High-Protein Gingerbread Latte
This latte tastes like gingerbread and works like a protein shake. Warm spices, a little maple syrup and a scoop of whey turn a regular latte into a drink with about 34 g of protein.
The nutrition below is calculated from the exact ingredients. For comparison, Starbucks' Grande Iced Sugar-Free Vanilla Protein Latte has 29 g of protein and 200 calories.
Recipe card
- High protein
- 15 minutes or less
Ingredients
- 2 shots espresso (about 60 ml), or 120 ml strong brewed coffee
- 250 ml (1 cup) nonfat milk
- 1 scoop (30 g) unflavored or vanilla whey protein isolate
- 2 teaspoons (10 g) pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon (1 g) ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon (1 g) ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) pure vanilla extract
Method
- Stir the maple syrup, ginger, cinnamon and vanilla into the hot espresso.
- Warm the milk until hot but not boiling, about 60°C (140°F). Very hot milk can make whey clump.
- Take the milk off the heat and whisk or froth in the whey protein until smooth.
- Pour the protein milk into the espresso and stir. Top with a pinch of cinnamon.
Nutrition
Approximate, calculated from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the exact ingredients listed. Whey uses typical isolate label values; brands vary. Brands vary; check your labels.
For comparison, a Starbucks Grande Vanilla Latte is listed at 250 calories and 35 g sugar in our dataset. Open it in the calculator.
Tips for a smooth protein latte
Don't boil the milk. Whey can clump in very hot liquid. Warm the milk, take it off the heat, then whisk the protein in.
Use a frother. A handheld frother blends whey in seconds and gives you foam on top.
Choose your protein. Whey isolate scores 1.0 on the PDCAAS protein-quality scale. Collagen powders score 0, so they don't add the same usable protein; see our protein quality guide.
How it fits your day: one drink covers a meaningful part of a 20–40 g protein meal. Work out your daily target with the macro calculator, or compare Starbucks protein drinks.
