Plant protein shake tested in cold water & milk: Cleanit Protein Cacao
In short
Cleanit Protein Cacao is a plant-based protein shake combining pea and rice protein, with 19.2g protein and 159 calories per 40g serving. Mixed in cold water the powder clumped a little until a splash of warm water was stirred in, but mixed with 200ml cold milk it turned smooth like chocolate milk. With no sugar, milk, or artificial sweeteners, the mild sweetness made it easy to drink every day.
Good to know
- Serving size
- 40g (about 3.5 large spoonfuls)
- Calories
- 159 kcal
- Protein
- 19.2g
- Total volume
- 520g, zipper bag packaging
- Nutrition
- Sodium 209mg, Carbs 14g, Sugars 2.6g, Fiber 2.8g, Fat 3.5g
Prices as written by the tester on Sep 7, 2026 · not updated automatically
Getting enough protein while working out matters, right? I thought I was eating enough meat, but when I actually looked back at my daily diet, my protein intake was lower than I expected.
Fitting it all in through food every time felt like a hassle, so I looked into an easy plant-based protein option and liked the ingredient makeup of Cleanit Protein Cacao. Here's my review after trying it!
Cleanit Cacao Protein Shake — good mixed in a cup or a tumbler.
This is Cleanit Cacao Protein before opening. It's stored in a zipper bag, which is convenient :)
What's the nutrition info?
- Sodium 209mg
- Carbohydrates 14g
- Sugars 2.6g
- Dietary fiber 2.8g
- Fat 3.5g
- Protein 19.2g
At 159 calories per 40g serving, it's a low-calorie protein shake. It's filling, so it seems like it'd be great for people on a diet!
A combination of rice protein and pea protein
Cleanit Plant Protein Cacao uses 100% pea protein together with 100% rice protein powder. I found it refreshing that they combined two different plant protein sources to complement each other's amino acid profile.
Plant proteins can vary slightly in essential amino acid makeup depending on the source, so I liked that they addressed this by combining pea and rice protein. The total volume is 520g, a convenient amount to keep on hand for consistent daily use!
Fiber included too
Wellness is trending these days, right? Nowadays people look at what ingredients a product is made from as much as its protein content. Cleanit Plant Protein Cacao has a pretty clean ingredient list, so I thought it'd be easy to keep eating consistently.
Cleanit Plant Protein Cacao also contains water-soluble dietary fiber derived from chicory root. I was satisfied that I could get fiber along with protein, rather than just protein alone.
Some protein shakes I've had before left my stomach feeling uncomfortable or bloated. Cleanit Protein Cacao felt gentle on my stomach after drinking, at least for me. Of course this can vary by person, but it was a pretty important point for me when choosing a product to eat consistently :)
Easy on workout days and busy days alike
When you open it, a strong cacao aroma comes up right away. You'd think just from the smell that it'd be quite sweet, right? But it was actually less sweet and more plain-tasting than expected.
If you find overly sweet protein powders off-putting, or you're looking for a product without milk ingredients, you probably check the raw ingredients carefully too. I thought the fact that it uses Non-GMO ingredients with no sugar and no artificial sweeteners fits well with today's wellness diets that emphasize ingredient quality.
Even on days when it's hard to have a proper breakfast, or when I'm feeling peckish, not just right after a workout, it was nice being able to top up on protein easily with one glass of plant protein :)
Mixed in cold water
40g is about three and a half large spoonfuls! In this photo I've only added one spoonful!
First I tried adding the plant protein powder to cold water. When I stirred it right away, there was some powder floating or small clumps visible. Mixing in a small amount of warm water helped it blend much better.
I personally prefer it a bit thicker rather than watery, but I wanted to try it plain, so I went with a thinner mix.
Mild cacao flavor with no sugar
What mattered most to me when choosing Cleanit Protein was the ingredients. No sugar, milk, or artificial sweeteners — instead it's sweetened naturally with monk fruit and stevia, and apparently contains premium cacao powder from the Netherlands.
When I drank it, instead of a rich, sweet chocolate taste, I got a slightly nutty flavor from the beans with a mild sweetness. It wasn't overly sweet or heavy, which made it easier to drink daily, and I barely noticed any fishy or chalky aftertaste — it went down smoothly.
What about mixed with 200ml of cold milk?
I put 200ml of cold milk in a bottle and added three and a half large spoonfuls.
Shake shake! I poured in the cold milk and shook it — you can see a few clumps. Stirring the clumped spots with a spoon dissolves them quickly!
Mixing the protein with water versus milk felt completely different.
The cacao flavor and nuttiness really came alive, turning smooth like chocolate milk — personally, the milk combination was really delicious 👍
If you're lactose intolerant, it might be nice to try it with lactose-free milk, soy milk, or oat milk to suit your taste :)
Final thoughts
No sugar. No milk. No artificial sweeteners. No allergens. Cleanit Protein is clean ingredients through and through!
Cleanit Protein Cacao has a mild, not-too-sweet flavor while delivering 19.2g of plant protein in one serving, so I think I'll reach for it often, on workout days and busy days alike. The nutty cacao flavor when mixed with milk was especially my kind of thing :)
