Table of Contents
Ectomorphs who want to bulk up need a higher amount of calories and protein in their mass gainer.
In this list, we lay out 5 of the best weight gain shakes that work great for skinny guys, hard gainers, and ectomorphs.
5 Best Mass Gainers for Ectomorphs at a Glance:
1. Best Overall: MuscleTech Mass Tech Extreme 2000
2. Best for Casual Gainers: Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass
3. Best Protein Content: BSN True Mass 1200
4. Best for Vegans: Vegan Naked Mass
5. Best for Lactose-Intolerant People: MuscleMeds Carnivor Mass
Comparison Chart
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BEST OVERALL: MuscleTech Mass-Tech Extreme 2000 7lb
- Nutrition per serving:
1830 calories
63g protein
385g carbohydrates
4g fat
- Number of servings: 20
- Top 3 Ingredients: Multi-Phase Carb Complex (Glucose Polymers, Oat Bran (as Avena sativa), Isomaltulose), Multi-Phase Protein System (Whey Protein Concentrate, Whey Protein Isolate 97%, Whey Protein Isolate, Hydrolyzed Whey Protein Isolate), Cocoa (Processed with Alkali),
- Allergen: Gluten-Free, Milk
- Type: Powder
- Size: 7 LBS
| WHAT WE LIKE + | WHAT WE DON’T LIKE – |
|---|---|
| ✅ 10g of creatine monohydrate | ❌ Does not contain any slow-digesting proteins |
| ✅ Contains 21 vitamins and minerals | |
| ✅ Added 14.1g BCAAs | |
| ✅ 20 servings per 7lb tub |
If you are shooting for extreme muscle gains, you can’t go wrong with MuscleTech Mass Tech Extreme 2000.
When mixed with water, this mass gainer provides your body with a remarkable 1830 calories. But if you want to take it to the max, mix it with skim milk to enjoy up to 2000 calories in your drink – that’s almost the same amount of calories you get by eating a whole 14” regular pizza!
This weight gain shake gives you a massive 385g of carbohydrates per serving. Its Multi-Phase Carb Complex features glucose polymers, oat bran, and isomaltulose. This carb blend is all about giving you a quick and sustained supply of energy for your exercise.
Mass Tech Extreme 2000 also looks great once you check its protein content. Each serving gives you a massive 63g of protein. You can kick it up further to 80g of protein if you mix it with skim milk.
Its Multi-Phase Protein System features 4 forms of whey protein, including:
- Whey protein concentrate
- Whey protein isolate 97%
- Whey protein isolate
- Hydrolyzed whey protein isolate
Whey protein is highly regarded for its complete amino acid profile, supplying your muscles with all 9 EAAs (Essential Amino Acids) that are needed for building and repairing muscle tissue.
Whey is also rapidly digested by the body, quickly nourishing your muscles with nutrients – making this mass gainer an excellent shake to consume right after working out.
Mass Tech Extreme 2000 doesn’t stop there. It also gives you an impressive 10g of creatine monohydrate per serving. Creatine helps drive water to your muscle cells, making your muscles appear larger in no time.
Creatine also boosts muscle ATP stores, giving you more muscle power to lift heavier weights and throw in more reps in your sets.
To help you preserve your muscle gains, Mass Tech Extreme 2000 gives you an additional 14.1g of BCAAs (Branched Chain Amino Acids). These BCAAs help protect against muscle catabolism and serve as an extra source of energy for your body during exercise.
MuscleTech Mass Tech Extreme 2000 is available in Triple Chocolate Brownie and Vanilla Milkshake flavors.
Verdict
| With the potential of supplying you with 2000 calories and 80g of protein in one drink, MuscleTech Mass Tech Extreme 2000 looks built for ectomorphs who want to grow in size BIG TIME. Its 10g of creatine monohydrate is also an added bonus for helping you make the most out of your workouts. |
BEST FOR CASUAL GAINERS: Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass 6lb
- Nutrition per serving:
1250 calories
50g protein
252g carbohydrates
4.5g fat - Number of servings: 8
- Top 3 Ingredients: Maltodextrin, Proprietary Protein Blend (Whey Protein Concentrate, Calcium Caseinate, Sweet Dairy Whey, Egg Albumen), Cocoa
- Allergen: Milk, Soy, Eggs
- Type: Powder
- Size: 6 LBS ( 2.72KG)
| WHAT WE LIKE + | WHAT WE DON’T LIKE – |
|---|---|
| ✅ Features a blend of fast-, medium-, and slow-digesting protein sources | ❌ Only 8 servings per 6lb tub |
| ✅ Contains 26 vitamins and minerals | |
| ✅ 3g of Creatine monohydrate per serving | |
| ✅ 500mg L-Glutamine per serving | |
| ✅ Available in 5 flavors |
If your goal is to gain lean weight without transforming yourself into the Incredible Hulk, Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass won’t disappoint.
Serious Mass shows off a well-balanced combination of nutrients for building lean muscle. Each serving gives you a significant 1250 calories and 253g of carbohydrates.
It uses maltodextrin, a carbohydrate that is quickly digested and absorbed by your body. This lets you enjoy the fast delivery of nutrients to your muscle cells, making way for accelerated muscle growth, repair, and recovery after working out.
For protein, Serious Mass uses a Protein Blend that features fast, medium, and slow-digesting protein sources:
- Calcium caseinate (slow)
- Egg whites (medium)
- Whey protein concentrate, sweet whey (fast)
To aid you in your workouts, Serious Mass also provides you with 3g of creatine monohydrate and 500mg of L-glutamine per serving.
Creatine helps prolong exercise endurance and gives your muscles a more-volumized appearance. L-glutamine, on the other hand, helps speed up muscle repair and protects lean muscle tissue from getting broken down into energy.
Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass is available in Creamy Vanilla, Strawberry, Banana, Chocolate, and Chocolate Peanut Butter.
Verdict
| Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass offers solid nutrition for casual and hard gainers alike. It features a well-balanced blend of calories, protein, and carbs, and is enhanced by the addition of creatine, vitamins, minerals, and glutamine for well-rounded mass-building support. |
BEST PROTEIN CONTENT: BSN True-Mass 1200 10.38lb
- Nutrition per serving:
1228 calories
50g protein
215g carbohydrates
17g fat - Number of servings: 15
- Top 3 Ingredients: Complex Carbohydrate Blend Maltodextrin, Whole Oat Flour, Protein Blend Whey Protein Concentrate
- Type: Powder
- Size: 10.38 LBS ( 4.71 KG)
| WHAT WE LIKE + | WHAT WE DON’T LIKE – |
|---|---|
| ✅ Great value at 15 servings per 10.38lb bag | ❌ Rather high sugar content (19g) |
| ✅ Features a blend of fast- and slow-digesting protein sources | |
| ✅ Available in 4 flavors |
To build muscle mass, you need to consume high amounts of protein daily. If you are looking for a mass gainer that is loaded with a variety of protein sources, BSN True-Mass 1200 is a great choice.
True-Mass 1200 provides you with 50g of protein per serving. Its Protein Matrix flaunts a blend of 8 different protein sources, each one with a different absorption rate to keep your muscles nourished round-the-clock:
- Calcium caseinate, micellar casein (slow)
- Egg whites
- Whey protein concentrate, milk protein isolate, whey protein isolate, hydrolyzed whey protein, glutamine peptides (fast)
With its balanced blend of fast, medium, and slow-digesting protein sources, True-Mass 1200 will make an excellent shake to consume virtually anytime. It quickly nourishes muscle cells with amino acids, and follows through with a sustained stream of muscle-building nutrients for extended time periods.
As suggested by its name, True-Mass 1200 gives you 1228 calories per serving. You get 215g of carbohydrates per serving, in the form of maltodextrin that is rapidly digested and absorbed by the body.
Its nutritional label also says that it contains Medium Chain Triglycerides, a type of fatty acid that is used by your body as a readily accessible source of energy.
Verdict
| To fuel muscle growth, you want to consume high amounts of protein each day – and BSN True-Mass 1200 can help you meet your high protein needs. Featuring 8 protein sources in its Protein Matrix, you can count on True-Mass 1200 to keep your muscles nourished for longer time periods. |
BEST FOR VEGANS: Vegan Naked Mass
- Nutrition per serving:
1230 calories
50g protein (yellow pea protein, organic brown rice protein)
248g carbohydrates
4g fat - Type: Powder
- Ingredients: Organic Tapioca Maltodextrin, Pea Protein, Rice Protein
- Number of servings: 14
- Size: 8 LBS (3.63KG)
| WHAT WE LIKE + | WHAT WE DON’T LIKE – |
|---|---|
| ✅ Has an Unflavored variant | ❌ Chocolate and Vanilla flavors have more than 50g of sugar per serving |
If you follow the vegan way of life, you have a rather-limited selection of mass gainers to choose from. Featuring a plant-based protein blend, Vegan Naked Mass is perfect for vegans who are looking to gain weight fast.
Supplying you with 1230 calories per serving, Vegan Naked Mass easily keeps up with leading weight gain shakes in terms of calorie content. You also get 248g of carbohydrates (organic maltodextrin), which is easily digested and absorbed by the body.
When it comes to protein, Vegan Naked Mass also looks pretty impressive. Each shake provides you with 50g of protein (yellow pea protein, organic brown rice), which has a complete amino acid profile – this means that you get all 9 EAAs (Essential Amino Acids) that support lean muscle growth.
Vegan Naked Mass does not contain any artificial sweeteners, flavors, or colors. However, its Chocolate and Vanilla variants look loaded with lots of sugar – up to 56g per serving! If you are controlling your sugar intake, you might want to try its Unflavored version that contains 24g per serving.
Verdict
| Featuring a solid combination of calories, organic carbs, and plant-based proteins, Vegan Naked Mass can help you gain weight without compromising your vegan diet. Just be mindful of its rather-high sugar content, especially for its Chocolate and Vanilla variants. |
BEST FOR LACTOSE-INTOLERANT PEOPLE: MuscleMeds Carnivor Mass 6lb
- Nutrition per serving:
710 calories
50g protein (hydrolyzed beef protein isolate)
125g carbohydrates
2g fat - Type: Powder
- Number of servings: 25
| WHAT WE LIKE + | WHAT WE DON’T LIKE – |
|---|---|
| ✅ 14 servings per 6lb tub | ❌ Not the highest calorie content |
| ✅ 5g creatine monohydrate per serving | |
| ✅ Contains Medium Chain Triglycerides | |
| ✅ Zero sugar | |
| ✅ Uses quick-digesting carbs for fast nutrient delivery | |
| ✅ Available in 4 flavors (Chocolate Fudge, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Strawberry, Vanilla Caramel) |
Most mass gainers available today use dairy-sourced proteins that contain lactose. If you have trouble digesting lactose, MuscleMeds Carnivor Mass will make an ideal choice.
Unlike typical weight gain shakes that use dairy-based protein, such as whey or casein, Carnivor Mass features hydrolyzed beef protein isolate. Beef protein is a complete protein source, which means that it supplies you with all 9 EAAs (Essential Amino Acids).
Each serving delivers 50g of hydrolyzed beef protein isolate, which Carnivor Mass says is 350% more concentrated in amino acids, compared to raw beef or whey. This weight gainer does not contain any sugar or lactose, making it a suitable alternative for lactose-intolerant ectomorphs.
Carnivor Mass gives you 720 calories and 125g of carbohydrates. Its carbohydrate matrix features micronparticulated maltodextrin, micronparticulated waxy maize, amylase, and glucoamylase. These carbs are all about creating a quick and sustained stream of energy and nutrients to your muscles.
As an added bonus, Carnivor Mass also comes with 5g of creatine monohydrate per serving. Creatine helps you max out on your workout performance, allowing you to lift heavier weights and complete more reps.
Its formula also includes Medium Chain Triglycerides, which give you added energy to use for your exercise sessions.
MuscleMeds Carnivor Mass is available in Chocolate Fudge, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Strawberry, and Vanilla Caramel flavors.
Verdict
| Being lactose-intolerant doesn’t mean that you have to miss out on a mass gainer. Giving you rich amounts of hydrolyzed beef protein isolate per serving, Carnivor Mass is a lactose-free weight gain shake that won’t give you any lactose-related stomach issues. |
FINAL THOUGHTS
For ectomorphs, adding a mass gainer to your diet can help you grow in size faster – especially when paired with a strength-training program and a well-balanced diet.
If you prefer monstrous amounts of calories in your shake, MuscleTech Mass-Tech Extreme 2000 is up for the job with its up-to-2000 calorie serving. For skinny guys who don’t need extreme amounts of calories, Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass is a well-balanced gainer to use.
For protein hunters, BSN True-Mass 1200 looks pretty impressive with its protein blend that features 8 different protein sources. If you want a mass gainer that fits into your vegan lifestyle, you can’t go wrong with Vegan Naked Mass.
Lastly, if your digestive system has trouble with lactose or dairy, MuscleMeds Carnivor Mass is a suitable lactose-free gainer for your diet.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Are mass gainers good for ectomorphs?
Yes, a mass gainer can supply your body with high amounts of calories, protein, carbs, and fat for building mass.
How do ectomorphs bulk up?
Ectomorphs gain weight just like any other, but they would need to be consistent in achieving a caloric surplus each day.
Do ectomorphs need more protein?
Yes, especially if you are trying to build lean muscle mass.
Do ectomorphs have low testosterone?
There is no relation between having a thin physique and low testosterone levels.
