Protein Shake

By Ali Slagle

Updated April 28, 2026

  • Three protein shakes in clear glasses, with striped straws sticking out.
    Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
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Ready In
10 min
Rating
5(462)
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You probably already have a pantry full of protein-packed ingredients, so skip the protein powder and layer a variety of ingredients for a thick, creamy, just-sweet-enough shake. This recipe is flexible based on what you have, but the secret ingredient is a pinch of cinnamon, which marries the fruit, dairy and nuts or seeds into a combination that’s reminiscent of a fruit crisp. For a chocolatey shake, use frozen banana and 1 ½ teaspoons cocoa powder. 

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Ingredients

Yield:1 servings

  • ¼ cup dairy or nondairy milk, plus more as needed

  • 1 cup frozen fruit, such as berries, banana, mango or peach

  • 1 cup dairy or soy yogurt, skyr or cottage cheese

  • 2 tablespoons hemp seeds, chia seeds, or nut or seed butter

  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (1 servings)

56 grams carbs; 443 calories; 2 grams monosaturated fat; 11 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 17 grams fat; 13 grams fiber; 82 milligrams sodium; 16 grams protein; 27 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Pour milk into a blender. Add fruit, yogurt, seeds and cinnamon. Blend on high until smooth. Add ¼ cup more milk if mixture is thick and blend again.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
462 user ratings
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Comments

Purple Skies

@Meladee. Low fat versions of dairy are carb bombs and bad for diabetics and those with insulin resistance. Fat slows down the absorption of the carbs, and removing the fat leads to insulin and glucose spikes from the now “naked” carbs. Fat is also a macro nutrient our bodies need. Fat is not the enemy: sugar and ultra-processed foods are the enemy.

NancySF

Never hurts to add some oatmeal; 1/8-1/4 cup to keep you satiated!

Shirine

@Sally Yes I wish people would stop thinking of low-fat foods as healthy…

cocomero

Sadly, this will never be the recipe for me - whenever I have a smoothie, I’m just annoyed that it’s not a chocolate milkshake. I’ll eat some fruit instead But I completely understand that this is a me problem

Funnygator

@cocomero Sorry it’s not the thing for you. I think it’s delicious

Taylor

I see many comments in here about the virtues (or lack thereof) of "low-fat". There are multiple valid perspectives here - no one is "right" in general. One can only be right in the context of specific goals. I recently took up weight training and am trying to lose weight while building muscle. This requires high protein macros each day, while eating at an overall caloric deficit. Low fat cottage cheese is very helpful in this scenario as it offers more protein per calorie than full fat options.

SLF

I made this with Greek yogurt and it was way way too thick and yogurty. If you try it with Greek yogurt, I would suggest altering the milk to yogurt ratio.

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