Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie Recipe

This dessert-like smoothie tastes like a Reese’s peanut butter cup, but it is packed full of nourishing goodness!

You can’t beat the classic combo of peanut butter and chocolate, and this smoothie is so thick and rich that it tastes like a milkshake! But unlike an ice cream-based shake, this smoothie is gluten-free, can be dairy-free, and is full of vitamins and minerals, making it perfectly suitable for a breakfast or snack.

What do I need for a chocolate peanut butter smoothie?

In all likelihood, you already have everything you need in your kitchen! You’ll need:

• Frozen banana. The banana adds a sweet creaminess, and it chills and thickens a smoothie, so it is one of my favorite smoothie ingredients to use. It gives the smoothie a great texture!
• Milk. Any unsweetened milk will do here—regular cow’s milk, soy milk, almond milk, or any other nut milk.
• Creamy peanut butter. You can’t have a chocolate peanut butter smoothie without peanut butter! Plus, it gives the smoothie a little more heartiness. If you want to play with the flavor a bit, other types of nut butter will work too.
• Cocoa powder. You’ll want the unsweetened stuff here, not the hot cocoa mix. That way, you can make your smoothie as sweet (or not) as you’d like.
• Honey or maple syrup. You may or may not need this—it depends on how sweet your banana was and how sweet you like your smoothies!

Don’t I need ice?

Not if you are using a frozen banana! It serves to chill and thicken your smoothie, so you can skip the ice. And as a bonus, you won’t be diluting your smoothie flavor!

If you are using a fresh banana instead, you’ll need to add a handful of ice cubes to the blender.

Can I make a chocolate peanut butter smoothie with no banana?

Sure can! You have a few options:

• Replace the banana with ½ cup plain Greek yogurt and a handful of ice cubes. The yogurt will substitute for the creaminess that the banana usually provides, and the ice will chill it.
• Try our Peanut Butter Mocha No Banana Smoothie instead.
• Substitute half a ripe avocado and a handful of ice for the frozen banana. You’ll also want to add a bit more sweetener.

How do I make a chocolate peanut butter smoothie?

For the best results, you’ll want to add the ingredients to the blender in this order:

1. Liquid first: pour in that milk!
2. Peanut butter and cocoa powder.
3. Frozen banana.

Then blend away, slowly ramping up the blender to full power. When everything is blended and looks smooth, taste for sweetness, and add maple syrup or honey to taste. Pour and serve!

How do I make this smoothie vegan?

Use soy milk or nut milk (oat milk is my favorite with the chocolate and peanut butter flavors!). And make sure to sweeten with maple syrup instead of honey.

Is there a way to pack more nutrition into this smoothie?

This recipe makes a simple chocolate peanut butter smoothie, but you can add whatever seeds or powders that you’d like! For this one, I might add:

• Hemp seeds. They are packed with protein and essential fatty acids. I like using these instead of processed protein powders because they have almost no taste and aren’t chalky at all.
• Chia seeds. Use these to pump up the omega-3s in your smoothie and make it a little extra thick as a bonus.
• Ground flaxseeds. Flaxseeds have so many nutritional benefits! They have a slightly nutty flavor, which is perfect for a peanut butter smoothie.

If you find mix-ins that you really enjoy, you can make them into booster packs for super fast smoothie-making.

Where can I find more smoothie recipes?

• Coconut Pineapple Smoothie
• Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
• Creamy Green Smoothie
• And 20 more smoothie recipes!