BCAAs, or branched-chain amino acids, play a huge role in muscle recovery and growth—so if you’re putting in the work in the gym, supplementing with them can help you perform at your best and reach your goals. Another incentive: Many of them taste really, really good.
Whatever your taste buds crave, there’s a BCAA supplement waiting to blow your mind. Grab one (or a few) of The Vitamin Shoppe customer favorites below, and you’ll be fueling those muscles from morning ‘til night.
Nostalgic Summertime Sweets
Whether you’re missing warmer weather or feeling nostalgic, a BCAA flavor that reminds you of classic summertime treats makes your recovery routine as fun as trips to the boardwalk and carnival snow cones. You can even mix these powders up with water and pour your shaker bottle into freezer molds to make muscle-friendly ice pops.
Try Alani Nu Hawaiian Shaved Ice BCAA, which offers five grams of BCAAs in that ideal 2:1:1 ratio of leucine to isoleucine and valine. Or, check out BodyTech Blue Ice Pop Critical Aminos XT, which contains BCAAs plus glutamine, citrulline, carnitine, and vitamin C to fuel training and boost recovery.
Read More: Cool Off With These Amino-Packed Icy Treats
Another popular pick: BPI Sports Rainbow Ice Best BCAA, a comprehensive combo supp that combines five grams of BCAAs with a CLA matrix and other ingredients to promote lean muscle.
If you’re looking to spice things up, though, try XTEND ORIGINAL Miami Ice BCAA. This mix tastes like the lovechild of a strawberry daiquiri and a pina colada—and we guarantee you’ll slurp it down in record time. It also packs in seven grams of BCAAs plus hydrating electrolytes.
Muscle Mocktails
If you’re looking for something more classic, try the BodyTech Sweet Tea Critical Aminos XT. Or, mix up your tea game with Women’s Best Peach Iced Tea BCAA Amino, which contains a 2:1:1 ratio and is completely vegan.
Otherwise, Kaged Muscle Cherry Lemonade In-Kaged packs BCAAs, citrulline, beta-alanine, caffeine, and more into a sweet-tangy package so you can churn out rep after rep while giving your muscles the aminos they need. And if you really want to kick it old school? Go with the long-loved Cellucor Fruit Punch Alpha Amino Performance Aminos, which tastes like your favorite punch and is loaded with BCAAs, essential aminos, and a hydration complex starring coconut water.
You can also bring some happy hour energy into your training with Bucked Up Strawberry Mojito Original BCAA, which is loaded with three grams of leucine to get that muscle protein synthesis popping. The BPI Sports Strawberry Margarita Best BCAA is another fun option you’ll look forward to time and time again.
Candy Cravings
The latest trend in BCAA flavors will make you feel like a kid in a candy store. Yep, candy-inspired supplements are popping up everywhere.
You can’t go wrong with the BodyTech Elite Watermelon Candy Ultimate BCAA, which keeps you fueled with coconut water and all sorts of antioxidants. Meanwhile, the Bucked Up Peach Ring Original BCAA is perfectly sweet and will bring you back to summertime boardwalk trips.
Read More: 4 Sweet Snacks That Help Stop Cravings In Their Tracks
Customers also love the MuscleTech Rainbow Fruit Candy Amino Build Elite, which is just as tasty as your favorite gummies and offers clinically-researched amounts of leucine and taurine.
Want to take your BCAAs even farther out of the box? M.A.N. Sports knocks it out of the park with their crazy-popular Sourbatch ISO-Amino Pure Isolated BCAA and Grape Bubblegum ISO-Amino Pure Isolated BCAA, both of which contain a 2:1:1 ratio of BCAAs and are free from fillers, added colors, or dyes.
Fruit Flash
Of course, when you just want to keep things simple, you can pretty much never go wrong with a fruity-flavored supplement.
For a more tropical vibe, opt for BodyTech Elite Strawberry Kiwi Ultimate BCAA or BodyTech Pineapple Critical Aminos XT.
That said, perhaps three of the most popular flavors in the history of BCAAs are grape, blue raspberry, and (duh) watermelon. For a punch of grape goodness, customers love BSN Grape Amino X Endurance, which contains 10 grams of aminos, plus vitamin D and a number of other muscle- and fitness-boosting ingredients. For the bluest raspberry flavor you’ve ever tasted, go with Evolution Nutrition Blue Raz BCAA5000. This pick offers five grams of BCAAs in a 2:1:1 ratio. And, finally, your taste buds will truly never tire of ProSupps Watermelon HydroBCAA, an amino-electrolyte powerhouse you’ll want to sip on all day long.