Can you cook with protein powder?

Protein powder is typically used in protein shakes and is an easy and effective way to boost your overall protein intake. 

Using protein powder can help you influence more significant muscle growth and recovery between workout sessions. It also prevents you from needing to consume multiple protein-rich meals, as you can get this macro from the powder. 

Although shakes are often the most convenient, many people have experimented with protein powder and have cooked with it, adding it to dishes to improve the total protein content. 

While this sounds like a great idea to boost the nutritional value of your meals, it's key to know if this is the right thing to do. 

Many questions whether cooking with protein powder can denature or destroy it and make it ineffective. If you plan on whipping up some great meals with protein powder, here's everything you need to know to see if it can be a crucial ingredient in your kitchen. 

What happens when you cook with protein powder? 

Many people weary about cooking with protein powder are still determining whether the heat of baking, roasting, or even microwaving the protein powder will destroy it. 

The simple answer is that heating your protein powder will not negatively affect it, meaning you're free to bake and cook with the product as much as you see fit. 

Protein powder is okay to cook because it's food, just like chicken, ham, and eggs. All protein powder is derived from natural ingredients, such as milk, eggs, and certain plants.

Because it comes from real digestible food, it's all okay to heat up and cook, as it has the same effect as warming up a chicken - no nutritional value is lost. 

That said, the protein powder does change slightly when you cook it. 

When warmed up, the protein powder will denature. That sounds scary for those who don't know what it means, but denaturing is when the protein structure is changed. Denaturing is what your body does to all the food it eats anyway, making it easier to digest and absorb. So, denaturing your protein powder by cooking is okay; it is just speeding up an existing process. 

Think of denaturing like this. You take a piece of paper with a picture on it, cut it up into sections and lay it in order so that you can still make out the picture. The process of denaturing is simply scrambling up those sections. It's still the same piece of paper and has the same image; it's just in a different arrangement. 

When you cook protein powder, the nutritional values stay the same. So if a serving is 130 calories and has 4 grams of carbs, it will still have the same values once you cook it. 

With all that said, there is a bigger difference between cooking and mixing protein powder into a shake. 

When mixed and dissolved with water, the protein powder will be digested much faster, meaning quicker action and recovery. When cooked, it will take longer to digest, making the protein released slower in the body. 

This can affect how you feel - in terms of how full you are and how much energy you have, meaning that cooking and eating protein powder and just diluting it in water can be used in conjunction with each other to get different results. 

Should you cook with protein powder? 

Although you can cook with protein powder without any consequences or issues, that doesn't necessarily mean you should add it to every meal.

This is because protein powder usually has a distinct flavor and may not go well with certain food items. As many protein powders are flavored to mimic certain fruits, peanut butter, and even chocolate, it's best not to cook it alongside savory items. 

Instead, protein powder makes a great ingredient when baking treats and certain snakes. Sometimes, it's a great way to make typically unhealthy meals healthier and more nutritious, allowing you to enjoy cheat meals with much less guilt. 

You should also pay attention to the type of protein powder you want to use when cooking. 

Protein powder can be made from various sources; some work better than others. For example, whey protein is generally the best choice of protein powder for cooking, especially for cookies and other baked goods. 

On the other hand, plant-based protein is often avoided for cooking as it usually has an unpleasant earthy flavor. Many of these types of protein will add additional flavoring to try and mask it. 

Best Protein Powder Recipes…

You can cook with protein power in many ways, with many of the methods involving baking. Here are some of the top 5 recipes for those wanting to cook with protein powder:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars

Protein bars are popular among those looking to increase their muscle mass through protein intake. The issue is that they can be costly. You can cut the costs by baking your own. 

Ingredients:

• Creamy peanut butter
• Honey
• Cocoa powder
• Chocolate protein powder
• Oats

Method: 

To start, preheat your oven to a high temperature of around 200 degrees. 

While that heats up, mix the peanut butter, honey and cocoa powder in a bowl until combined well. 

Then, mix in the protein powder and oats until it's all eventually distributed. Press the mixture into a baking dish and bake for around 20 minutes. 

When ready, let it cool before cutting it into bars for you to enjoy when you want them. 

Chocolate Protein Pancakes

Pancakes are a great morning food, and adding protein to them can help give your day a good head start and help you reach your protein intake goals easily. 

This meal is easy to make and tasty. 

Ingredients:

• Chocolate protein powder
• Flour
• Sugar
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Egg
• Milk

Method: 

Start with two mixing bowls. In one, mix together the egg and milk, and then in the other, mix all the other dry ingredients. 

Once both bowls have been mixed, add the egg and milk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well until combined. 

When it is all mixed, fry the pancakes and cook on each side until bubbles form on the surface. It takes around 2 minutes for each side. Once done, you can serve it with syrup or any other topping you like. 

Vanilla Protein Powder Waffles

Waffles are a great treat to eat and make a fun breakfast meal, perfect for those days when you need something a bit sweet. 

These waffles are super easy to make at home, providing that you have a waffle iron to help you shape your batter. 

Ingredients:

• Vanilla protein powder
• Almond milk
• Egg
• Cup oats
• Baking powder

Method:

To start, pop all your ingredients into a bowl and mix them together. The perfect mixture shouldn't be too thick and be a little runny. 

Once you have mixed it, you can heat up your waffle iron and spray it with cooking oil to ensure it doesn't stick. Add a bit of your waffle batter to the iron and cook according to the iron's instructions. 

When you have done this, be careful when removing it and serve it with your choice of toppings. 

Banana Chocolate Chip Protein Muffins

For a tasty and fluffy treat, you should make protein muffins. Banana and chocolate flavors work best, but you can freestyle and tailor it to what you want once you get the recipe down. 

Ingredients: 

• Chocolate protein powder
• Mashed ripe bananas
• Egg 
• Almond butter 
• Real Oats 
• Baking soda 
• Baking powder 
• Chocolate chips Instructions: 

Method: 

Before you start, preheat the oven to 175 degrees so it's nice and warm when the muffins go in. 

Grease or line your muffin cups and then mix the ingredients into a bowl. You'll want to put all the ingredients in at once and mix well until it forms a nice batter. 

When ready, pop the batter into the muffin cup and bake for around 20 minutes. If you can insert a toothpick into the muffin that comes out clean, then they're ready.

Cooking with protein powder…

Protein powder is perfectly safe to cook, and heating it won't change the nutritional values, so there's no risk when cooking with it. 

You can make many unique and tasty treats and meals with protein powder that are perfect when you need to increase your intake. If you're looking for the best protein powder in your bakes, you can get some of the best at Crazy Nutrition. 

These powders include all the macros you need and can help improve performance, recovery, and muscle growth. 

Cooking with protein powder is another way to make getting all the protein you need convenient, so be sure to use it in your nutrition plan.