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If you’re cutting weight then every calorie counts. Dropping the milk from your shake is a super effective way to remove around 120 calories from your daily intake. Unfortunately not all protein powders taste great with water – luckily, through a period of significant cutting, I have found the ones that do!


At a glance…
- ON Gold Standard Whey (chocolate) is the best tasting protein powder when mixed with water
- Bulk is a great runner up for the more budget conscious or those who prefer a wider range of flavours
- Replacing milk with water will save around 120 calories per shake – around 5% of a typical 2400 calorie daily calorie requirement
- CHILL YOUR WATER to really make that protein shake POP without milk!
Top 3: Which protein is best with water?
When looking for a powder to mix with WATER we need something that tastes great and that DOESN’T clump. If you’re skipping the milk I think the premium brands are worth considering (just think of the money you’re saving on the milk!)
- Optimum Nutrition (ON) Gold Standard Whey – the chocolate flavour mixes really well with milk OR water and tastes great! The downside is the premium price tag and also the plastic container – a bag is just easier to store in a cupboard.
- Bulk Powders – Chocolate Cookies is AWESOME when mixed with water. To be honest I probably prefer it with water over milk! Bulk powders mixes quite thick so with chilled water you rarely notice the lack of creamy milk!
- MyProtein – One of my ‘go to’ brands is MyProtein. It is readily available, affordable and comes in an abundance of flavours. The downside is that is a more clumpy mix than both ON and Bulk above.
Which protein FLAVOUR is best with water?
Unsurprisingly flavour is a personal thing – BUT chocolate and vanilla based powders get the best reviews when mixed with water. I personally stick to these, plus banana from time to time (when I get bored!) although it can taste more watery than the others.
And the worst flavour protein powder? That is STRAWBERRY. It seems the most likely to clump in water and the sweetness used to replicate the flavour can be quite overpowering in water compared to milk.
Why you should mix your protein with water
While a protein shake with milk is deliciously smooth and creamy, ultimately that comes with a host of extra calories. If you’re trying to track your macros the extra fats and carbs will make your daily nutrition-jigsaw more complex to complete.
When cutting I find having a few ‘hacks’ that cut calories from meals without making them SMALLER is super helpful – this is exactly what we do by mixing our protein shake with water.
The volume of liquid is the same – it’s just lower calorie while still being a lean protein source. This can save you around 120 calories per shake – a not inconsequential 5% of a typical 2400 calories per day diet.
Does protein powder taste good with water?
Yes – I wrote a whole article on this – but protein powder can taste great with water!
One neat trick to make protein shakes with water taste better
… Chill the water. Yes – that simple. If you want your protein shake to taste better then refrigerate the water before mixing the shake up.
By choosing water over milk as the base for your shake you’re forgoing the silky texture but also the chilled temperature. You will be surprised just HOW MUCH of a difference this makes!
Conclusion
Mixing your protein powder with water is a great diet hack – I used this trick for around a year while cutting about 50lbs. Fortunately I’ve done the hard work of testing the various powders on the market so you can buy in confidence – ON Gold Standard is an excellent protein powder for water-based shakes!
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