How To Find A Quality Plant Protein (+ An Editor-Approved Pick That Actually Tastes Good)

I’m an avid habit stacker. Daily goal-setting became second nature by pairing it with my morning cup of coffee, while red light therapy turned into an everyday essential by combining it with an inbox cleanout—so it’s not surprising I take the same approach with supplements. 

My daily protein shake isn’t just an opportunity to fuel muscle growth and promote satiety.* It’s also a chance to give my body essential nutrients to operate at peak performance. At least, that’s the case with the new plnt® Sport Organic Performance Protein.

This whole food-based formula combines 30g of plant protein with electrolytes, botanicals, and probiotics in every serving. So instead of skipping these beneficial nutrients—which felt like a time-consuming addition to my day—I’m giving my body the building blocks it needs for muscle growth, recovery, and whole body health.*

Plant-based protein gets a bad reputation. It’s often bashed for a chalky flavor and an influx of iffy ingredients that aim to boost the nutrient profile and make it more palatable. Finding a quality option requires digging through the ingredients and supplement labels—or allowing me to do it for you. 

I’m a huge fan of new plnt® Sport Organic Performance Protein because it’s made with whole foods. This certified organic formula has a base of pea protein, brown rice protein, and pumpkin seed protein. With such a diverse collection of plants, you're guaranteed to get a variety of essential amino acids—including leucine. 

This amino acid is specifically tied to muscle protein synthesis i.e. how your body makes use of the protein you consume. While all plants have some amount of leucine, pea protein is one of the best options.

Of course, the appeal of this new plnt® Sport formula is that it upgrades your typical protein powder with important minerals and nutrients to promote athletic performance and recovery.* In every serving of plnt® Sport Organic Performance Protein, you’ll find:

Electrolytes

Electrolytes are free-floating minerals that carry an electric charge. They help our bodies with important processes, like muscle contraction, and can easily be depleted by sweat. Losing too many electrolytes from your body may lead to an imbalance, which can impact mood, cognitive performance, and energy. 

The mineral blend and sea salt in plnt® Sport helps promote electrolyte balance post-workout with 360mg of sodium and 320mg of potassium per serving.* Remember: Research estimates you need about 5,000 mg of sodium1 and 4,700mg of potassium per day from food and supplements—with athletes losing up to 7000mg of sodium per day2 from sweat. (However, most experts recommend keeping sodium below 2,300mg/day unless you sweat often from exercise or workouts.)

Organic botanicals

It’s easy to focus on muscle gains in the gym, but muscle recovery is just as important for increasing your strength. Tart cherry, maca root, and turmeric work together to promote the body’s inflammatory response, with a small addition of black pepper to support the body’s absorption3 of turmeric.* You won’t taste the addition of these botanicals (but if you’re like me, you will notice a difference).*

Probiotic & Enzyme Blend

It’s not uncommon for protein powders (even clean ones) to disrupt your bowel movements. This performance-based formula adds 1 billion CFU of Bacillus subtilis DE111 to promote GI health and healthy digestion—so you can focus less on bathroom breaks and more on lifting weights.*

Bromelain (from pineapple) and papain (from papaya) round out the formula to further promote digestion.* These enzymes not only help break down food particles; they also play an active role in muscle recovery and detoxification.*

Between a long ingredient list and minimal excipient one, it’s hard to believe this protein powder actually tastes good. Well, I’m happy to report this is one protein shake that I actually look forward to drinking. 

The addition of organic dutch cocoa powder and stevia leaf extract make the shake rich and chocolatey—so it feels more like I’m having dessert than maximizing my protein intake. Even mixed with water, the consistency is smooth and slightly creamy, likely due to the addition of organic coconut milk powder.

When it comes to nutrition, I like to keep things simple. By opting for a protein powder with electrolytes, probiotics, and minerals, I can spend less time worrying about my nutrition intake and more time focused on improving my latest gym PR—and it just so happens this plant-powdered protein from plnt® Sport delivers exactly what I’m looking for.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.