Homemade Weight Gainer Shake Recipes (No Protein Powder Needed)
A homemade weight gainer shake is a high-calorie drink you blend from ordinary food, milk, oats, nut butter and banana, to add a lot of calories quickly and easily. You do not need protein powder or a shop-bought mass gainer to make one. Real ingredients hit the same 600 to 1,000 calories, for less money and with nothing on the label you cannot pronounce.
If your aim is to gain weight, the thing that actually does it is a calorie surplus, eating more than you burn, consistently. A shake does not have any magic in it. What it has is an easy few hundred calories in a glass, which is the hard part for a lot of people. That is the job a weight gainer shake does, and you can build a good one without buying a tub of anything. For the mechanism behind gaining weight, see how to eat in a calorie surplus.
Why make your own instead of buying a mass gainer
The shop-bought tubs are convenient, but a homemade shake wins on most counts that matter.
It is cheaper. A scoop of commercial mass gainer is mostly maltodextrin and milk powder, which you can buy as plain ingredients for a fraction of the price.
It is real food. You control exactly what goes in: oats, milk, fruit, nut butter, rather than a long ingredients list of sweeteners and flavourings.
It tastes how you want. You are not stuck with the three flavours on the shelf, and you can change it daily.
It is easy to make plant-based. Swap to soya or oat milk and the whole thing is vegan, with no special powder needed.
The one thing the tub gives you is speed, and there is a simple answer to that further down.
What goes in a homemade weight gainer shake
Every good gainer shake is built from four parts. Hit each one and the calories take care of themselves.
A liquid base. Whole milk is the obvious choice at about 195 calories per 300ml, or soya milk for a plant-based version. Using milk rather than water is the single biggest calorie decision you make.
A carbohydrate. Rolled oats are the staple, around 185 calories for 50g, and they blend smooth and thick. A banana adds about 100 calories and natural sweetness.
A fat. This is where the calories concentrate. Two tablespoons of peanut butter is about 190 calories, half an avocado around 150, and a tablespoon of mild oil about 120, blended in where you will not taste it.
A thickener or flavour. Full-fat Greek yoghurt (about 150 calories per 150g), a spoon of cocoa, a few dates, or a scoop of ice cream to turn it into more of a milkshake.
No protein powder is needed for any of this. If you already use one, a scoop fits fine, but these recipes get their calories from food. For more drink ideas beyond gainers, including milkshakes and smoothies, see high calorie drinks and smoothies.
Phoenix Bars: Up to 557 Calories Per Bar
Highly compact, low-volume, calorie-dense bars. Soft, easy to eat whole or as a warm porridge. Vegan, gluten-free and contain up to 66g of carbohydrates, 19g of protein & 8 vitamins & minerals.
Homemade weight gainer shake recipes
Four recipes at different calorie levels. Blend everything until smooth, and add a splash more milk if it is too thick.
The classic, around 600 calories: 300ml whole milk, 50g oats, 1 banana, a tablespoon of peanut butter and a tablespoon of honey. The simplest one to start with.
Chocolate peanut butter, around 800 calories: 400ml whole milk, 50g oats, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, 1 banana, a tablespoon of cocoa and a tablespoon of honey. Tastes like a milkshake, drinks like a meal.
The big one, around 1,000 calories: 400ml whole milk, 50g oats, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, 1 banana, 150g full-fat Greek yoghurt and a scoop of ice cream. Best split into two if it is too much in one go.
Fully plant-based, around 650 calories: 300ml soya milk, 50g oats, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, 1 banana and 3 dates. No dairy, no powder, all whole food.
How to actually use them
A few practical points so the shakes do their job.
Treat them as extra, not as a meal swap. The point is to add calories on top of what you already eat, not replace a plate of food with a glass.
Sip rather than gulp if a big shake fills you up. A 1,000-calorie shake is a lot of volume, and there is no rule it has to go down in one sitting. Drinking half now and half an hour later is often easier.
Make it ahead. A shake keeps in the fridge for a day, so you can blend it the night before and have it ready. Add a splash of milk and stir before drinking.
If your appetite fills up fast and even a shake is hard, lean on the densest, smallest versions and add a fat like oil that adds calories without bulk. For more on adding calories with the least effort, see easy ways to eat more calories.
The no-blender, no-faff option
The honest downside of homemade is that you need a blender and five minutes, and some days you have neither. It is worth having one fixed option that needs nothing.
That is where the bar comes in. Each of our high calorie bars is up to 557 calories in a 120g bar, with no preparation at all, and it can be blended into milk or stirred into hot milk to make porridge if you want it as a drink or a warm bowl rather than eaten as a bar. It is vegan and gluten-free. It is the thing to reach for on the days making a shake is one step too many. You can see the full range of high calorie bars on the homepage.
Frequently asked questions
Do homemade weight gainer shakes work?
What works is a calorie surplus, eating more calories than you burn over time. A weight gainer shake is simply an easy way to add several hundred calories toward that surplus in a form that is quick to consume. The shake is a tool for hitting your calorie total, not a magic formula on its own.
How many calories should a weight gainer shake have?
Most homemade weight gainer shakes land between 600 and 1,000 calories. The right figure depends on how much you need to add to your day to reach a surplus. Start around 600 and build up, and split larger shakes across the day if they are hard to finish.
Can you make a weight gainer shake without protein powder?
Yes. Whole foods like milk, oats, nut butter, banana, yoghurt and avocado give you all the calories you need without any powder. Protein powder is optional, not essential, and homemade shakes from real food often work out cheaper than commercial mass gainers.
Is a homemade shake as good as a shop-bought mass gainer?
For most people, yes, and often better. A homemade shake matches the calories of a commercial mass gainer, costs less, uses real ingredients, and lets you control the flavour and what goes in. The only advantage of the tub is speed, which a no-prep option solves.
When should I drink a weight gainer shake?
There is no single best time. Between meals is common, so it adds calories without spoiling your appetite for food. Some people have one around training. The important thing is the total calories across the day, not the exact timing.
Related guides
For the mechanism behind it, see how to eat in a calorie surplus and how to gain weight. For the gym-focused version, see bulking. For more drink recipes, see high calorie drinks and smoothies. For the porridge method, see how to use Phoenix Bars.
Written by James Frost, Founder of Flaming Phoenix. James started Flaming Phoenix in 2024 and has spent the years since working out how to get the most calories into the least food, building and testing compact, calorie-dense recipes. He can be reached at jfrost@flaming-phoenix.co.uk. Last reviewed: June 2026.
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