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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.
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.
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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!
Oh my word! Just tried this recipe this morning and it is delicious! New favourite combination. I usually don’t follow recipes but had to try this one. Glad I did! Thanks for sharing 🙂
wow… i’ve just tried this, SOOOOOO DELICIOUS!!!! thank you for sharing your fantastic recipies
Just made this to test out my brand-new Vitamix. It tastes great… a dessert without the guilt! Thanks for posting!
Fabulous!!! Thank you for sharing!
ummm is it true that milk nullifies the antioxidant properties of cocoa powder?
I have heard that milk does cancel-out the benefits in coffee, so I imagine that it may have some effect on the benefits of cocoa as well. However, there are no conclusive studies that prove this theory either way at the moment.
Luckily, all of my recipes are milk-free, so that’s not an issue for us!
Oh, this also works with macadamia, almond, or cashew butter for a variation or for someone who avoids peanuts.
Wow! This looks fantastic! I’ve made something similar adding vanilla egg white protein or whey protein. I hadn’t used almond milk though. I plan to try it. Readers could replace the maple syrup with several drops of clear stevia liquid, added to taste. I love adding cinnamon or pie spice to banana smoothies!
You do a fantastic job of showcasing so many fabulous fruity and healthy recipes. I love your site!
Chef Rachel
I’ve been making a version of this smoothie for a while now, definitely one of my favorites. I also add ground flaxseed for the omega-3 fatty acids and lignans, the extra fiber doesn’t hurt either. 🙂
Hi there
This looks delicious, as do all your recipes, but I am a little confused in relation to food combining – my understanding is that fruit should never be combined? Are bananas an exception? Or is it dependent on you? I am new to food combinig as its my last resort to deal with stomach bloating.
Thanks
Justine
I just made this and it was delicious! This will be my go to guilt-free milkshake for those days I can’t help but give in to my cravings. Thank you.