The 7 Best Huel Shakes and Bars for 2026

Black Edition is the powder to start with. Two scoops (90g) in 500ml of cold water make a 400kcal meal with 40g of protein and at least 8g of fibre. Huel’s help centre says it is sweetened only with organic coconut sugar and stevia, and that it is made gluten-free, which the original Powder is not. A bag holds 17 meals in ten flavours, two of which (Coffee Caramel and Matcha Latte) contain caffeine.

Texture is the complaint. One October two-star reviewer called it gritty and ‘pretty much undrinkable’, and grainy or chalky shakes come up repeatedly in the low-rated reviews across Huel’s powders. A blender helps. The page also warned of a two to three working day delay on orders containing the Selection Box of single-serve packs when we looked.

Essential is the cheapest way to eat Huel. Huel says it has the most affordable price per 400-calorie meal of any Huel, with 20g of protein and the full 26 vitamins and minerals; a bag stretches to 22.5 meals. On subscription the price falls to £24, which the hero line calls £1.07 a meal while the feature box further down says £1.09. Either way it undercuts the original Powder.

The savings show up in the glass. There are only two flavours, half the protein of Black Edition, and its low-rated reviews are mostly about taste: a taste one reviewer likened to cereal milk left out overnight, a gritty chocolate, and one reviewer who had tried both and said the standard Powder was ‘miles ahead’ in enjoyability.

The original Powder (v3.1 in Huel’s help centre) is built on oats and pea protein. Two scoops, 100g, make a 400kcal meal with 30g of protein, and Huel suggests a single scoop as a 200kcal light meal, which makes it the most adjustable powder in the range. It comes in ten flavours, from Mint Chocolate to Unflavoured & Unsweetened, and a bag holds 17 meals.

Two cautions from Huel’s own help pages. Because of the oats it is not gluten-free; there is a separate certified Gluten-Free version for coeliacs. And some flavours are sweetened with sucralose, unlike Black Edition. Low-rated reviews mention a powdery, grainy texture, and one reviewer found a bag of Berry had ‘absolutely zero flavour’.

The bottled Black Edition is the most convenient thing Huel sells. Each bottle is a 400kcal meal with 35g of protein and the usual 26 vitamins and minerals, sweetened with stevia and coconut sugar according to Huel’s help centre. Boxes hold 12 bottles in one of eight flavours, or a mixed Selection Box, and Iced Latte contains caffeine.

Convenience costs. A one-off box works out at £3.80 a bottle against £1.99 a meal for the powder, and Huel’s delivery page warns that ready-to-drink orders may be split into parcels that arrive on different days. Taste divides people: an October three-star reviewer of the Selection Box found each flavour tried left an aftertaste. Buy a Selection Box before committing to 12 of one flavour.

Lite is Huel’s answer to people who find the main bottles too heavy. Each bottle has 190 calories, 25g of protein, 6g of fibre and 2g of sugar, with no artificial colours, flavours or sweeteners; the help centre says it is sweetened with stevia and coconut sugar. Flavours include Mango and Vanilla Matcha, the latter with caffeine.

At 190kcal it is a light lunch at best, and Huel’s own page calls it ‘lighter calories’. The low-rated reviews are about taste and body: one September two-star reviewer called it watery, ‘more like flavoured water than a proper meal replacement’, and another found the strawberry unpleasant, with a slightly oily texture. If you liked the thick original bottles, this is a different drink.

The bar is the easiest Huel to carry around. Huel says each has up to 15g of protein and around 210kcal depending on flavour, with fibre and the 26 vitamins and minerals, in flavours such as Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Dark Chocolate & Raspberry. A box holds 12 bars, or 15 in the Selection Box.

Check the allergens. Huel’s help centre says every bar contains gluten from wheat, so coeliacs should look elsewhere, and the Selection Box description warns that it contains peanuts. The low-rated reviews mention bars arriving melted or smashed in warm weather, and texture complaints: one reviewer who had a replacement box said the bars tasted like wax.

Complete Protein is Huel’s protein powder: one 29g scoop in 300ml of water gives 20g of plant protein, all the essential amino acids and the 26 vitamins and minerals. A bag holds 26 servings, the cheapest per serving of anything here, in six flavours, and every variant is tagged gluten-free.

It is not a meal, and one October two-star reviewer felt ‘conned’ after assuming it was a cheaper, lower-calorie Black Edition; the bag was smaller and the shake far less filling. Read the page carefully before swapping. Huel’s help centre also confirms that most flavours contain sucralose, so if you chose Black Edition to avoid artificial sweeteners, this one does not follow suit.