Smoothie King

Smoothie King Gladiator Nutrition Facts

The Gladiator is the protein smoothie on the board: their protein blend and fruit, with nothing added to sweeten it. Here is what that adds up to, and how to rebuild it at home.

Short answer

The Gladiator is Smoothie King’s protein smoothie, built from their protein blend and fruit with no added sugar and no fat, which is why it carries the most protein and the least sugar of anything on the board. Rebuilt at home the same way, a Gladiator style blend runs about 292 to 389 calories a serving, and almost all of it is protein and fruit rather than sweetener. The cup size decides the rest: order it bigger and every line on the label scales with it.

Independent analysis. Smoothie Calculator is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Smoothie King.

Most smoothies on a chain board are fruit and juice with something sweet stirred through them. The Gladiator is the exception. It is Smoothie King’s protein line, built on their protein blend with fruit and no added sugar, which is the whole reason people look it up separately from the rest of the menu. The protein does the work, the fruit does the flavor, and there is no turbinado or juice blend carrying the sugar line up.

Smoothie King publishes the official panel for each Gladiator flavor on its own nutrition page, quoted for one standard cup. Order it in a larger cup and every figure moves with it, so the drink you looked up and the drink in your hand can be two different sizes wearing one name. The rebuilds below show where the calories and protein actually come from, and our Smoothie King calculator carries the published figure for the Gladiator alongside the rest of the menu. To count a version of your own, the smoothie calorie calculator totals whatever goes in the jar.

A Gladiator, rebuilt in your own blender

At-home version
Calories
Protein
Carbs
Sugar
Fat
Strawberry Gladiator, close copy 1 cup water · 1½ cups frozen strawberry · 2 scoops whey protein powder — The one most people mean: protein and strawberries on water, no sweetener.
292 kcal
50 g
22 g
13 g
3 g
Chocolate Gladiator, close copy 1 cup almond milk · ½ cup frozen banana (sliced) · 2 scoops whey protein powder · 1 tbsp cocoa powder — Cocoa and a little banana for a chocolate flavor, still no added sugar.
336 kcal
51 g
26 g
12 g
6 g
Mango ginger Gladiator, dairy free 1 cup water · 1 cup frozen mango · 2 scoops pea protein powder · 1 tsp fresh ginger — Pea protein and mango with a little ginger, for anyone off dairy.
329 kcal
49 g
29 g
23 g
4 g
Mixed berry Gladiator, dairy free 1 cup water · 1½ cups frozen mixed berries · 2 scoops pea protein powder — Tart berries and plant protein, the lightest way to build one.
333 kcal
50 g
29 g
16 g
4 g
Vanilla Gladiator, on almond milk 1 cup almond milk · ½ cup frozen banana (sliced) · 2 scoops whey protein powder — Protein and a little banana on unsweetened almond milk, plain and creamy.
325 kcal
50 g
23 g
12 g
5 g
Gladiator, built bigger 1½ cups almond milk · 1 cup frozen strawberry · ½ cup frozen banana (sliced) · 2 scoops whey protein powder — The same idea sized up to a bigger cup, which is where the calories climb.
389 kcal
52 g
35 g
19 g
7 g

One serving each, our own recipes rather than Smoothie King’s. Protein powder and fruit on a light liquid, with nothing added to sweeten it, which is the whole idea of the drink. Make the cup bigger and the numbers rise with it.

What decides where a Gladiator lands

1
The protein blend, not the fruit

A Gladiator is protein first. Two scoops of protein carry more of the calorie total than the fruit does, and all of the protein. That is the opposite of a fruit classic, where the fruit and the sweetener run the label. It is also why the Gladiator reads heavier than a plain fruit cup while being the better drink for holding you until the next meal.

2
No added sugar is the point

The Gladiator lists no turbinado, no honey and no juice blend, so the only sugar in it is what the fruit brings. Swap the fruit for a tarter one and the sugar line drops further. This is the single thing that separates it from almost everything else on the board.

3
The cup size is the biggest variable

Every official figure is quoted for one standard cup. Order the same Gladiator in a larger one and the recipe scales with the volume, protein included. The bigger cup is a bigger drink, not a better one, and it is the most common reason a Gladiator comes in heavier than the number someone looked up.

4
Flavor changes less than you expect

Strawberry, chocolate, vanilla and mango ginger are close on the label because the protein blend is the same in all of them. The fruit or the cocoa shifts the taste far more than it shifts the numbers, so pick the flavor you want and let the size and the add-ins be where you actually control the total.

5
Enhancers are where it slips

The Gladiator is lean until you start adding to it. A nut butter enhancer or an extra scoop is easy to wave through and it undoes the thing that made the drink worth ordering. If you want it to stay a Gladiator, keep it to the protein and the fruit.

How to order it, or make it at home

Stay in the cup the numbers refer to

The simplest lever is the size. Ordering the cup the published figure is quoted at keeps the drink you get matched to the drink you looked up, and the only thing you give up is volume.

Keep the add-ins off

The Gladiator earns its place by being protein and fruit with nothing extra. A nut butter or an extra sweet enhancer turns it into a different drink, so leave them off unless you have planned the calories around them.

Rebuild it with a scoop and some fruit

At home a Gladiator is two scoops of protein, a cup or so of frozen fruit and a light liquid. Water or unsweetened almond milk keeps it lean, and the frozen fruit does the thickening so you need no ice. Run yours through the calorie calculator to see the exact glass.

Check the official panel for the exact cup

For the figure Smoothie King states for a specific flavor and size, read it on their own nutrition page or in the Smoothie King calculator, which carries the published Gladiator numbers next to the rest of the menu.

Count your own Gladiator

Drop in your protein, your fruit and your liquid and the calculator totals the whole glass, calories and protein and sugar, before you blend it.

Open the smoothie calorie calculator

Estimates, not advice. Every figure on this page is calculated from published per-100 g reference values and standard household measures, so your own brands, portions and equipment will move it. Nothing here is medical, nutritional or dietetic advice — talk to a qualified professional before acting on it, particularly if you are pregnant, managing a health condition, or feeding a child.

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

More on Smoothie King smoothie nutrition

What is in a Smoothie King Gladiator?

Their protein blend, fruit and a liquid base, with no added sugar and no fat. That is what makes it the protein drink on the board rather than a fruit smoothie: the protein blend carries most of the calories and all of the protein, and the fruit is there for flavor rather than sweetening.

How much protein is in a Gladiator smoothie?

A lot, by design. The Gladiator carries the most protein of any smoothie on the Smoothie King board, which is the whole reason it exists as a separate line. The exact figure depends on the flavor and the cup size, so read it on Smoothie King’s own nutrition page or in our Smoothie King calculator for the size you are ordering.

Does the Gladiator have sugar?

No added sugar. Smoothie King lists no turbinado, honey or juice blend in it, so the only sugar it carries comes from the fruit, and it is the lowest-sugar smoothie on the menu because of that. Ask for a tarter fruit and the sugar it does have drops further.

Is the Gladiator good for weight loss or building muscle?

It suits both, for the same reason: protein and no added sugar make a filling drink for its calories. Nothing in it burns fat on its own, and weight loss still comes down to eating less overall, but a high-protein smoothie that replaces a heavier meal is an easy way to support that. For muscle it is a convenient way to get a large dose of protein around training.

What sizes does the Gladiator come in?

Smoothie King quotes the Gladiator across its standard cup sizes, and every line on the label scales with the cup. The larger sizes are more protein and more calories in the same proportions, so the size you order matters as much as the flavor you pick.

How do I make a Gladiator at home?

Two scoops of protein powder, about a cup of frozen fruit and a light liquid such as water or unsweetened almond milk, blended with nothing added to sweeten it. Pick the fruit for the flavor you want, and use the calorie calculator to total the exact glass before you drink it.

Which Gladiator flavor is the lowest in calories?

The tart-fruit flavors, since the protein blend is the same across all of them and the fruit is what varies. A berry or strawberry build comes in a little lighter than a banana or mango one for the same protein. The gap is small, though, because the protein rather than the fruit is doing most of the work.

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