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This rich and luscious Cocoa Banana Smoothie recipe (chocolate banana smoothie) is made with frozen bananas, cocoa powder, pure vanilla extract, oat milk and a couple of dates for added sweetness.  

Two clear glasses filled with cocoa banana smoothie.

I love everything about this rich and luscious cocoa smoothie!  It tastes like dessert, but it’s healthy enough to make for breakfast.  If you want to add a little protein, just scoop a tablespoon of peanut butter or almond butter to the mix.  

Two clear glass filled with cocoa banana smoothie.

This Cocoa Banana Smoothie is one of my favorite frozen banana smoothie recipes.  I keep a stash of frozen bananas in my freezer to add to all my smoothies because frozen bananas gives smoothies a creamier and more decadent texture than freshly peeled bananas. 

Cocoa Banana Smoothie Recipe

This healthy chocolate banana smoothie is made with just 5 ingredients.

  • Frozen bananas
  • Oat milk (or almond milk)
  • Cocoa powder (or cacao powder)
  • Pure vanilla extract
  • Dates

Find printable recipe with measurements below.

Variations

  • Use cacao powder instead of cocoa powder
  • Add a heaping tablespoon of almond butter or peanut butter if you want to add a little more protein to this healthy Cocoa Banana Smoothie
  • Replace the almond milk with another nut milk or oat milk.

How to Make a Chocolate Smoothie

This Cocoa Banana Smoothie comes together in about 5 minutes.  Almond milk replaces dairy making this a healthy vegan smoothie. The banana and date provide sweetness so there’s no refined sugars added. Adding a little pure vanilla extract makes this chocolate smoothie taste like dessert! 

  1. Place frozen banana, almond milk, cocoa powder, pure vanilla extract and dates in a blender (or NutriBullet).
  2. Blend together until smooth and creamy.  Add more almond milk for a thinner smoothie or add a few ice cubes to the blender if you want a slushier smoothie.
  3. Pour in glass and enjoy!

What We Love About this Cocoa Banana Smoothie

  • Nutritious. This Cocoa Banana Smoothie is made with almond milk (giving you an assortment of vitamins and minerals), cocoa (which is rich with antioxidants) and frozen bananas (rich with potassium).
  • Delicious. It tastes like dessert but it makes a perfect wholesome breakfast or mid-afternoon snack. 
  • Easy to make. We use just 5 simple ingredients for this smoothie

Cacao Powder vs Cocoa Powder

So what’s the difference between cacao powder and cocoa powder? 

  • The only real difference between Cacao powder and cocoa powder is that cocoa is processed at a much higher temperature losing some of its nutritional value, and it may often contain added sugar and dairy. 
  • Both cacao and cocoa come from cacao plant beans. 
  • Cacao powder is made from fermented beans that haven’t been roasted.  The beans are  processed at a lower temperature and then milled into powder  Cacao is a little more bitter tasting than cocoa and it is richer in nutritional properties than cocoa. 
  • Cocoa beans are fermented and roasted and processed at a high temperature losing some of the nutritional value. 
  • Cocoa typically has a less bitter taste than cacao.

Looking for More Smoothie Recipes to Make?

Two clear drinking glasses filled with chocolate banana smoothie.
Yield: 2 Servings

Cocoa Banana Smoothie

Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes

This rich and luscious Cocoa Banana Smoothie recipe (chocolate banana smoothie) is made with frozen bananas, cocoa powder, pure vanilla extract, oat milk and a couple of dates for added sweetness.  

Ingredients

  • 3 cups frozen bananas, sliced
  • 2 cups almond milk
  • 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 dates, pitted and chopped or 2 teaspoons honey

Instructions

  1. Place frozen banana, almond milk, cocoa powder, pure vanilla extract and dates in a blender (or NutriBullet).
  2. Blend together until smooth and creamy.  Add more almond milk for a thinner smoothie or add a few ice cubes to the blender if you want a slushier smoothie.
  3. Pour in glass and enjoy!

Notes

Variations

  1. Use cacao powder instead of cocoa powder
  2. Add a heaping tablespoon of almond butter or peanut butter if you want to add a little more protein to this healthy Cocoa Banana Smoothie
  3. Replace the almond milk with another nut milk or oat milk.

How to Freeze Bananas

  1. Peel the bananas: Peel  ripe organic bananas and discard the peel
  2. Slice bananas:  Slice bananas into in 1/2 – 1-1/2 inch pieces (they don’t have to be perfectly sized)
  3. Cookie sheet:  Lay the banana slices in a single layer on a cookie sheet (you can lay down a piece of parchment paper first if you want).
  4. Freeze bananas:  Put the cookie sheet with the banana slices in the freezer for 2o minutes 
  5. Loosen banana slices:  After 20 minutes lift the banana pieces up from the baking sheet with a spatula so they won’t stick during the remaining freeze time. Then pop them back in the freezer to freeze for about 2 hours
  6. Transfer to freezer bag:  Use a spatula to loosen the frozen banana slices from the cookie sheet and transfer them to a plastic freezer bag

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 361Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 13mgCarbohydrates: 85gFiber: 9gSugar: 52gProtein: 5g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations. See full disclaimer on About page.

© Deborah @The Harvest Kitchen
Cuisine: Healthy / Category: Drinks