The Best Greens Powder Is the One You'll Actually Want to Drink

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The Best Greens Powder Is the One You'll Actually Want to Drink | Bon Appétit

By Ali Francis and Aliza Abarbanel

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Is the best greens powder the one that packs the most certified organic ingredients and antioxidants into one daily dose? The one that promises glowing skin, a boost of energy, and a fortified immune system? We’d argue that the best greens powder is the one you’re actually going to drink. (The dusty bottles of multivitamins and dietary supplements in the back of your “wellness drawer” would agree.)

While they can’t replace a healthy diet, the benefits of greens powders have undeniable appeal. We’re team kale salads for life, but why wouldn’t you want to gas up your morning smoothie with all the vitamins and minerals and nutrients that leafy greens provide?

It seems like you can’t swing a crystal without hitting a new green superfood supplement brand on the market, so whether you’re interested in elevating your overall health or you just want something that tastes good, we’re here to help you find a high-quality option you’ll enjoy. The packaging and ingredient lists will tell you plenty, but the real question—“Is this something I’m going to be willing to consume every day?”—can only be answered by a good old-fashioned taste test. See our top picks below.

The best greens powder overall: AG1, $79 for 30 servings at AG1

The runner-up: The Beauty Chef Cleanse Inner Beauty Powder, $65 $45 for 30 servings at the Beauty Chef

The one for sweet tea lovers: Amazing Grass Green Superfood, $40 for 30 servings at Amazing Grass

The best for smoothies and açaí bowls: Sakara Organic Protein + Greens Super Powder, $90 for 30 servings at Sakara

The one for people who hate spinach: Primal Harvest Primal Greens Powder, $50 for 30 servings at Primal Harvest

The one that tastes like the ocean…in a good way: Sun Potion Green Adaptogen Powder, $59 for 55 servings at Amazon

First, we subjected BA staffers to an exhaustive taste test of the most popular vegan-friendly greens powders on the market. While several products use sweeteners to mellow out the grassy taste, our favorites were the ones that didn’t shy away from earthy flavors or hide behind artificial flavoring. We preferred the ones that tasted as advertised—like powdered greens and proud of it. We found that our faves also avoided mysterious fillers in favor of veggies, adaptogens, and all those good phytonutrients.

After narrowing our top picks, we consulted two registered dietitians/nutritionists: New York–based Amy Shapiro (MS, RD, CDN,) and Los Angeles–based Mascha Davis (MPH, RDN). They sifted through the hype and assessed the real impact of the best greens powders you can buy.

AG1 has a fairly balanced flavor profile; it’s a little bit sweet (thanks to stevia) and a little bit earthy and grassy (thanks to the heavy dose of greens). When dissolved in water, it was plenty flavorful, but reviewers appreciated that it wasn’t too intense to stir into juice or a smoothie. And while the stevia is noticeable, it’s nowhere near as sweet as some of the other options we tested, like Primal Harvest. Athletic Greens did lose minor marks for the texture, which was a little bit grainy.

The Claim: Athletic Greens says its AG1 blend contains 75 vitamins, minerals, and food-derived nutrients per serving, all sourced from ingredients like alfalfa, artichoke, and spirulina. It also includes probiotics and a long list of adaptogens, like ashwagandha, licorice, and shiitake mushroom. According to the website, Athletic Greens will increase your nutrient intake while promoting better gut health, supporting immunity, boosting energy, and helping with recovery. They are also NSF certified, which means they use third-party testing to ensure their products include exactly what’s on the label and that they’re free of heavy metals and other contaminants.

The Reality: “This product is powerful and nutritionally dense,” Shapiro says, agreeing with the brand’s marketing claims. She likes how easy it is to prepare (just add water), which makes it easier to commit to each day. “Basically, taking this supplement in the morning will set you up for a strong immune system, healthy digestion, and loads of energy as long as you take it consistently and in conjunction with a solid diet,” says Shapiro. Davis does caution that, with “the sheer number of different ingredients” in the AG1 blend, you might not be getting all of them at a level that’s “actually beneficial.” And the product doesn’t come cheap, at $99 for 30 servings.

Many of the powders we tasted had assertive flavors, but the Beauty Chef’s organic greens powder had a more subtle taste that won a couple devoted fans. They noted hints of kale, apple, broccoli, and sesame, describing a mellow flavor profile that prompted one noted green-powder-hater to write “I actually like this! I would drink this!”

The Beauty Chef Cleanse Inner Beauty Powder

The Claim: The Beauty Chef is an organic skin care company created by Carla Oates, the Australian author of the book Feeding Your Skin. The Cleanse Inner Beauty Powder claims to “help detox and purify your body on the inside, promoting smoother, clearer skin on the outside” through a blend of bio-fermented greens.

The Reality: “I like that this product contains lots of greens, probiotics, and prebiotics, which is the best environment for these components to thrive in,” Shapiro says. However, she dislikes the use of three different sweeteners (honey, molasses, and stevia) in a single product. Davis also praises the mix of greens, but notes that “part of the reason that all of these greens are so highly touted for their health benefits is that when they are eaten as whole foods, they are super filling and essentially can take the place of other less healthy foods.” In other words, eating these greens raw is the most effective method.

In our taste test, this powder proved to be among the sweetest of the bunch, but it still featured “earthy and honest” grassy notes that we enjoyed. Tasters noted hints of matcha and “a raspberry iced tea vibe that would be stellar in a smoothie.” They’re not the only ones with that idea—this is the same green powder Elske chef Anna Posey blends into her morning smoothie.

The Claim: Amazing Grass makes its products using organic, non-GMO fruits and vegetables sourced from a national network of small farmers. Its original Green Superfood powder blends vegetables, fruits, and greens with digestive enzymes and probiotics like wheatgrass, barley, alfalfa, açaí, and spirulina to increase energy levels, promote detoxification, and boost the immune system.

The Reality: “I am a fan of this product. There are many different greens here, and I love that the probiotics are paired with fiber. When probiotics have a prebiotic to feed off of, they have a higher likelihood of surviving transport through your gut,” Shapiro tells us. She was very impressed by the high dose of vitamin K (one serving has a whopping 85% of the recommended daily dose), and lack of added sugars. This greens powder supplement also contains vitamin A and vitamin C. There's no shortage of micronutrients here.

Though the packaging recommends combining this greens powder with recipes that use whole fruits and nut butters, like smoothies or açaí bowls, we tried it with water first. Despite a small amount of coconut sugar and stevia in the mix, this was probably the most bitter of the bunch. It’s overwhelmingly earthy and coconutty, and tasters didn’t love that barely any of the grassy greens flavors came through. Still, this isn’t advertised as a “just add water” situation, and Sakara held up great in a fruit-packed smoothie. The tasters felt fuller for longer compared with other brands, making this an ideal option for people who need a little more heft at breakfast.

Sakara Organic Protein + Greens Super Powder

The Claim: Sakara aims to combine plant protein and greens in one scoop. It derives its protein from USDA organic pea, hemp, and sesame seeds, and combines it with a blend of greens like chlorella, spirulina, and wheatgrass. The brand promises the concoction will help “detoxify your body, support healthy tissues, and keep you satisfied and energized.”

The Reality: “I like this product because it is organic and plant-based, providing 12 grams of protein per serving with only 1 gram of sugar,” says Shapiro. She’s also impressed by the greens blend, which she says includes diverse ingredients like algae and barley grass, which are both “nutrient dense” and not foods most people eat on a regular basis. “The whole point of supplementing in my mind,” she says, “is to fill the holes in your diet.” That being said, she says promoting this product as a “protein supplement” is potentially misleading. “Compared to other common vegan protein powders, it has half the amount of protein per serving,” says Shapiro. Still, many of the other options on this list contain almost no protein at all, so Sakara’s powder is a decent option if you’re looking for “something more satiating,” says Davis.

If you think the best tasting greens powder is one that doesn’t taste like green vegetables at all, Primal Greens might be the drink for you. This stuff was so sweet it reminded some reviewers of diet soda. That’s because it’s made with stevia, which is at least 50 times as sweet as sugar. The greens tasted almost imperceptible in this one; a boon for drinkers with a sweet tooth and the vegetable-averse but not so much for those who like their spinach to taste like spinach. Primal Greens would also be great in a smoothie made with more acidic fruits, like plums, pineapples, or citrus.

Primal Greens Ultimate Super Greens Blend

The Claim: Primal Harvest’s Primal Greens powder is made using an extensive blend of fruits and vegetables, like carrot, spinach, banana, beet, brussels sprouts, maitake mushroom, and wheatgrass. The brand says the product is good for “energy, immune support, and digestion.”

The Reality: The greens blend in this one isn’t as “robust” as some of the others, Shapiro says. Still, she appreciates that Primal Greens includes a variety of ingredients, like “deep purple fruits and vegetables to promote circulatory health and cognitive function.” The product also contains pre- and probiotics to promote gut health, Shapiro says. And the adaptogenic mushrooms might help boost overall immunity and reduce stress. According to the product label, this greens powder is also very high in vitamins C, E, B12, and zinc. But Davis says not to “expect miracles”; the powder doesn’t offer enough of most of these ingredients to have any sort of major impact.

This powder featured ocean-y flavors that “smelled like burnt marshmallows” and reminded one taster of “licking a rock by the ocean.” That unusually descriptive comment was meant in a positive light—the overwhelming consensus was that this product “tasted like greens should” and would be an excellent smoothie ingredient.

Sun Potion Green Adaptogen Powder

The Claim: Sun Potion Transformational Foods is a California-based company that only uses organically farmed or foraged products. It’s extremely popular among the California wellness set and has a permanent place in the Joshua Tree pantry of Wonder Valley olive oil founder Alison Carroll. With only three ingredients—suma, maca, and chlorella—and no artificial sweeteners or additives, its Green Adaptogen Powder claims to boost energy and strengthen immunity.

The Reality: “Adaptogens are a hot topic right now,” Davis says. “Maca seems to have some impact on hormones, which can either be a good or bad thing, depending on your needs. Women who have hormone sensitive conditions like breast or ovarian cancer or endometriosis may want to avoid it.” Shapiro doesn’t view this product as essential, but she is particularly supportive of vegans using this supplement, as it contains significant amounts of vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids, which are mostly found in animal products.

By The Bon Appétit Staff & Contributors

The Best Greens Powder Is the One You&#x27;ll Actually Want to Drink | Bon Appétit

The Best Greens Powder Is the One You'll Actually Want to Drink | Bon Appétit