How to Make Homemade Protein Powder
Here's the dietitian's recipe for simple homemade protein powder - using a surprise budget-friendly protein source and a natural thickener.
This recipe was originally published in 2014 - and has become our most popular recipe. I've updated the post with new photos and recent information (and side note: people often ask me what blender I use - here's the $40 Black & Decker Blender I've used for decades now! [affiliate link].
So, over the years, dozens of friends have told me this homemade protein powder is a favorite for their kids and even for sick relatives. Here's how it all began...
My sister wanted a grab-and-go breakfast for herself and her teenager; she thought a fruit smoothie with a scoop of protein powder would combine all the components of a balanced breakfast. But...she wanted a more affordable option than most store-bought varieties - and she doesn't care for the artificial sweeteners in lots of the powders.
Here's the recipe she texted me for my dietitian approval: "dry oats + brown rice + raw lentils: grind to powder"
Yikes. I texted back "breakfast #bellyache" as raw lentils are indigestible. In fact one of the reasons you cook them is to destroy some of the anti-nutritional factors that makes them inedible when raw.
So, instead, here's the wholesome recipe I came up with using an under-utilized, convenient and super-nutritious item in the supermarket: instant nonfat dry milk - it's actually just milk with the water removed - thus powdered milk. So, just like a glass of liquid milk, it contains whey. And according to a growing group of researchers, high-quality protein like dairy (whey) and eggs yield the best results in terms of muscle growth, muscle recovery, and may be beneficial for weight loss.
Each ½ cup-scoop of my Homemade Protein Powder has 180 calories and 12 grams of protein. To make it I combined:
- Dry milk powder: A ⅓ cup serving has just 80 calories, a whopping 8 grams of protein, including whey protein, AND 8 essential nutrients.
- Dry oats: A natural thickener because oats 'plump' in liquid. All oats are a healthy whole grain with significant amounts of fiber. Plus some researchers have show oatmeal has a special type of fiber that helps you feel fuller longer.
- Almonds: Contains fiber and heart-healthy fats.
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Combine my Homemade Protein Powder (recipe below) in the following quick recipes for a protein-packed grab-and-go-breakfast that will do your body good plus keep you going all morning. These are also some of this dietitian's favorite ways to refuel after a workout. Use a ½-cup scoop (46.2 gm) of Homemade Protein Powder:
- Berry Berry Smoothie: 1 scoop Homemade Protein Power + ½ cup plain (or flavored) Greek yogurt + 1 cup milk + 1 cup berries = 31 g protein
- Extra Creamy Chocolate Smoothie: 1 scoop Homemade Protein Power + 1 cup milk + ¼ avocado +1 tablespoon cocoa powder = 18 g protein
- Sweet Potato Pie Smoothie: 1 scoop Homemade Protein Power + 1 cup milk + ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice + ¼ cup canned sweet potatoes = 17 g protein
Homemade Protein Powder
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
Description
Here's the dietitian's recipe for simple homemade protein powder - using a surprise budget-friendly ingredient.
Ingredients
- 3 cups (240 gm) instant nonfat dry milk, divided
- 1 cup (80 gm) old fashioned or instant dry oats
- 1 cup (142 gm) almonds
- Sweetener of your choice
Instructions
- Place 1 cup instant dry milk, 1 cup oats, 1 cup almonds in blender. Pulse until smooth.
- Place remaining instant dry milk in blender and pulse just a few times until blended.
- Place in container and cover tightly. Keep at a cool room temperature if you use within 2 weeks - if storing longer store in the refrigerator so the nuts don't go rancid.
- To use, scoop ½ cup into ½-1 cup liquid in a blender; if possible let set 5-10 minutes for oats to plump. Add additional fruits, flavorings, yogurt or milks of your choice. Vanilla or almond extract is especially delicious.
Do you use protein powder? Have you ever made your own?
If you like this recipe, check out more of our Healthy Kitchen Hacks series here.
If you like this recipe you may like to slurp these recipes with a scoop of my Homemade Protein Powder:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie Bowl
Now, check out my review: WHICH PROTEIN POWDER IS BEST FOR BAKING? And see the results when baking this Protein Banana Bread.
i am a 16 years old boy i wanted to ask that this protein powder contains the same amount of calories and protein as that of protein powders found in the market...
if not then how can i increase the protein content in it.....
Thanks for visiting Kishan! A 1/3 cup serving of my protein powder has just 80 calories, 8 grams of protein and includes whey protein. Protein powders in the market vary a great deal, but if you used 2/3 cup of my protein powder, you'd be close to the amount of protein in packaged protein powder and close to the calories. The main benefits of my recipe is it's inexpensive and made with ingredients you can find in a normal grocery store. Plus you can control the ingredients including sweeteners (and there's no ingredients you don't know what they are!) If you want to add MORE protein to this recipe, make a smoothie with Greek or regular yogurt.
Has anyone checked the carb count on this recipe yet? I'd be interested...it's hard to get protein powder here in Ecuador. 🙂
One serving has about 18 grams carbohydrates. Thanks so much for stopping by Lois. I hope you can make this in Ecuador!
Have you a dairy free version for those who are lactose intolerant? 🙁
Yes! You could make this dairy free and vegan by leaving out the instant dry milk powder. However the protein content would be lower and the protein powder would contain no leucine - which is a key amino acid for muscle building. But the proportions of 1:1 oats to almonds would work just fine! Let me know how you make out.
I only use canned coconut milk
Thanks for stopping by Alane. You could make smoothies with canned coconut milk and my Homemade Protein Powder recipe. This smoothie would be delicious: 1/2 cup Homemade Protein Powder + 1/4 cup canned coconut milk + 1 banana!
Thank you for this Serena! It's so hard to find a protein powder that's easy enough to make at home. Will pin this for future reference - adding cacao will be my first try 🙂
Oh man, cacao would be so delish in this...and the antioxidant benefits...well, so beneficial!
hi, is it okay if I want to use it for weight loss take this instead of meals.
Thanks for stopping by Eva! We are focused on healthy eating in general on this site. I will have to direct you to a weight-loss focused site like loseit.com. I will say, that there is a good amount of protein in this protein powder and when I make my breakfast smoothies, it contains this protein powder, fruit and generally milk or yogurt. Thanks again for your comment!
This is incredible! I love how few ingredients there are and how economical this would be- I will definitely try it and see how I digest the whey- I have only used vegan protein (pea or rice), so I wonder how much I was actually digesting anyway- are split peas like lentils as far as digestable nutrients?
Thanks so much for stopping by Barrie! Actually pea protein powder is an ingestible protein source that's formulated by several upstanding companies...but raw beans or lentils ground up at home is a totally different product and is not safe.
Antinutrients are not indigestible, they simply stop you from being able to absorb the nutrients they bind to. However, i you just up your nutrient intake, or decrease your intake of antinutrients, you will be just fine...
Thanks for your insight Mary. The study I linked to in the post has some good info on anti-nutrients.
I made this by substituting peanut butter powder for the almonds. I then added 1 1/3 cup cocoa powder and 2/3 cup sugar to the whole mixture( I didn't have any powdered stevia and I wanted to be able to scoop it out and just add liquid). I used the 1/2 cup scoop to 1 cup of milk and it was delicious. Can water be substituted for on the go shakes?
Now that sounds like a great adaptation Michelle! Yum. Yes, you can absolutely sub in water - that's the beauty of this protein powder because it uses dry milk powder. (I don't really care for the taste of whey protein powders in water - but this is still good when made with water - although it's certainly better made with milk.) Thanks for trying out the recipe and taking the time to comment!
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe...i love it. Can you please suggest a suitable alternative for the berries since it is expensive and found in only selective stores in india. Please also mention the amount of protein, i want the smoothie to still have around 31g protein after the berries are substituted. Thanks again.
Actually the berries don't add much protein to the Berry Berry Smoothie. So you could substitute another fruit that's more affordable for the berries and still get to about 31 g protein. THanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to comment!
You could try sweet potato. You could boil or roast it and keep it in your refrigerator.I have no idea what this would add nutritionally but I thought it may be something that you could source more easily.
Thanks Colette.
I am a mother of an ADHD 11 year old son, He is on meds. for it and he keeps loosing to much weight ....The Dr wants me to use ensure or instant carnation brkfts to help him gain weight ....would this help him gain weight if i put them in smoothies for him.....thank you
Carnation Breakfast Essentials has 130 calories and 5 g of protein per serving. My protein powder has 140 calories and 10 g of protein per 1/2-cup serving. So this give you a comparison on calories and protein to share with your doctor. Different from my protein powder, Carnation is fortified with many other vitamins and minerals which may be important for your son. Thanks for stopping by Gina! We appreciate it!
You can also use full cream milk powder for higher calorie content, and add some coconut oil to your son's smoothies.
Good idea Meredith.
Hi..my gym trainer asked me to start with protien powder but I don't want to go for the market ones.
Can I use this post workout??
Yes! Absolutely. Thanks for asking. It would be great to help build muscle after a workout.
What if I replace the Almonds with Walnuts?
Walnuts would be a great sub for almonds. The nutrition listed above would be slightly different. Walnuts have less protein than almonds, but walnuts are a fabulous source of omega-3 fatty acids. In fact they have more omega 3's than any other nut - by a long shot! Here's more info on that here: https://teaspoonofspice.com/2016/06/walnut-baked-goat-cheese/. There are 6 grams of protein in 1 ounce of almonds and 4.3 grams of protein in an ounce of walnuts. So the smoothies listed here would have about 1 gram less of protein listed if made with walnuts.
Hi Please can you tell me how this powder should be stored and how long it lasts for.
Great question Lisa. If you use it within a week or two - just keep it in your pantry. But to keep the almonds fresh, keep it the refrigerator if it's stored more than 2 weeks.
Hi am I supposed to use 4 oz of protein mix to a cup of milk?
Yes, 4 fluid ounces in a 1/2-cup measuring cup.
I've just made this with a few modifications because my husband has lost a tremendous amount of weight due to illness. I substituted fatfree powder for whole milk powder, added 1/2 cup ground linseed & 3 generous tbsp peanut butter powder. I plan to give him 2 smoothies a day using the powder and whatever fresh fruit I have on hand, which abound here in Costa Rica. We monitor his weight daily so hopefully we'll see some weight gain in the next few weeks.
I so appreciate you let me know you found this useful Jocelyne. Your changes sound wise for your husband's situation. I hope he gets well soon! Adding some ice cream or coconut oil could help too.
Never considered making my own protein powder and am amazed at how simple it is. Can't wait to try.
what a great idea! The powdered milk makes me giggle because I accidentally recommended a young male college student to use powdered milk instead to save $$$. haha he didn't think that was cool 😉
I'm totally in awe of this idea... and a little embarrassed I never thought of it! I bow to your genius. 😉
Hi. I would like to know since I can't find non fat milk powder in South Africa can i use full fat also can I add 100g of flax seeds to the recipe. Will I be correct in saying that per 1/2 cup is 17,6 grams of protein
Yes you could certainly add full-fat milk powder. That would delicious. I wish we could get full-fat milk powder in the States - it would be very good for people who use my Homemade Protein Powder for weight gain. Also some research has shown the fatty acids in dairy are not typical saturated fats - and are health-promoting.
Lara, look for Dano Slim.