This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I can earn a small commission from items you purchase (at no cost to you).
If you love chocolate but still want to make choices that help you feel good, this Chocolate Strawberry Green Smoothie is about to become your new favorite blend. It tastes rich and chocolatey—almost like dessert—yet it’s made with simple, plant-based ingredients, including a generous handful of kale.
This recipe proof that green smoothies don’t have to taste green. When you pair leafy green vegetables with the right fruits and flavors, they disappear into something sweet, creamy, and totally satisfying.
Table of Contents
Why This Green Smoothie Tastes Like Dessert
The secret is balance. Sweet strawberries and banana bring natural sweetness, cacao adds deep chocolate flavor, and almond milk keeps everything smooth and creamy. Kale blends right in (or sneaks in), adding nutrients without competing with the chocolate-strawberry combo.
It’s the kind of smoothie you make when you want something indulgent—but still want to nourish your body.
Save Recipe for Later!
Enter your info below and I’ll send it straight to your inbox to save for later.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Kale: A leafy green in a dessert?! Kale yeah!!! De-stem before adding to the blender to cut down on the bite or use baby kale for a milder kale option. You can freeze kale and use later, too.
- Almond milk: Unsweetened non-dairy milk is a great way to thicken a smoothie. Almond milk provides a bit of protein and a mild, nutty flavor that compliments both the fruit and cacao. You can also make your own almond milk, which tastes amazing.
- Strawberries: During strawberry season, use fresh for the sweetest taste. If you’re blending this smoothie during the winter months, frozen strawberries will give you the best flavor.
- Banana: I love freezing bananas to have on hand for tasty treats. Bananas provide natural sweetness as well as the milkshake flavor and texture that I want.
- Cacao powder: Unsweetened cacao powder is a chocolate-lovers superfood. No need for extra sweetener since you’re using other fruity ingredients. Surprisingly, cacao also helps balance the bite from the kale.
How to Make a Chocolate Strawberry Green Smoothie
Before you blend this one up, if you’re new to smoothies or want to make sure yours turns out thick, creamy, and never gritty, I recommend starting with my how to make a smoothie guide. It walks you through the simple formula I use every time—what to blend first, how to balance flavors, and how to make leafy greens disappear into dessert-worthy smoothies like this one. Once you’ve got that down, this Chocolate Strawberry Green Smoothie is practically foolproof.
- Start by adding the kale and almond milk to your blender. Blend until completely smooth—this step helps avoid any leafy texture. If your blender struggles with kale, check out my list of recommended blenders for smoothies.
- Next, add the frozen strawberries, banana, and cacao powder. Blend again until thick, creamy, and dessert-like.
- Pour into a glass and enjoy right away.
Ingredient Swaps & Variations
This smoothie recipe is flexible and easy to customize:
- Sub spinach for kale if you prefer a milder green.
- Swap unsweetened cocoa powder for cacao powder if that’s what you have.
- Use ¼ banana + ¼ avocado to lower natural sugar while keeping it creamy.
- Replace almond milk with oat milk, coconut milk, or any plant milk you love.
- Boost protein, healthy fat and fiber by adding in homemade protein powder.
Why I Add Kale to Smoothies
Surprisingly, this dessert-like chocolate strawberry smoothie only has 15 grams of natural sugar. It also boasts 9 grams of fiber, helping to process that natural sugar into a smooth energy boost that won’t leave you jittery. This comes from the mighty kale leaves. Adding kale to smoothies provides protein and fiber to break down the sugar from the fruit into useable energy for your body.
Recipe Tip
Add 1/2-1 cup of leafy greens to any fruit smoothie to help cut down on the natural sugar spikes. If you’re new to leafy greens, start with a small amount! Then as you get used to adding them, start increasing the amount to a healthy giant handful (one cup).
More Chocolate Smoothie Recipes
I love the idea of a dessert that gives my body a natural energy boost instead of putting me to sleep. I have an entire collection of chocolate smoothies that taste like a sweet treat yet pack in the plant-based benefits. Here are a few more:
- Chocolate covered cherry smoothie has a handful of spinach
- Chocolate banana smoothie uses frozen cauliflower
- Shamrock shake blends spinach and mint
- Skinny mint smoothie combines fresh mint leaves and baby spinach
If you make this chocolate strawberry green smoothie recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out in the comment box below. Your feedback helps me and all the readers in this community. And if you’re interested in more plant-based recipes (and exclusive content), sign up for my weekly recipe newsletter.
Chocolate Strawberry Green Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup kale
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 cup strawberries frozen
- ½ banana
- 2 tablespoon cacao powder
Instructions
- Place kale and almond milk in blender. Puree until smooth.
- Add fruit and cacao, and blend again.
Helpful Tools
Notes
- Use at least one frozen fruit to make the smoothie cold.
- Swap in unsweetened cocoa powder for cacao powder.
- To lower the natural sugar, use 1/4 banana and 1/4 avocado.
- Use the plant milk of your choice in place of the almond milk.
- Use the leafy greens of your choice in place of the kale.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review for a chance to win signed copies of my cookbooks!No. The chocolate and strawberries completely mask the flavor of the kale. When you blend the kale with almond milk first, it becomes smooth and neutral, letting the dessert-like flavors shine.
Yes! Just make sure the cocoa powder is 100% unsweetened and the only ingredient listed is cocoa powder.
Yes! While this might be an opinion, chocolate typically goes well with most berries. Strawberries provide a sweet balance to the bitterness of cacao powder.
Kale is more nutrient-dense and holds up well to bold flavors like cacao. Its slightly earthy taste disappears once blended, making it a great green for rich, chocolatey smoothies.
Oh, yes! My $1 yard sale blender works wonderfully for this recipe. I used frozen strawberries and half a fresh banana for the fruit. It looks dark green-ish and I’ll have to get accustomed to the color. The taste is fabulous! Thank you. I’m convinced these smoothies will help me stay on task to lose 30 pounds.
Way to rawk that yard sale find, Sherry!!! Happy blending. 🙂
I’m so thankful I found this website! I truly enjoy making and drinking every single smoothie I make thanks to you! These smoothie recipes are the BOMB. Each and every one of them! I still need to try other recipes for meals. I’m positive they will be delicious too. 🙂
Yeah!!!! I’m so glad you’ve found us too! Make sure to join our January 10-Day Smoothie Challenge— it’s free and a really fun way to dive deeper into the Rawkstar Life. I can totally tell you are one already 🙂
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/challenge/
This is by far my 2nd favorite smoothie….. It is so yummy – so chocolatey and pairs awesome with the strawberries. It feels like eating chocolate covered strawberries. Heaven!
I like this. 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder is definitely enough. I cannot imagine using 2 !
It is definitely a treat smoothie though. Once a week maximum as it is very rich.
Hey Neal,
That is awesome you were able to adjust the recipe to make it your own.
This smoothie is so rich I feel guilty drinking it =P
Cheers!
Delicious! I can’t imagine anyone not liking this but everyone has their own tastes! It tastes like chocolate ice cream. I’ve been using mixed greens (just what i have on hand) and i always use an extremely ripe frozen! Banana. Make sure it’s overripe. That’s what is going to make the cocoa sweet. I only use about 1.5tbsp cocoa (Hershey’s dark).
This was really gross. The first one I didn’t like. It tasted pretty bitter and bland. I think 1 tablespoon of cocoa would’ve been better maybe. I tired to make it better by adding honey, but I think it made it worse. I couldn’t finish it.
Hey Bethany,
Make sure your strawberries are ripe enough before you add them to your smoothie. If they are not ripe then they can taste bitter and you might need to add some extra sweeteners to make your smoothie more enjoyable. You can check out our natural sweeteners here:
I loved this one. I think because I don’t live in the states so there is much less sugar in everything in general, plus I’m a big dark chocolate fan. The only downside was that it was so think my blender was having trouble and I had to add more almond milk. Three thumbs up on all the recipes from the Thomas’ household
This is my least favorite so far. I kept doctoring it to make it taste a bit better – a little more chocolatey, a tad sweeter. I think there are certain expectations our (my?) taste buds have with chocolate, unfortunately.
Hey Dawn,
Make sure your strawberries are ripe enough before you add them to your smoothie. If they are not ripe then they can taste bitter and you might need to add some extra sweeteners to make your smoothie more enjoyable. You can check out our natural sweeteners here:
It’s like having a milkshake for breakfast!
I think maybe I drank too much of this over the weekend… had a little trouble sleeping! I would add a disclaimer recommending not to take before bedtime 🙂
Added some dates for extra sweetness…couldn’t even tell there was any spinach in it
SUPER!
I made it for me and my littles. I doubled the recipe and added 2 dates and flaxseed meal. Everyone loved it.
Yay!! SO happy to hear that you and your little ones love this recipe.
Cheers!!