I made a vegan protein shake recipe without protein powder. Though, I’m not vegan. But I’m a fitness freak and also like trying different recipes.
And, I know how hard it is to fulfill my daily protein requirements.
On top of that, if you’re vegan, it will be harder, unless you’re not spending a bunch of money on buying vegan supplement powder.
However, I fixed everything for you, so if you regularly use whey protein that’s bad, chalky, artificial, or too expensive, and want something natural, then you should try a vegan protein shake recipe without protein powder.
In this recipe, you won’t have to add any supplement like whey protein. Yet, it will be rich, thick, and naturally protein packed.
You will get around 18g to 25g of protein, which will help you fulfill your daily protein requirement.
So, In this post, I will show you how to make it step-by-step, give you some extra customizing ideas and ways to boost more protein.
Plus, I will also suggest some other vegan and vegetarian things that you can have with it to include more protein.
Why Skip Protein Powder?
First of all, I want to tell you that I am personally not vegan or vegetarian.
I have no problem consuming regular protein.
But, I personally think that most protein powders are expensive. And, many of them are too processed, especially if you are buying a cheaper one.
And sometimes, they give weird texture after the test, especially when the protein powder isn’t the flavored protein, like the chocolate flavor.
Plus, you should skip if you are trying to keep things natural and want to eat more whole foods instead of consuming protein powders.
So, some reasons why you should make this vegan protein shake without protein powder are as follows:
- This is way more budget-friendly
- I made it with simple, easy-to-find ingredients
- It’s great for daily smoothies or shakes without any processed stuff
- Still gives you enough protein, naturally
More importantly, if you are someone like me who likes chocolate, I will also give you an optional twist that will make it chocolate-flavored.
Also read: Strawberry Banana Chocolate Protein Smoothie Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need (All Natural, No Powder)
Now let’s talk about all important ingredients that will help you skip the protein powder and make your protein shake.
These ingredients are clean, real, and 100% plant-based.
1 cup unsweetened soy milk:
This is going to be the liquid base of your homemade vegan protein shake recipe.
However, You can use almond milk or oat milk too, but soy milk has the highest protein (around 7 to 9 grams per cup).
So, I personally used soy milk when I was making a protein shake because of its natural richness and protein boost.
2 tablespoons peanut butter:
This is also protein rich. It will add around 8 grams of protein and make your homemade vegan protein shake more thick and give it a creamy texture.
Besides this, you can also add almond butter.
But peanut butter is great in my opinion for both flavor and protein intake.
So you should use almond butter if you are allergic to peanut butter.
2 tablespoons hemp seeds:
These tiny seeds will give around 6g of clean plant-based protein.
Plus, they will blend well and won’t change your shake flavor.
So they are perfect for this vegan protein shake.
1/4 cup cooked red lentils (optional but great):
No, no!. Don’t think it’s weird. Red lentils, once you cook it, they won’t have any flavor.
So when you blend them into your vegan shame, you won’t even notice them.
And yet you will get 4 to 5 grams of protein. But it’s your choice to include it or not. But I would recommend it to you.
1/2 frozen banana:
You will have to add this for thickness and sweetness. It will make your shake creamy and balanced.
However, you can also skip it. But, I personally like bananas. As it helps me increase the calories.
I personally added that to my vegan protein shake recipe without protein powder.
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder – If you want a chocolate shake, then this is where it starts.
Cocoa powder will give you a deep chocolate taste without sugar or calories.
1–2 medjool dates or 1 tablespoon maple syrup:
You want to add this depending on how sweet you want your shake.
Dates are naturally full of fiber, while maple syrup will blend too easily.
A few chocolate chips or one square of dark chocolate (optional):
I personally love melting a square of dark chocolate and blending it in my vegan protein shake recipe without protein powder.
It makes the shake feel like dessert.
Though it’s completely optional, I highly recommend it if you love chocolate like me.
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract or cinnamon:
This will give you a little warmth and help round out all flavors.
A tiny pinch of sea salt:
It might feel small and not too important, but this will change the game.
It will make the chocolate pop and give balance to the sweetness.
Also read: 3 Ingredient Protein Powder Mug Cake No Egg Recipe
How to Make Vegan Protein Shake Recipe without Protein Powder
Here’s how I made it and how you should make this vegan protein shake recipe at home without using protein powder.
It will take less than five minutes.
Step 1: Start with the milk
You want to pour 1 cup of soy milk into your blender jar.
If you’re using almond or oat milk instead, that’s fine too, but as I said before, soy milk will give you more protein naturally.
Step 2: Add your protein sources
You wanna add the following ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons of peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons of hemp seeds
- If you’re using them, add your cooked Red Lentils.
Besides this, you can also use white beans or even silken tofu instead of lentils, if you want a different taste or texture.
Step 3: Add fruit and flavor
- Now add half a frozen banana
- Cocoa powder
- Dates or maple syrup
- Melted chocolate square if you’re going for a dessert-style shake.
Step 4: Blend it well
Blend everything until they get smooth.
And, make sure there are no lumps.
If you want it thinner, you can add more milk. And If you want it thicker, add a few ice cubes or more bananas, or both in small quantities.
Step 5: Taste and tweak
Now, you want to taste it.
If you want more chocolate flavor? Add another half tablespoon of cocoa powder.
If you want it to be sweeter? You can toss in another date or more syrup.
Want it more protein-packed?
You should add a spoonful of oats, a bit of tofu, or even more hemp seeds. But remember, they’ll make your shake more thick.
Step 6: Serve cold and enjoy
Finally, you can pour your vegan protein shake without protein powder into your favorite glass, mug, or tumbler.
Besides this, you can sprinkle a few chopped nuts or some grated chocolate on top.
And your homemade shake will be ready.
Ingredient Substitutes If You Want Variations
If you want to switch things around based on your taste, here are some simple ideas:
- Instead of using my recommended soy milk, you can try oat milk, almond milk, or pea milk. Pea milk (like Ripple) actually has a lot of protein.
- If you don’t prefer peanut butter, you can use almond butter or sunflower seed butter.
- Instead of adding bananas, you can try frozen mango or avocado; they’re good for creaminess.
- Instead of hemp seeds, you should use chia seeds or flaxseed (though they will add a texture).
- If you don’t want cocoa powder, you can use cacao powder or vegan chocolate syrup.
Protein Boost Ideas (Still Without Any Powder)
Here are some natural add-ins you can try if you want to make your homemade vegan protein shake recipe without protein powder even higher in protein, without any powder.
- Silken tofu: You have to add 2 tablespoons of silken tofu and it will melt into the shake. It will give you no taste but around 4 grams of protein.
- Rolled oats: Toss in 2 tablespoons of oats, and not only will it thicken your shake, but you will also get 2 to 3 grams of extra protein.
- Pumpkin seeds: You can blend in a spoonful of pumpkin seeds to make it nutty and you will get around 7g of protein.
- White beans: Yes, I know, it sounds weird, but if you cook white beans, it will have a neutral flavor and will blend easily. You wanna add a quarter cup to add around 4 to 5 grams of protein.
With any of these additions, your shake can go from 18 grams of protein to 25 or even 30 grams.
Also read: White Chocolate Peppermint Protein Shake Recipe (No Banana)
What to Serve with This Protein Shake (for Even More Vegan Protein)
This vegan protein shake recipe without protein powder is alone enough to give you a high amount of protein.
But if you want to make it a meal then you should pair it with other vegetarian and vegan recipes to add more protein in your daily diet.
1. Vegan Protein Muffins
You can try making muffins with chickpea flour, oats, mashed banana, nut butter, and flaxseed.
Each muffin will give around 6 to 8 grams of protein.
And they will taste really good with a chocolate shake on the side.
2. No-Bake Protein Balls
These are energy bites that you can make using peanut butter, oats, chia seeds, dates, and cocoa powder.
You can make a batch and have one or two with your shake.
Each small bite will give you around 4 grams of protein.
3. Vegan Yogurt Bowl
A small serving of vegan Greek-style yogurt with chia seeds and some berries or nuts can add an extra 10 to 12 grams of protein to your meal.
4. Tofu Scramble or Chickpea Toast
If you’re in the mood to have something savory. You can have a tofu scramble or mashed chickpeas on toast.
You can pair that with your vegan protein shake, and your meal will become super satisfying and protein-rich.
5. Edamame Snack Bowl
You can serve the shake with a small bowl of boiled edamame (young soybeans).
They are light, salty, and very high in protein.
Remember:
Even if you just pair your shake with one of the above mentioned recipes, you can easily turn it into a 30 to 40 grams protein meal, all plant-based, all natural. And usually we need around double grams of protein for our body weight.
Nutrition Breakdown (Per Serving of Shake Only)
Now let’s talk about how much protein you’ll actually get per serving.
Remember, that’s the estimated nutrition value for one glass of this shake (without any add-ins or sides):
- Calories: Around 320 to 350
- Protein: Roughly 18 to 22 grams
- Fat: Around 14 to 16 grams (from peanut butter, hemp, etc.)
- Carbs: 25 to 30 grams (from banana, dates, etc.)
- Sugar: Around 10 to 14 grams (depending on the sweetness level)
- Fiber: Around 6 to 8 grams
Besides this, if you add extra ingredients like tofu, oats, seeds, or beans.
You can easily reach 25–30 grams of protein in this one homemade vegan shake recipe without protein powder alone.
Also, using soy milk will give you the best result for both protein and taste.
But even if you switch to almond or oat milk, it’ll still be creamy and good, just slightly lower in protein.
Conclusion
This was my own vegan protein shake recipe without protein powder, which I made for myself, and it was really great.
And you will find it really good if you are vegan, because you will be using natural, real ingredients like nut butter, seeds, soya milk, that would be already in your home, and they are protein packed, and have good flavor as well.
Plus, you can also include chocolate in that to make it more indulgent while still keeping it a healthy protein shake.
Besides this, you can customize it and boost your protein.
For example, you can add tofu, oats, beans, etc. and pair it with many things like vegan muffins, protein bowls, yogurt bowls, etc.
By doing so, you can turn this easy and simple vegan protein shake recipe without protein powder into a filling, high-protein meal without using a single scoop of processed protein powder.
So, now try it and let me know how it turned out.
FAQs
Here are some questions and answers about this easy vegan protein shake recipe without protein powder.
Can I make this shake without a banana?
Yes, bananas are totally optional. I just used it and recommended that you use it for extra thickness and some sweetness.
However, if you don’t like its flavor, you can also try frozen mango, avocado, etc.
They are also good for creaminess.
And even a few soaked oats are also good.
However, you just want to make sure to adjust the sweetness by adding dates or maple syrup.
How long can I store this shake in the fridge?
Well, if I tell you the truth, you should not store it. That’s my personal recommendation to you.
You should drink this vegan protein shake as soon as possible after making it.
But if you have leftovers, you can store it in an airtight glass in the fridge for about 24 hours.
And next time you want to drink it, you have to blend or shake it, and then you can drink it.
But if possible, just make enough that you drink it at one time.
What’s the best way to increase protein without using powder?
This vegan protein shake already contains a pretty good amount of protein.
But if you want to include more protein, then consider adding Silken Tofu, Pumpkin Seed, White Beans, Oats, or even Pea milk instead of oats Milk.
All these ingredients will help you reach about 25 to 30 g of protein without supplement protein powder.
Vegan Protein Shake Recipe Without Protein Powder
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened soy milk or almond/oat milk
- 2 tbsp peanut butter or almond butter if allergic
- 2 tbsp hemp seeds
- ¼ cup cooked red lentils optional
- ½ frozen banana for thickness and sweetness
- 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder for chocolate flavor
- 1 –2 medjool dates or 1 tbsp maple syrup for sweetness
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract or cinnamon
- A pinch of sea salt
- A few dark chocolate chips or 1 square melted dark chocolate optional dessert-style
Instructions
Step 1: Add Liquid First
- Pour 1 cup of soy milk into your blender.
Step 2: Add Protein Ingredients
- Add 2 tbsp peanut butter, 2 tbsp hemp seeds, and optional ¼ cup cooked lentils (or tofu/white beans as a swap).
Step 3: Add Flavor & Fruit
- Toss in ½ frozen banana, cocoa powder, dates or syrup, melted chocolate if using, vanilla, and a pinch of salt.
Step 4: Blend Smooth
- Blend until smooth and creamy. Adjust thickness with milk or ice if needed.
Step 5: Taste & Customize
- Adjust chocolate, sweetness, or protein add-ins to your liking (like tofu, oats, seeds).
Step 6: Serve Immediately
- Pour into your glass, top with nuts or chocolate if desired, and enjoy cold.
Notes
As a passionate home cook and food enthusiast, I’m specialize in recreating popular café and restaurant-style chocolate recipes at home. I have experience in testing and customizing various chocolate-based dishes, I focus on using fresh, high-quality ingredients to make preservative-free, delicious treats. My goal is to help chocolate lovers enjoy their favorite recipes with a homemade touch and personalized twists.
