Homemade Flavored Whey Protein Powder
It’s no secret to anyone by now I guess that I am a big fan of whey protein powder…
I mean, I put that @#*! in everything… almost literally!
However, not all protein powders are created equal and when you start analyzing them, you realize that a lot of them contain all sorts of “unwanted added stuff”.
ESPECIALLY when you start looking at flavored Whey Protein Powder.
It’s almost near impossible to find one that doesn’t contain nasty artificial sweeteners, such as sucralose or aspartame, as well as a whole lot of artificial flavorings.
Those that are naturally sweetened with Stevia are very hard to come across and when you do find one that’s good, well, it often ends up being way too sweet. At least for my taste. PLUS, basically the only flavor that you can find is French Vanilla.
Not that I mind, really, for French Vanilla happens to be my favorite and the one kind of powder that I use the most.
But sometimes, only sometimes, you know, I happen to be in the mood for something a little more… chirpy!
So I decided to take the bull by the horn and create my own flavored powder at home.
Granted, I can’t do no fancy Peaches and Cream, or Peanut Butter Chocolate, or Banana Split, or even Birthday Cake Batter, because unfortunately, all the flavorings that I use have to be of the dry kind. But still, I think I came up with some pretty interesting flavors, which turned out to taste much better than all of the commercially made stuff I’ve tasted and at least, I get to use as much or as little STEVIA as I want.
Plus, I know that all the flavors that go in the making of my Home made Flavored Whey Protein Powder are entirely natural…. AND good for me!
Here’s the few that I came up with so far… but I just know I’ll come up with more eventually at some point down the road.
You know that too, don’t you?
Of course, French Vanilla would be my favorite, the one I use most often, so I tend to make this one in bigger batch. To get some “dry” vanilla flavor, what I do is I keep all my scraped vanilla beans and leave them to dry. When I have about a dozen or so, I grind them in my coffee grinder, throw in 2 or 3 whole vanilla beans in there too and make that into a vanilla powder.
I mix some of that in with my Unflavored Whey Protein Powder along with some stevia powder and voilà!
French Vanilla Flavored Whey Protein Powder!
For the Chocolate Flavor, it couldn’t be simpler…
You probably guessed the ingredients already, haven’t you?
Good quality Dark Cocoa Powder and Stevia.
Easy as 1-2-3
Sweet Cinnamon has Vanilla Powder, Ground Cinnamon and Stevia Powder.
AH! There’s that chocolate again…
Can you ever get enough chocolate?
I know I can’t!
But if you’re in the mood for something a little bit more exotic, I’ve got just the thing for you.
Matcha Green Tea Powder.
Wow… that one is plain FANTASTIC!
And quite unique,too! I don’t think you could find this in any store.
All you need to make this one is some good Matcha Green Tea Powder and powdered stevia.
Complicated? I think not!
Maybe you’re a fan of Chai Spice? I know I am… and if you’re not, just wait ’til you try this one. It’ll make you a believer, I swear!
But if coffee is more your thing, you won’t believe how good this Moka Decadence Protein Powder is.
It sure will help get your eyes opened in the morning!
But the real killer is… you have to try the two of them together. It’s a match made in heaven, I swear!
Flavored Whey Protein Powder
Ingredients
The Basics
- 6 scoops Unflavored Whey Protein Powder
- 3 packets Stevia powder, or more, or less, to taste
French Vanilla - Add:
- 1 tbsp Vanilla Powder
Gimme Chocolate - Add:
- Add ¼ cup good quality Dark Cocoa Powder
Moka Decadence - Add:
- ¼ cup good quality Dark Cocoa Powder
- 1 tbsp instant espresso or dark roast coffee, ground to a very fine powder in a coffee grinder
Matcha Green Tea - Add:
- 1½ tbsp Matcha Green Tea Powder
Sweet Cinnamon - Add:
- 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla powder
Chai Spice - Add:
- 2 tsp Chai Spice
To make the Chai Spice, you will need (this makes a lot more than you need, but trust me, you'll be glad to have this in your pantry!)
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp ground cardamom
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground five spice
- 1 large nutmeg, grated
- 1 tsp ground clove
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp vanilla powder
Instructions
- Mix the unflavored whey protein powder with stevia and other required ingredient(s), depending on flavor.
If you’ve tried this recipe, please take a minute to rate the recipe and let me know how things went for you in the comments below. It’s always such a pleasure to hear from you!
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As for the “base” ingredient, this is the only Whey Protein Powder that I currently use: Ergogenics Nutrition’s New Zealand Whey Pro Series.
Even their pre-flavored Vanilla I will buy, from time to time.
Note how they use Stevia to sweeten it.
And there you have it…
With very little time and effort, you can make your very own flavored protein powder at home…
And the other good thing is you don’t have to buy a huge jug of just one flavor!
You can make much smaller batches and enjoy a different flavor every day of the week!
And then you can mix and match! 🙂
Although you might want to make a little bit more of these two great classics!
They tend to go really, really fast!
85 Comments on “Homemade Flavored Whey Protein Powder”
LOVE this post. I don’t know why I haven’t thought of this before!
I love that you choose New Zealand Whey, and I’ve never heard of it! I wonder if it’s even available in New Zealand.. I look forward to doing this myself! Always wondered how I could make my protein powder more… real, and of course homemade. In the meantime we are using Whey Gourmet Naturelle which uses cane sugar and Stevia – it’s the only protein supplement we can find in the Northwest Territories!
Ergogenics Nutrition is a Canadian company, Christina, and their products can be ordered online, so I don’t think that it would be a problem for you to get your hands on it in the NWT. It’s a bit more expensive, but I find you really get your money’s worth. 🙂 And seriously? You can only get one single brand of Whey Protein there? Wow! I’m shocked. There’s like hundreds to choose from here… it’s just too much! Most are crap, however. I think we’d be much better off with fewer selections but better quality supplements. 🙂
Ah, well I might do an order of it sometime! Well there is certainly no protein powder in Norman Wells! The closest city has one fitness centre which stocks Whey Gourmet only. Of course its easier just to buy online.. I agree on the fewer but better quality here in North America – in regards to everything consumerist!
Love this idea! I buy the Isopure Unflavored (it’s totally unsweetened/unflavored) so I’ll be doing the vanilla for sure!
Sooo…do you think maybe you could give us recipes each inspired by the flavors you made?? 🙂
Great idea though – I never would have thought to do this!
I guess I could do that, Samantha, although what I really like to do is mix my protein powder with Greek yogurt and eat that with fruit or cereal.
I like the idea of coming up with specific recipes, though. I’ll have to give that some thought! It won’t be for at least a month however, as I am off dairy for a little while. But you can be certain that Whey protein powder will be the first dairy element to get reintroduced! 🙂
I love this idea. I usually stick to vanilla because all the other flavours rwquire questionable ingredients. I’m currently using BioX Whey Isolate. Will look for your suggested brands also. Thanks for the flavour recipes. Where do you get the templates for your adorable labels??!!
I’m just the same, Laura. I really don’t care for all the artificial stuff that gets added to flavored protein powder. And most have a nasty aftertaste too that I can very well do without! I’ve never heard of BioX, I’ll be sure to check it out! And adorable labels? Really? Glad you think so. I’ll take that as a compliment I guess, since I created them myself. 😀
Seriously, best idea ever. And the cute labeled mason jars? Genius!
Thank you so much for the recipes. My sister and I are very excited to try them. Just wondering what ratio you use? Is it the same as regular protein powder? Thank you!
I’m sorry Tina… I don’t really understand your question. What exactly do you mean by ratio? What I do is I use 6 scoops plain whey protein powder, 3 packets stevia and add the other ingredients depending on the flavor I choose to make.
Hope this helps!
Maybe she means how much liquid to use? Like 35 grams powder + 1 cup milk? Just an idea. 🙂
THANK YOU! I can’t not wait to try this. I think I’ll actually try tomorrow. Or not. Because I don’t have powdered Stevia.
I have one of those huge containers of unflavored protein powder and I just can’t use it. I try putting it in my smoothie but it’s just awful. Since I bought that, I’ve found Stevia sweetened protein powder which I love. So it’s just been sitting there.
I’ll report back! I’m thinking I’ll try cinnamon, chocolate and vanilla. 😀
Well, there you go! Now you can put that jug of unflavored protein powder to good use. But had you never thought of adding it to your baked goods? Just throw in one or two scoops and it boosts the protein content without affecting flavor or even texture all that much…
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the flavors you intend on trying. I swear, that chocolate is like a million times better than any commercial powder I’ve tried. The flavor is so INTENSE! Hope you like! 🙂
Hi Sonia!
Very handy recipe.
Just wanted to make sure about the stevia packet size, is it the standard 3g packets?
Thanks!
Hey Matthew! The packets that I used seem to be at 1g each: a box weighs 100g and contains 100 packets.
Another great place for 100% pure protein, all varieties, with no additives and cheap as: http://professionalwhey.com.au/
They have whey, casein, hydrolyzed, non-dairy proteins, supplements, super foods, all additive free and very well priced!
I’m not working for them, I just find their product great! 🙂
Thanks for the info, I just wanted to say that it is also important to know the different types of whey protein listed on the ingredient labels. Whey protein concentrate is the lowest and cheapest form of whey with high fat and carb contents that slow down the absorption rate of the protein, great to have before bed so you’re getting nutrients through-out the night. Next comes Isolate, which has less fat and carbs, and a higher rate of absorption. And finally hydrolysate, which gets absorbed the fastest, great for a post workout supplement. Each form of whey has is benefits and drawbacks, but its important to make sure you always buy all natural whey protein because some companies add fillers and preservatives that can lead to consuming more carbs and fat than you need.
Awesome piece of information, Jay. Thanks for that! 🙂
Great idea!!!Thanks for sharing!!! I just bought coconut sugar yesterday, do you think I can use it instead of Stevia? I never used stevia, I would love to try this.. :))
I have no idea, Nina, for I have never used coconut sugar before. To be honest, I don’t even know what it looks like, so I’d be hard pressed telling you whether you could use it here or not. Perhaps someone else who has more experience with this ingredient will be able to inform you? Let’s hope so!
Do you mix it with water or milk or something else? How much liquid do you use?
I mostly tend to use it in all sorts of recipes, Scott. Smoothies, baked goods, salad dressings… Like I said, I put that &@!# in everything. There are tons of recipes using it all over my blog, if you are looking for ideas!
I am going to try this, with Cocoa and PB2, hope to get a peanut butter cup flavour!
Hey, I was wondering that when you make a shake with these what exactly would you add? For my normal vanilla protein powder I use some milk and then orange juice for a shake. So I’m just curiose about what would you add to the chia, chocolate, and cinnamon mixes for a shake since orange juice wouldn’t work to well. Thanks.
The thing is, Molly, I don’t really make shakes, ever. I mostly always use protein powder in smoothies or other recipes. Almond milk or coconut milk, however, would work beautifully well to make basic shakes with any of the flavors.
love this and love your blog!
In the small town i’m in in ala we can’ get the vanilla bean or the powder on some of your ingredients so where could you find what you need without spending a fortune, were on limited income
I am a big fan of Whey Protein Powder. I like your mehtod to make this. Its so amazing.Realy i like this thanks for it shareness with us i hope that u will do more and more updated in this post in future.
Does this disolve like normal whey powder? I love diy and anything more-healthy but I’d be afraid that some of the added ingreedients wouldn’t disolve the same way and cause a funny texture. Has anyone had that problem? I don’t want to get stuck with a jar of protein powder that I don’t enjoy. Thanks!
The finished protein powders will dissolve as nicely as the initial product you are working with, Jessica. None of the additions will create any issues for you in that area.
Just wondering about the amount of whey protein powder that you used, when you say that you used 6 scoops of whey protein l noticed one product for one scoop is 15 grams and the other is 30 grams so how much grams would you use to make a batch please
The scoops that I used were about 30g, Elizabeth.
Hey Sonia! I just stumbled upon your blog and your interessting article here. I was searching for a DIY birthday present for my sport obsessed brother. I think this would make a perfect gift!! He is also very careful with non-healthy added ingredients/flavours. Could you recommend a Matcha powder?
Thank you very much for this!
Best regards from Germany 🙂
I can’t really recommend a particular brand, Mary. I tend to buy mine at Asian markets, where it can usually be had for a fraction of the price. Hope you have luck finding some and making the whey powder!
Fantastic post, i love it. Fantastic ideas i have been looking for different ideas to flavor my protein powder.. I will be trying some soon.
I just found this post thanks to your interview with Marie at Not Enough Cinnamon. I love the idea of making my own flavors, and your ideas for flavors. Currently I’ve been using Designer Whey in French Vanilla, Almond Vanilla (occasionally) and Double Chocolate, all sweetened with Stevia and, at least to me, not overly sweet. They also have a Gourmet Chocolate flavor sweetened with Stevia which is good, but not as good as the Double Chocolate. Really looking forward to trying a few of these flavors.
Hi I was just wondering what volia is? Because on your French vanilla flavour you said you added stevia and volia? Also could you please tell me how you make the French vanilla flavour that colour? Many thanks tom
“Voilà” is a French expression that basically means “there you go”, Tom. And I’m not sure I understand what you mean by color? The French Vanilla is pretty much the natural color of plain whey protein… so I haven’t done anything to it, other than add stevia and vanilla powder, as mentioned in the recipe.
Hope this answers your question!
Thanks wasn’t sure if the protein was added to the jars haha, I can’t wait to taste these, It would be great if you made a peanut butter one up 🙂
Love this post. I started making my own powder about a year ago. I use Bob’s Red Mill Whey Protein Concentrate as the base and then recently discovered that my local Sprouts starting carrying concentrate in bulk. Do you mind clarifying exactly how much one “scoop” is? I use so many mismatched scoops. Also a tip on chocolate peanut butter: I use powered peanut butter (can be found online, at Whole Foods, or Sprouts) and it adds wonderful flavor and consistency
My scoop is about 35g, Emily, just a bit shy of 1/4 cup. But making flavored whey powder is no exact science, you know, you could always add a little bit more of this, a little bit less of that, according to your tastes, or mood of the day! 😉
where do I find chai spice
The easiest way is to make your own, bettie. I included my recipe in the post!
An interesting trend that may add a new flavor for you. Powdered Peanut Butter. Less fat and sugar then conventional PB and even the organic ones. Its usually where you would find PB in the natural food stores. I’m not sure if its in the mainstream grocery stores yet.
Hi, I don’t mean to be weird about this, but what GOOD does it do to drink or eat the Whey Protein to begin with. I bought it awhile ago, it was flavored chocolate, and we tried it in a berry blender thingy, and it tasted like we were eating or drinking chocolate flavored grass. what did I do wrong? seems like ALOT of ppl like this whey protein, so….why drink it to begin with is my question. thank you very much, this is a serious question
THANKS
I was led to this website by a friend that eats mostly Paleo food.
However I am questioning all of your likings of Stevia. The process of producing stevia is just as artificial as the other artificial flavors. Allthough the stevia plant makes a natural sweetener the process makes it a very artificial sweetener still.
The same goes for the chemically produced “vanilla” your all are mentioning in the ready flavored whey protein. The only way for vanilla is beans or pure extract, not the vanilla used in more than 99% of the flavoring in the industry. Just saying that if you go for all natural ingredients these things might be worth considering.
Further you might look into the Cinnamon that you use both in powder and in pre flavored whey is usually the cheap kind (Cassia) with the liver damaging toxic component coumarin. This fact is in my world equally important.
If not considered you can just as well eat “factory made” products if you are not going to use clean products anyway.
Peter.
I understand your concerns, but note that this post was written prior to my paleo days. I don’t really consume much whey protein anymore and, as such, stevia has been practically completely eliminated from my diet (this was the only thing I would use it in). As for vanilla, I always used vanilla beans to flavor my powder, and I also only recently discovered the benefits of Ceylon cinnamon, which I now use exclusively.
Is your chai spice paleo? I would like to make it to use in your Butternut Squash and Chicken Mash recipe. I saw that you wrote on here that this page was posted before your Paleo days so I am just double checking the chai spice is okay to use on a Paleo diet? Also, I am unable to find vanilla powder. Where do you get yours? Thanks!
Oh yes, the chai spice is absolutely paleo friendly, Kelly. It’s the whey protein that isn’t. Well, at least I don’t think it is. Some paleo folks do include it in their diet but I see it as a last resort protein boost / supplement. Not a “food” that I wish to consume on a regular basis.
As for the vanilla powder, I make my own by grinding dried vanilla beans, but you can find it in most health stores or even on Amazon.
Hi, thank you for the post! I am allergic to artificial sweeteners, stevia included. (I had a very difficult time finding a whey protein isloate without one but I did, thank goodness!) Can you suggest an alternative to the stevia?
Is the “five spice” you use in the Chai recipe the same thing as “Chinese Five Spice” seasoning? Thanks!
That is correct, Jamie!
I am SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO GRATEFUL for this post. But, I’m also laughing at myself. You see I’m a bit of a foodie too and it never occurred to me to make my own mixes. I know you’re not Paleo any longer but I cannot tell you how much I appreciate this post and your genius!!! I am having weight loss surgery in about six weeks and trying to find a “clean” flavored powder is bonkers. The stevia sweetened ones are like licking stevia straight off your finger sweet. Frankly, they make me gag. I have an unflavored brand I love and have become quite the mixologist with fresh ingredients. However, in my early post-op days those types of smoothies are off limits while I am healing. Worse, my surgeon insists on those gnarly pre-made ready to drink chemical bombs. No matter the brand they’re just too sweet for me. A couple of days ago I blended my unsweetened powder with a little coconut milk and used that to cut the RTD shakes and I didn’t gag so I counted the victory. Then last night I found your blog. Thanks to your wonderful inspiration I have a clean cocoa smoothie sitting next to my keyboard. SUCCESS!!!!! I’m also working on some ideas for other whole-food flavors. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!! Like a million times thank you!!!!!!
You are a million times welcome, Tanya! So happy I could inspire you. And good luck with the surgery. May it be the beginning of something successfully beautiful and magical. Here’s to a new you! 🙂
This is awesome! So how many scoops of the recipe do you use per serving? Thanks for much for sharing it!
I’m not sure I understand your question, Kerry… The flavorings don’t really change much in terms of weight and volume, so I use the same scoop that was in the jug to measure afterwards.
After you’ve made your recipe, and you have your little mason jar with the completed Gimme Chocolate,etc. How much of that do you use to make one smoothie? I’m guessing 1 or 2 scoops of a completed recipe in one 8-16oz of water or your choice of frozen fruits/milk?
I have to thank you for this! I am severely allergic to artificial sweeteners, and my stomach does not like Stevia. You have given me the opportunity to have the protein my Personal Trainer insists on, but with flavor, and NO upset stomach!!
I was wondering if you had any thoughts on Peanut Butter flavoring for unsweetened Whey Powder?
My stomach thanks you!
I’m guessing your only option for peanut butter flavoring would be p2b, aka powdered peanut butter. I’ve never tried it personally but heard great things about it.
Thank You Sonia! My Trainer also recommended I!!
Thank you for this post! I can only drink a very limited few of the flavored whey powders out there, because most of them taste so artificially. I’m a big chai latte fan, so naturally your chai-flavor really intrigued me. I made that one this evening, and it’s a HIT (even without the “five spices” that I couldn’t find in the stores here in Sweden) and that was only a scoop mixed in cold water! I’ll try with hot milk tomorrow ^_^. Will be fun to try out the other flavors too. Clean, tasty whey shakes, here I come!
That’s awesome, Madeleine! Thank you so much for the great feedback, I sincerely appreciate it! 🙂
I’m wondering if you can do this with pea protein powder as well.
I’ve never tried pea powder, Tanya, so I have no idea what it tastes like. If its flavor is neutral, like that of whey, then I really wouldn’t see why not!
Hello. Regarding the French vanilla protein powder……..can pieces of fresh vanilla beans be used rather than dried. I am not much of a baker and I would be old and grey before I would have a dozen dried vanilla beans. If I can use fresh how much should be used
Can you get your hands on vanilla powder? I think that would be your best bet. If not, I would definitely use just the seeds from a vanilla pod, without including the pod itself.
When you say scrap vanilla beans, do you mean after you’ve extracted much of the oil and seeds for other uses? I’m looking online at bulk vanilla powder and it one I found was post extraction process, so I’m wondering how much vanilla flavor you would get from that. Thanks.
I mean scraped vanilla beans, as in empty pods from which the seeds have been scraped and used in other recipes. I just keep the empty pods and let them dry, then reduce them to a fine powder with a coffee grinder. Hope this clarifies things for you!
Would you mind checking out this bulk distributor’s description and let me know if you think this would be good to use like you are describing?
http://www.thegourmetrose.net/1-lb-organic-ground-vanilla-beans-natural-food-grade-garnish-extracted-post-extract-gourmet-culinary-chef-bulk-wholesale/
Not sure… it appears that this product is for soap making? While it might still smell really good, I don’t think that there would be much flavor left in the powder. Might be worth a try, still!
Hi Sonia
If I have say… 1kg of plain protein powder, how much flavouring powder would I need to add to it to flavour the whole tub ?
what is the ratio of plain protein powder to the flavouring powder (e.g. cocoa)
I would really appreciate a response .
thank you
I had sent you an email in reply to yours, but it was returned to me with an undeliverable error. Real sorry about that. Here’s what is said:
I’m sorry Sully but I can’t seem to locate your comment on the actual post. Looks like it never got posted… that might explain why it never got answered!
I can’t tell you exactly how much flavoring you would need to use, since they all vary. I guess what you need to do is calculate the proper ratio for the flavor that you wish to make. Start with a small batch, weigh all your ingredients, and then calculate how much will be needed for the larger quantity.
Hope this helps!
That’s odd, oh well not to worry.
okay cool, that makes sense, I guess I’ll give it a try & find out through some trial & error.
thank you , and once again great article !
wow! very impressive post.
What in heavens name is whey protein powder? I don’t think normal people have this in their homes.
For the Chai, actually Masala as Chai means tea, you say to use a whole nutmeg – how much pre-powered is that?
About a teaspoon? That should do the trick…
Can i mix this with water?? If yes then how much powder/water ? I need a powdered mix i can bring for me and my kids while we travel
You can use this just like you would use any protein powder… follow the directions on the container of the plain protein powder.
hi ,i wanna try these, but vanilla powder is very hard to find in my country. what substitute can i use instead of the vanilla powder?
I bet you could add peanut butter powder to get a Chocolate Peanut flavor. Not sure proportion. May split the 1/4 cup cocoa between the two?
Either way…excited to try this.
for peanut butter, use PB fit unsweetened
now you can make peanut butter cup (mix it with chocolate)