Whey Protein Alternatives: 14 Substitutes Compared

Contents 8 sections

• What a whey protein alternative has to deliver
• Foods that replace whey: protein per 100 g
• The powders that can replace whey
• The whey alternatives compared
• What does 20 g of protein cost
• A sample high-protein day, with no whey
• Our verdict: the best alternative to whey
• Frequently asked questions

Interactive quizWhich whey is right for you?3 questions, 30 seconds, and we point you to the right guide.

Question 1 of 333%

What is your main goal?

💪 Build muscle (bulking)🔥 Lose fat while keeping my muscle🏃 Recover better, top up my diet🌱 I am a beginner, I just want to choose well

Difficult digestion, a vegan choice, a tight budget or simply the urge to eat “real” food: there are serious alternatives to whey, as long as you compare what they actually deliver. This guide puts a protein-per-100-g figure on every option, taken from the official ANSES Ciqual table (in French) and from the manufacturers’ own labels.

🎯 What a whey protein alternative has to deliver

Whey has four strengths: a lot of protein for very few calories, a complete set of essential amino acids, a drink ready in 30 seconds and a reasonable cost. One serving of Myprotein Impact Whey (30 g), for instance, gives you 22 g of protein for 114 kcal. To understand where those strengths come from, read what whey protein does.

The ISSN position stand on protein and exercise puts it plainly: supplements are a convenient way of reaching your requirements, but whole food remains the first choice. Replacing whey with food is therefore no second-best option.

🍗 Foods that replace whey: protein per 100 g

For each food, the table gives the amount you need to eat to get 20 g of protein, the equivalent of one serving of whey, and the calories in that portion. Ciqual 2020 values, per 100 g of food as eaten.

Food	Protein / 100 g	kcal / 100 g	Portion for 20 g of protein	kcal in the portion
Whey concentrate (reference, Impact Whey label)	72 g	380	27 g of powder	104
Skinless chicken breast, pan-fried	30.1 g	141	66 g	94
Tinned tuna in water, drained	26.8 g	111	75 g	83
Beef mince, 5% fat, cooked	25.5 g	155	78 g	122
Salmon, grilled or pan-fried	25.5 g	223	78 g	175
Premium cooked ham, rind and fat removed	20.3 g	119	99 g	117
Emmental	27.9 g	373	72 g	267
Hard-boiled egg	13.5 g	134	148 g (about 3 eggs)	199
Fromage blanc, plain, 0%	7.95 g	49	252 g	124
Seitan	20.6 g	134	97 g	130
Plain tofu	13.4 g	148	149 g	221
Green lentils, cooked	10.1 g	127	198 g	251
Chickpeas, cooked	8.3 g	147	241 g	354
Plain soy drink	3.3 g	37	604 ml	224

The best stand-ins “calorie for calorie” are tinned tuna in water, chicken breast and fromage blanc 0%: they come close to whey, and in places beat it. Pulses and tofu are valuable too, but you need bigger portions, and therefore more calories, for the same protein hit.

🥄 The powders that can replace whey

Casein

This is the other milk protein, digested more slowly than whey, which makes it the classic alternative for the evening. Myprotein’s micellar casein lists 82 g of protein per 100 g, so 23 g per 30 g serving for 107 kcal. It does contain milk: not an option if you have the allergy. The full head-to-head: casein or whey.

Plant protein (pea, rice, soy)

An analysis by Gorissen et al. (2018) shows that plant proteins contain fewer essential amino acids than whey (43% for whey, 21 to 22% for oat, lupin or wheat), and are often short of lysine or methionine. The good news: a blend of several sources, typically pea plus rice, gets close to the profile of animal proteins. Dose for dose, whey still beats soy on muscle protein synthesis after training (+31% in the Tang et al. study, 2009).

Egg white and milk powder

Egg white powder is the most concentrated substitute of all: 81.2 g of protein per 100 g (Ciqual), with no lactose, and it is ideal for baking. Skimmed milk powder works as well, but it is far less dense: 35.3 g of protein and 361 kcal per 100 g, which comes out at roughly 57 g of powder and 205 kcal for 20 g of protein, carrying all the lactose of milk with it.

BCAAs and mass gainers: false substitutes

BCAAs deliver only 3 of the 9 essential amino acids, when it is the full set of essential amino acids that drives muscle protein synthesis: on their own, they do not replace a protein source. A mass gainer, meanwhile, is mostly a carbohydrate hit; it answers a different need, which we set out in whey or mass gainer.

📊 The whey alternatives compared

Alternative	Protein / 100 g	Low in calories	Convenience	Amino acids
Whey (reference)	★★★★★	★★★★★	★★★★★	★★★★★
Casein	★★★★★	★★★★★	★★★★★	★★★★★
Egg white powder	★★★★★	★★★★★	★★★☆☆	★★★★☆
Plant protein (blend)	★★★★☆	★★★★☆	★★★★★	★★★☆☆
Tinned tuna in water / chicken breast	★★★☆☆	★★★★★	★★★☆☆	★★★★★
Fromage blanc 0%	★☆☆☆☆	★★★★☆	★★★★☆	★★★★★
Eggs	★★☆☆☆	★★★☆☆	★★★☆☆	★★★★★
Lentils, tofu	★★☆☆☆	★★☆☆☆	★★☆☆☆	★★★☆☆
BCAAs on their own	☆☆☆☆☆	★★★★★	★★★★★	★☆☆☆☆

Casein matches whey point for point on these criteria; its only difference is the slower digestion, which changes nothing at all as long as you hit your total intake.

💶 What does 20 g of protein cost?

To compare honestly, work out the price of 20 g of protein: price per kilo × 2 ÷ protein per 100 g. With Myprotein Impact Whey listed at €38.99 for 900 g (72 g of protein per 100 g), 20 g of protein costs you around €1.20. With the same brand’s micellar casein (€44.99 for 900 g, 82 g per 100 g), around €1.22 (promotional prices checked in October 2026).

Apply the same formula to the prices in your own shop: dried pulses, eggs and fromage blanc are often very competitive, but prices swing too much from one retailer to the next for us to hand you a single figure.

🍳 A sample high-protein day, with no whey

• Breakfast: a 3-egg omelette (about 150 g of egg): roughly 19 g of protein.
• Lunch: 120 g of pan-fried chicken breast, rice and vegetables: roughly 36 g of protein from the chicken alone.
• Snack: 250 g of fromage blanc 0% and a piece of fruit: roughly 20 g of protein.
• Dinner: 100 g of grilled salmon and 200 g of cooked green lentils: roughly 45 g of protein.

Those sources alone add up to about 120 g of protein (Ciqual calculation), before you even count the bread, the rice or the vegetables: enough to cover 1.6 g/kg/day for a 75 kg person. To set your own target, see how much whey protein per day, and for your cooking, try our homemade protein bars without whey, protein pancakes without whey or protein shake without whey.

🏆 Our verdict: the best alternative to whey

If you tolerate milk, casein is the most direct replacement; if you are vegan, go for a pea plus rice blend. On the plate, our winning trio is tinned tuna in water, chicken breast and fromage blanc 0%: the same ballpark of calories as whey for 20 g of protein.

Let us be honest: for anyone who needs a fast, low-calorie, portable protein hit, whey is still hard to beat. Replacing whey makes no sense if the only reason is to follow a trend: if it suits you, keep it and choose it well with our guide to which whey protein to choose. For our overall take on whey, read our whey protein review.