How do I make a protein shake without powder?

Build it on cottage cheese, Greek yogurt and milk, or soy milk and tofu. A cup of 1% cottage cheese has 28 g of protein. Seven ounces of plain Greek yogurt and a cup of milk have 28 g together. A cup of unsweetened soy milk and half a cup of firm tofu have about 29 g.

The word shake has come to mean a scoop of powder in a shaker bottle, so a lot of people think protein in a glass starts with a tub. Milk, Greek yogurt and cottage cheese carry plenty of protein on their own, and all three blend smooth.

Using powder for every shake is like using bouillon cubes for every soup. It works, and the kitchen already has better ingredients.

Three ways to 28 g without a scoop

1 cup 1% cottage cheese

28 g of protein, 162 calories. Salty: 918 mg of sodium, 40% of the day’s 2,300 mg.

7 oz Greek yogurt and 1 cup 2% milk

28 g of protein, 239 calories, and the thickest base of the three.

1 cup soy milk and 1/2 cup firm tofu

About 29 g of protein, 261 calories, no dairy at all. Tofu labels vary a lot, so check yours.

For comparison, 1 scoop of whey

About 25 g of protein, 113 calories.

Every food route costs more calories than a scoop, from about 50 more for cottage cheese to about 150 more for soy and tofu. In a glass that replaces a meal, those calories are part of what keeps you full.

Which recipes skip the powder?

Seven of our top ten have no powder in them. Here are four, graded on the six meters at 165 lb.

The cottage cheese glass gets 28 g from the cottage cheese alone, so it’s the one for a big protein line (the Gyroscope app personalizes yours). It’s also the saltiest, so skip it if you’re watching sodium.

Does tofu really work in a smoothie?

Yes, if it’s the right tofu. USDA has two records for firm tofu, one with 21.8 g of protein in half a cup and one with about 9 g per 100 g, less than half as much. Brands differ in how much water they keep, so check the protein line on your package and adjust the amount. Soy milk is the easy part: a cup of unsweetened soy milk has 7 g, nearly as much as dairy milk’s 8 g.

Why skip the powder at all?

Mostly because you don’t need it. In Consumer Reports’ 2025 report, its chemist said “none are necessary to hit your protein goals,” and it advised against daily use for most powders after finding lead in more than two thirds of the 23 it tested. Food sidesteps that question entirely. If you like powder, our yogurt or powder answer covers when it makes sense.