Carrington Farms Plant-Based Protein Powder

The white whale of protein powders—vegan or not—is the one that actually tastes good. Yet Carrington Farms seems to have just achieved the impossible with its organic coconut protein blend.

It has just three ingredients: coconut, pumpkin and pea powders. All of them are easy to pronounce, and none of them are sugars. The entirely plant-based blend clocks in at 20 grams of protein per serving, which is on par with other vegan proteins and is about the same amount you'll find in a cup of Greek yogurt.

While many leading protein blends taste like the ground mixed with a side of sawdust, this one is not, in fact, an assault on all your senses. You're not hit with an indistinguishable scent and a wave of regret upon opening the bag. I felt so perfectly satisfied tasting a bit straight from the package that I did it twice to double-check.

To further test it out, I turned to three standard protein powder uses: blended in my go-to smoothie (the green one here!), snuck into my favorite energy ball recipe (OK, fine, they're brownies) and baked into dessert (banana bread, forever and always). Not once did I get the unpleasant "Did I just eat a package of chalk?" aftertaste.

Carrington Farms, whose product lineup includes other health-forward ingredients like milled flax, matcha tea powder and specialty cooking oils, introduced this protein blend last fall. It also comes in chocolate, if you're into that sort of thing. We sure are.