7 Must-Try Vegan Protein Powders

From onegreenplanet.org

By Jennifer Valentine

The vegan protein powder market looked completely different when this article was first written. What was once a narrow field of gritty, difficult-to-mix options has become one of the most competitive supplement categories on Amazon — and frankly, the quality gap between plant-based and whey has closed to the point where it’s no longer a relevant comparison. A 2020 review in the journal Nutrients confirmed that well-formulated plant-based protein blends achieve amino acid profiles comparable to whey for muscle protein synthesis and recovery. The seven picks below are the ones worth your money in 2026 — different formats, different price points, all certified vegan and third-party tested. If you want our in-depth breakdown by specific goal, see our full guides to the best vegan protein powders for women and the best vegan protein powders for weight loss.

• Pea protein and brown rice protein are the most common plant-based combination because together they form a complete amino acid profile — each covers the gaps in the other.
• Third-party testing (NSF Certified, Informed Sport, or Informed Choice) matters more in supplements than almost any other product category — the FDA does not require pre-market approval for supplements.
• Protein per serving means less than protein per calorie. A powder with 20g protein at 120 calories is more efficient than one with 25g at 250 calories.
• Most people doing moderate exercise need 1.2–1.6g of protein per kilogram of bodyweight daily, according to a 2019 meta-analysis in the British Journal of Sports Medicine — a range easily met through whole foods plus one daily shake.

                                                                                                            Image Credit: One Green Planet

7 Vegan Protein Powders Worth Trying in 2026

1. Garden of Life Raw Organic Protein — Best Whole-Food Formula

Garden of Life Raw Organic Protein remains the benchmark for whole-food-based vegan protein. The formula draws protein from 13 raw organic sprouted sources — pea, brown rice, amaranth, buckwheat, millet, chlorella, quinoa, chia, garbanzo, lentil, adzuki, flax, and sunflower — alongside live probiotics and protein-digesting enzymes. Certified USDA Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, NSF Certified Gluten Free, Certified Vegan, and Informed Choice certified. 22g protein per serving. The honest limitation: the unflavoured version has a pronounced earthy pea taste that doesn’t disappear in water — it needs fruit or plant milk to be palatable. The vanilla and chocolate versions are significantly more drinkable. Around $35–$42 for 20 servings. Shop Garden of Life Raw Protein on Amazon.

2. Orgain Organic Protein — Best for Everyday Value

The #1 plant-based protein powder brand in the US by sales volume, and it earned that position. Orgain Organic Protein delivers 21g of protein from pea, brown rice, and chia seeds, with 6g of prebiotic fibre, zero added sugar, and a genuinely smooth texture that doesn’t turn gritty in a shaker bottle. USDA Organic, Certified Vegan, Non-GMO, gluten-free, soy-free, no erythritol, no artificial anything. The vanilla bean and chocolate fudge flavours are both consistently well-reviewed for taste. For someone new to vegan protein powders who wants the easiest possible entry point, this is the answer. The honest limitation: not third-party tested to the same standard as NSF Certified or Informed Sport picks. Around $28–$34 for 20 servings. Shop Orgain Organic Protein on Amazon.

3. Sunwarrior Warrior Blend — Best Fermented Formula

Where most plant protein powders use standard extraction, Sunwarrior Warrior Blend uses fermented pea protein — a process that pre-digests the protein chains, improving bioavailability and significantly reducing the digestive discomfort some people experience with standard pea protein. Blended with hemp seed protein and MCTs from coconut, it’s raw, keto-friendly, certified organic, and vegan. 27g protein per serving at 160 calories. Manufactured in Utah from domestic and imported ingredients. The honest limitation: the coconut MCT content gives it a distinct flavour that some find pleasant and others find overpowering — try the sample-size option before committing to a full tub. Around $38–$45 for 30 servings. Shop Sunwarrior Warrior Blend on Amazon.

4. Garden of Life Sport NSF Certified — Best for Athletes

NSF Certified for Sport is the gold standard for competitive athletes — it verifies the product contains no banned substances, which the standard NSF certification does not. Garden of Life Sport is one of the few certified organic AND NSF Certified for Sport plant protein powders available. 30g protein per serving from organic pea, navy bean, lentil, and garbanzo proteins, with added tart cherry, turmeric, goji, blueberry, and apple for recovery Support. Zero banned substances. If you compete in any sport that tests for performance-enhancing compounds, this is the only certified-safe organic option on this list. Around $42–$50 for 19 servings. Shop Garden of Life Sport on Amazon.

5. Naked Pea — Best Single-Ingredient Option

One ingredient: yellow pea protein isolate from US and Canadian farms. Nothing else. Naked Pea Protein is the purest form of plant protein available at scale — no sweeteners, no flavors, no additives, no fillers. 27g protein per 2-scoop serving at 120 calories. Non-GMO, soy-free, gluten-free, dairy-free. The 5-pound tub brings the cost per serving down to roughly $0.50 — the lowest on this list by a significant margin. If you have food sensitivities or simply want to know exactly what you’re putting in your body, this is the right pick. The honest limitation: unflavoured pea protein in water is an acquired taste. It’s designed to be added to smoothies or oatmeal, not consumed straight. Around $55–$65 for 5lb / ~76 servings. Shop Naked Pea on Amazon.

6. Garden of Life Raw Protein Unflavoured — Best for Cooking and Baking

The unflavoured version of the Garden of Life Raw line-up is specifically worth calling out as a separate recommendation for one reason: it’s genuinely neutral enough to add to savoury food. Raw Organic Protein Unflavoured blends into soups, curries, overnight oats, and baked goods without altering flavour in any detectable way — something most flavoured plant proteins can’t claim. Same certifications as the standard Raw Protein line: USDA Organic, NSF Certified Gluten Free, Certified Vegan, Non-GMO Project Verified. 22g protein per serving. Around $35–$42 for 20 servings. Shop Garden of Life Unflavoured Protein on Amazon.

7. Orgain Organic Protein + 50 Superfoods — Best All-in-One Option

For someone who wants protein and a superfood greens blend in a single daily scoop without managing multiple supplements, Orgain Organic Protein + 50 Superfoods is the most convenient answer on this list. 21g protein from the standard Orgain pea/rice/chia blend, plus 50 organic superfoods including kale, flax, chia, quinoa, beet, turmeric, acai, and broccoli. Certified USDA Organic, vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, Non-GMO, zero added sugar. The superfood blend doesn’t replace a dedicated greens powder, but for building a daily habit around one shake, it genuinely covers more nutritional ground than a plain protein powder. Around $35–$42 for 20 servings. Shop Orgain + 50 Superfoods on Amazon.

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/natural-health/7-must-try-vegan-protein-powders/#goog_rewarded 

This Winter Pasta Sauce Uses Frozen Tomatoes For Incredible Flavour

From plantbasednews.org

Those tomatoes from last summer can still shine 

When the days are cold and fresh tomatoes disappear from markets, most cooks accept that great tomato sauce is a summer thing. But Miyoko Schinner proves that you can still make an incredible winter pasta sauce with tomatoes you picked months earlier.

Schinner, known for her YouTube channel The Vegan Good Life with Miyoko, recently shared a video showing how she turns frozen summer tomatoes and smoky mushrooms into a deeply comforting winter pasta sauce. The technique is simple and requires no canning at all. Instead, she freezes whole ripe tomatoes and transforms them into a sweet, smoky pasta dish when winter arrives.

Schinner has long been a major figure in plant-based cooking. She founded Miyoko’s Creamery and helped popularize artisan vegan cheeses in the United States. Through her books and videos, she continues to share practical techniques that make plant-based cooking feel accessible and comforting.

This recipe blends nostalgia and simplicity. The dish combines summer tomatoes, smoked shiitake mushrooms, garlic, olive oil, and pasta. The result is rich, savoury, and layered with umami.

Freezing tomatoes to preserve summer flavour

Schinner slightly undercooks the pasta at first so that it can absorb flavour and finish cooking in the tomato sauce - Media Credit: YouTube / The Vegan Good Life with Miyoko

The foundation of Schinner’s winter pasta sauce starts months before winter even begins.

Instead of canning tomatoes, she simply freezes them whole at peak ripeness. She explains that this captures their flavour in the easiest possible way.

After pulling them from the freezer, Schinner briefly soaks the tomatoes in hot water. This softens the skins so they can be removed easily before cooking. The tomatoes remain partially frozen when they go into the pan, but that does not matter.

Once they hit a hot cast-iron skillet with olive oil and garlic, they begin to thaw and collapse.

“I know that looks pretty funny, doesn’t it? A bunch of frozen tomatoes in a pan,” Schinner says. “But believe it or not, this is going to start cooking down, and you won’t be able to tell the difference between a fresh tomato sauce in the summer and one in the winter.”

As the tomatoes soften, she mashes them directly in the pan. Within about 20 minutes, they break down into a naturally sweet sauce that tastes like peak summer.

Smoking the shiitake mushrooms

YouTube / The Vegan Good Life with MiyokoSchinner smokes the mushrooms over wood chips to give the sauce a savoury, umami flavour, noting that a regular pot with a tight-fitting lid and a steamer basket can work as a simple alternative to a stovetop smoker

What makes this pasta dish unique is the smoky element. Schinner adds smoked shiitake mushrooms to give the sauce depth and umami.

She starts with whole shiitake mushrooms, trimming the tough tips of the stems but keeping the rest because they add a meaty texture.

The mushrooms are tossed with olive oil and salt before being placed in a stovetop smoker. Wood chips are added to the bottom of the smoker to create the smoke.

If you do not own a smoker, Schinner says a pot or Dutch oven works too. The key is creating a chamber where smoke can circulate around the mushrooms.

“You can just use a good pot with a tight-fitting lid and put a steamer basket in it,” she explains. “Or another dish.”

The mushrooms sit above the wood chips while smoke fills the pot. She smokes them for roughly 25 to 30 minutes. The process gives the mushrooms an intense smoky aroma and deep savoury flavour.

When they come out, the mushrooms are sliced and added to the tomato sauce. The result is a rich contrast between sweet tomatoes and smoky umami.

Schinner jokes about the flavour comparison while describing the mushrooms.

“Oh my god,” she says. “It must be like pancetta or guanciale or whatever. I’ve never had any of those, but it’s so meaty and smoky.”

Building the sauce in the pan

Once the tomatoes break down and the sauce thickens, Schinner adjusts the seasoning with olive oil and salt.

She notes that the sweetness of the sauce comes directly from the tomatoes themselves.

“It’s so ridiculously sweet,” she says. “The tomatoes are picked at the height of summer, and I’ve captured all the flavours right here.”

The smoked shiitake slices are then stirred into the sauce, creating a rich combination of sweet, smoky, and savoury flavours.

Finishing the pasta the right way

Schinner cooks the pasta separately but avoids draining it in a colander. Instead, she lifts it straight from the pot and places it directly into the sauce.

The small amount of pasta water that clings to the noodles helps loosen and emulsify the sauce.

She also emphasizes that the pasta should be slightly undercooked when it goes in.

“It was very, very al dente,” she says. The pasta finishes cooking in the sauce itself, absorbing more flavour as it rests.

Once everything is combined, the smoked mushrooms, sweet tomato sauce, and pasta create a simple but deeply satisfying dish.

A comforting meal during difficult times

For Schinner, the dish is more than just a practical cooking trick. She frames the recipe as a small act of comfort in uncertain times. The warmth of pasta and tomato sauce, she suggests, can offer a moment of calm during global turmoil. After tasting the finished dish, she reflects on the emotional side of cooking.

“I feel better already, and I hope you do too,” she says. “I send you my love, my support. Whatever you’re going through, the fight has just begun, and we will be on the right side of history.”

She adds that one day, people will gather again to celebrate with another great plate of pasta. For now, this smoky, sweet winter pasta sauce offers a reminder that even simple meals can provide comfort when it is needed most.

For more of Schinner’s healthy plant-based recipes visit her YouTube channel.

https://plantbasednews.org/lifestyle/food/winter-pasta-sauce-with-frozen-tomatoes/

New Study Shows How Vegans Adapt To ‘Survive’ In A Meat-Eating World

From plantbasednews.org

Some vegans employ distinct strategies to avoid conflict with friends, family, and peers 

Vegans use several different types of social skills to adapt and “survive” difficulties in a predominantly meat-eating world.

A study by two Concordia University researchers has examined how vegans navigate relationships and society when differences in diet and ethics can cause tension and “fractures” with their friends, family, and others.

                    One source of conflict for vegans is shared meals and activities with non-vegans - Media Credit: Adobe Stock

The study identified three types of social conflict for vegans. These take place around shared activities, such as meals and gatherings, within the vegan community itself, where people may disagree on what choices are acceptable, and in the marketplace, where finding vegan-friendly products and menus can be difficult.

The study also found that people who follow vegan diets often employ four distinct behaviours to navigate shopping, cooking, and eating with meat-eaters.

These include: “Decoding,” which is when vegans learn about food labelling, menus, and common non-vegan ingredients, and attempt to explain their choices and overall lifestyle to non-vegans;  “Decoupling,” which is when vegans bring their own meals and ingredients to gatherings to share space but avoid the friction that can come with sharing food; “Divesting,” which refers to an uncompromising approach favoured by vegans who avoid relationships and shared meals with non-vegans entirely; and “chameleoning”,  which is when vegans attempt to balance their beliefs and lifestyle with conflict avoidance – similar to code switching – in order to get along.

Non-mainstream ethical choices can cause ‘friction’

The study builds upon the dissertation of Aya Aboelenien, one of the study’s authors and an associate professor of marketing at HEC Montréal in Quebec, Canada. The study’s co-author, Zeynep Arsel, is a professor and research chair at West Montréal’s John Molson School of Business, and Aboelenien’s former PhD advisor.

“If you stand apart from the norm for ethical reasons, like driving an electric car or trying to live a green, sustainable life, others may take it as you trying to impose a moral lens on practices they’ve had for a long time,” Aboelenien told Phys.org.

The Journal of Consumer Research published the study, which is titled Surviving as a Vegan in a World of Omnivores: Relational Fractures in Shared Practices, last year.

Many study participants reported ‘retreated’ from veganism due to stress

Adobe StockSome vegans choose to “divest,” meaning that they avoid shared meals with non-vegans altogether

Aboelenien collected data by conducting 21 long interviews with current, aspiring, and lapsed vegans, some of whom followed the diet for a few weeks and some who had been vegan for 13 years. All of the interviewees were motivated by ethical concerns, and those who were vegan for health or religious reasons were excluded.

Aboelenien also collected and analysed vegan life stories and additional secondary data from newspapers, blogs, social media, podcasts, YouTube videos and comments, books, and documentaries. She attended market events, vegan festivals, sit-ins, and protests, conducting field interviews and recording observational data.

“Many of the people I spoke to really wanted to discuss the personal struggles they faced, which in many instances discouraged them from maintaining a vegan lifestyle,” Aboelenien said. “Many of them just retreated from veganism because of the stress in their personal relationships.”

Last year, Dr Gemma Newman, a senior partner at a family medical practice, a public speaker, and the author of The Plant Powered Doctor, shared a video in which she discussed the symbolic “threat” that vegans can present to meat-eating identities.

“No one likes to feel judged,” she said. “It instantly raises our defences and threatens our sense of self, and this threat is so powerful that the judgement doesn’t even have to be real for us to react strongly.”

https://plantbasednews.org/news/science/new-study-vegans-adapt-to-survive/