Are you craving something sweet, but you don’t have time for anything more complicated than a bowl of ice cream, what should you do? Turn to your trusty friends — the banana and the chocolate.
By chopping up some sweet, ripe bananas (or throwing them in the freezer for an extra-creamy frozen treat later) and adding a drizzle of quality chocolate sauce or cocoa powder, you can craft a delicious chocolate banana smoothie in seconds. As long as your blender has enough power and storage space for everything at once, that is.
What you’ll need to make a chocolate banana smoothie
A blender – If you don’t have a high-powered one, this smoothie will be nearly impossible to make. The only blender that we would recommend for this recipe is a Nutri Ninja blender (or something similar). These blenders are powerful, and will easily whip up a smoothie with enough protein and fat to keep your energy levels up for hours.
Two ripe, sweet bananas – Always use ripe bananas when making chocolate banana smoothies. Ripe bananas are yellow or golden-peach-colored and are sweet-smelling. If you use a green banana, your smoothie will taste like dirty socks.
2 cups of milk – The milk used in this recipe is almond milk. If you don’t have almond milk, you can use regular milk, but you may need to increase the amount of water in the recipe.
6 to 8 ounces of quality dark chocolate – We like 70% cocoa or higher. If you don’t have 70% cocoa, go with 60% cocoa. Anything above 50% cocoa tends to be too bitter and harsh for a smoothie.
Add everything to your blender
One ripe, sweet banana – Chop up the banana and add it to the blender.
2 cups of milk – Add the milk to the blender and make sure that you don’t add the almond milk until the last second. The banana will turn the almond milk brown, and that’s okay.
6 to 8 ounces of quality dark chocolate – Pour in the chocolate and give the blender a good blend. You want to make sure that all of the ingredients are well combined.
Next, add the liquid ingredients
2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed – Chia seeds, or ground flaxseed, are a popular addition to smoothies these days. They offer plant-based protein and make for a great alternative to eggs in vegan smoothies. We like to add 3 tablespoons of flaxseed to smoothies to make them extra-fluffy and nutritionally dense.
2 tablespoons of almond butter – Almond butter is a great ingredient to add to chocolate banana smoothies. It adds creaminess, protein, and thickening abilities. If you don’t have almond butter, try using cashew butter.
2 tablespoons of maple syrup – Sweetness is a great addition to chocolate banana smoothies. Maple syrup is one of our favorites, as it adds depth and complexity to the smoothie without overpowering it with sugar.
The final bit of magic: a dash of sweetness
1 tablespoon of honey – A splash of honey will add a sweet, subtle flavor to your smoothie.
A pinch of cinnamon – Cinnamon is a classic ingredient for adding sweet notes to smoothies.
Enjoy your chocolate banana shake!
Put a few ice cubes into a blender bottle and pour your smoothie ingredients in. You can also try making these smoothies in a blender bottle.
Add fresh or frozen fruit to create a thicker, sweeter smoothie if you’d like. – Your blender should be able to handle the ingredients all at once, but if it doesn’t, don’t worry about it too much. You can always blend the ingredients separately and then combine them in a blender.
Your blender can create frothy drinks, so go wild with your drink’s toppings and flavors!
If you don’t like the idea of wasting any smoothie ingredients, be careful with your blender setting. Low-powered blenders are more likely to overflow and create a mess.
Conclusion
While it is true that you can get your daily dose of fruits and vegetables with just a banana, a few almonds, and some oats, the addition of a few tablespoons of quality chocolate makes it a truly decadent and satisfying smoothie. We hope that you’ve enjoyed reading this article. We’d love to hear from you and your experiences with making a chocolate banana smoothie!
