Muscle Milk Lean Muscle Vanilla Crème Protein Powder: 25g Protein, Labelgrade B+ (80/100)

The short answer

Muscle Milk Lean Muscle Protein Powder, Vanilla Crème delivers 25 g of protein per 55 g packet at 240 calories (USDA FDC 1934219) — about 45 g of protein per 100 g of powder, which is excellent density and the reason that one dimension maxes out at A+. The Labelgrade is B+ (80 / 100). Two things separate it from a typical tub of whey. First, the protein is a deliberate casein-plus-whey blend, not a pure isolate — caseinate and milk protein isolate slow it down, three whey fractions speed it up. Second, read the calorie line: 240 for 25 g of protein is high, because maltodextrin and three added oils are doing it on purpose. Total sugar is genuinely low at 3 g, but the label still carries crystalline fructose (an added sugar) plus sucralose and acesulfame potassium, so it is not a “no added sugar” product. Best-fit use: someone who wants calorie-dense, vitamin-fortified protein around training or as a meal stand-in. If you just want protein with nothing extra, a plain whey isolate is the better tool.

Why the B+

The grade is a tug-of-war between two scores. Protein density (A+) and sugar load (A+) pull it up; ingredient quality (C+) and saturated fat (C+) pull it down. That spread — a top-tier protein blend wrapped in a processed, calorie-padded formula — is exactly why it lands at B+ rather than A. Note the sugar dimension scores on quantity, not cleanliness: 3 g is low, but it isn’t a clean panel.

”Lean” is a goal, not a calorie claim

The single most misread thing about this product is the word Lean. At 240 calories and 9 g of fat per packet, it is not a low-calorie shake — it is roughly double the calories of a plain whey isolate carrying the same ~25 g of protein. “Lean Muscle” describes who it’s built for (people adding lean mass), and the formula is engineered to match: maltodextrin for fast carbs, plus sunflower, canola, and MCT oils for the fat, plus ~24 added micronutrients including 500 mg calcium and 4.5 mg iron. Those extras are the calories. If you are cutting, that calorie load works against you; if you are bulking or skipping a meal, it works for you. Within Muscle Milk’s own range, this is the calorie-dense end — Pro Series and Zero are the leaner picks.

A blend, not an isolate — and why that matters

Cleaner powders like Ascent or Dymatize ISO100 lead with a single whey protein isolate. This one doesn’t. Its first protein is calcium sodium caseinate, then milk protein isolate, and only then whey isolate, hydrolysate, and concentrate. That ordering is the whole personality of the product: casein digests slowly, the whey fractions digest fast, and the result feels fuller and lasts longer than a straight whey shake — useful as a meal substitute, less ideal if you specifically want a quick post-lift hit. The same blend is also why the sodium sits at 125 mg (caseinate carries sodium) and why the texture is creamier than a thin isolate. It’s a genuine trade: more satiety and a more complete amino profile, in exchange for a longer, more processed ingredient line than an isolate’s.

Low sugar where the milk-based competition isn’t

The one place this powder clearly out-labels a popular alternative is sugar. Compare it to Core Power’s ready-to-drink milk shakes, which carry nearly the same protein and calories per serving:

The calories are almost identical (240 vs 241) and the protein is within a gram, but the sugar gap is the story: Core Power’s flavored shakes add cane sugar and honey on top of milk’s lactose for 26 g of sugar a bottle, while this powder holds total sugar to 3 g. If low sugar is the deciding factor, the powder wins outright. The Core Power side wins on convenience (it’s a grab-and-go liquid made from real ultra-filtered milk) and on a shorter, cleaner ingredient panel without maltodextrin or artificial sweeteners. So the honest framing is a swap, not a verdict: pick the powder for low sugar and fortification, pick the bottle for real-milk simplicity and zero prep.

Who it’s for

A calorie-dense, blended, fortified protein that earns its B+ on density and low sugar and loses ground on a long additive list. Reach for it if you want a creamy, slower-digesting shake to replace a meal or to add calories around training. Skip it if you want minimal-ingredient protein at minimal calories — that’s an isolate’s job — or if you’re actively cutting, where 240 calories per scoop is working against the goal. It contains milk and soy (soy lecithin); confirm allergens against the actual packet, since Muscle Milk’s lineup reformulates and the formulas across it differ meaningfully.

Ingredients

Protein blend (calcium sodium caseinate, milk protein isolate, whey protein isolate, whey protein hydrolysate, whey protein concentrate, lactoferrin, L-glutamine, taurine), maltodextrin, soluble corn fiber, sunflower oil, canola oil, medium chain triglycerides, crystalline fructose, natural and artificial flavors, dicalcium phosphate, and less than 1% of: potassium chloride, inulin, magnesium oxide, acesulfame potassium, potassium bicarbonate, soy lecithin, sucralose, DL-alpha tocopheryl acetate, ascorbic acid, ferrous fumarate, vitamin A palmitate, niacinamide, zinc oxide, copper gluconate, D-calcium pantothenate, L-carnitine, cholecalciferol, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, chromium chloride, folic acid, biotin, potassium iodide, cyanocobalamin. (Verbatim from the USDA Branded Foods entry, FDC 1934219.)

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Scope: This page applies specifically to Muscle Milk Lean Muscle Protein Powder, Vanilla Crème (1.94 oz (55 g) single-serve packet) · UPC 660726516164. Other sizes, flavors, or formulations may differ.