Homemade Protein Shakes: 7 Without Protein Powder and 2 With Whey, in Grams With Their Macros

A homemade protein shake is a protein base (Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, pasteurized egg whites, silken tofu, milk or protein powder) blended with a liquid, a fruit and, if you want more calories, oats or peanut butter. The base is what matters: without it you have a fruit smoothie. Every figure in this article is calculated with USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy database) for the exact amount given; the FDC identifiers are in the sources at the end. If you do not know how much protein you need a day, the protein calculator gives you the figure for your weight and activity.

Homemade Protein Shakes: 9 Recipes With Their Grams and Macros

The first seven contain no protein powder; the last two do. Quantities are in grams, liquids included: a litre of skim milk weighs about 1,035 g according to the USDA, so measuring in millilitres barely changes the numbers. Below the table you will find each shake ingredient by ingredient: the totals are the sum of those rows.

1. Greek yogurt, oats and banana (375 kcal, 31.7 g protein)

The breakfast of the table: the nonfat Greek yogurt provides almost two thirds of the protein and the oats add body. If you swap it for skyr, check the label: skyr is not in the USDA database. Total: 375 kcal, 31.7 g protein, 57.3 g carbs and 3.3 g fat in 480 g of shake.

• 200 g plain nonfat Greek yogurt: 118 kcal · 20.4 g protein · 7.2 g carbs · 0.8 g fat
• 150 g skim milk: 51 kcal · 5.1 g protein · 7.4 g carbs · 0.1 g fat
• 30 g rolled oats: 117 kcal · 5.1 g protein · 19.9 g carbs · 2.1 g fat
• 100 g peeled banana (1 small): 89 kcal · 1.1 g protein · 22.8 g carbs · 0.3 g fat

2. Cottage cheese and blueberries (210 kcal, 24.1 g protein)

The lightest one without powder. Blend it well so no lumps of cheese are left; if you use quark, the protein depends on the brand. Total: 210 kcal, 24.1 g protein, 23.7 g carbs and 2.2 g fat in 400 g of shake.

• 150 g cottage cheese (1% fat): 108 kcal · 18.6 g protein · 4.1 g carbs · 1.5 g fat
• 150 g skim milk: 51 kcal · 5.1 g protein · 7.4 g carbs · 0.1 g fat
• 100 g frozen unsweetened blueberries: 51 kcal · 0.4 g protein · 12.2 g carbs · 0.6 g fat

3. Pasteurized egg whites, strawberries and oats (309 kcal, 27.7 g protein)

The egg whites provide more than half of the protein with almost no fat, but only from a pasteurized carton (more on that below). With the strawberries and oats you will not taste them. Total: 309 kcal, 27.7 g protein, 45.1 g carbs and 2.5 g fat in 530 g of shake.

• 150 g pasteurized liquid egg whites (carton): 72 kcal · 15.3 g protein · 1.6 g carbs · 0.0 g fat
• 200 g skim milk: 68 kcal · 6.7 g protein · 9.9 g carbs · 0.2 g fat
• 150 g frozen unsweetened strawberries: 52 kcal · 0.6 g protein · 13.7 g carbs · 0.2 g fat
• 30 g rolled oats: 117 kcal · 5.1 g protein · 19.9 g carbs · 2.1 g fat

4. Milk, oats, cocoa and peanut butter (398 kcal, 23.4 g protein)

No yogurt, no egg whites and no powder: the milk provides more than half of the protein, and the oats and peanut butter the rest. Total: 398 kcal, 23.4 g protein, 57.3 g carbs and 11.0 g fat in 500 g of shake.

• 400 g skim milk: 136 kcal · 13.5 g protein · 19.8 g carbs · 0.3 g fat
• 30 g rolled oats: 117 kcal · 5.1 g protein · 19.9 g carbs · 2.1 g fat
• 50 g peeled banana (half a small one): 44 kcal · 0.5 g protein · 11.4 g carbs · 0.2 g fat
• 15 g peanut butter: 90 kcal · 3.3 g protein · 3.3 g carbs · 7.7 g fat
• 5 g unsweetened cocoa powder: 11 kcal · 1.0 g protein · 2.9 g carbs · 0.7 g fat

5. Green Greek yogurt, spinach and banana (308 kcal, 28.0 g protein)

The spinach is barely noticeable with the banana and adds 7 kcal. Peanut butter is the ingredient with the most calories per gram. Total: 308 kcal, 28.0 g protein, 38.3 g carbs and 6.4 g fat in 440 g of shake.

• 200 g plain nonfat Greek yogurt: 118 kcal · 20.4 g protein · 7.2 g carbs · 0.8 g fat
• 100 g skim milk: 34 kcal · 3.4 g protein · 5.0 g carbs · 0.1 g fat
• 30 g fresh spinach: 7 kcal · 0.9 g protein · 1.1 g carbs · 0.1 g fat
• 100 g peeled banana (1 small): 89 kcal · 1.1 g protein · 22.8 g carbs · 0.3 g fat
• 10 g peanut butter: 60 kcal · 2.2 g protein · 2.2 g carbs · 5.1 g fat

6. Silken tofu and mango (vegan) (346 kcal, 26.9 g protein)

The plant-based option without powder. Check the tofu label: the USDA lists silken tofus with 6.9 g of protein per 100 g (firm) and 4.8 g (soft). Total: 346 kcal, 26.9 g protein, 29.3 g carbs and 14.4 g fat in 610 g of shake.

• 250 g firm silken tofu: 155 kcal · 17.2 g protein · 6.0 g carbs · 6.8 g fat
• 250 g unsweetened soy milk: 82 kcal · 7.2 g protein · 4.1 g carbs · 4.1 g fat
• 100 g mango: 60 kcal · 0.8 g protein · 15.0 g carbs · 0.4 g fat
• 10 g chia seeds: 49 kcal · 1.7 g protein · 4.2 g carbs · 3.1 g fat

7. For weight gain: whole milk, Greek yogurt, oats and peanut butter (697 kcal, 40.6 g protein)

For people who want to gain weight and struggle to eat enough. If you want to lose weight, this is exactly the shake you do not need. Total: 697 kcal, 40.6 g protein, 86.0 g carbs and 25.9 g fat in 630 g of shake.

• 300 g whole milk: 183 kcal · 9.4 g protein · 14.4 g carbs · 9.8 g fat
• 150 g plain nonfat Greek yogurt: 88 kcal · 15.3 g protein · 5.4 g carbs · 0.6 g fat
• 50 g rolled oats: 194 kcal · 8.4 g protein · 33.1 g carbs · 3.5 g fat
• 100 g peeled banana (1 small): 89 kcal · 1.1 g protein · 22.8 g carbs · 0.3 g fat
• 20 g peanut butter: 120 kcal · 4.4 g protein · 4.5 g carbs · 10.3 g fat
• 10 g unsweetened cocoa powder: 23 kcal · 2.0 g protein · 5.8 g carbs · 1.4 g fat

8. Whey with milk and banana (297 kcal, 34.6 g protein)

With protein powder: the value depends on the brand. It is calculated with the USDA entry for whey-based protein powder; if your tub lists a different figure, recalculate. Total: 297 kcal, 34.6 g protein, 39.6 g carbs and 1.0 g fat in 430 g of shake.

• 30 g whey protein powder: 106 kcal · 23.4 g protein · 1.9 g carbs · 0.5 g fat
• 300 g skim milk: 102 kcal · 10.1 g protein · 14.9 g carbs · 0.2 g fat
• 100 g peeled banana (1 small): 89 kcal · 1.1 g protein · 22.8 g carbs · 0.3 g fat

9. Light whey with water, Greek yogurt and strawberries (217 kcal, 34.2 g protein)

The most protein per calorie, because the liquid is water. As with the previous one, the figure depends on your protein powder. Total: 217 kcal, 34.2 g protein, 19.2 g carbs and 1.1 g fat in 530 g of shake.

• 30 g whey protein powder: 106 kcal · 23.4 g protein · 1.9 g carbs · 0.5 g fat
• 250 g water: 0 kcal · 0.0 g protein · 0.0 g carbs · 0.0 g fat
• 100 g plain nonfat Greek yogurt: 59 kcal · 10.2 g protein · 3.6 g carbs · 0.4 g fat
• 150 g frozen unsweetened strawberries: 52 kcal · 0.6 g protein · 13.7 g carbs · 0.2 g fat

How Much Protein Should a Shake Have

Moore and colleagues (2009) gave 6 young men drinks with 0, 5, 10, 20 or 40 g of egg protein after a leg workout: muscle protein synthesis peaked at 20 g, and leucine oxidation rose with 20 and 40 g. Witard and colleagues (2014) repeated it with 48 trained men weighing about 80 kg and whey protein: 20 g was enough for maximal myofibrillar protein synthesis over the next 4 hours, at rest and after exercise, and 40 g increased amino acid oxidation and urea production. That does not mean everything above 20 g is wasted: the review by Schoenfeld and Aragon (2018) concludes that some of the extra protein is used to build tissue and suggests 0.4 g per kilo at each meal, across at least four meals, to reach 1.6 g per kilo a day (and up to 0.55 g per kilo per meal if the target is 2.2 g per kilo a day). The position stand of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (Jäger and colleagues, 2017) gives 0.25 g of high-quality protein per kilo as a general figure, or 20-40 g per serving, every 3-4 hours, within 1.4-2.0 g per kilo a day for most people who exercise.

• The 9 shakes in the table contain between 23 and 41 g of protein, around that 20-40 g range.
• These figures are for healthy adults who exercise. If you have kidney disease or follow a plan for a health condition, your doctor or registered dietitian decides how much protein you eat.
• What really counts is your protein across the whole day: work yours out with the protein calculator.

When to Drink a Protein Shake

The famous “
” of a few minutes is far less strict than people say. The meta-analysis by Schoenfeld and colleagues (2013) pooled 20 studies on strength (478 people) and 23 on hypertrophy (525): once the other variables were accounted for, taking protein right around the workout improved neither strength nor hypertrophy, and total daily protein was the strongest factor for hypertrophy. The ISSN adds that the benefit is seen whether protein is taken before or after, that timing is mostly a matter of individual tolerance, and that the anabolic effect of exercise lasts at least 24 hours, although it fades as the hours pass. In practice:

• Breakfast: Greek yogurt, oats and banana (375 kcal, 31.7 g of protein).
• After training, if your next meal is a while away: whey with milk and banana (297 kcal, 34.6 g) or egg whites, strawberries and oats (309 kcal, 27.7 g).
• Light snack: cottage cheese and blueberries (210 kcal, 24.1 g).
• If you struggle to eat enough: the weight-gain shake (697 kcal, 40.6 g), between meals and not instead of them.

Protein Shakes for Building Muscle or for Losing Weight

The shake is the same; what changes is what you add to it. To build muscle, what matters most is strength training and reaching your daily protein: in the meta-analysis by Morton and colleagues (2018), with 49 trials and 1,863 participants, protein supplementation added on average 0.30 kg of fat-free mass and 2.49 kg to the one-repetition maximum; the effect was smaller with age, larger in people who already trained, and above 1.62 g of protein per kilo a day there was no further gain in fat-free mass. To lose weight, the shake helps if it replaces something: the review by Leidy and colleagues (2015) describes a modest satiety effect of higher-protein meals that did not reduce what was eaten at the next meal, and puts the reference at diets of 1.2-1.6 g per kilo a day with at least about 25-30 g of protein per meal.

• To gain weight: the whole milk, Greek yogurt, oats and peanut butter shake (697 kcal). Work out how many calories you need with the muscle gain calculator.
• To lose weight: cottage cheese and blueberries (210 kcal) or light whey with water (217 kcal), instead of a snack.
• Weigh the peanut butter and the oats: they add the most calories per gram. 20 g of peanut butter is 120 kcal and 50 g of oats 194.

Egg Whites in a Shake: Pasteurized Only

Egg whites are one of the lightest bases: according to the USDA, 150 g of pasteurized egg whites provide 15.3 g of protein and 72 kcal, with almost no fat. But in a shake they are eaten raw, and the US FDA warns that a fresh egg, even with a clean, uncracked shell, may contain Salmonella; for recipes in which the egg is not cooked it recommends pasteurized eggs or egg products. The Scientific Committee of the Spanish food safety agency AESAN (report AESAN-2025-005) considers the risk of raw egg preparations “
” and, for desserts, smoothies or sauces with raw egg, recommends pasteurized egg in any of its forms (liquid, frozen, dried or with a treated shell). There is a second nuance: in a study with 5 people with an ileostomy, cooked egg protein was 90.9% digested and raw egg protein 51.3% (Evenepoel and colleagues, 1998). That study did not test pasteurized whites, but it suggests you will not absorb all the protein the table shows.

Protein Powder: the Number Depends on the Brand

The two whey shakes in the table use the USDA entry “
”, with 78.1 g of protein per 100 g: 30 g is 23.4 g of protein and 106 kcal. But the same USDA lists a whey protein isolate with 58.1 g per 100 g (17.4 g in 30 g) and a soy protein powder with 55.6 g (16.7 g in 30 g). The difference between tubs is real: read your label and recalculate. To choose a type and brand, see the guide on which protein powder to choose. And remember you do not need it: the first 7 shakes all pass 20 g without it.

Is It Safe to Drink a Protein Shake Every Day?

For healthy adults it usually is: a homemade shake is protein from everyday foods in liquid form. A meta-analysis of 28 trials with 1,358 participants (Devries and colleagues, 2018) did not find that higher-protein diets changed how kidney function evolved in adults without kidney disease. Chronic kidney disease is a different matter: there the 2020 KDOQI guideline sets protein individually, and the amount is set by your doctor or nephrologist, not by a recipe on the internet. This article is general information, not medical advice.

A homemade protein shake is everyday food in liquid form: a convenient tool, not an obligation. Pick the recipe for your goal, weigh what adds the most calories and fit it into your day; if you do not know how many calories you need, start with the calorie calculator. And if you train, also read what to eat before and after training.