Vanilla vs Chocolate Protein Powder: Which is Best?

Below, we compare the most popular chocolate and vanilla whey concentrate, whey isolate, and vegan protein powders in terms of calories, macronutrients, and consumer ratings. 

Chocolate Whey Protein Concentrate

Looking at the protein content of the chocolate whey protein concentrates in Table 1 below, you can see that they have between 60 and 76 grams of protein per 100 grams. For those who want to maximise their protein intake (e.g., those focused on building muscle), the powders from Optimum Nutrition or Myprotein would be a good choice due to their higher protein content. However, if you're more concerned with avoiding artificial ingredients (e.g., artificial sweeteners) or emulsifiers (e.g., sunflower lecithin), The Organic Protein Company's option could be the best protein powder for you. 

Table 1. Calories and Macronutrients in 100 Grams of Chocolate Whey Protein Concentrates From Optimum Nutrition (ON), Myprotein (MP), and The Organic Protein Company (OPC)

If you look at the ingredient labels for these powders, you'll see that none contain sugar alcohols. This may be especially important for those with a sensitive stomach (Grembecka, 2015). Powders from the Organic Protein Company only use natural sweeteners (e.g., coconut sugar in the case of their chocolate powder). While the powders from Optimum Nutrition and Myprotein use artificial flavourings, their chocolate taste also comes from cocoa powder.  

Vanilla Whey Protein Concentrate

Comparing the powders in Table 1 above and Table 2 below, you can see that one of the benefits of vanilla whey protein powder is that it often has a little more protein than chocolate protein powder, so it may be a better choice for those who want to get extra protein. 

Table 2. Calories and Macronutrients in 100 Grams of Vanilla Whey Protein Concentrates From Myprotein (MP), The Organic Protein Company (OPC), and PhD Nutrition (PhD)

Optimum Nutrition's pre-mixed vanilla-flavoured protein drinks might also be of interest.  

Chocolate Whey Protein Isolate

Comparing Table 1 above and Table 3 below, you'll see that the amount of protein is typically in the 60–75 gram range for chocolate whey protein concentrates, while it usually exceeds 80 grams per 100 grams in chocolate whey protein isolates. Among the isolates considered here, the chocolate whey protein powder from Premium Body Nutrition has the most protein per 100 grams, so it could be a good option for those interested in getting a lot of additional protein. 

Table 3. Calories and Macronutrients in 100 Grams of Chocolate Whey Protein Isolates From Optimum Nutrition (ON), Myprotein (MP), and Premium Body Nutrition (PBN) 

You might also be interested in the chocolate-flavoured egg white protein powder from Blonyx, which gets its sweetness from organic cane sugar. While whey is a fast-digesting protein, egg protein is absorbed more slowly, so it could be a good option before bed to ensure a steady supply of protein to your muscles while you sleep. 

Vanilla Whey Protein Isolate

Looking at Table 3 above and Table 4 below, the chocolate whey isolates tend to have slightly more protein than the vanilla whey isolates. However, a whey isolate vanilla protein powder (Table 4) will normally still have more protein than a whey concentrate vanilla protein powder (Table 2). 

Table 4. Calories and Macronutrients in 100 Grams of Vanilla Whey Protein Isolates From Optimum Nutrition (ON) and Ultimate Sports Nutrition (USN)

Supplement companies know consumers don't want products with a lot of added sugar, so protein powders tend to contain very little sugar. For instance, Optimum Nutrition's Gold Standard powder only contains 0.3 grams of sugar per 100 grams. 

Chocolate Vegan Protein Powders

If you'd prefer to avoid dairy, you could opt for a vegan protein powder and use it to make protein shakes by combining it with almond milk or coconut milk, for example. Comparing Table 5 below with any of the tables above, you'll notice that chocolate vegan protein powders tend to have a little less protein than whey-based powders. However, they could still go a long way towards ensuring you get enough protein (1.2 to 1.7 grams per kilo of body weight daily for those engaged in regular moderate to high-intensity exercise). 

Table 5. Calories and Macronutrients in 100 Grams of Chocolate Vegan Protein Powders From PEScience (PES), Peak Supps (PS), and Wyldsson 

The PES powder combines pea and brown rice protein; the PS protein combines pea and hemp seed protein; the Wyldsson powder combines pea, pumpkin, sunflower, and coconut proteins. 

Vanilla Vegan Protein Powders

Comparing Table 5 above and Table 6 below, you'll see that the chocolate vegan protein powders are very similar to the vanilla vegan protein powders in terms of how much protein they have. 

Table 6. Calories and Macronutrients in 100 Grams of Vanilla Vegan Protein Powders From Optimum Nutrition (ON), Free Soul (FS), and Wyldsson 

The Optimum Nutrition powder combines pea and rice proteins and contains vitamins C and B12 to support overall health; the Free Soul powder combines pea and hemp proteins and is fortified with several ingredients that can contribute to gut health (e.g., flaxseed; Mueed et al., 2022); the Wyldsson powder combines pea, pumpkin, sunflower, and coconut proteins, and is sweetened with a stevia leaf extract. 

What are the Benefits of Protein Powder?

Both whey and vegan protein powders have been linked to a range of positive outcomes, including muscle growth (Joy et al., 2013; Mertz et al., 2021), muscle recovery (Davies et al., 2018; Kritikos et al., 2021), increased lean muscle mass (Banaszek et al., 2019; Morton et al., 2018), and weight loss (Joy et al., 2013; Piri Damaghi et al., 2022). Plant-based protein powders are comparable to whey as they have a similar range of amino acids. For example, brown rice protein powder has all nine essential amino acids (i.e., it's a complete protein; Kalman, 2014). 

What are the Benefits of Vanilla vs Chocolate Protein Powder?

The main benefit of vanilla protein powder compared to chocolate protein powder is that its more neutral taste allows it to be combined with a wider range of ingredients. 

However, both can be used in a variety of ways beyond just being put in a shaker bottle with water or milk. For example, you can mix them with Greek yoghurt to add flavour and increase the amount of protein (add peanut butter or seeds to enhance the texture and up your fatty acid intake). If you then freeze the yoghurt, you'll have yourself a chocolate or vanilla ice cream. 

Likewise, while you could just put protein powder in a shaker to make high-protein chocolate milk, you could mix it with espresso to make an iced coffee. 

About the Author

Dave Robinson is a co-founder of ukfitness.pro and has a background in psychology (BSc) and neuroscience (MSc, PhD). As well as strength training, he enjoys endurance challenges and has completed marathons and ultramarathons, cycled across several countries, and completed the Three Peaks Challenge. When writing, he draws on scientific evidence to understand the pros and cons of different diets, supplements, and training regimes. 

As an Amazon Associate, the site earns from qualifying purchases.

References

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