Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie
For a healthy breakfast that tastes like a dessert, you can’t beat this chocolate peanut butter smoothie! You’ll think you’re drinking a milkshake, but it’s thickened and sweetened with frozen bananas.
Not all of us were born to be green smoothie drinkers. Sure, they’re healthy and yeah, you don’t even taste the spinach, but sometimes that green color is just too much of a hurdle to overcome. Well, we’ve got your back—this chocolate peanut butter smoothie tastes and looks like a chocolate peanut butter milkshake, but it’s healthy.
(You could throw a handful spinach in there too if you want. Just sayin’!)
And if you’re looking for a smoothie your kids will love, this is the one. It’s a satisfying, sippable breakfast that will fuel them all the way to lunchtime.
Add some peanut butter chocolate pancakes or double chocolate peanut butter pancakes to round out your breakfast!
About this chocolate peanut butter smoothie
As with most smoothie recipes, this chocolate peanut butter smoothie is highly customizable, and we’ve got lots of ideas to help you do just that below.
It’s also toppable! And mix-in-able! Okay, that last one isn’t a word, but think of it like a Dairy Queen Blizzard, but in the form of a smoothie—you can stir in cacao nibs, dark chocolate shavings, or granola for some texture.
(Now, if you really want to go all in on the toppings, you might want try our chocolate peanut butter smoothie bowl, or perhaps our berry smoothie bowl. Then dig in with a spoon, and don’t forget homemade chocolate syrup!)
What you need
For the smoothie:
- Milk – Dairy milk or your favorite plant-based milk. Whatever you like or have on hand!
- Pure vanilla extract – This adds a little depth to the flavor, but if you don’t have it (or want to save some cash), you can skip it in this recipe and it will still taste great.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder – Cacao powder will work too, but don’t use hot cocoa mix, which has sugar added to it.
- Peanut butter – Again, pick your favorite. Natural peanut butter will work in this recipe since it gets blended with the other ingredients anyways.
- Frozen bananas – Very ripe bananas will give you more sweetness and more pronounced banana flavor, while barely yellow bananas will give you a nice creamy texture without as much banana flavor; you might need to add sweetener, though.
Optional toppings:
- Peanut butter
- Banana slices
- Chocolate or cacao nibs
How to make it
Freeze the bananas. Slice the bananas and freeze them in a small freezer bag or airtight container.
Tip: Slicing the bananas before freezing them is ideal for blending in any smoothie, as it’s easier for the blender to blend and you can grab only what you need from the freezer each time. (Learn more about freezing bananas.)
Blend. Place all of the ingredients in the blender and blend for 40 to 60 seconds, or until smooth and creamy.
Finish. Pour your chocolate peanut butter smoothie into glasses and add toppings, if you’re using them.
FAQs
A regular blender should work just fine for this recipe. If it seems to be struggling, you can add more liquid.
You can try adding less liquid, but the liquid facilitates the blending process, so this doesn’t always work, especially if you don’t have a high speed blender. Another option is to add Greek yogurt or skyr.
As soon as the smoothie is, well, smooth, you should stop blending it. It will start to warm up the longer it’s in the blender.
How to make this chocolate peanut butter smoothie your own
Want to customize this chocolate peanut butter smoothie? Here are some ideas to help get you started!
- Make a no banana smoothie. The frozen bananas are responsible for the thick, creamy texture and the chilly temperature of this smoothie, so if you want to replace them, you’ll need to use a thick yogurt like Greek yogurt or skyr, along with a few ice cubes.
- Make it a protein smoothie. Swap the cocoa powder for your favorite chocolate protein powder.
- Make it nut-free. You can omit the peanut butter and use sunflower butter instead. You could also use cashew butter or almond butter if you want to make it without peanuts, but don’t have allergies to other nuts.
Make Ahead Ideas
While you can’t make this chocolate peanut butter smoothie ahead of time, you can keep bananas on hand in the freezer so you can blend up a smoothie whenever you’re craving one without having to remember to freeze the bananas first.
Storage Suggestions
You can freeze this chocolate peanut butter smoothie as a nice cream or popsicle and enjoy it at a later date. It cannot be saved and served as a smoothie again.
More healthy smoothie recipes
Get the Recipe: Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoon peanut butter
- 2-3 frozen sliced bananas
Toppings:
- melted peanut butter
- banana slices
- chocolate, chopped (or cacao nibs)
Instructions
- Add ingredients to the blender in the order listed.
- Blend for 45-60 seconds, or until smooth and creamy.
- Serve and top with the optional toppings before enjoying your delicious and beautiful dessert smoothie!
Notes
- While you can’t make this chocolate peanut butter smoothie ahead of time, you can keep bananas on hand in the freezer so you can blend up a smoothie whenever you’re craving one without having to remember to freeze the bananas first.
- You can freeze this chocolate peanut butter smoothie as a nice cream or popsicle and enjoy it at a later date.
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