a pumpkin to get to the meat. These seeds are jam-packed with health benefits as they can boost heart health, improve sleep quality, improve male health, fight cancer, and improve bladder function, all with a ton of antioxidants.
Less Common Ingredients
Sacha Inchi is a nut-filled with tons of health benefits. The nut can help you build muscles, feel full, promote weight loss, improve digestive health, boost brain function, improve your mood, regulate biological processes, fight inflammation, improve your immune system, and it comes with tons of omega 3 fatty acids.
Cranberry seeds are high in antioxidants and phytosterols. With this plant, you can improve your heart health, improve urinary tract health, support bone, and oral health, improve immunity, and stay youthful. Also, the fruit seeds are full of omega-3 fatty acids too.
Hemp protein comes from hemp and offers a ton of health benefits along with a nice flavor your tastebuds will enjoy. Not only does it increase protein intake, but it also improves heart and osteoporosis, cleans the colon, reduces sugar cravings, and improves the immune system.
Chia seeds are a superfood filled with omega-3 fatty acids and help your body in several ways. Use this seed to improve skin, digestive system, heart, blood sugar, energy, and exercise performance, improve bone strength, help with weight loss, fight cancer growth, and improve oral health.
Side Effects
Most plant-based protein powders are well-tolerated as they are from food sources. However, some of these foods can cause in digest, gas, bloating, upset stomach, and nausea. The symptoms are usually limited to those with a sensitivity to specific ingredients or intolerance or allergy.
If you have never tried an ingredient before, it may be best to try it alone before trying it in a mix so you can better diagnose which ingredient causes you issues. Too much protein can cause extra weight gain, bone loss, kidney issues, and liver problems. Make sure to use the recommended dosage to prevent any of these issues.
Dosage
To figure out how much protein you need, take your weight, and cut it in half. If you weight 140 pounds, then you need 70 grams of protein a day. Try to break up that number between your three meals. If you are trying to lose weight, then up the number to about .75 grams of protein a day. If you weight 140, then you would want about 105 grams of protein a day.
Questions About Vegan Protein Powder
Should I try to get organic protein powder?
Absolutely try and get organic protein powder when possible. First, organic ingredients are more nutrient-dense and are free of harmful pesticides. Second, organic supplements are less likely to have harmful or unnecessary additives.
Is it best to avoid soy protein?
Soy has both positive and negative aspects. In moderation, soy products can benefit your diet, but protein powders are meant to be taken daily. When taken often, the protein can mimic the effects of estrogen in your body and may be linked to cancer, and it can decrease thyroid hormones. Also, many soy products in America are genetically modified, which can increase health concerns.
Why is protein so important for those on a vegan diet?
As we said above, protein is important for building muscle, organ function, and for every cell in your body. Meat is one of the best ways to get your daily dose of protein, but if you don’t eat meat, you may get lower levels of this important health building block. Plant-based protein supplements make it much easier to get your needed protein levels.
For a little more information on the difference between whey and vegan protein powders, watch this video:
Conclusion
Our favorite vegan protein powder is the Aqua Sprout Vegan Plant Protein Powder because it offers a ton of amino acids along with omega-3 fatty acids along with plenty of vitamins and nutrients too. The makeup of this powder can help you to improve your muscles and improve your entire body. Get twenty percent of your daily protein from a single, great-tasting ingredient you can add to your smoothies.