Keto shakes help you stay in ketogenesis, the fat-for-fuel state while giving you the energy to carry on with your day. These shakes can be a meal replacement while still following the keto guidelines. Keto shakes can also have other benefits like improved brain health and reduce risk of certain cancers.
There are tons of different dietary regimes out there today; low carb, high carb, gluten-free, vegan, and the list goes on. Keto is another one of these diets in which you are following a protocol very high in fat and protein and very low on carbohydrates.
The idea is to put your body in a state where it is using fat as fuel instead of carbs. It’s a great tool that many have used to shed unwanted weight and torch fat.
It’s important to keep the following in mind when looking at keto shakes:
- Keto shakes should be high in protein, allowing you to maintain muscle mass while losing weight.
- They need to be high in fat to support and keep you in ketogenesis (dominant fat-burning state).
- In order for blood sugar and insulin to remain unaffected, your keto shake needs to contain zero sugar and as few carbs as possible.
Our health team at food4me.org has put together a list of the top-performing and best keto shakes currently on the market.
Our Winners
Best Overall: Teamketo Meal Replacement
Best keto shake powder: KetoLogic Keto BHB Exogenous Ketones Powder
Best keto protein shake: ALOHA Vanilla Plant-Based Keto-Friendly Protein Powder
Best tasting keto shake: Ketologie Collagen Keto Shake
Best keto shake for women: Ample K Ketogenic Complete Meal Shake
Best keto shake for men: Keto Science Ketogenic Meal Shake
Best keto meal replacement shake: Teamketo Meal Replacement
Rankings
1. Teamketo Keto Meal Replacement
Team Keto nailed it with their keto meal replacement shake. It is delicious and very well-balanced to give you the best bang for your buck.
With 12 grams of grass-fed protein, 20 grams of healthy fats, and only 1 gram of net carbs, there isn’t really anything better. Maybe except for the no sugar alcohols, artificial sweeteners, and overall clean product.
This product is 100% natural, and there are a couple of different flavors to chose from. If you are looking for a keto-friendly shake, that’s smooth and creamy with no oily feel that hits your macros, you’ve found your match.
For these reasons, Teamketo is food4me.org’s #1 pick.
2. Ample K Ketogenic Complete Meal Shake
Ample K has produced a complete, low-carb meal created with real food ingredients so you don’t have to worry about quality. It’s made with more than 20 superfoods including premium fats, proteins, antioxidants, fibers, electrolytes, and probiotics.
The team at Ample K has done this with only 3 grams of carbs and 400 calories per bottle making it one of the lowest carb meal replacements on the market.
With no artificial sweeteners, flavors, or sugar alcohols, you can’t go wrong with this choice.
3. Ketologie Collagen Keto Shake
Ketologie Keto Shake has made it near the top of our list thanks to its very high-fat content, fiber content, and zero sugar.
The primary fat source that this shake uses is coconut oil which gives you plenty of MCT oils – crucial for ketogenic diets. The protein component of this product comes from hydrolyzed bovine collagen making it a very high-quality protein with other benefits.
Erythritol, the sweetener of choice Ketologie has gone with, makes for the perfect amount of sweetness when paired with cocoa and vanilla. It’s an all-around high-quality product that’s worth a try.
4. Orgain Keto Collagen Protein Powder
Paleo and keto-friendly, Orgain Keto Collagen Powder is a fantastic option. With 10 grams of grass-fed collagen peptides, zero net carbs, dairy-free, lactose-free, gluten-free, soy-free, and no sugar added, this product is one of the best.
You have the option of collagen powder or protein powder, both following keto guidelines, so you have lots of options to chose from. This powder mixes easily with water, in a smoothie or works great as a coffee or tea creamer.
5. Ketologic BHB Exogenous Ketones Powder
Ketologic Keto BHB powder comes in a ton of different flavors from chocolate to patriot pop. This product helps fight fatigue and brain fog with ketones and increases your energy and mental focus with 4 key electrolytes.
Keto BHB helps to support workout performance by naturally fueling your muscles while on the low-carb keto diet. This product is also non-GMO and free from any fillers or binders.
6. Keto Science Ketogenic Meal Shake
18 grams of fat, 10g of protein, and only 3g of net carbs, Keto Science ketogenic meal shake is a great meal replacement option.
Formulated with clinically studied ingredients keto meal shake can help support cognitive health, high energy levels and gives you the energy to perform at your peak.
7. Giant Sports Keto Cheesecake Shake Mix
Giant Sports keto cheesecake shake mix is a delicious powder that you can mix with just water or add to any shake or even your baking to add a creamy cheesecake flavor.
This product provides 15g of fat and a total of 4g of carbs to stay within the keto diet without sacrificing taste or quality.
8. Perfect Keto Collagen Protein Powder with MCT Oil
Perfect Keto Collagen Protein Powder can be a great addition to your daily routine. It comes in 6 flavors and even has an unflavored option if you’re looking to keep it simple.
The fat content is a bit lower on this product and it won’t function as a full meal replacement, so be mindful when you are incorporating this product into your day of eating.
9. ALOHA Organic Plant-Based Keto-Friendly Protein Powder
ALOHA keto-friendly protein powder is an organic plant-based protein powder that has MCT oil from coconut. It’s a great-tasting protein powder with two flavors and a complete amino acid profile.
It also has the benefits of prebiotics and electrolytes to give you an extra boost. If you are looking for a protein powder that fits in with your keto lifestyle, this may be an option for you.
10. Amazing Grass Protein Superfood
This all-encompassing nutritional protein shake made with 20g of protein gives you all the benefits of a superfood shake while also leaving you feeling full.
You can drink it on its own or add it to baking for an additional nutritional boost. Amazing Grass protein superfood powder is good, however, it is on the higher side of carbs and may not be the best option for people needing to stay on the lower end of the keto threshold.
Best Tasting Keto Shake
1. Ketologie Collagen Keto Shake
Ketologie has created the most velvety chocolate shake that satisfies any chocolate craving.
You can have it with just water, add it into your smoothies, or even into your morning coffee for a flavor boost.
Best Keto Shake for Women
1. Ample K
Women who are busy and constantly on the go will love the simple formulation that Ample K has created.
It’s ultra low carb with high fat, high protein and contains 400 calories for an amazing meal replacement alternative.
Best Keto Meal Replacement Shake
1. Teamketo Keto Meal Replacement
Such in the name, Teamketo provides its users with a fantastic meal replacement keto shake.
It’s a perfectly balanced shake and provides clean and consistent energy to keep you going until your next meal.
Best Keto Shake for Men
1. Keto Science Keto Meal shake
Keto Science keto shake provides a great balance of nutrients and is very high-fat – making it optimal to support healthy testosterone production and hormonal regulation.
Who Should Use a Keto Shake?
One of the hardest parts about following a ketogenic diet is how difficult it is to find food, on the go, that’s keto-friendly. Most foods packaged foods have a ton of carbs or are made to be low-fat.
If you are trying to stay in ketosis, or are simply following a low-carb diet not intended to be keto specifically, keto shakes can be your saving grace. They are great to-go meal or snack that gives you great energy and satiates your hunger.
Of course, keto shakes can be used by anyone, however, they will give you the most benefits if you are already in a ketogenic state. These shakes contain the right amount of macronutrients (protein, fats, carbs) to keep you in the fat-for-fuel state of ketosis. They can provide a host of other benefits including increasing your cardiovascular and brain health.
Keto shakes typically use fats like avocado, coconut, or olive oil to acquire their high-fat content. A good shake will also contain a solid amount of protein, low carb, and even some additional micronutrients to keep you and your body satisfied.
Keto shakes use the satiating properties that protein and fats carry and put them into liquid form. There’s nothing worse than being on a diet and constantly feeling hungry. Eating high protein and high fat will keep you feeling more full for a longer period of time while still staying with your weight loss goals.
The bonus of having low-carb shakes is you won’t get the energy surge followed by the crash. This is because fats and proteins give you slow energy that burns consistently over time.
While keto shakes are geared towards people who are on a ketogenic diet, anyone who is going low carb, or is trying to cut carbs out can benefit from swapping a keto shake instead of their carb/sugar-filled breakfast or lunch. There are higher-calorie options that can be used as a total meal replacement and there are other lower-calorie options that can be incorporated as a snack.
Some common side effects that can happen from moving your body into a ketogenic state include having too many ketones in the blood, short-term fatigue, increased irritability, and weakness. It is recommended to have carb refeed days to try and avoid these side effects from occurring. If you are pregnant, nursing, a child, diabetic, or have any medical issues, you should always consult with your doctor before making drastic dietary changes.
Methodology
When changing up your diet, it is important to feed your body with the appropriate fuel to avoid negative side effects. When looking to rank the above-listed products, we made sure to follow certain criteria to provide the best options for a variety of different people. Here is how we ranked our chosen keto shakes.
Ketosis supporting ingredients: One of the most important factors when looking at keto shakes is whether or not they put you and kept you in a state of ketosis. This allows you to flip the switch on your metabolism and burn out the excess fat cells. In order for this metabolic switch to stay on, the keto shakes needed to have little to no carbohydrates, high-quality fats, and healthy proteins.
These traits would help to support your body in ketosis but also keep you feeling satisfied and maintain your muscle mass. Teamketo does a fantastic job at giving that extra boost into ketosis all while using very high-quality ingredients – why it takes the number spot on our list.
Another important feature that if included, brought up the rating of the product, is the inclusion of BHB. The primary function of BHB is to act as a cellular energy source and is one of three energy molecules produced during ketosis. It helps to protect the cells and make them more resistant to oxidative stress.
BHB can also help maintain and deliver the benefits that come with being on a keto diet without always having to be on one. Due to the importance of BHB, products that contained it were ranked higher.
Healthy Fats: The ketogenic diet is created around consuming large amounts of high-quality healthy fats for your body to use as its fuel source. As such, incorporating these healthy fats into keto shakes is an important element in a high-ranking product. Not all fats are created equally and for the most effective ketogenesis to occur, it’s best to consume fats high in medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs).
MCTs are easily broken down by the body and can help you avoid side effects like brain fog and irritability that can occur while on a keto diet. They have also been shown to protect the brain and improve your metabolic function helping to further expedite your weight loss. That’s why shakes like Ample K and Ketologie were ranked in the top 5.
Clean Source of Protein: Protein plays a huge role in weight loss. When you are trying to lose weight, a couple of things can happen. One, you may experience some loss in muscle due to the decrease in overall calorie consumption. Two, you may find yourself feeling hungry, like all the time. You probably want to try and avoid both of these things from happening, and having good quality protein can be the solution.
Protein like any other ingredient has many levels of quality. For our list, we preferred to stick with products that contained grass-fed protein sources, free of antibiotics and hormones, and other potentially bad ingredients. Collagen was generally more accepted over whey due to its other health benefits like the support of healthy hair, skin, and nails while still giving the benefits to your muscles.
Protein like fat also plays a big part in feeling full. Oftentimes, when dieting, many people lack protein throughout a day of eating and in turn and be left feeling hungry. High protein will help satiate you and keto shakes that had that feature were rewarded with a potentially higher ranking.
Benefits
Keto shakes can support your weight loss. The ketogenic diet was created to access your body’s metabolic abilities and manipulate it to switch fuel usage to fat instead of carbs. There is no shortage of research out there to support that the keto diet can help you in achieving weight loss.
Keto shakes support the ketogenic diet by being extremely low carb, making it an ideal meal replacement option for individuals following this regime. Fat over the years has been given a bad rap in the weight loss world and has been deemed the thing to avoid when trying to lose weight. In contrast, it’s actually almost the opposite.
Keto shakes keep you feeling more full and burn your fat stores. Most of the quick carbs people are eating throughout the day are loaded with sugar which has the opposite effect when trying to lose weight. Fat, on the other hand, leaves you feeling full for much longer, and when you are on keto, your body uses the fat you’re consuming as fuel. This means you are burning through your fat stores in order to keep your body operations running smoothly.
A meta-analysis in 2013 looked at the difference between low carb and low-fat diets for long-term weight loss. The scientists found that the individuals who were low carb experience better weight loss outcomes compared to the low-fat group (1). Another study found supporting evidence of the same conclusion that participants on low carb achieved greater weight loss than those on the low-fat diet (2).
Keto shakes provide a lot of protein. Along with high-fat, keto shakes also provide you with a nice portion of protein. Protein is an appetite killer meaning that after a keto shake you’ll feel more full and satisfied for longer compared to an equivalent high carb shake. The beauty of keto shakes is that they’re relatively low-calorie in nature. If your shake is keeping you full with fewer calories compared to a complete meal, there is no doubt you will lose weight – calories in, calories out.
Overall on the keto diet, your food will be richer in nature, but due to that, you’ll end up consuming fewer calories throughout the day ultimately resulting in greater weight loss.
Keto shakes can help to reduce acne. Acne, especially in teenagers, can result from raging hormonal changes. But, another very common cause of acne is the overproduction of oil and bacteria on the skin surface, which causes blockages.
We typically think about our skin for appearance, however, our skin plays a fundamental role in the protection of our entire body. It is the first barrier of protection, so if your skin health isn’t up to par, your body will likely suffer from injury or harm but also from dangerous bacteria.
Research has now shown that the decrease in carbohydrates in your diet may help to improve overall skin health (3). Simple carbs found in processed foods and refined sugars, increase the release of cortisol, your stress hormones, ultimately leading to breakouts of acne. These carbs also raise your insulin, a very powerful anabolic hormone; high levels of insulin raise the production of sebum, androgens, and skin cells also causing an onset of acne.
In addition to already having benefits in skin health, many high-quality keto shakes contain hydrolyzed collagen further supporting healthy hair, skin, and nails.
Keto shakes can improve cardiovascular health. There is such a thing as good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. The ratio of the good (HDL) to the bad (LDL), plays a critical role in the health of your heart and cardiovascular system. This ratio also has an effect on decreasing the likelihood of developing harmful diseases such as type II diabetes, one of the most common cardiovascular health issues for adults in America.
Healthy fats help to support a healthy, happy heart. Keto shakes are prepared with both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats helping to improve your cholesterol and therefore improving your overall heart health. One study showed that ketogenic diets had a positive effect in improving some cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, type II diabetes, and HDL cholesterol (4).
Keto shakes protect and support healthy brain function. The brain controls many functions and organs throughout the body. Ketones supply a huge amount of your brain’s energy. Research is growing in examining the possibility of a keto diet working to improve diseases like Alzheimer’s (5).
Healthy fats help to support a healthy brain, and keto shakes are full of them. A study in 2012 proved that consuming more omega-3 fats (a source of healthy fats) improves your cognitive performance and decreases your risk of getting Alzheimer’s (6).
Keto shakes can also help to get rid of beta-amyloid, which are plaques that form in the brain resulting from protein stacking on top of each other. This compound disturbs and can interfere with your brain’s ability to communicate which can lead to Alzheimer’s.
Keto shakes can help to maintain muscle mass while you’re losing weight. An article published in Medicine And Science In Sports And Exercise established that consuming adequate amounts of protein helps you to maintain lean muscle mass while trying to lose weight.
The study looked at athletes and found that those athletes who consumed higher amounts of protein maintained more of their muscle post-weight loss (7).
Like any other weight loss protocol, it is very common to lose muscle mass. As many people embark on keto to try to lose weight, this side effect can happen. Many keto supplements, shakes included, contain adequate amounts of protein to ensure that while you lose weight you maintain your muscle mass and stay strong.
Keto shakes can improve symptoms that come with PCOS. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder that can cause women to release more male hormones causing side effects.
Women affected by PCOS typically have a higher risk of many things including insulin resistance, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension to name a few. Women who get on a keto diet can help reduce their insulin resistance which can have a positive effect on symptoms.
There aren’t too many studies in this area yet. One study in 2005 found that a keto diet helped to improve weight loss, hormone balance, and levels of fasting insulin in women that have PCOS (10). There however needs to be more research done to support the keto diet as a general treatment for PCOS.
Keto shakes can help reduce your chances of getting seizures. Your brain requires glucose to run effectively; it’s why your liver produces glucose from protein even if you are not consuming carbs. However, as we mentioned above, your brain can also burn ketones, which are made during starvation or when you are intaking extremely low carb.
This is the process behind the ketogenic diet and has been used for decades to treat epilepsy in children who haven’t been responding to drug treatments (8). In many cases, this high-fat diet has been shown to cure epilepsy in children.
One study showed that over half the children on the keto diet saw a greater than 50% reduction in the number of seizures they had while 16% actually became completely seizure-free (9).
Recap
A keto shake is a high-fat, high-protein, low-carb powder that you can mix up with water to give you a great on-the-go meal. This provides you with an easy meal alternative that allows you to stay within the parameters of what’s permitted on a ketogenic diet.
These shakes provide you with a good amount of calories from high-quality sources of fat, paired with good protein to keep you full and satisfied. When you don’t have time or the means to make a well-balanced, keto-friendly meal, having a keto shake is a great alternative to keep you in ketosis and keep you on track.
For the majority of Americans, this dietary regimen is a great way to shed those extra pounds while maintaining a healthy diet and proper exercise routine. Many people find going into ketosis is well worth the benefits it provides and a keto shake can be the perfect addition to your routine.
For food4me.org’s #1 keto shake recommendation, click here.