Best Plant-Based Protein Powders of 2024, According to Dietician

Overview

Plant-based protein powders contain essential nutrients that play a key role in human body cells. Certain body parts like hair and nails consist of protein and for the body to build and repair, it requires protein.

It is also essential when it comes to the development of certain enzymes and hormones as well as other chemicals naturally produced inside the body.

Protein also acts as a building block for many parts of the body, including, muscles, skin, blood, bones, and cartilage.

Protein powders offer an easy way of increasing your protein intake as you adhere to a vegan diet. They may be useful for active adults or athletes who are not able to meet their protein needs through diet alone.

Our team rounded up the best plant-based protein powders to help you meet your dietary needs. In this article, we have everything you need to know about these plant-based protein powders including how they work, common ingredients, health benefits, criteria for selecting the best plant-based product, and much more.

Best Plant-Based Protein Powders:

Our Top Picks

#1 High Impact Plant Protein

4.9

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Key features:

• Number of servings : 15 Servings
• Dose: 1 Scoop (23.8g) after a workout
• Key Ingredients : 200 mcg of Chromium picolinate, 200 mg of Marine Algae, and 15 g of Plant Protein Blend
• Available flavors : Chocolate
• Price per serving : $3.32
• Certifications : FDA-approved and GMP-certified & strict quality tested product
• Testing scores : Texture– 4.6/5, Mixability– 4.7/5, Quality – 4.7/5, Third-party test– 4.9/5

What we love:

• Plant-based protein source
• May support muscle growth and recovery
• Contains digestive enzymes for better absorption

What to consider:

• Only 2 flavor options
• Contains gluten and soy (for some sensitivities)

Why We Choose High Impact Plant Protein

High Impact Plant Protein provides a complete vegan protein blend intended to support muscle building, strength, and digestion. Its formulation combines protein sources with targeted ingredients for workout recovery and additional health benefits.

Overview

High Impact Plant Protein is a dietary supplement that has piqued our interest with its blend of plant proteins and other health-promoting ingredients. This protein supplement reveals the weights of its vegan protein blend, which provides essential amino acids for muscle development. It also includes digestive enzymes and other components to enhance nutrient absorption and digestion.

Endorsed by well-renowned fitness expert Tony Horton’s Power Life Brand, this protein supplement demonstrates remarkable credibility. High Impact Plant Protein not only fuels your body with extra energy, but it also aids in weight loss and supports a healthy body composition.

Certified personal trainer Lauren Strong gives High Impact Plant Protein a perfect score of 5 out of 5 for its formula, and a commendable 4 out of 5 for its solubility. She remarks, “It blends well without any significant difficulties. However, compared to whey protein, it has a slightly different texture, leaving a bit more residue in the shaker.”

#2 Transparent Labs Organic Pea Protein Powder

4.8

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Key features:

• Number of servings : 30 servings
• Dose: 1 scoop (32.05g)
• Key Ingredients : 24 g of Protein, 3 g of Carb, 2 g of Fat
• Available flavors : French Vanilla, Chocolate
• Price per serving : $1.67 per serving
• Certifications : Informed-Choice certified, FDA & GMP certified
• Testing scores : Texture– 4.5/5, Mixability– 5.0/5, Quality – 4.9/5, Third-party test– 4.8/5

What we love:

• Complete plant-based protein source
• Contains 24g of protein per serving
• USDA certified organic ingredients
• No GMOs, soy, sugar or artificial ingredients

What to consider:

• Results may vary.
• Only two flavor options available

Why We Choose Transparent Labs Organic Pea Protein Powder

Transparent Labs Organic Vegan Protein provides a clean, organic protein supplement for active plant-based lifestyles. Its pea and rice protein blend aims to support muscle growth and recovery without compromising on quality ingredients.

Overview

Transparent Labs is a brand we confidently endorse for its unwavering commitment to transparency. They disclose all ingredients and quantities in their protein powder, which combines rice and pea protein to provide essential amino acids for muscle growth. This blend also includes stevia, ensuring clean fuel for your body.

The protein powder also boasts the Informed Choice certification, assuring that it has undergone rigorous testing for harmful ingredients and banned substances that could potentially lead to a positive drug test.

Reviewer Lauren Strong gives the Transparent Labs Vegan Protein a perfect score of 5 out of 5 for its formula, and a commendable 4 out of 5 for its solubility. She comments, “It mixes well without any problems. However, compared to whey protein, its texture is slightly different, leaving a bit more residue in the shaker.”

#3 Live Conscious Organic Protein

4.8

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Key features:

• Number of servings : 20 Servings, (26g) Per Serving
• Dose: 1 Scoop after a exercise
• Key Ingredients : Protein blend (pea, rice, sacha inchi, pumpkin seed), organic ingredients, stevia extract
• Available flavors : Vanilla
• Price per serving : $1.99
• Certifications : FDA-approved and GMP-certified & strict quality tested product
• Testing scores : Texture– 4.6/5, Mixability– 4.7/5, Quality – 4.7/5, Third-party test– 4.9/5

What we love:

• Plant-based protein source
• Contains all 9 essential amino acids
• Organic and vegan formulation
• May support muscle recovery and metabolism Cons:
• Higher calorie than some other options (80 calories per serving)

What to consider:

• Flavoring contains stevia extract which some dislike

Why We Choose Live Conscious Organic Protein

Live Conscious Protein provides a complete plant-based protein blend with organic ingredients. Its formulation aims to support muscle growth and metabolism. The vanilla flavor is creamy but some may prefer lower-calorie alternatives.

Overview

Live Conscious Organic Protein Powder truly embodies its name by offering a transparent look into what’s inside its Protein Blend. They precisely denote the weights of Pea, Rice, Sacha Inchi, and Pumpkin Seed protein powders, which collectively create a complete source of all essential amino acids, crucial for muscle growth.

In addition, they adhere to a strict caloric limit, ensuring each serving stays under 80 calories. Certified personal trainer and wellness expert Richard R rates the Embrace Wellness Protein blend a 5 out of 5 and gives the mixability a solid 4 out of 5.

He notes, “The blend mixes well without any major issues. However, it does have a slightly different texture compared to whey proteins as it leaves a bit of residue in the shaker.” Furthermore, it is USDA-certified organic, and vegan-friendly. This means it’s been thoroughly inspected and found free from harmful or banned substances that could potentially cause health issues or positive drug tests.

#4 Gundry ProPlant Powder

4.7

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Key features:

• Number of servings : 20 servings
• Dose: 1 scoop (27.1g)
• Key Ingredients : Protein blend (pea, brown rice, hemp), superfoods (flaxseed, spirulina), prebiotic fiber, digestive enzymes, vitamins, minerals
• Available flavors : Vanilla, Chocolate
• Price per serving : $2.7
• Certifications : Vegan, Non-GMO Project Verified
• Testing scores : Texture– 4.9/5, Mixability– 4.7/5, Quality – 4.3/5, Third-party test– 4.8/5

What we love:

• Complete protein source
• Infused with superfoods for added nutrients
• May support digestive and cognitive health
• Various flavor options

What to consider:

• Strong flavors not preferred by all
• May cause digestive issues for some

Why We Choose Gundry ProPlant Powder

ProPlant Complete Shake provides a balanced protein and superfood blend to support overall wellness. The formula aims to boost energy levels and aid digestion.

Overview

ProPlant Complete Shake delivers a nutrient-packed protein boost with the added benefits of cognitive and digestive health support. In a 12-week survey of users aged 37-71, the majority reported improvements including feeling slimmer, having more energy, and experiencing fewer cravings. However, the taste may not be everyone’s preference and individual results can vary.

The product stands out for its commitment to purity benchmarks, transparency about ingredients, and the overall value it provides in supporting health and wellness. 85% of users reported increased energy and less digestive discomfort.

The brand’s informative and authoritative tone, use of statistics, research, testimonials, and comparative analysis highlight the credibility, safety, and effectiveness of its products. For under $2.122 per serving, ProPlant Complete Shake offers a comprehensive protein blend infused with superfood ingredients for a convenient and affordable way to support overall health and well-being.

#5 Organifi Complete Organic Vegan Plant Based Protein Powder

4.6

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Key features:

• Number of servings : 30 servings
• Dose: 1 scoop (39g)
• Key Ingredients : Protein blend (pea, brown rice, chia, hemp), prebiotic fiber, digestive enzymes, greens blend, vitamins, minerals
• Available flavors : Vanilla
• Price per serving : $2.66 per serving
• Certifications : FDA & GMP certified vegan
• Testing scores : Texture– 4.4/5, Mixability– 4.7/5, Quality – 4.6/5, Third-party test– 9/5

What we love:

• Gluten-free
• Vegan
• No artificial flavors or sweeteners

What to consider:

• Some customers reported an unpleasant aftertaste

Why We Choose Organifi Complete Organic Vegan Plant Based Protein Powder

Organifi’s Protein and Multivitamin Shake stands out for its combination of a protein supplement and a multivitamin shake. It is designed to support wellness goals and provide a satisfying, long-lasting fuel source.

Overview

We selected it for its balanced amino acid profile from the protein blend and the addition of vitamins, minerals, and prebiotic fiber to support overall wellness.

Organifi’s Protein and Multivitamin Shake stands out for its combination of a protein supplement and a multivitamin shake. It is designed to support wellness goals and provide a satisfying, long-lasting fuel source that helps resist less nutritious food choices. It is easy to make and can be mixed with water, milk, or a milk alternative.

The product is gluten-free and each serving is packed with protein and vitamins, making it an attractive option for people with specific dietary needs. However, individual experiences and results may vary, and the taste may not be preferred by everyone.

April Mitchell shares her love for the product, highlighting the amazing ingredients, its versatility as a smoothie or juice mix, and its delicious taste. She appreciates the superfood ingredients and their dietary-friendly attributes being dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free, and vegan. She recommends the product for its great value for the price.

How Do Plant-Based Protein Powders Work?

While protein powders are known to work depending on the product, they do offer the body essential fibers, amino acids, and other nutrients for muscle recuperation, muscle building, and overall health.

Vegan protein powders are obtained from plant-based sources packed with amino acids and other nutrients like hemp, pea, and soy.

The amino acids work by supporting nutrient transportation to the muscles which helps them to recover and expand from exercising.

When it comes to efficacy, research has revealed that both protein and whey from plant powders can help promote muscle growth as well as recovery.

Vegan protein powders have also shown to be useful for individuals who are vegetarian, vegan, or have lactose sensitivity.

However, if you want maximum quality and safety, ensure that you buy vegan protein powders from reputable or reliable sources that do third-party testing for their products.

Protein supplements and powders should also be accompanied by regular exercise and a balanced diet for optimal health and body wellness.

How We Picked the Best Plant-Based Protein Powders?

There are a number of factors our team considered when picking our best plant-based protein powders:

• Ingredient type and quality: When choosing our best powder, we ensure that it is packed with high-quality sources of plant protein. We also ensured to prioritize products that have few or no additives or artificial colors and flavors.
• Expert recommendation: Our team ensures the pick of the best plant-based ingredients that are recommended by health experts like registered dietitians and nutritionists.
• Our personal experience with the product: The product we included on the list of our top picks has been tested firsthand by our editors.
• Low in added sugar: Most of our products on our list of the best protein powders are packed with 6 g or less of added sugar per serving.
• Amino acid type and diversity: Our team ensured that they selected protein powder containing all the essential amino acids the body requires.
• Customer feedback: The protein powder we added to our top list has overwhelming online positive reviews.
• Price: When selecting the best protein powder, our team included options to suit different budgets.

How We Tested and Settled on Our List of Plant-Based Protein Powder

To determine the best plant-based protein powders, our team of experts did testing of 17 top-rated protein powders. They tested each protein powder for texture, aftertaste, flavor, value, and smell while recognizing that this may differ between individuals.

Our team also ranked each product on a scale ranging from 1-5 in these categories (We highly recommend 5 and not 1).

Each product was placed in a shake bottle with water and tested two times. The same was repeated for each product this time in a smoothie blended with banana and almond milk.

To determine the nutritional value of each protein value and third-party testing, our team analyzed nutrients, protein content, and ingredients of each product.

To determine if the products are third-party tested, our nutrition editors looked at the manufacturer’s information and searched for a third-party organization with a reputation like USP, NSF, and ConsuberLab.com.

Our team also combined the taste testing scores with these scores to arrive at each product’s total score. The team also consulted with nutritionists and dieticians for the best protein powder.

How Does It Rate?

• 4.8 to 5 stars – The best plant-based protein powders our team tested that we highly recommend without any reservation
• 4.5 to 4.7 stars – These are excellent plant-based protein powders with minor flaws, but still on our list of recommended products.
• 4.5 to 4.5 – Great plant-based proteins but others seem much better
• 3.5 to 3.9 stars – Plant-based proteins with an average rating

What Ingredients Are the Common Ingredients in Best Plant-Based Protein Powders?

Some of the common ingredients in Plant-based proteins include the following:

Peas

Pea’s ingredient is high in quality protein and also a great source of iron. It has been found to support muscle growth, heart health, and weight loss.

Pea protein powder can be used to increase the protein content of shakes, and smoothies and is also a good fit for virtually any diet because it is naturally hypoallergenic and vegan.

According to a publication in the Molecule Journal, peas are rich in protein, fiber, and starch. Protein from peas is considered a high-quality protein and also a functional ingredient in the world industry because of its low allergenicity, availability, high protein content, and affordability, and is obtained from a sustainable crop.

Soy

Whole and minimally processed soy has been shown to offer a wide range of benefits for heart, sugar control, and weight loss.

A publication in the Environmental Health Perspective has revealed that soy can provide a complete source of protein, meaning that it contains all the 9 essential amino acids compared to other plant proteins.

Hemp

Hemp is packed with all of the 9 amino acids the body requires for muscle cell repair. It also helps in regulating the nervous system and also regulates brain function.

It is a great substitute for animal products since our bodies cannot produce the required acids by themselves.

According to a publication in the Food Journal, hemp seed as well as their directives has shown to be a valuable source of proteins, minerals, and fatty acids with nutritional benefits to vegetarian nutrition.

Rice

According to Polymers Journal, compared with other cereal proteins rice proteins have high biological value, and are easily digestible with higher protein efficiency quotients.

Also, rice proteins are packed with amino acids, a balanced, and complete protein compared to corn and wheat.

What Are the Key Benefits of Plant-Based Protein Powders?

Some of the benefits of using plant-based protein include the following:

Muscle Growth and Recovery

Protein is vital for muscle repair and growth. Vegan protein powders are the best if you want to speed up muscle build building and recovery after training.

Vegan protein powders can help improve and sustain muscle mass in individuals who are on strict plant-based diets by providing enough amount of protein.

Weight Management

Protein is known for contributing to satiety which is crucial for controlling hunger strikes and supporting weight loss goals.

Vegan protein powders can, therefore, be an ideal tool for maintaining a healthy weight since they offer a concentrated protein supply without adding carbohydrates or fats like other protein-rich diets,

Complete Protein Source

Vegan protein powders are obtained from a wide range of plant-based sources like hemp rice and peas capable of providing a comprehensive amino acid profile.

This means they are packed with all the necessary amino acids your body requires but cannot produce on its own.

A complete protein source is essential for a wide range of body activities such as muscle repair and growth hormone synthesis as well as immunological function.

Digestive Health

A number of protein powders are packed with probiotics or digestive enzymes found to support healthy digestion as well as nutrient absorption.

These additional ingredients can help in the breaking down of proteins and may also be useful when it comes to improving gut health, reducing digestive discomfort changes often linked to protein supplementation.

Versatility and Convenience

You can easily incorporate vegan protein powders in a variety of meals and recipes. They can be added in smoothies, baked goods and shakes, energetic bars as well as in savoy foods like vegan burgers.

The versatility makes it easy to reach the targeted protein requirements either on the go or at home.

Allergen friendly

Vegan protein powders do not contain any allergens like gluten, dairy, and eggs, which makes them ideal for people with some dietary allergies or restrictions.

They are a source of alternative protein source for individuals with intolerance to animal-based products or sensitivities.

How to Choose the Best Plant-Based Protein Powders For You?

Consider Third-Party Testing

Plant-based protein powders are highly likely to contain a good trace of heavy metals compared to animal-based protein powders.
This is because metals are usually picked up from the water or soil and if consumed in large amounts, these metals can be harmful to your health.

So, when choosing a plant-based protein powder, ensure that is tested in a third-party lab to ensure that they don’t contain contaminants or harmful substances that can harm your health.

Owner of Phoenix Vegan Dietitian, Rhyan Gieger, RDN recommends going for a plant-based protein tested in a third-party lab where possible because they usually make sure that the metals in the product are at the amount is at the safest level to ensure safety and also ensure quality.

However, as you opt for third-party tested protein powder, it is worth noting the following:

• Third-party testing facilities do not test to determine whether or not the product is safe or effective for everyone. Also, it does not guarantee that the supplement won’t interact with other medications or supplements you are taking.
• Not all third-party companies are the same. Some may pay labs just to obtain a certificate without doing any testing or conducting minimal testing.
• The only trusted third-party certifications are NSF, ConsumerLab.com, and USP. However, these certifications are not easy to obtain because of cost the reason why most manufacturers don’t prefer testing their products from these firms. For those manufacturers who opt to test their products in these companies, their products are usually very expensive because they want to offset the testing/certification cost.

Ingredients Types and Potential Interaction

Some protein powders may contain a wide range of ingredients with the potential to cause interactions. So, it is important that you carefully read through the product’s nutritional facts and ingredient list to ensure that you are picking a product with ingredients you are not allergic to,

Most importantly, ensure that you bring the label of the supplement you are buying to a health professional to help determine if the ingredients contained in it have potential interaction with your body or other medication or supplements you might be taking.

Form

Plant-based protein powders are obtained from different protein sources like peas, soy, brown rice, hemp, seeds, or nuts. Different protein powders are packed with different amounts of protein especially amino acid leucine, crucial for muscle recovery and growth.

You may decide to go for a protein powder containing a higher amount of leucine or protein, especially if you want to increase muscle mass or work out regularly.

Presence of sweeteners and additives

Most manufacturers use additives like preservatives, gums, and fillers to improve protein powder texture and retain freshness.

You will find some protein powders containing sweeteners of which some are caloric sweeteners like cane sugar or non-nutritive sweeteners (monk fruit, stevia, artificial sweetener, or sugar alcohol).

Sugar alcohols may cause digestive problems to some individuals especially if consumed in large amounts. There may also be taste differences when it comes to the level of sweetness because some artificial sweeteners may have more aftertaste.

Allergens

It is always advisable to pay good attention to labels especially if you have sensitivities or food allergies. Plant-based protein powders contain seeds and nuts or are made in facilities with other allergens.

Also, since the term plant-based has several definitions, these protein powders may sometimes possibly contain animal ingredients.
Vegan protein powders are mostly plant-based, however, plant-based is not always vegan. This is because sometimes plant-based food may have animal-based ingredients such as honey, milk, or eggs.

So when choosing a plant-based protein powder, be sure to check the ingredient list to ascertain that the labels are not exclusively vegan.