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Apple pie is mostly apple, cinnamon and sugar wrapped in pastry. Take away the pastry and the added sugar, keep the apple and the cinnamon, and add 25g of protein — that's this cinnamon apple pie protein shake. It's the most dessert-like recipe on our blog and one of the simplest: four ingredients, one blender, a minute of work.

It's also the one recipe where our protein flavour choice was right all along. ISO Bang Chocolate Cinnamon carries the cinnamon that this recipe is built on, and chocolate with apple is a genuine dessert pairing — chocolate apple crumble, chocolate-dipped apple slices, Mexican chocolate with its warm spice. The chocolate does the job the pastry used to.

One honest note on sugar: a medium apple carries around 19g of natural sugar, so this drink is not low sugar in the strict sense. What it does have is 5g of fibre, which is exactly what changes how that sugar behaves — and which the original version of this recipe threw away by peeling the apple. More on that below, plus a half-apple version if you want the number lower.

Why you'll love this apple pie protein shake

• Four ingredients. Apple, cinnamon, almond milk, protein. Nothing you need to shop specially for.
• Tastes like dessert. Warm spice and chocolate against sweet apple — this is the one to make when you want something indulgent.
• 27g protein and 5g fibre. The fibre is what makes it filling; most fruit shakes skip it entirely.
• Works hot or cold. The only recipe here you can drink warm, which makes it a genuine winter option.
• Very low fat. Around 3g, all of it from the almond milk.
• Clean label. Made with ISO Bang — no fillers, no proprietary blends, banned-substance tested.

What the apple and the cinnamon are doing

Don't peel the apple — this is the whole trick

The original version of this recipe called for a peeled apple, and that's the one instruction worth ignoring. Roughly half an apple's fibre sits in and just beneath the skin — peeling drops a medium apple from about 4.4g of fibre to around 1.8g. In a blended drink there's no textural reason to peel at all: a decent blender pulverises the skin completely. Keeping it on takes this shake from 3g of fibre to 5g and makes it noticeably more filling. Just wash the apple properly and core it.

Why cinnamon belongs in more than just pie

Cinnamon is doing double duty here, since it's both a recipe ingredient and part of the ISO Bang flavour. Its warmth is what makes a fruit-and-protein drink read as dessert rather than health food — the aroma compounds, chiefly cinnamaldehyde, register as sweet even though cinnamon contributes essentially no sugar. It's the cheapest way to make anything taste sweeter without sweetening it.

Ingredients

Four ingredients. The apple is the only thing you might need to buy.

• Trident Nutra ISO Bang — Chocolate Cinnamon1 scoop (30g)
• Apple, cored, skin left on1 medium
• Ground cinnamon½ tsp
• Unsweetened almond milk1 cup

Which ISO Bang flavour should you use?

Chocolate Cinnamon — and this is the one recipe on the blog where that's the right answer rather than a default. The cinnamon in it reinforces the spice the recipe is built around, and chocolate with apple is a real dessert pairing rather than a compromise.

For a different take, Cold Coffee Cinnamon turns this into something closer to an apple cinnamon coffee cake — coffee, apple and warm spice is an equally classic autumn combination, and arguably even more grown-up.

How to make an apple pie protein shake

1. Wash and core the apple — don't peel it. Chop into rough chunks. The skin is where the fibre is, and your blender will handle it.
2. Add the almond milk first. Liquid before powder, so nothing packs down under the blades.
3. Add the apple, cinnamon and protein. All at once, no order needed.
4. Blend for 45–60 seconds. Apple is firm and the skin needs breaking down properly, so give this longer than a berry shake. You want no flecks and no grittiness.
5. Pour and dust. A final pinch of cinnamon on top — it's the first thing you smell, which is half of how it tastes.

Nutrition facts

Per serving (approximate), with a medium apple, skin left on, and unsweetened almond milk. All sugar is naturally occurring in the apple — none is added.

Nutrient	Amount
Calories	238 kcal
Protein	27 g
Carbohydrates	28 g
of which fibre	5 g
Fat	3 g
Sugar (from fruit)	19 g

Want it lower? Use half an apple and you land at roughly 191 calories, 26g protein and about 10g of sugar — a genuinely low-sugar version that still tastes like pie.

Pro tips & tasty variations

• Make it proper pie spice. Add a pinch of nutmeg and a tiny grate of clove alongside the cinnamon. That trio is what actually makes something taste like pie rather than just cinnamon.
• Add oats for a crumble. Two tablespoons of rolled oats blended in gives you the pastry note and more fibre — good on training days when you want the carbs.
• Freeze the apple chunks. Thirty minutes in the freezer and you get a thicker, colder shake without watering it down with ice.
• Use half an apple. The simplest way to halve the sugar while keeping the flavour intact.
• Swap to dairy milk. Adds around 8g more protein and makes it creamier — closer to pie with custard.
• Stack your creatine. Trident Nutra Creatine is unflavoured and dissolves straight in — an easy way to fold your daily dose into a drink you already enjoy.

How to store your apple pie shake

Best fresh, mostly because of colour: blended apple oxidises and browns within a couple of hours, the same way a cut apple does. It's harmless but it looks unappealing. A squeeze of lemon juice slows it considerably if you need to make it ahead. Keep it sealed and cold, drink within 24 hours, and shake well before drinking.

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Frequently asked questions