Whilst most people will get everything they need just by eating plenty of tofu, tempeh and fake meats, as well as legumes like chickpeas and lentils, some people may want to supplement their diet with more protein! Vegan protein powders are a really quick and simple way to do this!
Finding high-quality plant-based protein may sound daunting at first, particularly because protein powders have long been synonymous with whey, casein, and egg. But there are now plenty of great tasting effective fully plant-based protein powders that you can buy in the UK.
And when I say effective, I mean just as effective as their non-vegan counterparts. Many vegan brands make sure to blend their protein powders with different sources of protein and other high-protein vegan foods to deliver complete amino acids.
Why trust my guide on vegan protein powders? I am into weightlifting which means I am putting my body under a lot of strain, a lot of the time. So, I take plant-based protein powders on a regular basis.
My top picks
- Best high-protein content: Performance Protein by Form | Skip to review
- Best flavour: Plant Protein by Mighty | Skip to review
- Best adaptogenic powder: Plant-Based Protein by Solve Labs | Skip to review
- Best eco-friendly packaging: Organic Protein by Wild Nutrition | Skip to review
- Best clear protein: Feel Clear Pea Protein | Skip to review
- Best sweetener-free: Plant Protein+ by No Ordinary Moments | Skip to review
- Best for easy digestion: Superblend Protein by Form | Skip to review
- Best unflavoured: Vegan Protein Powder by Bulk | Skip to review
- Best budget-friendly: Vegan Protein Blend by MYVEGAN | Skip to review
- Best pea protein: Pulsin Vegan Pea Protein | Skip to review
- Best for women: Vitality Blend by Jrny | Skip to review
- Best organic: So Lean & So Clean by Ora Organic | Skip to review
- Best hemp protein: Naturya Organic Hemp Protein | Skip to review
- Best protein meal replacement: Peakblend by Form | Skip to review
How I picked the vegan protein powders
I have selected products for this guide based on a few really important factors that I will take you through.
- Personal experience: All of these are products that I have tried and tested myself
- Price: I have included a range of products here to suit all budgets
- Quality of ingredients: All of these powders are made using high-quality sources of plant-based protein
- Online reputation: None of the brands mentioned here are considered to be untrustworthy, based on my own opinion and that of others on the internet
What is vegan protein powder?
Vegan protein powder is a food supplement that is high in protein and is made using plant-based ingredients like peas, hemp, or soy. Much like non-vegan protein powders, like whey, they usually contain a highly concentrated protein source that delivers approximately 20g of protein per serving. You can mix this into a milkshake or cook/bake with it, to get high doses of protein in your food.
Try out using one of my favourite blenders to make a tasty protein shake!
Are vegan protein powders effective?
When it comes to providing similar levels of protein per serving, vegan protein powders are just as effective as non-vegan versions. You will find most brands include between 20-30g of protein per serving. On top of this, many will use either a mix of plant-based protein sources or a source like pea protein to deliver all of the 9 essential amino acids, offering a complete protein.
However, not all protein powders are made equal. So do continue reading to discover my top picks.
Here are the best vegan protein powders
I will take you through my top picks, showing their protein quantity, sources, nutritional values, and flavours.
Best high-protein content
1. Form Performance Protein
- Source: Pea, brown rice and pumpkin protein
- Content: 30g protein
- Calories: 149-154 calories per serving
- Flavours: Banoffee, chocolate hazelnut, chocolate peanut, vanilla, tiramisu
- Price: £26
This product comes from a 100% vegan brand, Form Nutrition. It is the highest protein option here and is the very powder that I use on a daily basis to help repair my muscles after a heavy gym session.
They use a range of plant-based protein sources which ensure you get a complete protein. They have managed to keep the calorie content quite low whilst also delivering a whopping 30g protein per serving.
Not to mention that all of their flavour options are really natural tasting, kind on the stomach, and they blend nicely into liquids. They also use compostable packaging and no plastic spoons!
Best flavour
2. Mighty Plant Protein
- Source: Pea, faba, rice and sunflower protein
- Content: 20g protein
- Calories: 117 calories per serving
- Flavours: Salted caramel, chocolate and superberry
- Price: £19.99
If you have a sweet tooth like me then you’ll love the salted caramel flavour from Mighty, another 100% vegan brand. You probably know them as one of the best plant-based milk brands. But don’t worry, they also have chocolate and berry flavours if salted caramel isn’t your thing!
With 20g of protein at 117 calories, you can’t go wrong with Mighty’s vegan protein powder. Mix it with water or blend it into a banana milk shake.
To top it all off, they have included a range of vegan superfoods, chicory fibre for digestion, and vitamins in the mix to make this an ‘ultimate’ powder. Say goodbye to those vegan multivitamins!
Best adaptogenic powder
3. Solve Labs Plant-Based Protein
- Source: Yeast, pea, rice and pumpkin protein
- Content: 22g protein
- Calories: 125 calories per serving
- Flavours: Vanilla, salted caramel and pumpkin
- Price: £24.95
This plant-based protein powder from Solve Labs is one of the most unique offerings on this list. Not only is it made using yeast protein powder (alongside a few other plant-based protein sources), something I haven’t seen offered before, but it also contains 2000mg of functional mushrooms per serving.
This means you get a good dose of lion’s mane, cordyceps, chaga and reishi mushrooms alongside your protein hit. Together they can help provide an additional energy boost as well as provide much-needed inflammation support for your post-gym recovery.
This powder produces really silky smooth shakes and I personally love the addition of digestive enzymes which help you to digest the powder effectively. You should also check out their mushroom coffee!
Best eco-friendly packaging
4. Wild Nutrition Organic Protein
- Source: Pea and rice protein
- Content: 16g protein
- Calories: 88 calories per serving
- Flavours: Berry flavour
- Price: £40
There are a lot of brands out there selling their protein powder in ‘eco-friendly packaging’, but most of them are put inside compostable packaging that actually needs to be composted in a heat-controlled facility, not your home compost bin.
This is why I love this vegan protein powder by Wild Nutrition, their packaging is actually home-compostable plus they send a glass jar on your first purchase to decant the powder into.
This product is also sweetener-free, made with a blend of superfoods, vitamins and mushroom powders. It contains 16g protein so it isn’t the highest amount mentioned here, but it is a great powder for all-round health and wellbeing.
Best clear protein
5. Feel Clear Protein
- Source: Pea protein
- Content: 10g protein
- Calories: 53.2 calories per serving
- Flavours: Orange and mango
- Price: £19.95
If traditional protein powders don’t quite float your boat, then you’ll love this clear vegan protein from Feel. They turn pea protein into a water-soluble powder that forms a clear liquid when mixed with water. Although, it isn’t as high in protein as traditional powders.
Think fruit squash, just packed full of protein. Oh, and it is supposed to absorb well in your body. Which is useful considering it has less protein than more conventional protein powders.
I find this clear pea protein powder really easy to drink and very refreshing. Making it perfect for summer, or for hot and sweaty gyms. For a real fruity hit, you can even mix their clear powder with fruit juice. You can thank me later 😉
Best sweetener-free
6. Plant Protein+
- Source: Chia, hemp and pumpkin protein
- Content: 10g protein
- Calories: 107 calories per serving
- Flavours: Chocolate
- Price: £32
Plant Protein+ isn’t your average plant-based protein powder because this one comes with a whole host of other healthy and awesome ingredients. Not only have they added a mix of mushroom powders, like lion’s mane, reishi, and cordyceps, but they’ve also included collagen-boosting amino acids.
It isn’t the highest in protein, but I do believe that this is the perfect powder for anyone who doesn’t work out loads and is simply looking to boost their protein intake.
My favourite bit is the fact that they don’t use sweeteners. Instead, they use a dash of coconut sugar. I personally prefer eating small amounts of unprocessed sugars rather than sweeteners, since it massively helps my gut health.
Best for easy digestion
7. Form Superblend
- Source: Pea, rice and hemp protein
- Content: 20g protein
- Calories: 133-158 calories per serving
- Flavours: Chocolate peanut, chocolate salted caramel, key lime, toffee and vanilla
- Price: £26
I couldn’t resist mentioning Form again, since I find their Superblend Protein to be the best vegan protein powder for easy digestion. This is because they have added a whole host of digestive enzymes to the blend.
They have managed to keep the protein content high in this mix whilst also including fruit and vegetable powders, 11 vitamins and 3 minerals. This means you can your daily iron, iodine and B12 requirements from one serving.
I really enjoy the flavours that this product comes in with my personal favourite being toffee. It blends really nicely with banana and oat milk.
Best unflavoured
8. Bulk Vegan Protein
- Source: Pea, rice, pumpkin, quinoa and flaxseed protein
- Content: 23g protein
- Calories: 132 calories per serving
- Flavours: Unflavoured, chocolate, strawberry, vanilla and more
- Price: £16.99
Bulk sell, you guessed it, bulk quantities of protein powders. They are reasonably priced and if you know you want a lot of it, you can save on delivery by buying one huge bag at a time. I really enjoy their unflavored protein powder which is made from a wide variety of plant-based protein sources.
I found the pack lasted me ages and thankfully when I finished it, the packaging itself was compostable.
They have also added Digezyme for digestion and D3 for absorption. So even though this is a cheaper brand, the ingredients definitely still delight! Just beware, this may not be suitable for any allergy sufferers due to it being produced in a factory alongside allergens like milk, soya, cereals, fish and more. And these cheaper powders do tend to use cheaper sweeteners which can affect your gut!
Best budget-friendy
9. MYVEGAN Protein Blend
- Source: Pea & fava bean protein
- Content: 22g protein
- Calories: 110 calories per serving
- Flavours: Chocolate, cacao orange, white chocolate raspberry, turmeric latte, carrot cake & much more
- Price: £11.04
If you love having a large choice of flavours then you’ll enjoy the vegan protein powder blends from MYVEGAN. I find it a little intimidating, but I do know many people who love switching up their flavours month to month to keep things interesting.
On top of this, they manage to keep their prices really low, making this one of the cheapest options on this list. But this does come at a price, some of the sweeteners used in their products aren’t the best quality. This is fine for anyone who can tolerate sweeteners, but not so fine for people like me with IBS!
I like that they blend pea and fava bean protein together, it has a great texture and is high in protein, with 5g of BCAAs (branch-chained amino acids) per serving. Because the blend is quite smooth, it works really well when baking it into pancakes or mixing it in with your morning porridge.
Best pea protein
10. Pulsin Vegan Pea Protein
- Source: Pea protein
- Content: 8g protein per serving
- Calories: 41 calories per serving
- Flavours: Unflavoured
- Price: £11.65
If you are on the lookout for a pure protein powder then Pulsin is the brand for you! They sell a standalone pea protein powder that can be easily stirred into soups and desserts or your smoothies.
It contains a lower protein content than most protein powder blends, but you can very easily up the amount you put into your food. One serving contains 8g of protein and only 41 calories, so you could double or even triple it without it becoming too calorific.
I like the fact that it comes unflavored and without any kind of sweetener. This makes it a much more flexible product that can be used in both sweet and savoury foods. Although, do go easy at first as some people are intolerant to pea protein!
Best for women
11. Jrny Vitality Blend
- Source: Pea & hemp protein
- Content: 21g protein per serving
- Calories: 141 calories per serving
- Flavours: Madagascan vanilla, double chocolate brownie & raspberry ripple
- Price: £26.96
Jrny has created a vitamin-packed plant-based protein powder aimed at delivering women a high dose of protein (21g per serving) alongside vitamin B12, iron, magnesium, vitamin D3 and vitamin C. The vitamins have all been chosen to suit women’s needs.
Therefore, if you are a regular vegan supplements taker, then you could even ditch your vitamins in place of this vegan protein powder! You essentially get two for the price of one.
I really like that they are also championing plastic-free packaging. Their protein pouch is made using paper and is really easy to recycle. They also sell a reusable wooden measuring scoop.
Currently, they have three flavours on offer, all of which work really well in a shake using water or vegan milk. The powder can also be used in vegan baking recipes, why not try their chocolate brownie powder in your next batch of vegan brownies?
Best organic
12. Ora Organic Protein Powder
- Source: Pea & rice protein
- Content: 22g protein per serving
- Calories: 130 calories per serving
- Flavours: Chocolate, vanilla, vanilla chai & unflavoured
- Price: £34.99
This plant-based protein powder from Ora Organic champions organic ingredients, like pea and rice protein. They also jam-pack it full of superfoods, so you can get even more from that daily protein shake!
I really like their simple flavour offering, which consists of chocolate and vanilla bases. I am often a bit put off by the millions of flavour offerings from some companies, which promise flavours that they just don’t deliver. So the simplicity of both chocolate and vanilla do definitely appeal to me!
It is also one of the only companies to use organic ingredients in its vegan protein powder. But it is from the US, so I do wonder about the unnecessary air miles…
Best hemp protein
13. Naturya Organic Hemp Protein
- Source: Hemp protein
- Content: 10g protein per serving
- Calories: 72 calories per serving
- Flavours: Unflavoured
- Price: £8.06
Another great natural way of upping your intake of protein is with this pure hemp protein powder. It is unflavored and made from 100% pure organic hemp seeds. Hemp seeds contain 50% protein, meaning 50% of the powder you use is protein content. Therefore, if you use a 20g serving you’ll get 10g of protein. And this is only 72 calories.
I like to stir it into my morning chocolate smoothie bowl since it doesn’t add its own overpowering flavours to the dish.
It is lower in protein than other powders here, but it is a lot purer and some people with bad gut health may tolerate it better than soy and pea-based powders. Moreover, hemp is a very nutritious plant-based food, containing natural sources of omega-3 fatty acids, manganese, iron, magnesium and zinc.
Best protein meal replacement
14. Form Peakblend
- Source: Pea & rice protein
- Content: 17g protein per serving
- Calories: 177 calories per serving
- Flavours: Chocolate peanut or banoffee
- Price: £49
Peakblend by Form is the product for any Huel lovers out there. It is a meal replacement powder that delivers all of your daily nutritional needs with a 17g dose of protein per serving. This is perfect for anyone who struggles to eat all of their meals in a day, or for anyone who travels a lot!
You’re probably wondering why I mentioned Form’s meal replacement and not Huel’s. Well, for me it’s down to their use of plastic-free packaging and for the quality of ingredients used in the product.
So on top of the protein powder, you are also getting all of your nutrients covered, a mix of probiotics, digestive enzymes and ashwagandha. It may look pricey at first, but when you consider what it is replacing you’ll realise it’s a real steal!
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