Today, I review Optimum Nutrition French Vanilla Creme. It was the winner of last time’s poll (cast your vote on the right-hand sidebar). And it won by more than two times the votes over every other flavor.

So I’m pretty sure most of you are excited to find out how this tastes.

Personally, I wasn’t.

It sounds like your typical vanilla flavor. Nothing special or different. And as you continue reading this post to the end, you’ll find that (unfortunately) to be true.

But don’t knock it off just yet. Optimum Nutrition French Vanilla Creme isn’t a bad tasting flavor. You’ll definitely like it if you like vanilla.

Let me explain by walking you through each taste test…

French Vanilla Creme Review: Water

You should know by now. The first shake is with water.

Before trying it though, I took a big whiff inside the container. And it smelled great. Usually, if it smells bad or chemically, you can tell it’s a bad protein powder. Luckily, this wasn’t the case.

I poured one scoop of French Vanilla Creme with a cup of cold water.

And my first thought?

This tastes familiar.

It’s safe to say that it’s probably like Optimum Nutrition Vanilla Ice Cream, but it’s not. There’s a slight, yet distinct difference. So I knew that was out of the question. That’s when it came to my mind…

Optimum Nutrition French Vanilla Creme is almost exactly like Optimum Nutrition Birthday Cake! I’ve tried both, and it’s very close. Only thing different is this one doesn’t have sprinkles.

With that said, I wasn’t too excited about this flavor. It tastes just like what it says. Creamy, vanilla-y, and sweet. Nothing good or bad to say about it.

French Vanilla Creme Review: Milk

Now, if you’ve tried Optimum Nutrition Birthday Cake or Vanilla Ice Cream before, this won’t be any news to you.

French Vanilla Creme with milk tastes nearly the same as those two flavors with milk.

There is a small difference but I can’t exactly put my finger on it.

It could be the texture, though.

French Vanilla Creme with milk is super smooth and creamy. Like a match made in heaven. I’m sure no further explanation is needed here.

If you’ve tried any vanilla flavored protein powder (that isn’t cheap) with milk, you’ll already have a feel for what this will turn out to be.

By now, you might be wondering what’s the difference then between french vanilla and regular vanilla? I had the same question. And now is probably a good time to clear that up before moving on. Here’s the difference…

It has nothing to do with the vanilla itself, but how the ice cream is made.

Regular vanilla ice cream is made with no eggs. French vanilla is made with an egg-custard base.

So with that known, it might explain why this protein powder is creamier and richer than the others.

French Vanilla Creme Review: Milk & Banana

Next, I mixed a scoop of whey with a banana and a cup of milk.

Here’s where things start to merge together.

With a banana into the mix, French Vanilla Creme loses all its subtle characteristics which separate it apart from other vanilla flavors. Reason being, the banana flavor overshadows the protein powder.

Now, if I were to give you this shake and then a different one with a new vanilla protein powder, chances are, you won’t be able to tell the difference whatsoever.

But as you can expect, this tastes delicious.

It’s your typical banana milkshake.

French Vanilla Creme Review: Peanut Butter

Lastly, we toss in a serving of peanut butter.

And like I’ve said several times already, there’s not much a difference.

But it sure does taste great.

You get the vanilla, perfectly balanced with the peanut butter and an extra touch of creaminess to top it all off.

Not much to be said here. It’s like any vanilla protein powder and a scoop of peanut butter.

French Vanilla Creme After A Few Weeks

It could just be me, but I saw it coming.

Just after a week or two drinking this straight, it got boring and even a little disgusting. Not with milk or a banana though. This is only for water.

But my opinion could be biased.

Before trying French Vanilla Creme, I’ve tried it’s two close brothers – Vanilla Ice Cream and Birthday Cake.

Drinking both of those may have simmered down the unique taste of French Vanilla Creme for me.

However, what I said is still true.

Optimum Nutrition French Vanilla Creme Review

Now what’s the final verdict?

Is Optimum Nutrition French Vanilla Creme good or not?

It’s good. But I wouldn’t buy it again. Why? The main reason because it doesn’t taste great in water alone. Like I just said, it gets bad after a while. In fact, I didn’t even look forward to drinking it.

But here’s the deal.

If you’re looking for a basic vanilla protein powder, one that tastes like vanilla and nothing else, French Vanilla Creme is the way to go. It’s certainly better than Vanilla Ice Cream.

Vanilla Ice Cream I couldn’t stand. And if you’ve tried it before and didn’t like it, or you’re drinking it now and think it tastes good, grab a tub of French Vanilla Creme and it’ll change your mind.

Unfortunately, I tried it after being overwhelmed by Optimum Nutrition’s other vanilla flavors.

So you might love it if you’re just starting out.

If you want to try it yourself, visit one of the links below now!

Amazon (US | UK | CA | ES | DE | FR)
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Bodybuilding.com (Worldwide)
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P.S. If you’re interested in other flavors, read all our Optimum Nutrition reviews here.