Best Natural Protein Powders

To find the best protein powder on the market, I have tested and analyzed over a dozen protein powder brands and seven different types of protein, including whey, casein, egg, beef, chicken and collagen.

My goal in covering such a wide variety is to help you find one that meets your specific nutritional requirements and fitness goals — regardless of whether you’re on paleo, keto or any other healthy diet.

To my vegan friends (or anyone else who follows a plant-based diet): I’ve published an updated review of the best plant-based protein powders.

All of the natural protein powders in this roundup contain only clean ingredients without any artificial sweeteners, fillers or proprietary blends.

How Do You Choose a Good Protein Powder?

The workout supplement market is flooded with cheap, ineffective, and sometimes dangerous products that can make you sick. That’s because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t regulate the supplement industry with the same rigor as it regulates drug manufacturers.

As a result, manufacturers can claim virtually anything they want on their labels. That makes it difficult for consumers to shop for products that actually work. And the bad news is that most workout supplements are ineffective and amount to a waste of money.

Related: What’s the Best Diet to Improve Endurance and Strength?

As a former professional track athlete who represented Austria at numerous international competitions, I learned that the hard way. That’s one of the reasons why I decided to write this article and to share what I know — so that you can make better purchasing decisions than I did.

The fact is that some of the best-selling protein powder supplements — such as the ones you can find at Walmart and Costco — are crap products that over-promise and under-deliver.

Related: Momentous Protein Powder Review

What’s worse, they often contain inflammatory ingredients — such as artificial flavors, colors and sweeteners — that increase your risk of developing a chronic disease in the long-run.

All the protein powders I cover in this review are natural and don’t have any of those inflammatory ingredients. Instead, they contain carefully-processed protein from animal-based sources.

Best Whey Protein Powder

Whey is one of the two primary milk proteins, and a by-product of cheese production. Technically, whey is the liquid part of the milk that’s left over after coagulation and curd removal.

The human body can absorb whey protein incredibly fast, which makes it a popular choice for athletes. Depending on the type of processing and filtration, whey protein powder exists in four primary forms:

• WPP: Whey protein powder
• WPC: Whey protein concentrate
• WPI: Whey protein isolate
• WPH: Whey protein hydrolysate

Check out my FAQ below for more information on the differences between these three forms.

Ascent – Native Fuel Whey

Ascent, a division of Leprino Foods, made its mark with the creation of what it calls “Native Fuel” whey. According to Ascent, the company has developed a minimalistic processing method that results in a product with a high ratio of individual naturally-occurring amino acids, such as leucine.

Leucine is the most important of the three branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) as it triggers a process called muscle protein synthesis (MPS).

If you read the label of Ascent’s whey product carefully, you’ll see that “Native Whey Isolate” is only one of two components in the company’s whey isolate blend.

When I asked Ascent how much Native Whey their product contains, they didn’t share the details. They did add this, however:

We have limited quantities of Native proteins available as this facility scales up.  As a result, we formulated Ascent with a whey blend. 

Ascent

During my research, I have not been able to find much information about how exactly Ascent manufactures their Native Whey. I suppose the “how” is their secret sauce. So for now, we’ll have to take the information the company provides at face value.

I will say, however, that given Leprino’s 30-year history in manufacturing dairy products, they certainly have the expertise and credentials to produce a high-quality protein powder.

Nutritional Information

Depending on the flavor you choose, Ascent Native Fuel has at least 1 or 2 additional ingredients that I don’t like: soy lecithin and “natural flavors.” You can learn more about why I don’t like those in the FAQ.

Ascent Native Whey is available in different flavors, including a plain version. The latter has a neutral taste, and you can mix it into shakes or smoothies.

I have also tried the cappuccino, chocolate, lemon sorbet and vanilla flavors, and liked the chocolate and lemon sorbet the best. Overall, I thought Ascent’s protein powder tasted delicious and had a creamy texture.

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If you like chocolate or vanilla, I would recommend getting the 4lb container instead, which reduces the cost per serving. If you travel a lot, you may want to consider the single-serving packets (15-count).

Do Vitamins – WonderWhey

Do Vitamins uses a low-temperature microfiltration process that doesn’t use bleach or acid to ensure the retention of naturally-occurring immunoglobins, lactoferrin, and native growth factors in its protein.

The resulting unflavored protein powder has an excellent amino acid profile with a whopping 3 grams of leucine. Do Vitamins doesn’t offer any flavored versions of its whey protein powder, but you can easily mix it into shakes or smoothies.

Nutritional Information

WonderWhey is the only organic whey protein in this review, which is likely why it’s more expensive than Naked Nutrition’s product (below).

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Naked Nutrition – Naked Whey

The unflavored version of Naked Nutrition’s grass-fed whey protein has a neutral flavor and a single ingredient: carefully-processed, unflavored grass-fed whey protein concentrate, with a fantastic amino acid profile.

Nutritional Information

To maximize the nutritional value of its protein, Naked Nutrition uses a low-heat processing method that doesn’t require acid or bleach. What I like about Naked Nutrition’s product is the cost per serving, as well as the fact that even the company’s flavored (i.e., less “naked”) formulas don’t contain any unhealthy ingredients.

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To get an even lower price, you can sign up for a subscription, which reduces the cost per serving. You can also find Naked Whey on Amazon.

Naked Nutrition – Naked Goat

In general, goat milk has numerous advantages over cow milk, including a better nutritional profile and improved digestibility. The latter is due to the smaller fat globules, as well as lower concentrations of lactose and A1 casein protein.

However, in the case of whey protein powder, lactose is likely not going to have a significant impact because it only occurs in trace amounts. What probably does make a difference in digestibility is that goat whey protein forms smaller clumps in your stomach, and is thus passed through the digestive tract more quickly.

So, if you’re having issues with digesting cow-based whey protein, Naked Goat may be a viable alternative for you.

Nutritional Information

The unflavored version of Naked Nutrition’s grass-fed goat whey protein has a neutral flavor and a single ingredient: carefully-processed, unflavored grass-fed goat whey protein concentrate, with a favorable amino acid profile.

To maximize the nutritional value of its protein, Naked Nutrition uses a low-heat processing method that doesn’t require acid or bleach.

Additionally, Naked Nutrition offers “less naked” flavors, including chocolate and vanilla.

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You can also find Naked Goat Whey on Amazon.

Perfect Keto – Keto Whey Protein

Much like Perfect Keto’s collagen, this keto protein powder is tailored to people who follow a ketogenic diet.

Nutritional Information

What I like about Keto Whey Protein is that it includes whey protein isolate, which removes most carbs, including lactose (milk sugar) and other “impurities.”

Additionally, this protein powder contains more fat than others, thanks to the 5 grams of added MCTs, which improve focus and satiation.

If you’re not familiar with the term MCT, it stands for medium-chain triglycerides — a form of fat that the body can quickly convert into ketone bodies, the primary source of fuel if you’re on a low-carb high-fat diet.

Note that the natural flavors in this product are from dehydrated sources of cocoa and vanilla bean. So you have nothing to worry about.

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Make sure to use Perfect Keto discount code michael20 to get 20% off your order.

Primal Kitchen – Primal Fuel Whey Protein

Primal Kitchen is one of our favorite brands because most of their products are paleo and Whole30 compatible. Sometimes they’re even keto-friendly.

Primal Fuel is no different — it’s a high-quality product with clean ingredients.

Nutritional Information

Primal Fuel contains coconut milk powder, which increases the fat content of the mix. Additionally, Primal Fuel also makes clever use of guar gum and konjac gum, which are both prebiotic fibers that support your gut microbiome.

Plus, Primal Fuel uses natural flavors that are true to their name and that don’t contain any artificial ingredients or chemicals.

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Make sure to use Primal Kitchen discount code MK10 to get 10% off your order.

Best Casein Protein Powder

Casein is the second primary protein in milk, but in comparison to whey, the body absorbs casein much slower. Some bodybuilders swear by casein for post-workout recovery and consume it before bedtime.

Related: 5 Hacks To Recover After a Workout Faster

I try to stay away from bovine casein as much as I can because it’s highly inflammatory and it can destroy the linings of your gut — even if you don’t have a milk allergy.

If you absolutely have to have casein, I recommend going with camel, goat or sheep, because the milk from those animals contains the less-inflammatory casein A2-beta (instead of casein A1-beta). You can read more about that in my article about the disadvantages of dairy.

From an amino acid profile perspective, casein is relatively similar to whey, as both provide ample amounts of essential and non-essential amino acids, including branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs).

Ascent Native Fuel Casein

Native Fuel Casein is Ascent’s slower-digesting recovery formula that contains, as the name implies, casein instead of whey protein. It’s only available in chocolate, chocolate peanut butter, and vanilla, and it requires more liquid than its whey cousin.

When I first tried it, I didn’t bother to read the label and ended up with a relatively thick mixture. Only later did I realize that I should have added a bit more water.

I tried both flavors, and I liked the chocolate best. Just don’t forget to add enough liquid. Otherwise, the mixture is too thick to drink and comes out more like a pudding.

Nutritional Information

Native Fuel Casein contains similar ingredients to Native Fuel Whey, with a few notable exceptions. Instead of soy lecithin, Ascent decided to use sunflower lecithin — which I prefer, because I try to stay away from soy.

Native Fuel Casein also contains acacia gum and xanthan gum. Both are emulsifiers, and the latter can cause bloating and diarrhea, if you’re sensitive. Acacia gum, on the other hand, can decrease bloating.

I would prefer if Ascent removed xanthan gum from its product. Xanthan gum is a natural substance but it increases the risk of gastrointestinal problems, and I try to stay away from it when possible.

However, if you’ve had xanthan gum before and didn’t have any issues, I wouldn’t worry about it.

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Naked Nutrition – Naked Casein

The unflavored version of Naked Nutrition’s micellar casein protein has only a single ingredient: carefully-processed, unflavored micellar casein protein with an excellent amino acid profile. For its casein supplement, Naked Nutrition uses the same acid-free and bleach-free processing method as the company does for its whey protein.

Nutritional Information

The only negative comment I could make about Naked Casein is that Naked Nutrition did not use milk from grass-fed cows for sourcing the protein.

Additionally, Naked Nutrition offers “less naked” flavors, including chocolate and vanilla.

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You can also find Naked Casein on Amazon.

Best Egg Protein Powder

As a popular choice in the paleo community, eggs provide a very slow-absorbing yet highly-bioavailable source of protein with a complete amino acid profile. Much like casein, eggs are a known allergen, so use with caution if you suspect you may have an egg allergy.

In comparison to whey protein, your body absorbs egg protein slower — even slower than casein. Together with beef, egg is my favorite type of protein because it best fits into my ancestral eating habits.

Blonyx – Egg White Protein Isolate

The egg protein isolate from Blonyx is the new kid on the block. What’s exciting about this protein is the processing method that’s used to make it.

Usually, egg protein has a distinctive and not very pleasant taste, which is why not many brands make it. However, the owner of Blonyx discovered a new processing method at an industry trade show that allows the company to carefully strip away all impurities, leaving a neutral-tasting powder that contains only the protein.

Nutritional Information

If you look at Blonyx’s label carefully, you’ll see that it contains 11 grams of organic cane sugar. That’s more sugar than I eat all day, because I’m on a ketogenic diet. Needless to say, I wasn’t excited when I found out about that.

However, there is research that shows how the body can take up glucose after an intensive workout, without having to raise insulin levels. One study indicates that the exercise induced uptake could be caused by depletion of intracellular stores of carbohydrates (makes sense of course).

The bottom line is that the sugar in this egg white protein isolate might not cause an insulin spike if you take it after an intense workout. I’ll experiment with that a bit and keep tabs on how my blood sugar changes after consuming this protein. Stay tuned for updates!

Note that the natural chocolate milk flavor in this product consists of cocoa, cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, sugar and spices such as vanilla.

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Make sure to use Blonyx discount code MK to get 10% off your order.

Naked Nutrition – Naked Egg

The unflavored version of Naked Nutrition’s egg white protein powder has only two ingredients: non-GMO egg whites from U.S. farmed eggs and sunflower lecithin. While non-GMO means that the hens had outdoor access, it doesn’t mean they were pasture-raised.

That makes a significant difference considering how much healthier pasture raised eggs are.

Nutritional Information

Sunflower lecithin — the byproduct of sunflower seed oil extraction — is the only additional ingredient of the unflavored version of Naked Nutrition’s egg white protein.

Additionally, Naked Nutrition offers “less naked” flavors, including chocolate, and vanilla.

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You can also find Naked Egg on Amazon.

Best Beef Protein Powder

Even though it’s an excellent source of protein, I haven’t seen many beef protein powders on the market. Maybe that’s because beef is more challenging to process.

I like beef protein because, from an evolutionary perspective (think hunters and gatherers), our body is more accustomed to it than milk protein (for example).

PaleoEthics – Clean Protein

PaleoEthics is a well-known brand in the CrossFit and paleo communities, but I wasn’t aware that they also offered beef protein powder.

My friend Justin Tway, the owner of CrossFit Alpharetta, recently asked me if I wanted to try some of his stashes for my review. I happily agreed and tested PaleoEthics’ Clean Protein over the past few weeks.

Nutritional Information

Clean Protein is only one of two grass-fed beef protein powders from muscle tissue (instead of collagen) I have found that doesn’t have any artificial ingredients.

One of the primary advantages of beef protein over whey, casein, or even egg-based protein is that it’s less likely to upset your digestive system. As a result, there is less chance for bloating or bad gas.

Also, PaleoEthics derives its beef protein from beef muscle and not collagen, which has a positive effect on the protein’s bioavailability. The only disadvantages of this beef protein are its amino acid profile, which includes a lower-than-usual amount of BCAAs (leucine in particular) and its natural flavors.

Update: It looks like as if PaleoEthics has seized operating. Fortunately, I discovered another and even better beef protein powder from Equip. Check out my full review of Equip Prime Protein here.

PaleoPro – Paleo Protein Powder

I learned about PaleoPro from an article in (the now defunct) Paleo Magazine. What caught my attention immediately was that this minimally-processed beef protein was specifically made for folks like me who follow a Paleolithic lifestyle.

Nutritional Information

While most of the protein in this minimally-processed product comes from pastured beef, the product also has egg white protein from non-GMO and cage-free eggs. As a sweetener, PaleoPro uses monk fruit extract, which some people prefer over stevia (including yours truly).

I asked PaleoPro about the “natural flavors” in their flavored product and they told me that they make an extraordinary effort to avoid both ingredients and processes they would consider harmful and would not want to use themselves.

The company also said that it works both internally and with third parties to ensure a higher level of quality in their flavor components, just as with their other ingredients. PaleoPro is a small company that does not need to operate on an ‘industrial’ level, and while this adds to the cost of their product development they believe it’s worth it and necessary to create the premium level of product their customers expect.

Our natural flavors are from direct extracts of cocoa, vanilla bean, coffee, etc..however the natural process we have developed with a 3rd party to ensure quality is proprietary.

PaleoPro

As a result, the only disadvantage of this paleo protein powder is the price tag. However, I’ve learned that you get what you pay for in the supplement industry. In other words, I think PaleoPro is worth its asking price.

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Best Chicken Protein Powder

Chicken is an excellent source of protein, but I haven’t seen a lot of chicken protein powders marketed to consumers. That’s probably because the primary challenge with manufacturing protein powder is removing impurities that might impact the taste. Does anyone really want a chicken-flavored shake or smoothie?

I could imagine that the relatively low demand, coupled with manufacturing challenges, are the reasons why we don’t see many chicken protein powders on the market.

CHiKPRO Chicken Isolate Protein

I met the guys from CHiKPRO at the Paleo f(x) show early in 2019, and was excited to learn about their chicken protein.

What I like about CHiKPRO’s product is that it’s free of common allergens and it doesn’t have any flavors or other “extra” ingredients. As a result, you can mix it with pretty much anything you want.

Nutritional Information

The primary downside of CHiKPRO’s chicken isolate protein is that it’s made from conventionally-raised hens.

The company doesn’t spell out exactly what kind of hens they source, so I assume it’s probably caged birds. That dramatically lowers the chicken meat quality in comparison to pastured hens. That’s why I gave this product only 3 out of 5 stars.

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Best Protein Powder Blend

Protein powders in this category contain a mix of protein sources. For example, Old School Labs uses whey, beef and egg protein in its Vintage Brawn formulation.

Old School Labs – Vintage Brawn

Vintage Brawn is the only protein supplement in the review that offers a blend of milk (whey and casein), egg and beef protein. The goal of blending those three essential sources of protein is to deliver a synergistic muscle-building effect that’s more powerful than a single-source protein can provide.

As a result, you get the benefits of fast-absorbing whey protein combined with the slower absorbing casein, egg and beef proteins. Besides the advantages of Vintage Brawn’s protein blend, Old School Labs’ protein powder is also one of the best-tasting protein powders I tried.

Vintage Brawn is only available in a chocolate flavor, and it tastes amazingly delicious. As a result, I find myself wanting a protein shake even on days that I haven’t worked out and, technically, wouldn’t need a shake.

Nutritional Information

Together with Ascent’s casein product, Vintage Brawn contains the highest number of additional ingredients, besides the protein isolates, including:

• Dutch cocoa
• Guar gum
• Natural flavors
• Organic stevia blend
• Salt
• Silica
• Vegetable-based antifoam

The only ingredient that sticks out like a sore thumb to me is the “natural flavors,” because that could mean anything — including chemicals that were used to convert a natural component (such as fruit) into a flavor. See the FAQ below for more information.

Amino Acid Profile

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If you would like to give Old School Labs a try, make sure to use discount code MIKE12OSL to get 12% off your order.

Other Protein Sources

Below are mentions of other popular protein sources that I didn’t cover in this article. The good news is that I’ll cover some of them in separate reviews.

Collagen Powder

I used to include products based on collagen powder in this review, but I decided to move them into a separate article!

Vegan Protein Powder

Much like collagen-based products, I used to include vegan protein in this roundup but decided to break them out into a separate article. My plant protein review covers rice protein, pea protein powder, hemp protein (from hemp seeds), soy protein powder and more.

Fish Protein Powder

I haven’t seen powders with fish as their main protein source, but some manufacturers offer marine collagen in their products for anti-aging purposes.

Like collagen peptides from animal sources, marine collagen doesn’t have a complete amino acid profile, and thus you can use it only to supplement (not replace) traditional sources of protein, including protein powder.

Bone Broth Protein

Bone broth is another excellent source of animal protein and some manufacturers have made bone broth protein powders. I haven’t looked much into that yet, but it’s on my to-do list for an upcoming article.

Download Comparison Sheet

I created a detailed PDF comparison table of all the protein powders mentioned above. You can download it here.

A complete amino acid profile means that the protein supplement contains adequate amounts of all the essential amino acids (see table below). Essential amino acids are the ones that our body cannot make, and thus we have to get them from dietary sources.

Amino Acid Profiles

Amino acids marked with * are essential amino acids. ** marks branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). The amounts (grams) are based on the respective serving size.

Protein Powder 101

If you’re new to protein powders — or workout supplements in general — here’s some additional information and terms you should be familiar with.

Amino Acids vs. Peptides vs. Proteins

You can find a so-called amino acid profile on the label of some of the supplements in this review. On others, you may find the term “peptides.” So let’s clarify what those terms mean.

Amino acids are the molecular building blocks of peptides and proteins. A peptide consists of two or more amino acids. A peptide that consists of multiple amino acids is called a polypeptide. A protein contains at least one polypeptide.

The products in the table above all deliver different amino acid profiles with varying degrees of completeness.

Isolate vs. Concentrate vs. Hydrolysate

If you’ve read the label of your protein powder carefully, you may have seen the terms whey protein powder, whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate, or hydrolyzed whey protein. So what’s the difference?

In a nutshell, those terms tell you how pure the protein powder is.

Whey protein powder is used as a food additive for baked products, snacks, or even salad dressing. Typically, you won’t find this most impure form of whey protein in sports nutrition.

Whey protein concentrate is the least expensive form of protein powder you will find in dietary supplements. To create protein concentrate, manufacturers remove water, lactose, ash, and some minerals. The advantage of WPC is its many bioactive ingredients that you would also find in regular milk. WPC is also comparatively inexpensive.

The disadvantage of WPC is that many users find it harder to digest due to the higher levels of lactose (milk sugar), which can lead to bloating.

Whey protein isolate is purer than concentrate and thus easier to digest. It’s also more expensive than WPC because it costs more to manufacture.

Whey protein hydrolysate is the purest form of whey protein, but I have yet to see a product containing it, besides the expensive infant formula we used to supplement our otherwise breastfed baby boy when he was born prematurely.

The collagen products I have covered in this article contain hydrolyzed collagen peptides. Hydrolization breaks down the protein into peptides, making it faster and easier to digest.

However, in the case of whey protein, there doesn’t seem to be any scientific research indicating that hydrolyzed protein significantly helps with muscle recovery.

Whey vs. Casein Protein Powder

Whey and casein protein supplements have traditionally been a byproduct of cheese manufacturing. That’s because whey and casein are the two major proteins found in milk.

From a supplement perspective, it’s essential to understand that your body digests whey quicker than casein. As a result, some manufacturers (like Old School Labs) provide a whey/casein blend in their product, so you get the benefits of both.

Others, like Ascent and Naked Nutrition, offer separate whey and casein formulas. The whey-based formula is ideal if taken immediately after a workout, so your body can leverage the quickly-digesting whey. The casein-based formula is perfect when taken before going to bed.

That way, your body can use the slower-digesting casein overnight.

Protein Absorption Rates

The human body absorbs dietary protein at different rates, as you can see in the table below. Besides the absorption rate, it’s also important to understand how long it takes for the amino acids in the protein to reach peak blood concentrations, and for how long they stay in the bloodstream.

What about hydrolyzed collagen? In tests with rats, scientists could measure peak plasma concentration of hydrolyzed collagen after six hours of ingestion when given 10 grams per kilogram of body weight.

You can find more information about the absorption rate of proteins here.

Protein Powder Side Effects

For healthy adults, consuming reasonable amounts of protein powder doesn’t have any adverse side effects, unless you’re allergic to individual types of protein, such as casein, eggs, or milk sugar (lactose).

But keep in mind that your body can only digest limited amounts of protein, and excessive consumption won’t provide any additional benefits. Also, younger children have a different metabolism than adults, and too much protein can potentially harm their kidneys.

Frequently Asked Questions

Best Natural Protein Powder Review

You have a lot of excellent options when it comes to natural protein powders, and it ultimately boils down to personal preference and which attributes are most important to you. My recommendation is to consume a mix of various protein types, including fast and slow absorbing protein powders.

From a health perspective, I recommend sticking with a mix of beef and egg protein. Alternatively, you can experiment with high-quality whey protein and see how your body reacts.

The only protein I would try to avoid is casein, unless it’s from non-bovine sources such as goat, camels or sheep. Additionally, I encourage you to supplement with collagen peptides — maybe as an alternative to the creamer you use for your morning coffee.

What’s most important for you in a high-quality protein supplement? Let me know by leaving a comment below! If you’re a manufacturer of natural or organic protein supplements and would like me to include your product in this review, shoot me an email!

Michael Kummer

Michael is a healthy living enthusiast and CrossFit athlete whose goal is to help people achieve optimal health by bridging the gap between ancestral living and the demands of modern society.