Vegan Mass Gainer Shake Recipe – 2023

Build plant-based muscle with our favorite 7 vegan mass gainer shake recipes.

Today, we’re covering mass gainer shakes with no dairy, so you can get the most from your bulking diet.

We’ll be looking at a few different ways you can boost the power of a plant protein shake with more carbs, extra nutrients, and a healthier overall mass gainer shake recipe. We’ve put together x recipes that are all super powerful, so let’s get started.

7 Vegan Mass Gainer Shake Recipes for Enjoyable Weight Gain

These 7 vegan mass gainer shakes help build muscle on a plant-based diet. They’re packed with calories, protein, carbs, fats, and electrolytes. We’re going to get the best from your weight gain diet with these delicious calorie-rich drinks.

For any of these items, you can replace some ingredients with others you prefer. For example, if you prefer agave or a specific type of sugar syrup, that’s your choice.

You can – and should – also experiment with your own ingredients, and try different plant milks.

I prefer coconut milk for most things, but I’m aware that’s a personal choice, so we’re using unsweetened soy milk for most of these shake recipes. You can use whichever you prefer.

1. Chia Seed Mass Gainer

Chia seeds are an excellent source of carbs, protein, and fats – all in the same place. They’re also rich in some essential amino acids like arginine and alanine. These are great for supporting muscle growth and energy availability for vegan diets.

This is a perfect homemade vegan mass gainer. All punch, no fluff, and packed with extra nutrients.

• 500ml Plant milk (your preference)
• ½ cup soaked chia seeds
• 50-75g Cashew nuts or natural cashew butter
• 1-2 scoops vanilla or chocolate vegan protein powder (ideally a blend)
• 1 teaspoon Sweetener syrup (like agave or maple)
• Optional: a small dash of vanilla extract

This is a simple base shake that you can experiment with. The ingredients are simple and effective, combining healthy fats, carbs, and protein.

2. Avocado Chocolate Mass

The best vegan mass gainer recipe, this vegan mass gainer blended shake uses avocado and fruit to gain high-quality weight.

Avocado is one of nature’s best weight gain foods: tons of fats, a creamy texture, and plenty of nutrients. You’ll gain healthy weight with avocado, as it’s one of the highest-fat plant foods, along with olives, nuts, and seeds.

• 500ml plant milk
• ½ cubed avocado
• 1-2 scoops vanilla or chocolate vegan protein powder
• Optional: 1 scoop vegan vanilla ice cream

This is a thick mass gainer shake with tons of healthy fats. I love it with coconut milk or unsweetened almond, especially, to get the best balance of creamy flavors and texture.

3. Caramel Mass Gainer Shake

Caramel is a simple and effective way to gain weight, as a direct sugar syrup. With other, healthier options, they can provide a great combination of luxury flavors and muscle-building nutrients.

This is a great combination of classic caramel flavors with any kind of secondary ingredients you want to add. Caramel flavors are versatile; banoffee, chocolate caramel, peanut butter, or just caramel itself.

• 500ml coconut milk
• 4 dates, pitted
• 2-3 tsp caramel sauce
• 1 scoop vegan vanilla ice cream
• 1-2 scoops vanilla vegan protein powder
• 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
• Optional: ½ cup vegan cookie dough 

This is a truly decadent mass gainer and one of the easiest ways to add a serious quantity of calories into your diet. It takes a good blend to get the dates smooth, but it’s a great time!

4. Coconut Tropical Mass Gainer

Coconut is a classic plant-based mass gain ingredient, with high fat and calorie content. It also natively contains tons of electrolytes, which help with muscular recovery and growth.

With coconut in this mass gainer, you’ll get a creamy texture and a smooth shake. It’s a great choice throughout the day, as the MCTs are a fast-absorbing fat source and improve fat metabolism.

• 400ml plant milk
• 200ml coconut cream
• ½ cup cubed coconut flesh
• ¼ cup pineapple chunks
• 1-2 scoops vanilla vegan protein powder
• 1tsp agave syrup or cane sugar syrup
• Optional: a dash of lime juice

The use of coconut cream really makes this vegan mass gainer shake pop. It’s a delicious choice – like a pina colada for weight gain.

5. Mocha Shake; Coffee Gainer

Coffee and other nutrients make for a great shake. You’ll get tons of extra calories, a boost from the caffeine, and extra powerful nutrient combinations.

With caffeine and theanine, you’ll get more mental energy, less risk of side effects, and ‘cleaner’ energy. This makes the Mocha shake a great pick me up in the morning or the midday lull.

• 500ml plant milk (unsweetened almond is best here)
• 1 espresso shot
• 1 scoop vegan vanilla ice cream
• 1-2 scoops vanilla or chocolate vegan protein powder
• Optional: 1-2 tsp chocolate syrup 

The more chocolate you add, the more cappuccino this is going to taste. The base is great for everyday use. You can also use filter coffee instead of espresso, but you’ll have to account for this extra fluid with the dry ingredients.

In my experience, the best choice is to use 100ml less plant milk, as you’ll want to use around 100-150ml of filter coffee at most.

6. Peanut Butter Chocolate Shake

Peanut butter is a classic weight gain ingredient with a high fat, moderate protein content. It’s a good choice for weight gain and – combined with protein powder – a perfect mass gainer.

Peanut butter is a thick and luxurious flavor, so we’ve kept it light elsewhere. This recipe is great for bulking up and gaining muscle on a plant-based diet. With tons of fats and protein, it’s perfect for sustained energy – a great choice if you can’t squeeze in a meal for a while!

• 500ml plant milk
• 1 – 1.5 tbsp smooth peanut butter
• 1-2 scoops chocolate vegan protein powder
• 1 level tbsp cocoa powder
• Optional: ½ banana, chopped   

If you want a normal peanut butter shake, you can replace the chocolate protein powder with vanilla. You can also replace the cocoa powder with 1 tbsp caramel sauce, which is also delicious!

7. Banana-oat Shake: A Classic

Bananas and oats are two of the best carb sources around, and this shake combines them. With these high-quality carbs, you’ll get a great calorie content with the perfect carbs for a post-workout shake.

This perfect combination of sugars and starches is a delicious way to energize yourself for hours to come. Life fuel.

• 500ml plant milk
• ½ banana, chopped
• ½ cup rolled oats or steel-cut oats
• 1-2 scoops vanilla or chocolate vegan protein powder
• Optional: 1tsp caramel sauce (with vanilla protein) or cocoa powder
• Optional: 50-75g cashew nuts or cashew butter

This is an all-purpose shake that can be used as a post-workout shake (without nut butter) or a daily top-up (with nuts/nut butter).

What Makes a Great Vegan Mass Gainer Shake?

1. Calories: Supps or Plants

A vegan mass gainer has to provide enough calories to help you gain weight. This is the number one job of the supplement – if it doesn’t do this, it’s not a mass gainer.

The calorie content can be achieved by either using a vegan mass gainer powder or – preferably – blending your own ingredients. The latter gives you more control.

Vegan mass gainer powders can also be great, however, depending on the ingredients. It’s important to check the nutrition information and the sources to get an idea of what you’re going to get.

For example, here’s an example from the Naked Vegan Mass Gainer:

Typically, the best vegan mass gainer shake will contain around 500-700 calories. Enough that you can add it to a normal (maintenance) diet and it will cause muscle growth without too much extra fat.

Of course, this is all personal. Very high exercise volume means you need more calories, while less active people need fewer.

You can get more calories from carbs or fats. Carbs are shorter-term energy, which is better before or after a workout. Fats are a slower source but typically less effective in building muscle. The rule of thumb is this: more activity = more carbs.

2. Protein content

Protein is the nutrient in mass gainer shakes that causes muscle growth. The simple idea is that more protein is better.

High protein diets support muscle growth, especially during bulking. It improves the ratio of muscle to fat gained. This means more protein results in a leaner bulk, even when you’re eating significantly more food.

Vegan protein sources vary: soy, hemp, and pea are all popular.

Brown rice protein is also common. Blends of these kinds of protein are typically best – they contain all the amino acids your body needs. Alternatively, some nuts and seeds can be used to boost protein and calorie content.

3. Electrolytes

Electrolytes are the most important minerals for hydration status and muscle chemistry. They include:

• Sodium
• Potassium
• Magnesium
• Calcium
• Phosphorus

These are key to maintaining workout performance and building muscle. They ensure your muscles work properly – then they improve recovery. Electrolyte concentrations control things like water uptake into cells and even muscle soreness levels.

Many great vegan staples – beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, and dark leafy greens – are electrolyte sources. Many mass gainers will supplement these elements from other natural sources.

Double check the nutrition information for these key minerals.

4. Performance Enhancers

You can get extra benefits from compounds in mass gainers. There are many good examples – and we’re going to look at a few to get an idea of what to look for. Keep these kinds of compounds in mind when you look at a mass gainer or make your own homemade mass gainer shake.

You’ll find other examples that follow this format. Anthocyanin – from blueberries – is a potent recovery and growth booster.

Citrulline – from watermelon – boosts endurance and recovery. Beta-alanine, which is typically found in meat but also soybeans, can be a great endurance booster, too.

Add performance-enhancers wherever they make sense for your diet. Mass gainers can be very useful for building performance and recovery, improving mass gain potential. Just make sure you’ve got the main priorities – calories, protein, and electrolytes – first!

Final Thoughts

Vegan mass gainer shake recipes can be the missing link if you’re a vegan trying to gain weight and build muscle.

The recipes here are just good examples – and they’re a great place to start. After experimenting with these for a while, you should be able to try your own mass gainer shakes.

Make sure you’ve got all the key nutrients for muscle growth, and then the flavor and texture are up to your preferences.

If you’re ready to build serious muscle, this is one of the easiest and most delicious ways to do it. Take these vegan mass gainer shake recipes, make them your own, and just watch the growth!

You Might Like:

• Iron Vegan Mass Gainer Review
• Major Mass Lean Mass Gainer Review
• Endura Mass Weight Gainer Review
• How to Make Oats Smoothie for Weight Gain
• Muscle Juice Mass Gainer Review

Rohan Arora

Rohan Arora is a Certified Personal Trainer and Sports Nutritionist and has been actively involved in sports and fitness for over 8 years. He now leads the team of fitness specialists and personal trainers who help people around the world with personalized workout and nutrition plans, along with providing the right information on sports supplements.

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