This Coffee Smoothie tastes like a fancy coffee shop drink, without the refined sugar or dairy. It’s naturally-sweetened with fruit, and is made with home brewed coffee, so you get to control the caffeine level.
Can You Put Caffeine in Smoothies?
Yes! This coffee smoothie recipe is a great way to use up leftover brewed coffee. Have a cup of coffee that went cold while you were distracted? Use it here!
You can use regular or decaf coffee in this recipe. I recommend a strongly brewed cup, so the coffee flavor will shine through. You can always add an extra splash of coffee as you blend, to up the flavor if needed. (Or see the coffee ice cube trick below, for even more coffee flavor.)
Coffee Smoothie Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Brewed coffee. You can use regular or decaf. Or, use a 1/2 cup of water + a teaspoon of instant coffee, instead.
- Dates. Dates are my favorite natural sweetener, because they pack extra fiber and iron in each bite. Plus, they don’t lend a “banana” flavor to this coffee-flavored drink. (However, if you prefer using a banana, I’ve got tips for you below!)
- Hemp Hearts. A complete source of plant-based protein, hemp hearts contain all the essential amino acids the body needs. They add a nice creaminess to this recipe, without using protein powder.
- Nut Butter. Almond butter or cashew butter will add creaminess, without using a specialty milk.
- Ice. Blend everything together first, and once it’s smooth you can add ice for a “slushy” texture.
Wondering what else you can add? I like to add a handful of fresh spinach (which does give it a green hue), and frozen zucchini is also a great replacement for the ice cubes, if you want some extra nutrition in each sip.
Why No Banana?
Call me crazy, but I don’t think bananas + coffee are a great flavor match.
Bananas usually work well for creating creamy, thick smoothies, but I prefer to use them in my Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie or PB&J Smoothie instead. The dates are WAY better in this recipe!
That being said, if you want to use a frozen banana in this recipe, I’ve tested that for you, too. You can replace the dates with 1 frozen banana + 1 tablespoon of maple syrup, for a similar level of sweetness, and not “too much” banana flavor. (It’s still noticeable to me, but I am not a huge banana fan in smoothies.)
Add Extra Coffee Flavor to your Smoothie
You can boost the coffee flavor of this smoothie by using coffee ice cubes instead of regular ice. To make them, just pour leftover brewed coffee into an ice cube tray and freeze it overnight!
I would use half coffee ice cubes and half regular ice cubes, if you don’t want the coffee flavor to become too bitter or overwhelming.
Why You’ll Love It
This coffee smoothie is a naturally-sweetened, nutrient-dense alternative to a Frappuccino from Starbucks. This smoothie packs 10 grams of plant-based protein per serving, plus 6 grams of fiber, to help keep you satisfied for hours.
I usually drink it as a breakfast replacement, with maybe a handful of nuts or a piece of fruit later as a mid-morning snack. Whenever you try it, I hope you’ll love it as much as I do!
More Smoothie Recipes to Try
- Oatmeal Smoothie
- Perfect Apple Smoothie (seriously!)
- Zucchini Smoothie
- Chocolate Smoothie (you can use coffee here for a mocha flavor, too)
- Watermelon Smoothie
- Matcha Smoothie
- Detox Smoothie
Coffee Smoothie | Healthy Blended Coffee!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup brewed coffee (not hot)
- 3 to 4 Medjool dates , pitted (soak in hot water for 15 minutes if they are not soft)*
- 1 tablespoon hemp hearts
- 1 tablespoon nut butter
- 1 cup ice cubes , or more as needed
Instructions
- In a high-speed blender, combine the coffee, 3 dates, hemp hearts, and nut butter. Blend until very smooth. Taste the mixture, and add an extra date if you'd like it to be sweeter.
- Add the ice cubes and blend again, until the smoothie has a slushy texture. Serve right away for the best consistency.
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this Coffee Smoothie, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like it. And if you make any modifications, I’d love to hear about those, too. We can all benefit from your experience!
My new favorite afternoon drink!!!
I had to tweak it a bit, but yum! I used 4 dates, about a tablespoon of almond butter, left out the spinach and hemp hearts,added a splash of oat milk and about a tablespoon of maple syrup. So good!
Looks amazing!
I’m wondering if your photo is the same as the recipe here, because I halved the recipe for a single serve, and mine was green. Yours, somehow looks chocolate.
It’s green when you use spinach, it’s chocolate-colored when you leave the spinach out. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll see that it’s green 95% of the time we make it, too! But, sometimes you have to make the non-green version to convince people to taste it. 😉
Even if you use spinach, you can still get a brown, chocolatey smoothie if you add raw cacao powder (I like 2-3 tsp for this recipe). I used kale in mine and it was a pretty unappealing color until I added the cacao! It came out really good!
Absolutely divine! Can’t do too much caffeine, so my adjustments are as follows:
I use decaf or regular coffee for the coffee base, but I use tecchinio ( herbal coffee replacement) and freeze for the ice cubes. I also add a scoop of dr axe chocolate bone broth protein powder.
I finally got around to making this today with the temp at 100 degrees! Oh. My. Gosh, — definitely keeping this recipe handy throughout the summer. Thanks you Megan!!
Used teechino in place of the coffee and chia in place of the hemp. Absolutely amazing! (And my new favorite way to eat spinach!)
I made it this morning and it was delicious. Only put 3 dates in and it was still sweet enough.
What can I sub the dates out for to make this recipe Keto friendly?
In the Recipe Notes: If you would prefer to leave out the dates, feel free to use your favorite sweetener as an alternative. This drink will still be thick from the ice, but it won’t have as much iron or fiber without the dates.
OH. MY. GOODNESS. SOOO GOOD! I’m sitting here enjoying this frozen mocha goodness (added the cocoa powder) with a couple of your Vegan Double Chocolate Chip Cookies. I’m calling it PMS Heaven!
As a foodie working on a healthier, more whole food diet, I’ve run in to quite a few recipes that call themselves “just as good…no one will know…”. AND, um, no, everyone knows…it tastes awful!
Well, so far, you are 2 for 2 in my book! I’ll be checking out more from you, for sure!
Agreed! Total foodie, it’s hard to give up food when then substitutes people claim are amazing are inedible!
I will say I substituted flax for hemp since I didn’t have any handy and the after flavor was a bit bitter. But I am excited to try with hemp as it has promise!
Also, when substituting chia seeds, would you soak first? Thanks for the wonderful recipes Megan, loving 4/5 that I’ve tried so far!
I am blown away by how much this taste like a Frappuccino!! Delicious!!
Just made my first Coffee Smoothie and I absolutely love it!
Thank you so much for the recipe xx
Do you have a suggestion for a replacement for the hemp harts? I have tried them, and I just don’t care for their flavor.
Wish you posted a picture of the coffee smoothie with the spinach in it! If green enough they might just think it is my kale drink and not steal it! lol
If you follow me on Instagram, I post what it looks like with spinach every time I make it! It’s definitely green, unless you add a little cacao powder for a “mocha” flavor. 😉
Yummy! I can’t have caffeine, since its hard on the liver so I used Swiss-water decaf and lowered the sugar by cutting dates amount in half. turned out delicious!! thanks!
I have been making this coffee smoothie non-stop. It is so tasty!!
Wow! So surprised how lovely this tastes! Thank you very much for the recipe
Yes! Yes! Yes! Thank you for sharing!
I wasn’t sure I would like this but it is delicious! I will be making this drink on a regular basis. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe.
so good!! I was skeptical of how this could end up creamy, but it sure did!
Good grief…I make this every. single. day. It is SO good, especially right after a workout. I use five dates, no spinach (I get enough of that), DEFINITELY coffee ice cubes (I like a rich coffee flavor) and throw in my collagen (no taste). Oh, and I drink the entire thing…can’t help it.
But I will say, it sustains me for about four hours. Like most of your recipes, you hit this one out of the park, Megan!! My taste buds and tummy thank you! 🙂
I’m so glad to hear that you love it! I drink the whole thing by myself, too. 🙂
I love your recipes and have your books. I do have a question about combining foods. On your chart it looks like fruits cannot be combined with nuts or hemp hearts. But they are often used together in smoothies! What is ok to do? I have digestion issues and food combining really works for me so i wanna be clear on whats ok in the case of smoothies since i have them daily. Thanks!
delicious! i used 4 dates and think 3 would even be enough
Any recommendations for replacing the cashew butter for people allergic to tree nuts?
we use unsweetened sunbutter from Trader Joe’s, but you could use the sweetened version from any grocery store. we also add a scoopful of chocolate bone protein – yum!
I have the same question as Michelle . How can I substitute hemp hearts Megan?
Fabulous!!!!!! Even my picky husband like it!!! Kept me full hours longer than my usual eggs!!!
Soooo delicious! I used 4 dates because I don’t like things as sweet, almond butter, sunflower seeds for hemp, coffee ice cubes, and about 3/4 c frozen broccoli. And a 1 inch coin of frozen banana. I’ll be making this on the regular. Gonna be hard to make this last two portions!
is there any alternative to using dates? I would prefer to use less sugar. let me know!
Love these recipes! Thanks! Yummm
Wow!! This is so good!! Coffee helps me with a health issue and I can no longer stand the taste. I find the stuff I make at home is bearable, but if I’m not able to no one else will make it for m. However, they will go to one of local shops and get me a latte. I hate how much junk is in them, but it’s only drinkable with the flavorings. This is so incredibly good. It reminds me of the days I used to love coffee – not sure if that is a good or a bad thing. I used almond butter and 3 dates. Next time I will definitely cut it down to 2 as it is just over the edge of my sweetness preference. As always, thank you for the delicious recipe.
Recipe is wonderful. Is there any alternate of hemp hearts? or skipping it effect on taste?
I made this yesterday and it turned out well! Very creamy, and I liked that it got a little foamy on top. I used peanut butter because that’s what I had on hand and it tasted great. I don’t like super sweet coffee drinks, so I initially only added 3 dates to a little over 1 cup of coffee, but I found I did want a little more sweetness and ended up adding 1 more date.
away if you’re allergic to hemp? Can you recommend a substitute? What about Chia seed?
Chia seeds should work great!
Eyeballed half a recipe and subbed dino kale for spinach. Life-changing. Ridiculously delicious!
I save all of my leftover coffee for this smoothie – whenever the tray is full of coffee ice cubes, this is what I have for brekkie! Only change is that I use chia instead of hemp seed and I always use spinach & cocoa powder. My fave <3 Thanks for creating this!
I used cashew butter and no spinach. Amazing.
Oh my, I just tried this using frozen bananas and maple syrup as I had no dates. And I have hemp hearts to use up! I am not a coffee drinker but I do like it in chocolates and cold drinks every now and then. I enjoyed this! I put some in the freezer and my 7yr old is loving it! I also love that it’s dairy free! If u left the coffee out wld u replace it with anything? Great recipe!! Well done and thank u! 🥰🥰
I just made this and am enjoying it as an afternoon treat. I substitute maple syrup for dates and didn’t have time to let my coffee cook, but it’s still extremely delicious. Definitely a go to for me, especially now that the weather is heating up!
This is absolutely delicious! I have a new favorite coffee drink! I did use collagen powder in place of hemp hearts since I am out at the moment. Tastes amazing still!
So yummy!!! I used cashew butter. I also added cacao nibs on top!
Looks so yummy! Thanks for sharing I’ll try it asap!
This is so perfect. I have a canister of protein powder I’m trying to use up so I used 3 dates, 1 tablespoon of almond butter, and a little more than 1/2 cup cold brewed coffee. Now I won’t dread using this protein powder and I’m good until lunch!
It’s so good!!! I used peanut butter and maple syrup (I didn’t have dates on hand). I also added a pinch of cacao powder. Yumm!!
Delicious! Thank you!
It seems like sorcery that can be so good. How do you do it??
I loved having coffee this way! I doubled it and 6 dates was definitely sweet. Next time I will try it with cocoa powder and see what the sweetness is like. Thanks so much for sharing.
This is the best! I have reduced the amount of dates and also tried with bananas instead. All options are good.
Looks amazing. I was wondering if you have ever used date syrup instead of dates? I happen to have a jar of all natural/nothing added date syrup and it seems it would be easy to use it as a sweetener. Just wondering your thoughts on that. Thank you for all your great recipes!
I have tried experimenting with date syrup, but I feel like it doesn’t have the same sweetness level as using real dates. I’m not sure how to use it, other than adding it to tea or coffee, but if you don’t mind adding a lot of it to this smoothie, it might work? But, you’d be missing out the fiber from the real dates, which is what makes this smoothie more filling.
Excellent. Used 3 large dates and was a little sweet so will try 2 next time. But takes no time to make and delicious.
I just made one serving of this and shared it with my husband. We are hooked! I am now going to make some coffee ice for the next time I make it. And I will make 2 servings next time!
Thanks for the delicious drink with ingredients we feel great about consuming!
This is so so good Megan! Love having a great drink that I can feel good about drinking. I add kale or spinach for extra vegggies.