The Best Chocolate Protein Shake Recipe

I have a friend who lives in San Diego. He’s about my age. He’s about my size. And he’s living through the same life stage as me.

But, when he visited Austin last fall, I was astonished to see how fit he was. For the past 5 years, I’ve been as heavy as I’ve ever been in my life. To put it into hard numbers: I weigh about 20% more than I did on my wedding day. I have excuses. It’s because of work and kids and other things that take up the portion of my life I once dedicated to fitness. There are times in life when you sacrifice what’s best for you in service to what’s best for others. But that reality did not seem to affect my friend.

So I asked him: “What are you doing that I’m not doing.”

And that’s when he shared with me the best chocolate protein shake recipe.

Each, he skips breakfast, Then he drinks a protein shake for lunch. He exercises. And then he eats a sensible dinner — SlimFast-style.

I had dabbled with protein shakes in the past, knowing they could be handy and helpful supplements to build muscle and support a balanced diet. But I had never found the right protein shake recipe — the one that really worked for me.

My friend gave me his recipe, though, and I vowed to try it. I discovered that he was right — this recipe is ideal for anyone looking to build muscle, lose fat and make it through an intermittent fasting schedule day after day.

Here’s a look at the exact recipe he recommended — the one I’ve been using to stay fit in 2021.

The 2 Products I Use in the Best Chocolate Protein Shake Recipe

The recipe is remarkably simple: It’s 2 scoops of Orgain Organic Protein Plant Based Protein Powder (Creamy Chocolate Fudge) and 1 scoop of Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides (Unflavored). Mix the products together in water and chug it down. The whole process takes 5 minutes or less.

• Total calories: 185
• Total protein: 30 grams

Here’s a closer look at the ingredients:

Orgain Organic Protein Plant Based Protein Powder is a delicious, creamy, and nutritious product that delivers 21 grams of protein derived from peas, brown rice and chia seeds. It also provides 6 grams of organic dietary fiber, 3 grams of net carbs, and 0 grams of sugar per serving. The best part? This tasty powder can be mixed with water or milk to create a quick breakfast or snack drink or used when baking cakes and cookies to give your treats a protein boost. I use it in water, of course, but there are countless other ways to incorporate this product into your diet.

Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides are a great way to get your daily dose of collagen. The product is made from grass-fed, pasture-raised bovine hide and contains 20g of protein per serving. I add it to tap water, but you can put it into coffee, tea, smoothies or other drinks. As additional benefits, Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides are kosher and vegan-friendly — not to mention gluten-free.

At first glance, these products might not seem extraordinary or even special. But there are 3 reasons why they work for me as ingredients in the best chocolate protein shake recipe where other ingredients failed.

1. It Tastes Great

Taste has been a huge issue when I’ve tried protein shakes in the past. It’s been hard to keep up with a protein shake regimen, because I couldn’t stand drinking it. You’ll never embrace a protein shake if you dread swallowing the concoction.

This recipe creates a totally different experience. Blending together the Orgain and Vitals Protein powders creates a real-chocolate taste that you’ll even look forward to enjoying. It’s not something I would order for dessert off the menu at a restaurant, but it’s better than anything else I’ve tried. Trust me: You won’t dread drinking this protein shake, and you won’t think twice about making one when lunchtime comes around.

2. It Fills You Up

This protein shake recipe also fills you up. Naturally, the ability to feel full after drinking a low-calorie, high-protein shake for lunch is essential to the success of an intermittent fasting diet.

If you’re unfamiliar with intermittent fasting, it’s the practice of not eating for a large portion of your day and night so that you have a relatively small “window” of time each day when you intake calories. For example, many intermittent fasters wait until noon to eat. Then they have their last meal at 6 p.m. That’s an open window of 6 hours. They then close their window for 18 hours, waiting until noon the next day to eat again.

But intermittent fasting doesn’t work if you feel hungry all the time. Finding a chocolate protein shake recipe that is low on calories and filling can supercharge an intermittent fasting diet.

3. It is Easy to Find

Both the Orgain and Vitals Protein powders are really easy to find. I’ve seen them on grocery store shelves, at Costco, as well as on Amazon and other ecommerce marketplaces. This is more important than you think. If it’s hard to find your protein powders, or if you have to special order them, it will be more difficult to keep up with your diet.

But that’s not the case here. Because these 2 products are so readily available, you won’t have any trouble starting or keeping up with your daily protein shake intake.

Pro Tip: Pour the Water, Then Add Powder

Let me offer a single tip before you get started with this protein shake recipe: Pour the water into your glass before you add the protein powder. When I first started with this recipe, I would scoop the protein powder first. But this made it difficult for the powder to dissolve. I would chug the whole thing … only to find protein powder clinging to the bottom of the glass. 

When I add the water first, though, the powder dissolves much more easily. I’m able to get all of it in one long swig, which is nice.

What is Your Go-To Protein Shake Recipe?

While my San Diego friend’s protein shake recipe has been a lifesaver for me, it surely isn’t the only effective recipe. Do you have a go-to protein concoction? If so, let us know what you think the best chocolate protein shake recipe is in the comments section below, or send us a message via our contact form.