Some people can gain weight simply by adding another snack or increasing portions at dinner.
Hard gainers often have a different problem.
When training volume, daily activity, work and naturally low appetite combine, eating enough calories consistently can become harder than the workouts themselves.
That is where a high-calorie mass gainer can genuinely be useful.
These are not ordinary protein shakes.
The products in this guide provide roughly 1,000 calories or more per full serving, with some reaching more than 1,300 calories before milk or additional ingredients are added.
That amount of energy can be extremely helpful for someone who genuinely struggles to maintain a calorie surplus.
It can also be far more than another person needs.
A review of intentional weight-gain strategies for athletes reports that commonly recommended approaches generally begin with an increase of around 300–500 calories per day, alongside adequate protein, carbohydrates and resistance training. Read the athlete weight-gain review on PubMed
Research in resistance-trained lifters also suggests that pushing the calorie surplus substantially higher primarily increases the rate of fat gain rather than producing proportionally larger improvements in muscle thickness or strength. Read the energy-surplus study on PubMed
So the goal is not to find the biggest calorie number and automatically drink the entire serving.
The goal is to find a high-calorie product that makes it easier to fill your actual calorie gap.
We compared current products available to Canadian shoppers to find the best high-calorie mass gainers in Canada for hard gainers, focusing on calorie density, protein, carbohydrates, serving flexibility, formulation and Canadian availability.
Affiliate Disclosure: Chrisima may earn a commission if you purchase through some links on this page, at no additional cost to you. Product selections are based on formulation, nutrition profile, Canadian availability, serving flexibility, value and current sports-nutrition evidence.
Best High-Calorie Mass Gainers in Canada: Quick Comparison
| Product | Approx. Calories | Protein | Carbohydrates | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mammoth Mass | 1,250 | 60 g | 230 g | Best overall hard gainer |
| Dymatize Super Mass Gainer | Up to 1,310 | 52 g | Up to 252 g | Maximum calories |
| Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass | 1,250–1,260 | 50 g | 250–253 g | Creatine + calories |
| MUTANT Mass | 1,100 | 56 g | 192 g | Balanced high-calorie formula |
| ALLMAX QuickMass | 1,010 | 64 g | 172 g | Flexible high-calorie dosing |
Quick takeaway: Mammoth Mass offers one of the best combinations of extremely high calories, protein and relatively low sugar for Canadian hard gainers. Dymatize goes even higher on calories, while QuickMass gives you the easiest way to scale a 1,000-calorie product up or down.
Best High-Calorie Mass Gainers in Canada
1. Mammoth Mass — Best Overall for Hard Gainers
Mammoth Mass is almost purpose-built for this category.
A full four-scoop serving provides approximately 1,250 calories, 60 grams of protein and 230 grams of carbohydrates when mixed with water.
Despite the enormous carbohydrate load, the current nutrition information lists only around 9 grams of sugar per full serving.
The formula also uses a multi-source protein blend together with carbohydrate ingredients that include oats, quinoa and sweet potato, plus MCT fats.
That makes Mammoth slightly more interesting than a high-calorie formula relying almost entirely on one carbohydrate powder.
Its Canadian relevance is another major advantage.
For a Chrisima audience looking specifically for high-calorie mass gainers in Canada, Mammoth is easy to justify as the leading hard-gainer product.
The serving size is still enormous.
Four scoops equal 320 grams of powder.
Mammoth also provides nutrition information for a two-scoop serving, which comes to approximately 625 calories and 30 grams of protein.
That makes half servings much more practical than the front-of-package calorie number might suggest.
Why We Like It: The combination of 1,250 calories, 60 grams of protein, comparatively little sugar and Canadian availability makes it exceptionally well suited to genuine hard gainers.
Best For: People who repeatedly struggle to eat enough calories despite actively trying to gain weight.
Possible Downside: Most recreational lifters do not need an additional 1,250 calories every day.
Chrisima Verdict: Our best overall high-calorie mass gainer. If you are new to it, the 625-calorie half serving is a much smarter starting point than jumping straight to all four scoops.
2. Dymatize Super Mass Gainer — Best Maximum-Calorie Option
If total calorie density is the priority, Dymatize Super Mass Gainer is difficult to ignore.
The current formula provides up to approximately 1,310 calories, 52 grams of protein and 252 grams of carbohydrates per serving, depending on flavour. It also supplies more than 10 grams of naturally occurring BCAAs and 14 vitamins and minerals.
View Dymatize Super Mass Gainer
Canadian availability is established through retailers such as Bulldog Nutrition and Walmart Canada. Bulldog currently lists the 12 lb product with the same approximate 1,310-calorie, 52-gram-protein and 252-gram-carbohydrate profile.
The protein system includes both faster- and slower-digesting protein sources.
Dymatize also identifies Super Mass Gainer as banned-substance tested, which gives competitive athletes another reason to consider it.
The obvious issue is calorie volume.
At more than 1,300 calories, one serving can represent a substantial percentage of an average person’s entire daily energy requirement.
That makes Dymatize an excellent product for a narrow population and an unnecessarily aggressive product for everyone else.
Why We Like It: One of the highest-calorie mainstream mass gainers currently available, with substantial protein and carbohydrate content.
Best For: Very active hard gainers, large athletes and people with unusually high energy requirements.
Possible Downside: Extremely easy to overshoot a sensible calorie surplus.
Chrisima Verdict: The strongest choice when the actual problem is simply not being able to consume enough calories. Start with less than a full serving unless you already know you need this much energy.
3. Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass — Best High-Calorie Gainer With Creatine
Serious Mass has been one of the best-known products in the weight-gainer category for years.
The current formula provides approximately 1,250–1,260 calories, 50 grams of protein, roughly 250–253 grams of carbohydrates, and 5 grams of creatine monohydrate per serving.
View Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass
That creatine addition is a meaningful difference.
Five grams is already within a very common daily creatine intake, so someone using a full Serious Mass serving should account for that before automatically adding a separate five-gram creatine scoop.
The formula also includes vitamins and minerals and approximately eight grams of naturally occurring glutamine.
Serious Mass is currently available through Canadian retailers, including SupplementSource.ca.
This makes it particularly appealing to people who want to consolidate their routine.
Instead of using:
mass gainer + separate creatine,
Serious Mass can cover both roles when taken at the full serving.
Why We Like It: Huge calorie load, 50 grams of protein and a complete five-gram creatine monohydrate serving.
Best For: Hard gainers who already intended to use creatine alongside a weight-gain shake.
Possible Downside: The very high carbohydrate and calorie total makes full servings unsuitable for many people, and the included creatine reduces dosing flexibility if you already have a separate creatine routine.
Chrisima Verdict: A strong established hard-gainer formula and especially useful if you prefer an all-in-one calories + protein + creatine approach.
4. MUTANT Mass — Best Balanced High-Calorie Formula
MUTANT Mass provides approximately 1,100 calories, 56 grams of protein, 192 grams of carbohydrates and 12 grams of fat per full serving.
Compared with the highest-calorie products in this article, 1,100 calories almost looks moderate.
It isn’t.
This is still an exceptionally calorie-dense shake.
What makes MUTANT particularly appealing is where those macronutrients come from.
The current formula uses six protein sources and incorporates carbohydrate ingredients such as sweet potato, rolled oats, barley and waxy maize.
Its fat blend includes ingredients sourced from coconut, avocado, flaxseed, pumpkin seed and sunflower.
The company even recommends that first-time users begin with two scoops rather than four to assess tolerance because of the product’s calorie density.
That is useful advice.
A product doesn’t stop being a high-calorie mass gainer simply because you use half the manufacturer’s maximum serving.
Why We Like It: 56 grams of protein from several sources and a more diverse carbohydrate and fat profile than many high-calorie competitors.
Best For: Hard gainers who want substantial calories but care about having more than maltodextrin and whey in the formula.
Possible Downside: Still far too calorie-dense at a full serving for many people.
Chrisima Verdict: One of the most balanced choices in the extreme-calorie category. Two scoops can also work as an excellent intermediate step between a normal protein shake and a 1,000-plus-calorie serving.
5. ALLMAX QuickMass — Best for Adjustable High-Calorie Dosing
ALLMAX QuickMass provides 1,010 calories, 64 grams of protein and 172 grams of carbohydrates in its full four-scoop serving.
That alone qualifies it easily for this high-calorie guide.
But the most useful feature is the nutrition panel’s per-scoop breakdown.
One scoop supplies approximately:
250 calories,
16 grams of protein,
43 grams of carbohydrates,
and 2 grams of fat.
That gives you unusually precise control.
You can move from:
250 calories,
to roughly 500,
to roughly 750,
to 1,010,
without switching products.
QuickMass also uses a carbohydrate blend containing ingredients such as sweet potato, oats and quinoa, and the current Canadian formula contains no added sugar.
For a hard gainer whose calorie requirement changes based on training, work or appetite, this flexibility can be more valuable than simply buying the product with the biggest full-serving number.
Why We Like It: Full high-calorie capability without forcing you to use a full high-calorie serving.
Best For: People who know they need a weight gainer but want to adjust calories based on day-to-day intake.
Possible Downside: You only receive the advertised 64 grams of protein when using all four scoops.
Chrisima Verdict: Our most flexible hard-gainer option. It is particularly useful for people moving from moderate to high-calorie bulking who do not yet know whether they need 500 or 1,000 additional calories.
What Is a High-Calorie Mass Gainer?
A high-calorie mass gainer is simply a weight-gain supplement designed to supply a very large amount of energy in a convenient shake.
For this Chrisima guide, we generally consider the category to begin around 1,000 calories per manufacturer’s full serving.
That isn’t an official nutritional definition.
It’s a useful shopping distinction.
A 1,200-calorie mass gainer serves a very different consumer than a 200-calorie lean-bulk shake.
Most high-calorie gainers rely heavily on carbohydrates because carbohydrates provide an efficient way to raise energy intake while also supporting demanding training.
Protein is then added to support muscle repair and growth, while some products also contain fats, creatine, vitamins, minerals or digestive ingredients.
For the broader category — including moderate-calorie and clean-bulk options — see our main Best Mass Gainers in Canada for Muscle Growth and Weight Gain pillar guide.
What Is a Hard Gainer?
“Hard gainer” is a bodybuilding term rather than a medical diagnosis.
It generally describes someone who has persistent difficulty increasing body weight.
In many cases, the reason is simply that energy expenditure is higher than the person realizes.
A hard gainer may have a physical job, train frequently, walk a lot, participate in sports, naturally fidget or move frequently, or have an appetite that makes eating large meals difficult.
The athlete weight-gain literature specifically identifies liquid calories and energy-dense foods as practical tools when increasing total food intake becomes difficult.
That is the real value of products in this article.
Drinking 600 calories is often easier than sitting down for another complete meal.
How Many Calories Does a Hard Gainer Actually Need?
There is no universal hard-gainer calorie target.
Body weight, height, sex, training volume, non-exercise activity and occupation all affect energy expenditure.
The important concept is the calorie surplus.
You need to consume more energy than you expend over time to increase body mass.
But the surplus does not have to be enormous.
The athlete weight-gain review discusses roughly 300–500 additional calories per day as a conventional starting strategy rather than automatically adding 1,000 or more.
This means a hard gainer product can still be useful even when you don’t use a full serving.
Half of Mammoth Mass provides around 625 calories.
Two scoops of QuickMass provide roughly 500.
Two scoops of MUTANT Mass provide approximately half of its 1,100-calorie full serving.
Those may be far more appropriate starting points.
Does a Bigger Calorie Surplus Build Muscle Faster?
Not proportionally.
A 2023 study compared maintenance calories with approximately 5% and 15% energy-surplus diets in resistance-trained individuals.
Faster body-weight gain was primarily associated with greater increases in skinfold thickness, while larger surpluses did not consistently produce greater increases in muscle thickness or strength.
That is exactly why Chrisima does not treat:
more calories = better mass gainer
as a valid ranking system.
High-calorie products are tools.
The person who truly needs 1,200 extra calories benefits from them.
The person who only needs 300 calories does not become more anabolic by drinking another 900.
Are High-Calorie Mass Gainers Good for Muscle Growth?
They can be very useful when insufficient calories are preventing progress.
Muscle growth requires a combination of effective resistance training, adequate protein, sufficient energy and recovery.
The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements emphasizes that athletes need an adequate nutritional foundation that includes sufficient calories, carbohydrates, protein and fat. Read the NIH exercise and athletic-performance nutrition guidance
High-calorie mass gainers address the energy component efficiently.
They do not replace training.
How Much Protein Should a Mass Gainer Have?
There is no requirement that every shake contain 50 or 60 grams of protein.
What matters most is total daily protein intake.
The International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand reports that approximately 1.4–2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day is sufficient for most exercising individuals. Read the ISSN protein and exercise position stand
An 80 kg lifter using that broad range would land around 112–160 grams per day.
A 50–60 gram mass-gainer serving can contribute heavily toward that total.
But if you’re already eating plenty of protein, the major reason to use a high-calorie gainer may simply be its carbohydrates and total energy.
Why Do High-Calorie Mass Gainers Contain So Many Carbohydrates?
Because carbohydrates are efficient fuel.
High-volume resistance training uses muscle glycogen, and consuming carbohydrate also provides an easy way to increase total calorie intake.
The NIH notes that athletes require adequate carbohydrates to help maintain blood glucose and replenish muscle glycogen, with needs increasing depending on training volume and sport demands.
The issue is not whether a mass gainer contains carbohydrates.
A high-calorie mass gainer practically needs a large source of energy somewhere.
The better question is whether the total carbohydrate intake makes sense for your diet.
High-Calorie Mass Gainer vs Clean Mass Gainer
These two categories solve related but different problems.
A high-calorie gainer prioritizes:
maximum practical calorie delivery.
A clean or lean mass gainer prioritizes:
controlled calories, ingredient selection and gradual weight gain.
A hard gainer who needs 900 extra calories may find Mammoth or Dymatize significantly more practical.
Someone who only needs 250–400 calories can use a much smaller product and maintain greater control over the surplus.
If controlled lean bulking sounds more like your goal, see our Best Clean Mass Gainers in Canada for Lean Muscle Gain guide.
High-Calorie Mass Gainer vs Whey Protein
Whey primarily solves a protein problem.
Mass gainer solves a calorie problem.
One serving of whey might contain roughly 120 calories and 24 grams of protein.
A high-calorie mass gainer can contain ten times that energy.
If you already eat enough calories but fall short on protein, whey makes much more sense.
If you’re already consuming sufficient protein but consistently cannot eat enough total food, the gainer becomes more useful.
Is 1,000 Calories Too Much for a Mass Gainer?
For many people, yes.
For some hard gainers, absolutely not.
The number cannot be evaluated without knowing the person’s total daily requirements.
An athlete maintaining body weight at 4,000 calories has a very different nutritional problem from someone maintaining at 2,300.
The safest practical approach is to begin below the full high-calorie serving and increase only if your scale trend remains flat.
Should You Split a Mass-Gainer Serving?
For these products, often yes.
Splitting a giant serving can make it easier to digest while also distributing calories throughout the day.
Instead of drinking one 1,250-calorie Mammoth shake, you could use two approximately 625-calorie servings.
The same logic applies to MUTANT Mass and QuickMass.
You still get the same daily powder quantity if you ultimately need it.
You simply avoid forcing several hundred grams of powder into your stomach at once.
When Should Hard Gainers Take Mass Gainer?
Between meals is one of the easiest strategies.
That allows your normal meals to remain intact while the shake adds calories on top.
Post-workout is another practical option because liquid nutrition may be easier to consume when you don’t immediately want a large meal.
There is no need to treat mass gainer like a stimulant with a precise timing window.
Daily calorie and protein intake matter much more.
Should You Mix High-Calorie Mass Gainer With Milk?
You can, but calculate what you are doing.
The calorie values discussed in this article generally refer to products mixed according to the manufacturer’s nutrition information, often with water.
Milk can add hundreds of additional calories.
MuscleTech, for example, markets Mass-Tech Extreme 2000 at 2,350 calories when prepared with 20 ounces of skim milk, demonstrating how dramatically the mixing liquid can alter the headline calorie figure.
Milk is therefore useful when maximum calorie intake is genuinely the goal.
Water makes more sense when you want predictable control.
What Can You Add to a Mass Gainer for Even More Calories?
A hard gainer can increase a shake’s calorie density with ordinary foods such as milk, oats, nut butter, banana or other fruit.
But once you begin adding several of these ingredients to a 1,200-calorie powder, the total can become enormous.
Always calculate the entire shake.
A 1,250-calorie powder plus milk, peanut butter, oats and banana can easily move toward meal-plan levels of energy in a single blender.
That may be intentional.
Just don’t do it accidentally.
Can High-Calorie Mass Gainers Make You Fat?
Yes.
Their entire purpose is to make consuming a calorie surplus easier.
If that surplus becomes larger than necessary, more body-fat accumulation is a predictable outcome.
The energy-surplus research in trained lifters found that faster rates of weight gain were primarily associated with greater increases in fat-related measurements rather than proportionally better muscle gains.
The product isn’t “fattening” because of its label.
The size of the surplus is what matters.
Are High-Calorie Mass Gainers Safe?
For most healthy adults, these products mainly contain concentrated protein, carbohydrate and fat.
However, some also contain creatine, vitamins, minerals and other active ingredients.
The massive serving size can also create digestive discomfort in people not accustomed to large liquid meals.
Read the complete product label rather than thinking only about calories.
Canadian consumers can use the official Health Canada Licensed Natural Health Products Database to search applicable licensed products and current licence information.
People with diabetes, kidney disease, digestive disorders, allergies or other medical conditions should discuss significant dietary changes with an appropriate healthcare professional.
Who Should Consider a High-Calorie Mass Gainer?
These products make the most sense for people who have already tried increasing normal food intake and still struggle to gain weight.
That includes some high-volume athletes, people with highly active jobs, larger individuals with high maintenance-calorie requirements and people whose appetite makes additional solid meals difficult.
They are less compelling for someone who simply wants a little more protein or needs only a few hundred calories.
Who Probably Shouldn’t Use One?
If you are already gaining weight at an appropriate rate, you do not need a product specifically designed to make calorie consumption dramatically easier.
Likewise, someone whose main goal is fat loss or weight maintenance is unlikely to benefit.
People who need only a modest surplus may be much better served by a clean mass gainer, normal protein shake or homemade snack.
How to Choose the Best High-Calorie Mass Gainer in Canada
The first thing to check is calories per realistic serving, not the largest number on the front label.
Then compare protein, carbohydrates, sugar, fat and whether the product includes creatine.
Look carefully at serving size in grams.
A product providing 1,200 calories may require more than 300 grams of powder.
Consider whether you can actually drink that comfortably.
Serving flexibility is another major advantage.
Products such as QuickMass make it easy to add calories gradually.
Finally, competitive athletes should consider credible banned-substance testing, and Canadian shoppers should confirm that the product is available from an established Canadian retailer or manufacturer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best high-calorie mass gainer in Canada?
Mammoth Mass is our best overall choice for hard gainers because it provides approximately 1,250 calories, 60 grams of protein and 230 grams of carbohydrates while keeping sugar relatively low for such a large serving.
What mass gainer has the most calories?
Among our main recommendations, Dymatize Super Mass Gainer provides up to approximately 1,310 calories per serving.
Products prepared with milk can reach considerably higher totals.
What is the best mass gainer for a hard gainer?
Mammoth Mass, Dymatize Super Mass Gainer and Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass are all particularly suitable for people with genuinely high calorie requirements.
Is 1,200 calories too much for a mass gainer?
It can be.
If your daily calorie gap is only 300–500 calories, a full 1,200-calorie serving is unnecessary.
Can I take half a serving of mass gainer?
Yes.
For many people, half servings are actually more appropriate.
How many calories should a hard gainer eat?
There is no universal number.
Your target depends on your maintenance calorie requirement and the size of surplus needed to produce gradual weight gain.
Is mass gainer better than food for hard gainers?
No.
Mass gainer is mainly more convenient and easier to consume.
Whole foods should still make up the foundation of the diet.
Can mass gainer replace meals?
It can occasionally fill a meal-sized calorie gap, but relying heavily on powder reduces dietary variety.
Should I take mass gainer every day?
Only if you need it to reach your daily calorie target.
Should I take mass gainer on rest days?
If you still need the calories to maintain your intended surplus, yes.
Is mass gainer good before bed?
It can be used before bed if it fits your total calorie intake and you digest it comfortably.
Can I take creatine with a high-calorie mass gainer?
Yes, but check the product first.
Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass already provides creatine in its current full serving.
Can women use high-calorie mass gainers?
Yes.
The important factor is individual calorie requirement, not gender.
Are high-calorie mass gainers good for beginners?
They can be, but beginners should usually start with partial servings while determining how large a calorie surplus they actually need.
Will mass gainer make me gain muscle fast?
It can help correct inadequate calorie intake, but muscle growth is limited by training, recovery, protein intake and individual physiology.
Consuming dramatically more calories does not make muscle grow at an unlimited rate.
Final Thoughts
The best high-calorie mass gainers in Canada for hard gainers can make an enormous difference when eating enough food has become the limiting factor.
Mammoth Mass is our best overall choice because it combines approximately 1,250 calories with 60 grams of protein and comparatively little sugar.
Dymatize Super Mass Gainer is our maximum-calorie option, reaching approximately 1,310 calories per serving.
Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass combines around 1,250 calories with 50 grams of protein and five grams of creatine monohydrate.
MUTANT Mass provides a more varied food-source profile while still delivering approximately 1,100 calories.
And ALLMAX QuickMass gives hard gainers the best serving flexibility, ranging from approximately 250 calories per scoop to 1,010 calories across the full four-scoop serving.
The important point is that none of those full servings should be treated as mandatory.
A high-calorie mass gainer gives you capacity.
It gives you an easy way to consume 500, 700, 1,000 or more extra calories when your diet genuinely requires them.
Use as much as you need.
Not as much as the bag allows.
For the complete category, see our Best Mass Gainers in Canada for Muscle Growth and Weight Gain pillar guide.
If your goal is a smaller, more controlled calorie surplus, compare our Best Clean Mass Gainers in Canada for Lean Muscle Gain guide.
Medical Disclaimer: This article is provided for general informational purposes only and is not medical advice. People with diabetes, kidney disease, digestive disorders, food allergies or other medical conditions, people using relevant medications, and anyone who is pregnant or breastfeeding should speak with an appropriate healthcare professional before making significant supplement or dietary changes.