Chocolate Banana Smoothie

Creamy chocolate and banana smoothie, naturally sweetened with dates, for a snack or a healthier dessert.  The banana gives the smoothie creaminess and flavor, dates will naturally sweeten, and cacao powder gives it a rich chocolatey taste.  Finally, the peanut butter because who doesn’t like peanut butter?

Deglet Noor or Medjool

Well, the smoothie is easy-peasy to put together, throw everything in a blender, and voila.  First, check for pits in your dates because even though the container says pitted I’ve found pits before.  I used Deglet Noor dates because that’s what I could find at the store and they tend to be cheaper.  Medjool dates are larger, softer, chewier, and tend to be people’s favorite.  If your dates are large, start with 2 dates and taste for your desired sweetness.  If your dates are firm, they combine better if you start with the dates, banana, and half of the milk in the blender.  Once the dates are finely chopped add the rest of the ingredients. Alternatively, you can finely chop the dates if you don’t want to find bits of them in your smoothie.  As a third option, just don’t worry about tiny bits of dates in your smoothie, I actually like getting little bits because they taste like little bits of healthy candy (is that even possible?). Another option is to use maple syrup instead of dates, start with 2 teaspoons then taste for sweetness.  

How to Customize Your Healthier Chocolate Banana Smoothie 

• Don’t have dates= use 2 teaspoons of maple syrup and taste for desired sweetness
• Want it thicker=use more frozen banana or less milk
• Want it more peanut buttery= add more peanut butter 😉
• Don’t want all those calories from the peanut butter= use peanut butter powder (which has sugar in it so you might want to adjust the sweetener your using)

How to Freeze Bananas

You know those really spotted bananas that get put on clearance at the grocery store?  Those are perfect for freezing for frozen treats.  The more ripe the banana, the sweeter it is.  Peel the banana and cut it up.  I prefer to cut them into quarters, so later on 4 quarters equal an entire banana and I’m not sticking an entire frozen banana in a blender.  I think my blender would dislike that.  Then store in a freezer-safe bag. 

They also work great for baked goods that need a ripe banana.  Thaw the needed amount of bananas in the refrigerator overnight.  The liquid will separate from the banana once thawed, just mash it in with the banana and use it in any baked goods like normal. It may add a little extra liquid to the baked goods. If needed this can sometimes be fixed by baking slightly longer or chose to have a softer product.

As always, I hope you enjoy this vegan chocolate banana smoothie with peanut butter!

More Banana Recipes

• Banana Ice Cream
• Whole-Wheat Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins
• Orange Cranberry Bread
• Pineapple Beet Smoothie
• Simple Green Smoothie
• Easy Pineapple Smoothie
• Carrot Orange Smoothie

Chocolate Banana Smoothie

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★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

• Author: Allie
• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: 1 1x
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

Creamy chocolate banana smoothie, naturally sweetened with dates, for a snack or a healthier dessert.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 frozen banana
• 3 pitted dates (finely diced)
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons unsweetened cacao powder
• ¾ cup plant-based milk

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Instructions

1. Blend up the frozen banana, dates, peanut butter, cacao powder, and half of the milk. This helps the dates blend into the smoothie better.
2. Then add the rest of the milk when everything is thoroughly combined.

• Category: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
• Cuisine: American