Best protein powders for your muscle gains in 2022 – CNET [CNET]

Although protein powders are not necessary to sustain a healthy diet, they’re still a helpful supplement to have on hand when you’re trying to meet your protein quota for the day. There are many options to choose from, such as whey, casein and plant-based powders. They’re all good options depending on your preference, dietary needs and what your stomach can handle. 

Protein powders can be pricey and often come in big containers, so if you end up purchasing something you don’t like, you’re stuck with all those scoops. I’ve found the best tried-and-true protein powders that won’t leave a bad aftertaste as you’re trying to achieve your fitness goals this year. Use this guide to help you select the best protein powders that taste good, mix well and are worth the price. 

Other great protein powders

The following protein powders have mostly great qualities, too, but for one reason or another they didn’t make our top cut. In most cases, it was a matter of flavor, texture or how well they mixed with liquids and other ingredients. But those things are subjective, so one of these protein powders might be the right choice for you. 

Whey protein powder

• Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein
• Dymatize ISO 100% Hydrolyzed Whey Protein
• Cellucor Cor-Performance Whey

Casein protein powder

• Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Casein Protein
• Naked Nutrition Naked Casein Protein Powder
• MyProtein Slow-Release Casein Protein Powder

Vegan protein powder

• Legion Athletics Plant Plus Vegan Protein Powder
• Vega Sport Premium Protein
• Naked Nutrition Naked Pea Protein Powder

Personalized protein powder

• iFit Nourish Personalized Protein Powder

Why you should trust our picks 

We used a mix of personal experience and customer reviews to aggregate this list of protein powders and narrow it down to our top recommendations. Each of the top protein powders listed is backed by good reviews from buyers online and has a solid brand reputation. Most of these products have also been tasted by a CNET staffer or contributor with years of fitness experience, and some have been used for months or even years.

While our top picks are of course somewhat subjective (things like flavor and texture are different to everyone), we also used objective measures to inform our picks. We looked for proteins with more than 20 grams per serving (except for plant protein) and ingredient labels free of questionable additives. These top picks can 100% help you consume more protein to fuel muscle growth and strength.