What are the best protein powders for keto? Today, you’ll learn how much protein you need on keto, get a review of some of the best keto protein powders on the market, and know when you should use a protein powder.
Why protein? Protein is an important macronutrient that should make up around 25% of our keto lifestyle. It’s has a long track record of benefits that include improved weight loss, help building and repairing muscle, control blood sugar, and prevent aging.
In a perfect world we should get all the protein we need from eating real whole foods in our keto lifestyle, but when life gets busy or we’re traveling high-quality keto protein powders can be a great tool to make you feel full without derailing your keto lifestyle.
Keto protein powders can also serve as keto-friendly dessert to curb sugar cravings if you don’t have much time.
How Much Protein Do You Need on Keto?
Protein is a vital macronutrient made up of amino acids that are the building blocks for many parts of our body. These amino acids help to build and repair skin, cartilage, muscles, bone, hair, and nails. They are also the base for a number of hormones and enzymes our body needs to function properly.
The amount of protein your body needs is going to vary depending on your age, sex, muscle mass, and other factors. The other very important consideration is your activity level. If you are weight lifting to build muscle mass your body is going to require more protein to repair your existing muscles and build new muscle.
The generally accepted amount of protein you should have on keto is between 0.5 to 1 gram per pound of your body weight per day. For example, if you weigh 150lbs you should aim for 75 to 150 grams of protein per day.
Go for the higher end of the range if you’re lifting weights to build muscle and the lower end of the range if can’t exercise or are only able to do light exercise like walking.
Also, keep in mind we want to keep protein to around 25% of our macronutrients so we have plenty of room to get 70% of our calories from healthy fats for our keto lifestyle.
Too much protein can lead to indigestion, dehydration, exhaustion, nausea, and headaches.
Best Keto Protein Powders Brands
There a million different protein powders on the market today. Many of them contain a bunch of sugar and other fillers that make them a bad choice for the keto lifestyle.
Here we’re going to review three of the best keto protein powders that will keep you on track.
Best Tasting Keto Protein Powder: Quest Nutrition
Quest is the best tasting of the keto protein powders on the market. They offer a number of delicious flavors like peanut butter and chocolate. All of them have 20 to 25 grams of protein less than 3 total carbs per serving.
They claim that their combination of 50% whey protein isolate and 50% micellar casein/ milk protein isolate gives you the perfect combination of fast absorbing and slow absorbing protein.
The downside to Quest keto protein powders is that they contain sucralose, which is not a good keto sweetener. Admittedly, the amount of sucralose is very small but seems unnecessary.
Also, it contains dairy because it’s a dairy based protein. Dairy can cause weight loss stalls in some people or if you’re dairy sensitive then the organic pea based keto protein powder from Garden of Life we review later is a better choice.
Best Clean Keto Protein Powder: Perfect Keto
Perfect Keto is the cleanest of the keto protein powders on the market. It’s made with grass-fed milk isolate that provides more omega-3s and CLA than other protein powders.
They also add MCTs (Medium Chain triglycerides) for a boost in healthy fats along with the protein which give their protein powder a healthy fat to protein ratio that is better fit for the keto lifestyle.
Perfect Keto uses stevia extract as a keto-friendly sweetener and has a very short list of pronounceable ingredients.
The only downside is that like Quest, Perfect Keto uses whey protein derived from milk. Again, dairy can cause weight loss stalls for some people or if you’re dairy sensitive a keto pea protein powder is a better choice.
Best Keto Pea Protein Powder: Garden of Life
Garden of Life organic protein + greens is the best of the keto pea protein powders. If you’re keto vegan, dairy sensitive, or dairy is causing weight loss stalls for you then this is a great choice.
It’s a 100% organic pea based keto protein powder that also contains over 1.5 billion CFU of probiotics along with organic greens. It does have 4 total carbs per serving, which is a little higher than the others we’ve review, but still acceptable.
The only thing I don’t like about the chocolate flavor of Garden of Life keto protein powder was it had a very chalky taste. If you have very particular taste buds, I recommend the Quest or Perfect Keto protein powders.
Below is a Pinterest friendly photo…so you can pin it to your keto board!
What to avoid in any keto protein powders
Quality keto protein powders can benefit your health in a number of positive ways. The right amount of protein can help with weight loss, boost your immune system, and even balance hormones.
But some protein powders have filler ingredients that could harm your health. Here’s some of the fillers you should avoid: dextrin, maltodextrin, soy protein, vegetable fats, artificial flavors, and artificial sweeteners like maltitol.
When is the best time to take keto protein powders?
There are a few different scenarios where you’re going to get the most benefit out of taking keto friendly protein powders.
- Pre-Workout: Your body needs the energy to get through and protein to repair and build muscle after a tough workout. Take keto protein powder 30 to 60 minutes before you start working out.
- Post-Workout: The time immediately after a good workout is all about recovery. A high-quality keto protein powder will give your body the amino acids it needs to help you quickly repair and build new muscle.
- Before Bed: A slow-acting keto protein powder at bedtime can help your body repair itself while you sleep.
- Waking up: Taking keto protein powder first thing in the morning will boost your metabolism and help you start your day feeling full and energized
How to make your own keto protein powders
If you want to make keto protein powders tailored to exact tastes you can make your own. Here’s a simple recipe to get you started.
Ingredients
- 120 grams of grassfed collagen powder
- 210 grams of MCT oil powder
- 25 grams of cocoa powder
- Stevia, monk fruit, or other keto friendly sweeteners to taste
Directions
- Completely mix all ingredients
- Store in airtight container
- Mix with water, unsweetened coconut milk, or almond milk as desired
Nutritional Info (per serving)
This recipe makes 8 servings.
Calories: 225 Fat: 15g Protein: 18g Carbs: 2g
How to add more flavor to your keto protein powders?
Even good keto protein powders can start to taste boring after a while. Here are some tips on how to add more flavor to your favorite keto protein powder.
- Add a little extra cocoa powder
- Use a keto friendly beverage like coconut or almond milk
- Add a little keto friendly syrup
- Sweeten with stevia, monk fruit, or erythritol
- Add spices like cinnamon, vanilla extract, or turmeric
- Bake keto protein powder into a keto friendly dessert
How to make your own keto shake with protein powders
Want to make a delicious shake with your keto protein powders? Here’s a recipe you’re going to love
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 scoop keto protein powder
- 2 teaspoons cacao powder
- 8-10 drops stevia to taste
- 3-4 ice cubes
- 1 tablespoon cacao nibs (optional)
- 2 tablespoons whipped cream (optional)
Directions
- Mix all ingredients in blender on high until smooth
- Top with cacao nibs or whipped cream as desired
Nutritional Info
Calories: 170 Fat: 11g Protein: 15g Total Carbs: 3g
What Is Keto?
If you’re new to keto, you’ve gotten this far and might be asking what the bacon is keto really!?
The Ketogenic Diet (Keto for short) is revolutionizing our understanding of food and health. The basic concept of the keto lifestyle is simple; swap your carbs for healthy fats and your body will adapt to burn fat instead of carbs fuel.
I used the keto lifestyle to lose over 40lbs, beat a family history of Type 2 diabetes, and keep the weight off for over 4 years!
If you’re new to keto, you probably have lots of questions. I created a comprehensive beginner’s guide to keto to help you avoid the many common mistakes people make when you start keto.
You can get my Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Keto and I’ll show how you get the results you want from keto!
Addition Keto Resources
If you enjoyed this article on the best keto protein powders, then you’ll love the best keto electrolytes.
Looking for more keto resources? Check out my series on the best places to shop keto.
- 3 Best Keto Snacks at Target (plus one to avoid to lose weight on keto)
- Top 7 Keto Items at Whole Foods Market
- 5 Best Keto Items at Trader Joe’s
- 10 Best Keto Products at Walmart
- Top 12 Keto Items at Costco (plus 4 you should avoid)
Also, If you’re looking for other resources you’ll want to read the top FREE keto apps along with 4 free exercise programs for keto online.
Until next time, remember it’s about progress, not perfection and keto on!
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