This sweet and creamy Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie tastes like a dessert! Blended with frozen banana for a thick and rich milkshake-like texture, it’s packed with the classic funky monkey flavor combo everyone loves. With about 20 grams of protein, it’s a satisfying breakfast or snack that keeps you full and energized!
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: American
- Primary Cooking Method: Blender
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free, Dairy-free option
- Skill Level: Easy
Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie – Tastes Like Dessert!
I can never resist the pairing of chocolate and peanut butter. Whether it’s a Peanut Butter Cup Flourless Chocolate Cake Roll or Peanut Butter Cup Brownies or Flourless Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies, who doesn’t love this pairing?
But any time I can feel free to indulge in my favorite flavor combo for breakfast or a snack, not just when I’m treating myself to dessert, then I’m all over it. So this is the ultimate dessert smoothie recipe for all the chocolate and peanut butter lovers out there, even if you are enjoying it first thing in the morning. Here’s why you’ll love it:
- Fuels your day. With a good dose of protein and some dark leafy greens, it keeps you satisfied through the morning until lunch or boosts you through the afternoon slump.
- Satisfies the sweet tooth. When you want to cap off your evenings with a chocolaty dessert, just whip up a Funky Monkey Smoothie and indulge while you are treating your body well.
- So versatile. Feel free to add in extra protein powder or other ingredients, swap the nut butter, or even toss in some additional fruits for more flavor. You can even garnish it like a milkshake for more fun!
Recipe Ingredients
Let’s talk a little more about the simple ingredients that make this chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie so amazingly delicious and satisfying. Plus I will share some substitutions you can make to customize your smoothie. To find the full amounts, scroll to the recipe card further below.
- Milk. Unsweetened almondmilk or any other non-dairy milk will work. If you want to add more protein, you can use regular dairy milk.
- Baby spinach. Optional, but it’s a great way to sneak in an extra dose of green veggies. Baby spinach has a mild flavor and basically disappears once you blend it, but some people like to use kale or other greens. Feel free to use your favorite or omit it completely.
- Cottage cheese or Greek yogurt. Yogurt is the go-to for many people in smoothies to add protein and more creaminess. I actually prefer cottage cheese because blends up so super smooth, without that bit of tartness from the yogurt, and the salt enhances the sweetness and nutty flavor. If you avoid dairy, substitute a non-dairy yogurt like coconut or soy yogurt.
- Peanut Butter. Use your favorite brand or style, or even powdered peanut butter.
- Cocoa Powder. I usually use Hershey’s but any brand is just fine. You can also use cacao powder.
- Bananas. Frozen bananas blend up in smoothies so well to give them a creamy, almost milkshake-like texture. The more ripe your banana, the sweeter it will be.
- Ice. Adding several ice cubes will produce a thick, frosty smoothie. Decide how much to add based on the size of your ice cubes and your preferred texture. If you leave them out, you will have a slightly thinner smoothie (though you could reduce the amount of milk), but a richer flavor.
How to Make a Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie
It’s really as simple as adding the ingredients to your blender in the order listed above, and blending until smooth. Pour into a glass or insulated smoothie cup and enjoy it immediately!
Tips and Suggestions
Here are a few things to keep in mind so you can blend up the perfect chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie:
- Freeze those overripe bananas. You want to use bananas that are starting to get brown spots because they are sweet enough that you won’t need to add any additional sugar or sweetener. See my tips on How to Freeze Bananas and freeze them either in chunks or whole and then break them into pieces.
- Know your blender. When I first got a high-powered blender (I use a Blendtec), I found that I had to reduce the blending time because otherwise, it got too liquidy instead of nice and thick. With a standard blender, you may find that you have to pulse it a few times or stop partway through to stir things around.
- Customize it. As I mentioned, you can swap in dairy or non-dairy alternatives to the milk and yogurt or cottage cheese. But you can also feel free to add protein powder or collagen powder, seeds like chia or hemp, or even use only half a banana and toss in about half a cup of another frozen fruit like strawberries or raspberries.
- Enjoy right away. If you want to make sure it is nice and thick, you’ll want to sip your smoothie immediately so it doesn’t start to melt.
- Dress it up. Feel free to garnish your smoothie with banana slices, a drizzle of peanut butter or chocolate sauce, a sprinkle of mini chocolate chips or cacao nibs, or a bit of whipped cream for some decadence.
More Chocolate Smoothies
- Chocolate Pumpkin Smoothie
- Chocolate Berry Smoothie
- Banana Chocolate Pistachio Smoothie
- Chocolate Mint Smoothie
- Banana Coffee Smoothie
- Chocolate Avocado Smoothie is a dairy-free treat from Texanerin Baking
- Chocolate Raspberry Smoothie from Two Peas and Their Pod
- White Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie from Big Bear’s Wife
Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk or your preferred dairy or non-dairy milk
- 1 cup baby spinach or other dark, leafy greens (optional)
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese or plain Greek yogurt
- 1 Tablespoon peanut butter (or 1 Tablespoon peanut butter powder)
- 1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 large frozen banana, cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup ice cubes more or less depending on desired texture
Instructions
- Add 3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1 cup baby spinach, 1/2 cup cottage cheese or plain Greek yogurt, 1 Tablespoon peanut butter1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 large frozen banana, and 1/2 cup ice cubes to a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Pour into a glass and serve immediately.