Chocolate Banana Smoothie

This chocolate banana smoothie tastes like a healthy chocolate milkshake! Get your fix with these good for you ingredients.

Who craves chocolate on the regular? (Me!) Here’s a way to get your chocolate fix and eat something healthy at the same time. Try a Chocolate Banana Smoothie! This smoothie is full of good for you ingredients, but tastes like a healthy chocolate milkshake. It’s just sweet enough to make you feel like it’s a treat, but not so saccharine that is feels like dessert. Bananas, cocoa powder, and Greek yogurt make magic in the blender with just a little maple syrup for sweetener. This recipe is perfect for when I’m craving a treat…and our son Larson things it’s actual ice cream! Here’s what to know about making this smoothie.

Ingredients in the best chocolate banana smoothie

There’s not a lot to this chocolate banana smoothie. In fact, we developed it around ingredients we always have in our pantry and fridge. Here’s what you’ll need to have on hand:

• Bananas: Here’s the best part: no freezing necessary! You can use room temperature bananas. You’ll just need lots of ice to get that perfect creamy texture.
• Greek yogurt: We love adding Greek yogurt to smoothies because it’s packed with protein, and it has probiotics for a healthy gut. You can skip this if you’d like a vegan smoothie.
• Milk: You can use any type of milk here, dairy or non-dairy. Add more non-dairy milk for vegan.
• Cocoa powder: Here’s what makes the chocolate, along with the sweetener.
• Maple syrup: Maple syrup is our sweetener of choice. You can also use honey or agave syrup.
• Ice: Add quite a bit of ice, and it all comes together into a smooth, chocolaty puree.

Amp the protein with add-ins (like peanut butter!)

Want to add a little more protein to you chocolate banana smoothie? Here are our best recommendations, both plant-based and dairy protein:

• Peanut butter: What could a better pairing? Peanut butter goes hand in hand with chocolate and banana. It also adds a hit of plant-based protein. Try 1 to 2 tablespoons. Keep in mind that peanut butter increases the calories, but also makes this smoothie more filling.
• More Greek yogurt: Double the quantity of Greek yogurt in this recipe for an even more filling smoothie. This is great for breakfasts or post-workout snacks.
• Protein powder: You can always hide protein powder in smoothies! Typically we prefer not to over here because the flavor can leave an odd aftertaste. But this smoothie would be a good one to hide protein powder of any of our smoothie recipes since the chocolate can cover it.

Variation: vegan chocolate banana smoothie

Prefer to have a vegan smoothie? You can easily make this chocolate banana smoothie plant-based by doing the following:

• Cut the Greek yogurt
• Use oat milk or almond milk, adding a little more as needed until it blends
• Consider adding peanut butter for added plant-based protein

Variation: dark chocolate banana smoothie

Are you a dark chocolate lover like me? Here’s what you can do turn this into a dark chocolate banana smoothie: use Dutch process cocoa powder (sometimes labeled dark cocoa powder or Dutched cocoa). Dutch process cocoa powder is essentially like a dark chocolate version of cocoa powder. It’s been treated with an alkali to make it pH neutral, which gives it a darker color and milder flavor. We use it in lots of our recipes to get a rich chocolaty flavor, like Flourless Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Banana Muffins.

Start with 3 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa powder in this recipe, and add more to taste. You also may need to add a little more sweetener to combat the darkness of the cocoa.

More chocolate snacks

This chocolate banana smoothie is near and dear to my heart because…confession. I’m a chocoholic! I’m not against chocolate in any way: but I also love to have healthier ways to get my chocolate fix. Here are a few more of my favorite healthy-ish ways to enjoy chocolate:

• Healthy Chocolate Pudding Snack Need a chocolate fix? This chocolate snack tastes rich and chocolaty, but it’s just Greek yogurt, cocoa powder and maple syrup. And it’s made in 2 minutes!
• Chocolate Zucchini Cake Super rich and chocolaty, it’s filled with zucchini to make it moist and chocolate chips.
• Vegan Chocolate Pudding So chocolaty, no one will know its dairy free! Cocoa powder and oat milk combine into a decadent dessert.

This chocolate banana smoothie recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten free. For vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free, use the variation in the recipe.

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