Last Updated on February 28, 2025 by Michelle
If you’re looking to up your protein intake but you’re sick of boring protein shakes, these 17 creative ways to use protein powder are for you.
When I first heard of protein powder a few years back, I thought it was silly. Why would I use protein powder if I could just eat real meat?
Obviously, eating plenty of good meat is my favorite way to get protein into my diet, but there are times that I’ve found protein powder is just convenient and nice.
When should I use protein powder?
I’ve personally found that I love using protein powder for a few reasons.
- When I’m on the go or otherwise have a hard time finding high-quality protein options.
- When I’m eating a meal that doesn’t contain much protein otherwise. For instance, if I’m making pancakes on a lazy Saturday morning and want to enjoy a stack of fluffy pancakes, I’m not going to stress about not eating enough protein in that one, out-of-the-norm meal, but I will add some protein powder to my pancakes to give my body a little extra protein.
- When it will help prevent blood sugar spikes. For example, eating an apple on its own is a lot of sugar and would probably cause a blood sugar spike. When paired with protein peanut butter, I can offer my body some protein with the sugary apple to tame that spike.
- When it simply helps me reach my protein goals. We all have days or weeks that are just “off” or where it feels tough to get enough protein in. Protein powder can help fill in those gaps.
17 creative ways to use protein powder:
1) Add protein powder to your oatmeal, or make a protein latte or coffee in the mornings.
2) Mix protein powder into softened butter to make flavored butters for toast, rolls, or on pancakes. I personally love cinnamon butter, so I like using snickerdoodle flavored protein powder for this. Other fun flavors to try are vanilla, chocolate, or even fruity flavors like strawberries & cream!
3) Make protein french toast, waffles, or pancakes. (Or, if you don’t feel like mixing up your own protein pancakes, try a pre-mixed protein pancake mix.)
My favorite simple protein french toast (serves 1-2 people) is 1 egg, a splash of milk, and a scoop of protein powder, whisked together. Use that mixture as your french toast batter, and cook on a hot skillet.
4) Make a protein milkshake. My favorite is a frozen banana, milk, and vanilla peppermint protein blended together into a knockoff Shamrock shake. Seriously tastes so good. You can even add spinach for a natural green color!
5) Add protein powder to a serving of peanut butter and eat with apple slices. Salted caramel is my absolute favorite pairing with peanut butter!
6) Make double chocolate energy bars with added protein. Simply substitute the cacao powder for chocolate protein powder.
7) Add plain protein powder to lasagna or ziti filling.
8) Make protein yogurt parfaits. I personally love lemon protein powder in yogurt, but tons of different flavors are yummy. Just make sure you mix the powder into the yogurt well so there aren’t clumps.
9) Make protein granola to add to your protein yogurt.
10) Make protein hot chocolate. Simply heat your milk, remove from the heat, and froth in your chocolate or mint chocolate protein powder. (With real ingredient protein powders that use chia seeds as a source of protein, make sure your milk isn’t too hot when you add the protein powder or it might clump.)
11) Make protein muffins with any existing muffin recipe by simply replacing some of the flour with protein powder. Any muffins with streusel topping you can easily add more protein by using protein powder in the streusel instead of flour or oats.
12) Make a frozen (or hot) protein chai latte. For a frozen chai latte, simply blend a frozen banana, milk, and chai protein powder. For a hot latte, either simply heat milk and froth chai protein into it, OR brew your favorite chai latte and add either vanilla, plain, or snickerdoodle protein to it.
13) Use your favorite protein powder as a popcorn flavoring. Simply pop your popcorn as usual, drizzle or spray with oil if needed, and sprinkle protein powder on top and shake or stir. Boom, protein popcorn!
14) Make protein ice cream. Simply whisk a couple scoops of protein powder into your favorite ice cream recipe before churning, and you’ll have protein ice cream in no time.
15) Make protein rice crispy treats by mixing protein powder into the melted marshmallows before stirring in the cereal and spreading into a pan. If you’re feeling really fancy, make your own protein marshmallows!
16) Make a protein cold foam for your latte or coffee by simply frothing a scoop of protein powder into heavy cream.
17) Make protein cookie dough by simply adding protein powder to an edible cookie dough recipe. (My favorite edible cookie dough is made with cooked chickpeas, so it’s even higher in protein!)
BONUS: Stir protein powder into melted chocolate to dip strawberries in. Protein chocolate covered strawberries? Yes, please.
What protein powder should I use?
If you’re looking for a high quality protein powder, Just Ingredients is my favorite brand. You can save 10% all the time with my code “soulyrested.”
But seriously, this is the highest quality protein powder I’ve found on the market yet. Only real ingredients, no junk, no fillers, just real food. They use real food protein sources like chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, grass-fed whey, and others.
