Coffee Protein Shake Recipe

Need a hit of caffeine with your morning protein powder? This coffee protein shake is the best of both worlds and can be customized based on the flavors you want! 

glasses of protein coffee shake

Ingredients in this Coffee Protein Shake

protein coffee shake ingredients

In this coffee protein shake, we use a base of vanilla protein powder, coffee, frozen avocado slices, and almond milk. We added chia seeds for more fiber, maple syrup for sweetener, and added cocoa powder to enhance the chocolate notes of the espresso coffee. While many recipes call for frozen bananas as a thickener and sweetener, we replaced this with frozen avocado because we didn’t want a banana-flavored shake. 

Type of Coffee to Use

instant espresso powder

After testing out different types of coffee, we preferred instant espresso because it has a bolder flavor that doesn’t get diluted with the other ingredients. We enhanced this flavor by also using instant espresso ice cubes we make a night ahead. You can also use drip coffee or instant coffee if you don’t have instant espresso but the flavor might be lighter. 

Which Protein Powders to Use

protein powder closeup

We used plant-based vanilla protein powder Vega for this coffee-flavored protein shake. Using vanilla protein powder is a good base because you can add other flavors like caramel or cocoa powder to change up the shake. However, if you want a mocha-flavored shake, you can also use chocolate protein powder too. 

Flavor Variations

This iced protein coffee recipe is a great starting base to explore different shake flavors when you need a boost in the morning. While we use vanilla protein powder, you are free to add cocoa powder or even use chocolate protein powder to make a mocha shake too. 

Here are other tasty variations: 

  • Choco banana: frozen bananas and chocolate protein powder (or cocoa powder)
  • Chocolate nutter butter: chocolate protein powder (or cocoa powder) and nut butter

Tips For Making Coffee Protein Shake

coffee protein shake in a blender

Here are some tips for making the creamiest coffee-flavored protein shake:

  1. For stronger coffee flavor without an espresso or nespresso machine, use instant espresso powder. This flavor was better than drip or instant coffee. 
  2. Make coffee ice cubes: If you have time, premake coffee the night before and freeze some of them into cubes and chill the rest in the fridge. This prevents the coffee flavor from being diluted when using ice cubes. 
  3. Frozen avocado slices: If you also have some leftover avocado, freeze these the night before to get the creamiest consistency. You can also use frozen bananas, but I prefer avocados because their flavor isn’t as strong. 
  4. Blend the wet ingredients with the protein powder in the blender until it’s incorporated so you don’t have any chunks of protein powder later. 

For other smoothies or shakes in the morning check out our frozen smoothie packs and anti-inflammatory turmeric smoothie.

Can You Mix Protein Powder With Coffee?

protein powder scoop and coffee

While this protein powder coffee recipe is a shake, you also have the option of adding protein powder directly to your coffee in the morning. However, we prefer adding it to this coffee protein shake because it mixes really well in a blended drink–you can hardly tell you’re drinking protein powder. 

Can You Just Buy Coffee Flavored Protein Powder?

You can purchase coffee-flavored protein powder, however, we like making our own shake because you can tailor the flavor variations to your preference and also adjust the sweetness levels too.

cups of coffee protein shake
coffee protein shake recipe
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5 from 2 votes

Coffee Protein Shake

Make this coffee protein shake in the morning to give you a boost of flavor and energy.
Course Breakfast, Drinks
Cuisine American
Keyword iced coffee, protein shake
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Freezing ice cubes (optional) 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes
Servings 2
Calories 535kcal

Equipment

  • ice cube molds (optional)
  • strong blender (Vitamix)
  • spatula

Ingredients

Coffee ice cubes (optional)

  • 4 tsp instant espresso powder
  • 12 oz filtered water

Coffee protein shake

  • c instant espresso chilled (from the leftover ice cube mix above)
  • ½ c almond milk or other milk
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder or protein powder of your preference
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds
  • ½ c frozen avocado slices
  • 1 c coffee ice cubes from above
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup optional
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder optional

Instructions

Coffee ice cubes (optional)

  • NOTE: This is optional. You can always use normal ice cubes, but if you want extra strong coffee flavor, then make coffee ice cubes. Mix the espresso instant powder with the hot water and let chill for 20 minutes until cool.
    mixing instant espresso
  • Measure out ⅔ cup of coffee into a mason jar or container and place it in the fridge. Put the rest of the coffee mix into one ice tray and place in the freezer for two hours or until it’s frozen.
    pouring espresso into ice cube tray
  • Transfer the rest of the coffee mix into an airtight container and place it in the fridge to chill.

Coffee protein shake

  • Add your chilled espresso mix, almond milk, and protein powder to your blender. Blend for about 5-10 seconds or until the protein powder has been incorporated fully.
    pouring coffee and milk into blender
  • Add the rest of the ingredients into the blender and blend until all the ingredients including the ice cubes are fully mixed.
    all coffee shake ingredients in blender
  • Serve immediately.
    glasses of protein coffee shake

Nutrition

Calories: 535kcal | Carbohydrates: 87g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 166mg | Potassium: 3314mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 90IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 341mg | Iron: 5mg