This Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie tastes like a milkshake, only without refined sugar. It’s easy to make at home and quickly satisfies your sweet tooth!
Why You’ll Love It
It’s nourishing. This smoothie recipe is filling and delicious, with 11 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber per serving. It makes an easy breakfast or mid-day snack that’s loaded with minerals.
It’s allergy friendly. When you use dairy-free milk, like unsweetened almond milk, soy milk, or coconut milk, this recipe is vegan-friendly. It’s naturally gluten-free, too!
It’s easy to customize. If you don’t have peanut butter, swap it for another nut butter, like cashew butter or almond butter. Feel free to add other ingredients you love, like Greek yogurt, flax seeds, or chia seeds. Flax seeds add omega-3 fatty acids and extra fiber to each sip.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Frozen bananas give this smoothie an ice cream-like texture and the creamy peanut butter helps add creaminess, too. No dairy is required!
You can use cocoa powder or cacao powder, depending on which you keep in your pantry. Either option will work in this recipe. If you’d like to add veggies, you can also sneak in a handful of baby spinach or some frozen cauliflower, which will go unnoticed in flavor.
Want to add extra protein? Add a tablespoon or two of hemp hearts (shelled hemp seeds), which have the nine essential amino acids your body needs, or a scoop of your favorite protein powder.
How to Make a Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie
1. Add the ingredients.
In a high-speed blender combine the milk, frozen banana, peanut butter, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract. It might not look like enough liquid for blending, but this is the perfect starting point for a slushy smoothie texture.
Note: If you are using a blender with a wide square base, you might need to double the recipe. Larger blender containers require more ingredients to pulverize the ingredients sufficiently.
2. Blend.
Secure the lid on your blender and process until the smoothie looks creamy, with no visible chunks. This should take approximately 60 seconds.
At this point, you can adjust the flavor or texture. Add a handful of ice for a thicker consistency, but don’t add too much or you risk diluting the flavor. Use an extra splash of milk or water for a more runny consistency.
3. Enjoy!
Pour the smoothie into a glass and serve it immediately for the best flavor and texture.
Looking for more smoothie recipes? Try my popular Apple Smoothie, Zucchini Smoothie, or Oatmeal Smoothie for more ideas.
Make-Ahead Smoothie Bags
Want to make this smoothie ahead of time? Add the frozen banana, sliced into coins, cacao powder, peanut butter, and spinach (if you’d like), into a freezer bag or airtight container.
Smoothie freezer bags can be frozen for up to 3 months, so make as many batches as you’d like to have on hand.
When you’re ready to make a smoothie, dump the bag’s contents into the blender and add the liquid ingredients, including the milk and vanilla. When blending a smoothie bag, you’ll sometimes need to add extra liquid since everything is frozen this time. Feel free to add an extra splash at a time until everything blends.
As a result, smoothie bags can sometimes be slightly less flavorful. Feel free to add a touch of honey or maple syrup to help boost the flavor if needed.
Need a nut-free recipe? Try using sunflower butter or tahini instead of peanut butter.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 frozen banana , sliced for easy blending
- 1/2 cup almond milk (or milk of choice)
- 1 tablespoon cacao powder
- 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add the banana, milk, cacao powder, peanut butter, and vanilla to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Taste and adjust the texture as needed, adding a little more liquid if you need help blending, or a handful of ice if you'd like a thicker texture. Just keep in mind that adding extra ice or liquid will dilute the flavor slightly. Feel free to add a little more cacao powder for a stronger chocolate flavor, or a squeeze of honey or maple syrup, if you want a sweeter taste.
- Serve right away for the best taste and texture. See the tips in the post above for making smoothie bags that you can store in the freezer, for a make-ahead idea.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this healthy chocolate peanut butter smoothie recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below so I’ll know how you like it!
Yummy!!
I just tried this today I ended up adding 2 more tsp of cocao powder, i used 2/4 coconut cream and 1/4 water, a cup of spinach oh and only 1 ice cube since my ice cubes are huge… came out wonderful 🙂
just made this, followed recipe exactly, delicious!! New favorite, thick and rich and creamy, oh my! Thanks for the recipe!
First off, your blog is AMAZING. It’s the first place I go when looking for a healthy version of a recipe, or just browsing around. Second, I am not sure if you’ll get to read this since this is an older recipe on your site.. But, I absolutely love this shake! It seems to never fail, and everyone I’ve made it for– loves it too!
I sometimes (to make it extra special dessert) pour your chocolate magic shell and swirl it and stir it in the shake, instant chocolate chips! I enjoy dark chocolate a lot, but I was wondering if you can have TOO MUCH cocao powder? I mean, it’s healthy, but if I were to use it.. Let’s say in a breakfast smoothie,, and then in a shake like this for later, and maybe have some other chocolaty things like truffles or brownies or avocado pudding.. That adds up to quite a few tablespoons of it. Would that be unhealthy? Thanks.
Oh my gosh, that sounds AMAZING. I think your body will tell you if you’re having too much cocoa powder. When I was pregnant I became very sensitive to caffeine and could barely tolerate a tablespoon of cacao before feeling jittery. Now, I can definitely get away with a few tablespoons each day. 🙂
Haha, it definitely is. Okay, thank you for the quick reply! That’s interesting to know, but I feel great, so I guess I’m good with how much cocao I’ve been having. 🙂 Yumm!
Just to let you know, cocoa (chocolate) doesn’t have caffeine, it has theobromine, which is in the same family as caffeine but theobromine doesn’t stimulate the central nervous system like caffeine does.
Soooo good. LOVE your site. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. You’re such a blessing:)
Yes this is delicious and thanks for the recipe because I do have to write recipes down and look at them even with the desserts of yours that I have made many times. My husband is so picky he doesn’t like it because of the bananas. His loss because I think this shake is excellent. So I made him the almond milk slushie and that was too plain for him, but I liked that too.
Megan,
What is the calorie count on this shake?
If you posted that info, I missed it. Sorry.
Could I use chocolate chips rather than cocoa powder?
Brilliant recipe, thanks for sharing!
But it wasn’t as sweet as I expected.
What’s a good substitute for maple syrup?
I use one date to sweeten.
Could I ask how many calories are in each serving please?
Oh so delicious! Made it with coconut milk and a tiny bit of honey instead of syrup and it was divine!
I make this a lot in the summer and I love it!!
Do you have any thick shake recipes that don’t have ice? I make my shakes in the morning then generally don’t get around to eating them later
I came across this accidentally- but if you add a quarter of avocado or a scoo or two of fiber – shakes will be thick and nice couple hours!
This is sooooo yummy! We used Trader Joe’s mixed nut butter instead of peanut butter. Seriously tastes like a real milkshake!! My hubby couldn’t stop saying, “Oh, that is delicious” while drinking it.
I do a lot of chocolate shakes. … but it’s because I can hide. Lot of vegetables in it that way. the dessert smoothie I came up with is using lorann brand “butter vanilla” flavour and some baking soda to my banana ice cream/ smoothie. Because if makes it tast like birthday cake flavour.
http://www.lorannoils.com/butter-vanilla-bakery-emulsion-4-oz-0742-0800
So very good! New to trying more Vegan foods, Don’t know if this is OK, Or maybe can be altered to make it “qualify” I love to combine Pineapple sherbet with coconut water and add some pineapple chunks in a blender to make a kind of Pina Colada smoothie! Maybe not the sherbet, just frozen pineapple in the juice mixed with coconut water or even coconut milk.
I have been living off of a similar version of this milkshake/smoothie for the past year or so. I LOVE this! I’ve got a 10-month-old, and this has gotten me through the day breastfeeding for months. I add in some plain yogurt too. My preschooler has this also as a snack. SO good.
We simply love this recipe is so rich in flavor I replaced the peanut butter with almond butter because we prefer the flavour of the almond butter. I couldn’t add the ice because my blender is not high speed and gets stuck! but the frozen bananas provided a nice texture. We love this challenge!
I made this in my nutribullet and it was super tasty but more ”liquidy” than I wanted- ideas on how to make it thicker? I’m assuming it’s too liquid because of the nutribullet? I’m a newbie at smoothie making – can I stop the nutribullet before it’s done once I see a consistency I like? Any advice is appreciated!
Yes, you could always stop the blending cycle early if you see a texture you like. Over blending can make it watery.
I just made this for breakfast again and I mixed the chia pudding! I was in a hurry so eating/ drinking this at the office was easier. I love it so rich and fulfilling, delicious and luscious!
You have cacao and cocoa in your recipe, which are similar but different. I am interested in nutrition just like you and wanted to point this out which could just be a typo.
Cold processed cacao has more nutrients. 2 TBSP seems like a lot, but I haven’t tried your recipe so it may be appropriate, but potentially stimulating given the theobromine naturally present in cacao and cocoa. 4 TBSP to 8 TBSP a day can cause headaches or make you twitchy.
I make a similar chocolate banana peanut butter smoothie for my kids, especially after making fresh, homemade peanut butter in my Vitamix. I use a tsp or two of cacao but I also want them to go to bed if serving late in the day.
I needed a treat tonight, but have been suffering with what I think is a dairy sensitivity,, so I tried this instead of ice cream. SO yummy! I didn’t have any frozen bananas, so I used a regular room temp banana (for one serving) and a chunk of frozen zucchini. Then I tossed in a few cacao nibs at the end and pulsed to break them up to give it that chocolate chip feel. I will be making this again! Thanks!
Very tasty. I used JIF Natural peanut butter (has some sugar in it) and it was not too sweet at all. I did find that the almond milk ratio was a little light. I have a Vitamix Ascent series and it was not really moving things around like it should. Keeping the almond milk nearby to mix in as it blends helps. Thanks for the recipe!
This was the perfect substitute for an insane milkshake pregnancy craving! I used whole milk instead of almond milk, and I added in a quarter of an avocado. Shared with my 2 and 3 year old and they were beyond excited to have such a delicious “milkshake!”
Amazing! Completely satisfies my craving for an Oberweis chocolate peanut butter shake. There is only one difference, I don’t feel bloated and guilty after😊Thanks for this!
Do you ever provide the macros in your recipes? It’s really important for those of us following a keto diet. I tried your vanilla avocado smoothie today and it was good but I need to know the macros. Im guessing they are pretty low because I used Silk Almond/Coconut milk and half an avocado.
I do post them in my newer recipes! I am going through and updating the 900+ recipes on this site, so it’s taking me a while to get to the older ones, but it will happen!
Perfection!! I’m preparing for an upcoming surgery so am under orders to up my protein. A handful of spinach and a scoop of protein powder did the trick. Y. U. M. Thanks for the freT recipe and I’m lookimh forward to trying others!!
This was delicious! The whole family liked it. I’m not even a big fan of chocolate, but I really liked it. I didn’t have almond milk, so I subbed raw, grass-fed milk. I also added just a wee bit of maple syrup for my oldest child, though, I still would have enjoyed it sweetened only with the bananas. In the I may add a little coconut oil and/or grass-fed collagen, just to boost the nutritional factor. Thank you for sharing!
Would love to try this but what could I use instead of almond milk?
Awesome awesome thank you. Tastes great. Thank you for sharing.
Delicious! I typically make chocolate peanut butter/almond butter smoothies with Orgain vegan chocolate protein mix but the sugar alcohols can wreak havoc on the belly. I found this recipe and WOW- it’s fantastic! I doubled it and shook some cinnamon in it. Next time I’ll add some hemp protein and it’ll taste identical to “The Chocolate One” that I get from Clean Juice. Minus the $11. Thank you for this recipe!
This is our go-to breakfast smoothie. My daughter loves helping me with the ingredients. We sometimes add strawberries or raspberries if we have them on hand. Thanks for doing what you do, Megan.
Can you use not-rope bananas? And can you also use normal milk?
Not early enough liquid. By the time I added enough liquid to blend, it was diluted and bland.
Holy yum!!!!!! That was so good!! All three of my kids (3,5,and 7) loved this! My 5 year old is a super picky eater and drank this up and wanted more!
I used a tablespoon of honey to sweeten and it was SUBLIME 🙂
I’m addicted to this smoothie. I only use four ice cubes as I like a thicker smoothie. I’ve replaced my lunch with this and lost 6 pounds in the past two weeks (combined with taking a walk and eating a good dinner). It’s filling so I find I’m good until dinner and not looking for something else later. The cacao provides a real energy/mood boost, too.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for sharing, and I’m glad it’s been a hit!
I’m addicted, too, after only 1 smoothie. Will now be a daily occurrence.
Kids thought I gave them icecream for breakfast 😂
Absolutely delicious! Not a fan of peanut butter in anything except sandwiches. However, it was not only subtle, but the combo of banana, coco, and peanut butter created a depth to the overall flavor. Replaced vanilla with maple syrup. A keeper!
I addedOats and Peanut Butter Powder.
Another great one! I didn’t have regular cocoa powder so I substituted with Swiss Mix Dark Chocolate cocoa powder. I only used the 2 tbs as required and not the full packet. I also used half a tsp of vanilla since the cocoa powder had some sugar already. And it came out great! I can still taste the PB and banana.
This milkshake is so good, I make it multiple times every week. I add collagen and protein powder too. Love it!
This recipe was AMAZING! I had to use about 12 or 14 oz of Unsweetened Vanilla Milk and added 1/2 tsp of maple syrup to make it just a smidge sweeter. My 5/3 yr old daughter and husband LOVED it too! I increased the milk amount because my blender was getting stuck – but in retrospect, it was thick and whipped in my Vitamix, and would make a great chocolate yogurt! 😀 Thanks for a WONDERFUL recipe that will be used in many years to come. Can’t wait to try out more recipes from this website!
You can mix a bit of sugar with the cocoa powder for a slightly sweeter smoothie, instead of using maple syrup!
so so yummy!! perfect flavor and texture. I added some spinach and cinnamon and is absolutely delicious. love added greens that you can’t even taste 🙂
Added ground flaxseed and we counted this as our supper so we didn’t sweat the carbs too much.
I make this recipe regularly! So delicious and very satisfying. Easy and 100% recommend
I made this for my kids for after school. They loved it! My bananas were not frozen so I added a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Perfectly creamy and delicious!
A delicious treat! Think chocolate banana peanut butter milk shake! I usually 1/2 the recipe. If my banana is not ripe or I only have 1/2 a banana because that is all we have left in the house, I like to throw in a date or 2 for sweetness. Thanks for the wonderful recipes!
Perfect! I left out the ice bc I think it dilutes the flavor. I added one Medjool date. Delicious! Thanks for a great recipe Megan!