Protein Chai Latte

The flavours of traditional chai - usually a combination of black tea and whole spices like star anise, cardamom pods, cinnamon, and more - have influenced quite a few recipes on this blog, such as my Chai Cinnamon Rolls, Chewy Chai Blondies Recipe, Gluten-Free Chai Doughnut Holes, Milk Chocolate Chai Truffles, Chai Cupcakes, Chai Bagels, and - of course - the ever popular Pumpkin Chai Latte!

Now, Starbucks chai tea lattes* are always great, but I’ve recently started making a homemade chai latte that’s different.

Not only less sugar and calories than most of what you’d find in a local coffee shop - at a fraction of the cost - it also packs a whopping serving of protein!

* I have to address this, because the pedant in me is getting an eye twitch. The word chai literally means tea. So to say “homemade chai tea latte” is to say “homemade tea tea latte”. Worth mentioning, I figure!

Anyway.

You can drink it as a creamy, hot spiced tea.. Or serve them up as iced chai tea lattes. (Yes, I know. I KNOW. Gotta keep the search engines happy, though!)

Whether as a hot or iced latte, it’s a GOOD chai latte - and you’d never know it’s a chai latte made with protein powder!

In NO way does it feel like choking down a normal protein shake, this is honestly more suited to tea breaks, than to the gym.

Side note: I do these up as dry drink mixes, about 10 at a time per flavour. That way, mixing them up takes only seconds when I actually want a drink - it’s super handy!

Anyway, let’s get to that recipe!

Oh, and if you’re interested in even more fun coffee and tea drinks you can make with protein powder, I’ve got a link list near the bottom of this post - be sure to check it out!

Ingredients

This easy recipe takes a few simple ingredients that should be easy enough to find in grocery stores - if you don’t already have them on hand!

A few notes for you:

Vanilla Protein Powder

As a protein drink, your choice of protein powder is an important one!

Using a vanilla flavoured protein powder contributes not only the protein content, but to the level of sweetness, AND takes the place of needing vanilla extract in this recipe!

You’ll want to use a Vanilla Flavored Whey Protein Powder that tastes great, suits your nutritional needs, and mixes up smooth.

For me, that’s Revolution Nutrition's High Whey in Vanilla Cake.

Maybe not the cheapest one out there, but it’s worth every penny. Great nutritional profile, amazing taste, very smooth texture.

I go through a TON of it, as I also use it as a component of my keto baking, as part of the flour mixture in sweet baked goods. Works beautifully in cookies, especially!

Black Tea

There are all kinds of ways to start a batch of normal chai lattes: black tea leaves (loose leaf tea), black tea bags, and even black tea concentrate.

Because I do these up assembly-line as mixes (super convenient whenever I want to make one up!), I use a different type of tea: Instant Black Tea Powder.

Loose-leaf tea just wouldn’t mix well, after all!

There are all kinds of instant black tea out there - I use a decaf black tea, personally - just be sure you’re only getting tea.

You don’t want a sweetened or flavoured iced tea mix for this.

Brown Sugar

This recipe uses a small amount of sugar to boost the sweetness supplied by the protein powder.

You can use regular brown sugar if you’re not watching carbs, or a Brown Sugar Substitute if you are.

My sweetener of choice is Brown Sugar Allulose, as it doesn’t leave the weird cooling mouth sensation that erythritol does.

Water or Milk

This recipe works with either water or milk - and there are a lot of great options in terms of which kind of milk to use!

When I’m making this as a protein iced chai latte, I’ll usually just use water... but I’ll use some Unsweetened Almond Milk straight out of the fridge, if I’m feeling a little more indulgent.

Water is easy, but milk makes for a creamier drink. I’ll usually use heated almond milk when making it as a hot drink.

You just don’t get the froth with water, like you do with hot milk!

I stick to non-dairy milk when making my milk tea drinks.

Aside from almond milk, Oat milk, Cashew Milk, Flax Milk, Macadamia Milk, and coconut milk are my favourite options.

If you like soy milk, feel free to use that!

Not avoiding dairy? 2% Milk, Skim Milk, or even Whole Milk are great options!

Chai Spices

While traditional chai uses whole spices like black peppercorns and star anise in it, I use a simplified spice profile in this recipe.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be picking star anise out of my shaker bottle, or chewing on a peppercorn with my protein shake!

So, I use the perfect balances ground spices for these mixes - based on the flavour profile of that chai cake I make!

For this, you will need Ground Cardamom, Ground Cinnamon, Ground Cloves, Ground Nutmeg, and a little salt.

Shaker Bottle

Ok, so not technically an ingredient... but a good shaker bottle is a great thing to have, when regularly making these protein shakes!

Personally, I love my 20 oz BlenderBottle.

It’s the perfect size for shaking up a batch of protein chai latte, and the wire whisk ball thing ensures that it mixes up smooth!

How to Make High Protein Chai Latte

For Hot Protein Chai Latte:

Combine dry ingredients in a shaker bottle or blender.

Add hot water or milk*; shake until well combined, smooth, and with no undissolved tea granules left on the bottom of the bottle.

Note: You could also use an immersion blender or milk frother to combine, if you prefer.

Pour into a large mug, garnish with cinnamon sticks or whipped cream if you like, and enjoy right away!

For Protein Iced Chai Latte:

Combine dry ingredients in a shaker bottle or blender.

Add cold water or milk*; shake until well combined, smooth, and with no undissolved tea granules left on the bottom of the bottle.

Pour into a large glass filled with ice, enjoy right away!

Another option is to make it with hot liquid, and chill it in the fridge for later use.

For Protein Powder Chai Latte Mix Pouches:

Measure dry ingredients directly into individual snack-sized plastic baggies, seal and shake well to combine.

Press as much air as possible out of each baggie, seal the zipper.

Transfer baggies to an airtight container, labeled with the date, recipe name, and a note to use 12 oz of water or milk, if you like.

It also gives you more of the froth on top, especially when it comes to hot drinks.

More High Protein Drink Mixes!

Looking for more high protein, low carb drink mixes that can be made ahead? I've developed a whole series of instant drink mix recipes:

Cream of Chicken Soup (Low Carb, High Protein)
Cream of Mushroom Soup (Low Carb, High Protein)
Easy Bone Broth
Gingerbread Latte (Low Carb, High Protein)
Matcha Latte (Low Carb, High Protein)
Mocha Latte (Low Carb, High Protein)
Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate (Low Carb, High Protein)
Peppermint Mocha (Low Carb, High Protein)
Protein Cappuccino (Low Carb, High Protein)
Protein Hot Chocolate (Low Carb, High Protein)
Pumpkin Chai Latte (Low Carb, High Protein)
Pumpkin Spice Latte (Low Carb, High Protein)