You’ll love this super thick and creamy protein shamrock shake! Made with mint leaves, it has a deliciously fresh mint taste and naturally beautiful green color!
There’s simply no comparison between the McDonald’s St. Paddy’s Shamrock Shake and this healthier low-carb version. Ours has just 240 calories, 38 grams of protein, 8 grams of fat, and only 4 net carbs!
Ingredients notes
To make this healthy sugar-free keto shamrock shake, you’ll only need a few sensible ingredients, no random green stuff – just fresh mint leaves!
I say this because I’ve seen recipes with avocados, spinach, kale, and kiwi 🙄 plus a ton of peppermint extract, probably to hide the taste of salad…
- Organic fresh mint leaves – about 30 leaves, or 1/2 cup
- Low-carb milk of choice (unsweetened almond milk, hemp milk or coconut milk), 1/2 cup
- Cottage cheese (I recommend full fat), 1/2 cup
- Vanilla protein powder, 1 scoop – Casein makes the best smoothies!
- Ice cubes, 1/2 cup (about 6 or 7 cubes)
Would you like to make this mint smoothie with yogurt or ice-cream or without protein powder? I’ve got you covered, check out the Recipe variations section for plenty of ingredient substitution ideas!
Pick the right protein powder
I’ve wrote a lot about how to choose the best protein powder for smoothies (on my keto strawberry cheesecake smoothie recipe post) so I’m going to summarize this time:
You can use any type of vanilla or unflavored protein powder in this recipe. If you choose unflavored, please add 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract and sugar substitute to taste.
However, if you prefer an ultra thick spoonable smoothie (the kind you can’t drink with a straw), try a casein-based protein powder.
This vanilla casein powder is sweetened with monk fruit and stevia, so you don’t need to add vanilla extract or sweetener to the recipe.
How to make
1. Blend together 1/2 cup of your choice low-carb milk and about 30 fresh mint leaves (I use a personal blender, it’s the perfect size for 1 serving).
Strain the mixture to remove the mint leaf bits and pour the green minty milk back into the blender.
2. Add 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder and 1/2 cup (6-7 cubes) of ice cubes and blend until the desired consistency. Taste before serving, and adjust sweetness if needed with a few drops of keto sweetener.
I served the shamrock protein shake in an Irish coffee mug rimmed with green jello crystals for a festive Saint Patrick’s Day look!
Recipe variations
Without protein powder
If you don’t need the extra 30 grams of protein, you can make this smoothie with more cottage cheese so it stays creamy.
Increase the amount of cottage cheese from 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup, add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and sweeten to taste with your preferred keto sweetener.
Yogurt protein shake
You can substitute cottage cheese for the same quantity of natural (plain or vanilla sugar-free) Greek yogurt (preferably full-fat for a richer taste) or Skyr.
The protein content will be slightly lower, and the smoothie will have a less creamy texture and taste – yogurt has a stronger, tangier taste than cottage cheese.
High-fat keto
To increase fat for high fat keto macros, add two tablespoons of HWC or just go to town (if that’s what you need) and replace the whole 1/2 cup of cottage cheese for HWC.
Ultra minty smoothie
If you want a bolder mint flavor, try adding around 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract. Just be cautious with the measurement, as too much can be overpowering. You don’t want your shake to taste like toothpaste!
Another (safer) option is to increase the amount of fresh mint leaves. You can also try using peppermint instead of mint if you can find it. Compared to mint, peppermint has a stronger, cooler, and slightly spicier kick.
Ice cream shamrock shake
As you can tell this keto shamrock shake is actually a mint cottage cheese smoothie.
Cottage cheese is an amazing addition to this shamrock shake because it’s delicious, creamy, and the flavor is really great with mint (I swear you can’t taste cheese at all after the ingredients are blended!)
Still, if you’d like this shamrock shake to be a “proper milk-shake”, replace both the 1/2 cup of cottage cheese and the 1/2 cup of ice in the recipe for 1 cup of your favorite keto vanilla ice cream!
Protein Shamrock Shake
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup (120 ml) low-carb milk
- ½ cup fresh mint leaves about 30 leaves or 6 grams
- ½ cup (110 g) cottage cheese
- 1 scoop (30 g) casein protein powder, vanilla flavored optional, see notes
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract if not using vanilla protein
- ½ cup ice cubes about 6-7 cubes
- liquid sweetener (monk fruit, stevia) optional, to taste
Instructions
- Blend 1/2 cup low-carb milk and 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves. Strain the mixture to remove the mint leaf bits and pour it back into the blender.
- Add 1/2 cup cottage cheese,1 scoop casein protein powder, vanilla flavored and 1/2 cup ice cubes and blend to desired consistency. Add a few drops of liquid sweetener (monk fruit, stevia) to taste if needed.
Notes
Nutrition
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