Protein Smoothie Recipes for the Best Workout Recovery

By Marnie Kunz

If you’re looking for protein smoothie recipes to improve your muscle recovery after workouts, here are three recipes for you, with many options for variations. As a trainer and running coach, I often get asked about diet, and one of the most important elements of eating enough to fuel your workouts is protein. Protein is also important to build muscle, combat muscle deterioration that happens with aging, and makes you feel full for longer. Learn more about the benefits of protein and when to have protein smoothies when you work out, as well as find my top protein smoothie recipes below.

Feed Your Muscles with These Protein Smoothie Recipes

Benefits of Protein

There are countless benefits of consuming protein, especially for people with an active lifestyle. Although most people do get the minimum required amount of protein in their diets, there are benefits to having more protein, which we will go over here.

• Reduces appetite. Protein makes you feel full, helping to reduce appetite and curb hunger. According to one study, increasing protein intake from 15% to 30% of daily calories made overweight women eat 441 fewer calories daily without intentionally restricting anything. Protein helped curb the appetites of the women in the study without making them go on restrictive diets.

I especially appreciate the feeling of fullness from protein as a runner and weight lifter who is always hungry. Having a protein smoothie after a run or strength training workout helps hold me over until I have time to cook a meal, and it helps facilitate speedy muscle recovery. It’s important to have 20 to 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of a hard workout, and a protein smoothie is a fast way to get in that protein without having to stop and cook when you’re sweaty and tired.

Boosts Metabolism

Protein boosts metabolism (so does weightlifting, what a winning combo!). Your body uses more calories to digest protein than fat or carbs, and at the end of the day you can burn up to 100 calories or more just from eating a protein-rich diet.

Increases Muscle Strength

Protein increases muscle strength and mass. Our muscles are made up of protein, so it follows that eating protein-rich foods helps nourish and grow muscles. Protein is especially important to help build muscles from strength training. Eating enough protein also helps maintain muscle mass as we age and maintains muscles for people who are on weight loss programs. Muscles allow us to perform better in sports, improving running speed, for instance. Maintaining adequate muscle mass helps with balance, strength, and movement, preventing injuries and age-related health conditions.

Speeds up Muscle Recovery

Protein improves muscle recovery. Protein helps muscles recover more quickly and fully from injuries and workouts. Having protein after your workout helps stimulate muscle repair and recovery.

Protein Before or After Workouts

People often ask me if it’s better to have a protein smoothie before or after workouts, and the answer is not what you might expect. According to research, having a protein smoothie before or after your workout is beneficial. I find that sometimes people get an upset stomach if they have a protein shake right before workout out, so it can be more convenient to have it after your workout. But you can do what works best for your digestion. I personally can’t do a heavy weightlifting workout (or really any workout) when I am hungry, as it makes me feel weak, so I sometimes have a protein shake before workouts if I am hungry. In most cases, I am not too hungry and have a protein smoothie after workouts. The most important factor is to make sure you are having enough protein throughout the day, especially if you’re lifting weights or doing intense workouts.

How Much Protein to Eat

If you’re not sure how much protein to consume, the answer varies on a few things - including your current weight, health, and activity level. The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for adults is to consume .36 grams of protein per pound of body weight. But for active people and people trying to grow muscle, this amount goes up considerably. The National Academy of Sports Medicine recommends the following for active adults:

• 2 to 1.4 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (0.55 - 0.64 grams / lb.) for endurance athletes (people who train more than 10 hours per week in endurance training)

• 4 to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (0.64 - 0.91 grams / lb.) for people who strength-train

This translates to 96 grams of protein a day for a 150-pound endurance athlete and 136.5 grams of protein a day for a 150-pound weightlifter. Having a protein smoothie is a great way to boost your protein intake when you have an active lifestyle.

Protein Powder for Smoothies

There are many forms of protein powder, with some of the most common being whey protein (check out my post on whey protein and high-protein snacks for more on whey protein), casein protein, and vegan proteins which can be made from peas, hemp, brown rice, and mixed plant proteins. Whey and casein protein are derived from dairy and vegan protein powders come from plants.

You can choose your protein powder based on your dietary preferences and tastes. When you shop for protein powder, make sure the protein powder does not have any banned substances, too much sugar, or too many additives. My go-to protein powder for whey is Naked Nutrition and Optimum Nutrition, and for vegan protein, I like Orgain.

Protein Smoothie Recipes

Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Protein Smoothie

This is one of my favorite protein smoothie recipes. It has more sugar than most of the smoothies I make so I don’t have it every day, but it’s a rich and filling smoothie that will leave you satisfied after a hard workout.

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups of milk of your choice

• 1 serving of chocolate protein powder

• 2 tablespoons of peanut butter

• 1 banana

Directions

1. Put all ingredients in a blender.

2. Mix until smooth.

3. Pour into a glass. Garnish with chia seeds, flax seeds, chocolate shavings, or your choice of toppings.

4. Enjoy!

If you don’t have chocolate protein powder for this recipe, you can use plain or vanilla protein powder and add 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder and 1 teaspoon of a sweetener such as stevia or honey.

Acai Berry Protein Smoothie

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups milk of your choice (oat, almond, soy, regular)

• 2 scoops of Naked Whey Grass-Fed Protein Powder (or 1 serving of protein powder of your choice)

• 1 packaged (3.53 oz. or 100 grams) frozen acai puree

• 1 cup strawberries

• 1 cup blueberries

• 1 banana

• 1 teaspoon chia seeds

Directions

1. Put all ingredients in a blender.

2. Mix until smooth. Scrape the insides of the blender with a spatula if the whey protein sticks to the blender. Continue blending until smooth.

3. Pour into a glass and garnish with chia seeds and your favorite toppings (berries, coconut flakes, chocolate, etc).

4. Enjoy!

This acai protein smoothie has 25 grams of protein from the Naked Whey protein, plus protein from your chosen milk. The recipe makes 1 large smoothie. If you do not have acai, you can substitute 1/2 cup of berries, mango, kiwi, or other fruit for the acai.

Avocado Protein Smoothie

This refreshing avocado protein smoothie is rich and creamy. It’s a perfect protein-rich pick-me-up for a hot day.

Ingredients

• 1 ripe avocado

• 1.5 cups of milk of your choice

• 1 serving of plain protein powder (2 scoops if you’re using Naked Whey protein)

• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

• 2 tablespoons of maple syrup or a sweetener such as stevia

Directions

1. Put all ingredients in a blender.

2. Mix until smooth.

3. Pour into a glass. Garnish with chia seeds, flax seeds, chocolate shavings, or your choice of toppings.

4. Enjoy!

Have you tried any of these protein smoothie recipes? What is your favorite protein shake? Tag @Runstreet on Instagram to share your fave healthy snacks. Happy sweating - and eating - to you!😊

Related Posts: Post Workout Snack Ideas, Best Running Fuel to Add to Your Routine, Nutrition for Runners Guide from a Dietitian, 3 Easy Meals for Post-Workout Fueling

Marnie Kunz is a NASM-certified trainer and USATF- and RRCA-certified running coach, dog lover, Akita mom, and writer based in Brooklyn, NY.