Maca powder, a superfood that’s derived from a root native to Peru, has numerous health benefits. Maca is best used without cooking or baking it. Here are a few simple ways to use maca powder in food.
The easiest way is to add a teaspoon to a tablespoon to individual smoothies or protein shakes. The malty flavor works particularly well with chocolatey flavors, as in  Mocha Maca Banana Smoothie, shown above; but it also goes well with fruitier flavors, for example, Strawberry-Vanilla Maca Smoothie.
If you’d like these and other ideas and recipes for maca to keep in your kitchen, you may enjoy this concise book, available in both e-book and paperback versions. E-book:  Maca Root for Health and Vitality: How to Use and Benefit from the Superfood, with 20 Easy Recipes. And the same title in paperback: Maca Root for Health and Vitality.
Maca powder is also a good addition to energy balls or no-bake sweets. No-Bake Vegan Maca-Roons are filled with all manner of nutrient-dense goodies, including maca, nuts, nut better, dates, and coconut. Try adding a couple of tablespoons or so to other no-bake treats like Unbaked Fudgy Brownies or Gena Hamshaw’s Unbaked Fig Bars.
If you’re into juicing, maca can be a good addition, as in this Carrot Maca Juice by Julie Morris. It’s a mellow combination of nutritious carrots, energizing maca powder, and tasty cashews. The idea is to blend some maca, about a tablespoon or so, into 16 ounces of fresh juice.
Another easy way to use maca is to sprinkle it onto your hot or cold cereals. Use 1 to 2 teaspoons in this case, otherwise the flavor may overwhelm your cereal.
When the weather is warmer and you’re making your easy banana-based soft-serve “ice cream” simply add a tablespoon or two to the food processor when you’re blending up the frozen bananas.
Do you have other ways you like to use maca in food?
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*This post contains affiliate links. If the product is purchased by linking through this review, VegKitchen receives a modest commission, which helps maintain our site and helps it to continue growing!
38 Comments
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March 11, 2015 at 3:36 amHi — I like your blog content about food items. Will be visiting again for updated content. Thanks for sharing …
Susan Frank
October 14, 2015 at 3:28 amA teaspoon of maca powder sprinkled on plain yogurt is very tasty too
Edward pang
November 12, 2015 at 9:22 amThis is my first visit. Hope to get up-to-date info on uses of this product.
Seville
April 23, 2016 at 1:24 pmLovely recepies with maca powder .i am glad I found you
Dorcas
June 11, 2016 at 6:01 amCan i pls have more recipes to use with maca
Nava
June 14, 2016 at 10:12 amHello Dorcas — this is all we have for now!
Abeer
July 21, 2016 at 2:13 amthanks for the info.. i have recently started using a tsp of maca powder in my daily morning smoothies. I love how it tastes. Goes well with coffee also!
Jacquelyn Agent
August 8, 2016 at 9:43 amDoes it ruin Maca powder to cook it in your oatmeal?
Nava
August 8, 2016 at 10:54 amJacquelyn, it’s best not to cook it. It’s easy to sprinkle on or stir in once your oatmeal is done.
kola adewoye
September 23, 2016 at 2:51 amWhere can I get the maca powder in nigeria
Keri Franklin
October 21, 2016 at 9:37 pmCould you please tell me the dosage for a 52 year 170 lb woman. I have looked everywhere and can’t find the dosage.
Thank You so much in advance. Just ordered my first batch
Nava
October 21, 2016 at 10:51 pmKeri, an average dose is 1 tablespoon per day. There’s no toxicity or side effects, but it is a powerful superfood. Start with 1 teaspoon per day and work up from there. Hope that helps!
Betty Lou Bennett
February 19, 2017 at 1:55 pmI have Vanilla chai flavored and it’s too strong and bitter for me. What others flavors are best for newbys.
Steve G
February 23, 2017 at 5:09 pmIt’s actually best if you DO COOK IT.
Maca powder is like flour, and will cause indigestion and stomach aches when consumed in it’s raw form. In Peru and Bolivia where it’s from, everyone cooks it (again, it’s a flour there).
Once you cook the Maca, it makes it easy to digest, tastes better, and maintains all of the health benefits.
Don’t let misinformed people tell you to just throw maca powder in a smoothie.
Julie devnew
March 9, 2017 at 10:24 amNow I’m really confused. Cook it or not?
Nava
March 9, 2017 at 10:44 amIt’s best not to cook it, the recipes here are uncooked. Hope that helps!
gia
March 20, 2017 at 2:14 pmI like many others find the taste of macca unpleasant — sort of like saw dust — ugh! Well I have been experimenting with yogurt and quinoa without good results — the awful taste still stands out in those. Anyway, today I mashed the macca with a banana which worked well — tastes great.:)
Landa
March 26, 2017 at 8:21 amI use maca in my morning or daytime coffee smoothu nd taste great , here it is all organic ==> ground coffee (cool down) +glog of hemp milk + 1 banana+ 1/2 tsp manuka with cinnamon (i mix cinnamon in manuka jar) + 1tbs coconut oil + 1tbs maca ==> belnd and enjoy , tatse awsome .
PS.i always keep those ingredients at home so no hastle for me
Keĺy
April 11, 2017 at 6:10 amCan I add it to my tea?
Nava
April 11, 2017 at 7:52 amTheoretically, you could, but if you add a spoon of maca powder to hot tea, it might be a bit clumpy. You could blend it up with a hand blender or a small whisk.
Arysta
April 22, 2017 at 10:07 pmI think maca’s pretty gross and ruins everything I’ve tried to mix it with. However, it makes me feel awesome so I just choke it down as quickly as possible in a glass of water lol.
Nava
April 23, 2017 at 12:11 pmOh, wow! Have you tried it in smoothies or raw sweets? I know what you mean; I’m not the biggest fan of its flavor but I can feel the energy boost almost immediately.
Ramona
July 19, 2017 at 12:20 pmI’ve been trying my hardest to be healthy .need to lose weight and shape up.I bought this last night after Zumba class and made​ a smoothie this morning. I felt energized within an hour!!!
Victoria Hill
August 27, 2017 at 4:13 pmI’ve just tried it in chocolate nesquick milk shake and it’s ok!
Lhenver tomas
October 11, 2017 at 9:54 amFor me i’m too confuse.what is real use uncook or cooked.
Nava
October 11, 2017 at 9:55 amYou can use it straight out of the package — no further cooking is needed!
Lhenver tomas
October 11, 2017 at 9:57 amMe too was really confuse about its how to use.uncook or cooked.i love drinking milk can i use to stir on hotmilk
Harriet
November 28, 2017 at 1:21 pmHow to use maca root powder
kcruz
December 5, 2017 at 5:24 pmwould it be good to mix just milk and maca powder?
Nava
December 6, 2017 at 10:05 amYou could certainly mix maca powder in milk, though we’d recommend a nondairy milk for the purpose. You’d likely still need to use a regular or hand blender, though, as maca tends to clump and not mix in well.
Nava
December 6, 2017 at 10:06 amOne more thing … maca is good in chocolate almond milk!
Craig
March 3, 2018 at 12:24 pmI just purchased a pound of it a few days ago and I just throw it in my tea in the morning. Mixes right in. Changes the taste of the tea quite a bit but the energy boost from it is very quick. And if I may say this, it makes me horny. Lol. Sorry. The wife asked me if I was in danger of running out soon !!!??
Eleni
March 26, 2018 at 12:08 pmI am 21 , and I would like to know if maca powder is appropriate for my age?
leendeey
May 6, 2018 at 6:11 amThe taste of maca is not very nice bout I find that 1 tablespoon of maca powder in vanilla yoghurt or smoothie works for me, tried all and this has been the only way I be able to take it.
Nava
May 8, 2018 at 8:23 amI’m also not crazy about the taste of maca, but agree that adding it to sweet things like smoothies helps make it more pleasant.
Banadda Isaac mpiima
June 28, 2018 at 12:03 pmplease how can I get that multiple maca and gun chia for my health issues
Toni
September 29, 2018 at 1:54 pmThank you for the ideas on how to use maca powder.
I especially like the fact that you not only have a print option, but that when the print page shows up, I can delete the pictures (my printer does a really bad job of printing pictures, plus it unnecessarily uses a lot of toner) and parts that don’t apply to what I want to have in front of me when I am using the food product you are writing about. You are the only recipe site I know of that has this.
Thank you
Nava
September 29, 2018 at 4:10 pmThanks for your comment, Toni. It’s good to know that this feature is useful!