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.
Hi there
Can you tell me how many carbs per serve
Hi there,
Just seen the carb count 18 carbs per serve !!!!
Is there any way I can lower the carb count to 4grm per serve !!!!!
Thanks D
D, I'm afraid you'd have to trade out this natural recipe for a packaged protein powder. The milk naturally contains carbs, which if you do any endurance training is needed for fuel and refuel. Milk powder contains a good balance of whey protein and carbs. But thanks for the question and for visiting!
Do you think this would work if I substituted organic pumpkin seeds for the almonds? I have peanut/tree nut allergies in my house.
Pumpkin seeds do not have as much protein as almonds. But I'll bet they would be delicious in this protein powder! Thanks for visiting Alicia!
Hey there Serena. Awesome wrk! I have been searching for a homemade recipe for soo long as protein powders are expensive here. I wanted to ask something. What if i dont have a nonfat powder? Can i substitute it with whole milk powder or atleast slim or lowfat milk powder? Nd yes can i add hemp seeds for more protein content? Nd what will be the total protein content if add the hemp seeds? Thank you and pls reply soon.
Yes, you can absolutely add whole milk powder or lowfat milk powder. Hemp seeds would be a great addition. I would start by adding 1/4 cup (about 40 grams) of hemp seed to the blender with the other ingredients. If you get 10 servings out of the protein powder, as specified in the recipe, each serving would have an additional 1.3 grams of protein. My recipe has 8 grams of protein per serving. So with the addition of hemp seeds, a serving would have 9.3 grams of protein.
Thanks for this recipe !!
I want to ask that can this protein powder help me to gain muscles ?? As I am a teenager with a lean body !!
I also want to state that I eat a lot of healthy food but it gets hard for me to gain muscles !!
This protein powder is a great source of healthy protein. Also try adding eggs to meals. They are also a source of complete, high-quality protein.
Hi, I have an autistic son who will only eat toast and cereal and drink apple juice and milk. I would love to give him protein powder in milk, but nothing store bought has worked, I believe its cause of the flavor. Do you have any suggestions on a protein powder I can make that may work?
I can imagine it can be a challenge to find foods for your son to enjoy. Try this Homemade Protein Powder. When you blend it in the blender, make sure to get the almonds perfectly ground to a powder so they have no crunchy texture.
Hi!
Love this recipe! Can't wait to try it out! Had a idea for a sub on the milk powder, maybe dry soy powder would work for those lactose people?
Let me know if it works Lanie. I haven't tried it. Thanks so much for visiting Lanie!
Can I add soya chunks in it to get more protien??
Soya chunks is what we call textured vegetable protein in the US, I believe. I've never thought to add TVP to a smoothie, or to protein powder. If the soya chunks blend up in the blender, it may work in this. However, you will need to keep the protein powder in the refrigerator or freezer as the soya chunks will not stay fresh if left on the counter in the protein powder. If you don't add the soya chunks (or TVP) you do not need to refrigerate this protein powder. Thanks for visiting Shantanu!
Okay thanks a ton. I am using your recipe from last couple of weeks and I am getting a good result. Thanks you so much for such a wonderful recipe ☺️
Hey I am from india and want to know if instead of instant dry milk can I use normal milk powder or soy milk powder will that work?
I'm afraid I don't know what milk powder is. But it sounds similar to instant dry milk. I have never used soy milk powder, but it would probably work too. However, it does not have as much protein as dairy milk powder. And it has a much lower leucine content. Thanks for visiting.
Serena, thank you so much for this recipe! I have been looking for an affordable protein shake mix for a long time and most importantly one that didn't have gobs of ingredients that can't be pronounced. I found some that have minimal ingredients but they're pricey. This is a beautiful recipe you've created. My son practically lives on protein shakes and favors the boosty drinks but I loathe the long list of ingredients and I don't know what they're doing to his little body. They're definitely not helping him gain weight.
I'm going to whip some of this up with cocoa/cacao in it because he's crazy for chocolate.
I have gobs of pecans right now, do you think they'd be a good substitute for almonds for the time being? I'm so excited to try this recipe. Thank you again. This is an answer to a prayer.
Oh good! Thanks so much for taking the time to write! (: Pecans would be wonderful it this Homemade Protein Powder. The protein content would be slightly lower, but your son would still be getting protein and several good fatty acids and lots of important nutrients.
Thank you so much!!
Would you get the same effect for a breakfast smoothie with, no added sugar almond milk, plus the oats and which ever fruit you wanted, i.e. Blueberries, or is the almond milk too high in fat.
Forgive my ignorance, but i thought that if you didn't want to make a whole batch of protein powder, maybe this would work. Or have i got it wrong.
Almond milk beverage + blueberries + oats would be a tasty drink, but it would not be as high in protein as the same drink with my Homemade Protein Powder added. The Protein Powder contains protein from milk and almonds (almond milk contains almost no protein, which is surprising, but true.) One of the best protein sources for building muscle is the amino acid leucine, which is in the milk powder in my Homemade Protein Powder. I hope you get to try it soon, Chris!
Can you just grind the almonds and oats and then just mix in the dry milk? My blender kept sticking so that's what I have done..
That's a good idea. That's unfortunate your blender stuck. Usually when you add just part of the non-fat powdered milk, it doesn't stick. Maybe your milk is a higher milk-fat?
Hi- I'm excited to try this! I'm wondering if I could use the almond pulp that's left over from making almond milk in place on the sliced almonds. A few questions re: pulp vs sliced almonds: Would I be losing nutritional value by using the pulp? Would the pump be too wet? Thanks for the insight!
Thanks for visiting Beth. I have never made almond milk from almonds. So I'm only guessing. But i've heard you can dry out almond pulp in the oven on a sheet pan. This makes it into a sort of almond flour. If this is the case, then yes, you could use in this protein powder. But I would caution you to store the powder in the refrigerator, as I'd never be sure if the almond 'flour' was totally dried out. If not, the protein powder wouldn't be fresh if stored in the pantry. Also, I'm not sure of the nutrient content of almond pulp, but my guess is that some of the protein goes into the 'milk.' So I don't think the final protein powder protein content would be as high when made with almond pulp.
well nice to see so much feedback on this DIY Protein power. I have never been a fan of smoothie. I have used this twice for a Coffee smoothie and do find I stay full until lunch. So I do believe it is a keeper, thanks, girls!
Thanks for visiting us Kathy and letting us know you like my Homemade Protein Powder!
On a very low-carb meal plan, I've realized I really like simple protein shakes, but I'm tired of paying for expensive powders with funky ingredients. Your recipe is exactly what I was looking for. I swapped out the oats for shelled hemp seeds to make it keto-friendly, used almond meal since I had it already, and subbed half of the almonds for powdered peanut butter with cocoa. Tried it with just water and it's already palatable, but with a little stevia it is delicious! Thank you for creating a base I can play around with as I revamp my eating.
Oh, we're so happy for you! Glad you were able to make this recipe your own, Jen. (:
What is the nutrition, calories, carbs,protein,fiber, sugars on this recipe? Sorry if iy is already on here. I couldnt find it. Thank you so much!
My Homemade Protein Powder has 140 calories, 10 g of protein, 18 grams carbohydrates, 2.5 g fiber, 0 g added-sugars, 10 g natural sugars per 1/2-cup serving.
what about the saturated fat on this powder? Trying to figure out it for the WW program.
The saturated fat content per serving is only about 0.3 g - which is technically 0 grams. The saturated fat comes only from almonds - as non-fat milk powder and oatmeal both do not contain saturated fat. Thanks for visiting our site Kathy!
Hi. I'm sort of allergic to all kinds of nuts. They make me really gassy to a point I'll get gastric attacks. This recipe uses almonds. Is there as substitute? Also, will powdered goat's milk work as well? I'm lactose intolerant, but weirdly enough I'm okay with goat's milk. Thanks so much!
I've never tried this recipe with powdered goat's milk, but it should work. I've not tried it, but chia seeds and flax seeds in smaller amounts should work for the nuts. The nutritionals will be different.
Great recipe. I added a little bit of high quality Ovaltine for a malt flavor and mixed with milk.. amazing taste. Fresh, no preservatives, and most importantly no chemicals. I drink pre and post workouts. Get around 25 grams of quality protein per serving.
Amer
Sounds great. Thanks for commenting Amer!
What is the nutritional contents of this powder?
Each 1/2 cup-scoop of my Homemade Protein Powder has 140 calories and 10 grams of protein. Thanks for visiting Alexandra!
What can be used instead of almonds? I'd like to make this & send it to school with my son. Our schools are nut free. I receive financial assistance & really don't want to keep paying the high prices at the stores.
That's a great idea to make this at home and send to school with your son, Lisa. Ground flax seed actually has a protein content very similar to ground almonds. So you could substitute ground flax seed for the almonds and achieve nearly the same nutritional value.