This Chocolate Date Smoothie tastes like a rich chocolate milkshake! All you need is a few simple ingredients to make it.
I first started making this chocolate smoothie when I was pregnant and learned that dates may help to improve your labor & delivery experience. But, I’ve continued to drink this smoothie ever since because it’s delicious and nutrient-dense. It makes a healthy breakfast or delicious mid-day snack!
Dates are not only a source of plant-based iron and potassium, but they also are high in fiber. Research suggests that consuming dates may help to improve memory and they also may lower the risk for certain cancers.
Plus, they are a great way to add natural sweetness to a smoothie, without relying on frozen bananas.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This recipe calls for Medjool dates, which are often bigger than other varieties. Look for dates that are squishy and moist-looking for the best results. Drier dates will be harder to blend.
If you have dry dates that are difficult to split apart with your fingers, try soaking them in a bowl of very hot water for 10 minutes to help soften them up. After you drain away the soaking water, they are ready to use in this recipe.
Hemp hearts (which are hulled hemp seeds) add protein and the ground flax seed helps to thicken this date smoothie. If you would like to add protein powder, or would rather use peanut butter instead of almond butter, feel free! This smoothie recipe is easy to customize.
How to Make a Date Smoothie
1. Blend.
Add the almond milk, pitted dates, cocoa powder, flax seeds, hemp hearts, and almond butter to a high-speed blender. Blend until the dates are totally pulverized.
The mixture should look like a thick, smooth chocolate pudding when it’s done blending. Taste the mixture to make sure it’s as sweet as you’d like it to be, but keep in mind the flavor will be diluted with the next step. (It gets better with ice!)
2. Add ice.
For a slushy texture, add 1 cup of ice cubes and blend again. Depending on the consistency you are going for, you might need to add a little more ice.
The more ice you add, the more diluted the chocolate flavor will be.
3. Enjoy!
Serve this chocolate date smoothie right away for the best flavor and texture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can blend a handful of almonds or cashews into this smoothie for creaminess, if you have a high-speed blender. Or, try chia seeds, greek yogurt, or rolled oats as a nut-free alternative.
No, you can actually just use water as the base for this recipe, since the nut butter will add creaminess on its own. Oat milk, soy milk, coconut milk, or any other non-dairy milk will also work, but may slightly alter the flavor.
You can replace 3 of the dates with a ripe banana, but this will create more of a banana date smoothie with plenty of banana flavor. If you want to make a banana smoothie, try my Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie for another variation.
Yes, as written this recipe is naturally gluten-free and dairy-free, so it’s also vegan-friendly.
Add a dash of cinnamon for a Mexican chocolate flavor, or a splash of vanilla extract to make it taste like even more of a milkshake. You can also add a big handful of fresh baby spinach, which you won’t be able to taste at all. (But it will give the smoothie a slight greenish-brown hue.)
Looking for more smoothie recipes? Try my Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie, Strawberry Mango Smoothie, or Chocolate Avocado Smoothie for more ideas.
Chocolate Date Smoothie
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond milk
- 4 to 5 Medjool dates , pitted
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds (or chia seeds)
- 1 tablespoon hemp hearts
- 2 level tablespoons cacao powder
- 1 tablespoon almond butter
- 1 cup ice cubes , plus more as needed
Instructions
- In a high-speed blender, combine the almond milk, 4 dates (use 5 if they are on the small side), ground flax, hemp hearts, cacao powder, and almond butter. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the blender if needed.
- Taste the smoothie and make any adjustments you need. The flavor will be diluted once you add the ice, but this is your chance to add more sweetness or cacao powder if needed.
- Add the ice cubes, and blend again, until the shake has a slushy texture. The more ice you add, the more diluted the chocolate flavor will be.
- Serve right away for the best taste and texture.
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this chocolate date smoothie recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it.
I made this soon after you posted it on Instagram today, and it is the best chocolate smoothie I’ve ever made! It really does taste like chocolate milk. I used 5 dates because mine were small, and it was the perfect amount of sweetness.
Wow, this is good!!
SO GOOD! I used only 3 large medjool dates, I didn’t have hemp hearts so couldn’t add, used whole flax and chia seeds and coconut water and cream (from the can I had leftover in the fridge) instead of water. Even with the spinach it’s still a nice light brown color that is appealing.
Thank you! I don’t feel like I’m missing out on a delicious dairy smoothie. It’s super filling too.
my 3 year old loved this! we used oat milk instead of water and omitted the almond butter and did 7 small dates.
Thank you for the recipe!
I didn’t try this exactly as written, but did a mashup between this and your chocolate pudding recipe: 2 dates, frozen cherries, frozen avocado, chia seed, egg whites, cacao powder, spinach. Such a treat in the morning and reminds me of a Wendy’s frosty!
Very good. I just didn’t add enough ice so nice glass of healthy chocolate milk.
I found this SUPER watery, though used date syrup vs. Dates, 1/4 Greek yogurt and 2/3 water.
how do you make this without the blender?
Thanks for sharing this post with all of us. Best ever chocolate smoothie recipes. Also sharing here another chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie recipe. Checkout the recipe here: https://www.fitnessattention.com/chocolate-peanut-butter-banana-smoothie/
I used almond milk In place of water. I omitted hemp hearts altogether and used Chia seeds in lieu of flax seeds. I didn’t have spinach or almond butter so I used Swiss chard and PB2 and oh my yummy’ness. This recipe is a keeper! Thank you…
Megan, This was delicious! Loved that there was no banana! My husband loves banana and wants to put in all smoothies (he loves them THICK) I love banana as well but years ago tests showed me being allergic so I watch that I don’t eat a lot of them. My husband was really surprised at the consistency and taste. (BTW, he LOVES all your recipes.) We only had frozen spinach so we added that. Tastes good!
I made this and it was great but spinach always ruins a chocolate smoothie for me, so I made a modified version omitting the spinach, hemp seeds and flax seeds. Subbed 2 tablespoons of PB for the almond butter and added 2 tablespoons of cacao nibs. Tasted like a Reese’s cup!
This is the best shake I have ever tasted! I absolutely love this shake!
Wow, love the idea. I hate eating dates but in this recipe they were perfect. thanks.
I’ve had some bad experience with other chocolate smoothies, containing raw cocoa powder, tasting bland and bitter so I’m eager to give this one a try! Can you omit the hemp hearts or replace them with something else? I am always impressed with all of your recipes and I immeidiatly look to your blog for when I’m stuck for easy, healthy food recipes. Thank you!
I’m recently having to eat by the low FODMAP diet plan. Could I use a little bit of maple syrup instead of dates in this smoothie? Or what would you suggest for replacement? Thanks!
Very interesting thank you
Love this! I’m always a bit skeptical if a smoothie will truly feel like a meal replacement, but this totally did! And it was delicious! Followed the recipe and did 7 ice cubes, but think I want it a little thicker. Will try more ice and almond butter next time. I love that all you have to clean is the blender and a tablespoon too! So simple 🙂
I’m new to smoothie making. how can I make this with lower carbs and calories
OMG… THIS WAS AMAZING! I didn’t have flaxseeds and substituted almond milk for water. This will definitely be my go to! Thanks for sharing.
I loved it! Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe.
Love it ! I used 2 large dates and no hemp hearts and it was delicious!
I’ve been seeing this posted several times on IG stories and I finally tried it. Great combo and I always have these ingredients on hand.
I have texture issues, which makes “seedy” smoothies a bit of a challenge. I also DESPISE banana, so any smoothies that call for banana as a thickening agent are a no-go. It doesn’t matter how small the inclusion is; I always taste it. In looking for tasty and healthy things to add to my diet, this came up and I tried it. It was actually really good. A little chunky, but I didn’t blend it enough so that was my fault. I’ll know better next time. Plus, I added the ice in with everything else so that probably didn’t help. But this is good.
This is delicious! I enjoyed it so much, I’ve made it three days in a row! As others suggested, I did swap water for oat milk. It’s so nice to have a chocolate smoothie recipe that doesn’t use banana. Thank you!
Delicious! Great for a quick meal, or I split with my 2 year old. She lives it too!
This is so delicious! My son thinks it’s a milkshake. He sucked it down. So did I 🙂 I think the nutritional info is maybe off. With a tablespoon of peanut butter, 4 medjool dates, and half-n-half water and oat milk, plus gelatin, I get 327kcal, 39g carbohydrates, 11g fat, and 15.5g protein. The stats on this page state 80g of carbs nearly 500 cal. Those are either some honkin’ huge dates or perhaps they doubled the recipe by mistake.
DELICIOUS! Thank you for the recipe idea! I have been looking for more ways to enjoy dates in my cooking, and I absolutely love chocolate. I even added a handful of a spinach in too and I couldnt even tell by taste! All I tasted was a rich chocolate flavor. 🙂 Most recipes include banana, and although I do enjoy banana in smoothies, I can always taste it a tiny bit in chocolate smoothies. This recipe is great chocolate flavor, no banana.
So good! We used date paste & pre-ground chia seeds with a large handful of either fresh or pre-steamed spinach pucks, delicious.
Delicious!
This is on repeat at my house – especially when curbing a chocolate craving!
This is very tasty. They only issue I have is the dates don’t completely blend. Maybe I should not keep them in the fridge or I need dates that are fresher. I may add a frozen banana to take my vitamins for more of a base but I wanted to try it alone and it tastes like a milkshake!
Very good this will be my favourite smoothie 👍thank you for the recipe
This smoothie is perfectly creamy and tastes like the most indulgent chocolate shake (even with only 3 dates because that’s how we like it). One of Megan’s smoothies is always on rotation in our house for breakfast, and right now it’s this one!
Lovely recipe. Thanks for sharing.
I have a smoothie every morning and this is the best one I’ve ever tasted
Yum! I wouldn’t say this tastes like a chocolate shake, but it’s good! I like the idea of putting the ice in after the other ingredients have blended. This helps give it a better, icy-frappuccino-y texture. I used 2 dates instead of 4 and I used some cashews instead of the almond butter because that’s what I have and the high power blender does a good job of making them disappear into the liquid. The color is def off-putting (um, baby diaper), but I’m not making this for anyone else so it’s ok. I also made a version with unflavored protein powder and that worked too (though it does have a slightly gritty texture). Anyway, super appreciative of the banana-free shake/smoothie recipes and am excited to try the hazelnut version and other flavors you created. Thanks! 7/20/23
I love this recipe! I have made it with almond and peanut butter and I like both. It’s creamy and delicious and tastes like a treat. I love having a smoothie option that doesn’t use banana
Wanted to make a chocolate smoothie without banana. This was incredible! Honestly, I was suspicious at first because of the ingredient list, but it somehow worked – especially with regular milk. Thanks!
Best (No Banana) Smoothie. The recipe is missing a handful of raw spinach, which was included in the old version. One can easily leave out the almond milk in place of water. Easy to throw together, fulfilling the cravings for the chocolate smoothie addicts among us!