Blend up this Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie for breakfast or a tasty snack.
If you're a chocolate lover, this is a great smoothie for you. Feel free to boost it with your favorite protein powder. I recommend using an unsweetened powder that has simple + pure ingredients.
Why I Prefer Naturally Sweetened Smoothies
Sugar gets a really bad rap. And it's true, we all probably take in too much sugar in our daily diet. While I'm not a fan of processed sugar, I am a fan of natural sugars contained in fruit.
I never limit how much fruit I consume because it is so healthy and I'd be giving up loads of fiber and nutrients. That being said, we have a formula that works. Enough fruit to be tasty without going overboard.
Banana super star when it comes to adding natural sweetness. They are also low glycemic meaning that eating (or blending one up) won't dramatically affect blood sugar. Thanks to the fiber and pectin in bananas, they also keep your digestive tract humming along.
If you do find that your smoothie isn't sweet enough for your taste, check out our guide to natural sweeteners that can give a smoothie a little sweet boost without added processed white sugar.
Cacao Health Benefits
Cacao is another superstar in this chocolate strawberry smoothie. Raw cacao powder is what I prefer to use, though cocoa powder (it's different!) can be substituted without sacrificing flavor.
As a superfood, cacao has more antioxidants than blueberries - 40x more to be exact! Cacao is also one of the best plant-based sources of protein pound for pound. It's also high in calcium and magnesium, for healthy bones, heart, and brain. The flavonols in cacao yield anti-inflammatory benefits that also help to protect the heart.
Do you ever eat chocolate when you're feeling a little sad and it makes you feel better? It's not in your head! Cacao is a source of neurotransmitters serotonin, tryptophan, tyrosine, and phenylethylamine which help elevate our mood by combatting depression, a sense of wellbeing, and happiness. The minerals in cacao (and the caffeine too!) can give you a boost of energy and help prevent fatigue, thanks especially to magnesium.
Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie
Rate this Recipe Print RecipeIngredients
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 cup strawberries
- ½ banana
- 2 tablespoon cacao powder
Instructions
- Place spinach and almond milk in blender. Puree until smooth.
- Add fruit and cacao, and blend again.
Notes
- Use at least one frozen fruit to make smoothie cold.
- Feel free to boost it with your favorite protein powder.
- I recommend using an unsweetened powder that has simple + pure ingredients.
Ronna Acevedo
I’m a sweet tooth girl, so this smoothie was perfect! I loved it. Great way to get the chocolate goodness I love but still get my heathy breakfast.
Marla
LOVE LOVE LOVE - Bananas, Strawberries and Chocolate..........how can you go wrong. Will make this again over the weekend
Robin
Chocolate! Yay!
Judy Charanduk
Wow! This was so good.
Flavour profile surprised me ...
Not usually a fan of chocolate.
I was sad when I finished it but happy to have discovered this recipe and will make again and again.
Big THANX!
Adrianne Cleary
I don’t have access to the cocao powder, I used cocoa, not as much tho because it’s so overwhelming.
Delicious smoothie! Loving this challenge!!
Kim Aumonier
Not the prettiest smoothie, but tastes good!
Colette Friedt Eirich
Great recipe I added less cacao and my vanilla protein powder. I find my tummy is acting up with the extra spinach. Hope that goes away.
Day 3 complete. Drank it and then remember to take a pic
Simple Green Smoothies
Hey Colette,
If your body isn't use to drinking a smoothie every day you might experience an upset stomach from all the fiber you are now consuming. Make sure to be drinking a lot of water to flush everything out and it should go away within a couple days.
Meagan
So yummy! I actually had to sub pomegranate to the strawberries but it was so delicious
Robyn C
I’m not a huge fan of chocolate smoothies, but I absolutely loved this smoothie. I will definitely reach for this when I have a chocolate craving!
Sara
I think this one may be my favorite! Adding it for a second time this weekend.
Rachel
Substituted coconut milk instead of almond milk, used cocoa powder instead of Cacao. Not one of my favorites, but willing to try it again when I have cacao powder in the pantry!
Marie
I had a long day at work and this was a great ‘pick me up’ at the end of the day! Very satisfying and loved the chocolate and strawberries combo. My boyfriend and I will make it a regular.
alianora
Used cocoa powder and this chocolate lover was very happy!
Milagros
I love chocolate but for my taste not for breakfast.
Michelle
My husband and daughter loved this one the most!
Dora
I much enjoyed enjoyed today’s Chocolate Dipped Strawberry smoothie. I didn’t have cacao powder but I did have chocolate almond milk, I used that instead. I also added some protein & chia seeds. Will definitely repeat this one.
Sue
Wonderfully delicious. Will definitely make this one again.
Steph
We only used 1/4 of the recommended cacao as we didn't enjoy it in a previous smoothie, but even the small amount was too bitter 🙁 We ended up reblending with some raspberries and gulping it down. Day 3 of the Green Smoothie Challenge done!
Simple Green Smoothies
Hey Steph,
Feel free to add some all natural sweeteners to your blender when they are too tart or bitter. You can check those out here:
Chad T,
Decadent!
Jackie B
I felt like I was having dessert-for breakfast! YUM!
Heather
The sweet fruit balanced the unsweetened cacao powder beautifully. It was a very good smoothie.
Giselle Ferguson
Anything with chocolate I’ll try! I was so happy when I found the cacao powder. I really enjoyed this smoothie. I added a plant based protein powder since I had this smoothie as my meal. Super yummy and I can’t wait to have it again.
Patricia
Favorite smoothie so far!
Dawn
Super yummy, I’m new to smoothies and I’m loving them so far!!
Bonnie Good
This was delicious without being too sweet. A winner.
DonnaA
A little bit of cocoa can go a long way! Using almond milk filled me up more and I ended up eating less for the day! The next time I make this I think I will either use fresh strawberries or use raspberries instead. I liked it!
Stephanie Nicholson
This recipe is very tasty! It is a dark chocolate taste though, so be prepared for that.
Cindy
I think today’s is my favourite so far!
Marlee
I wasn’t as big of a fan of this one. I’m chalking it up to adding protein powder and making it too thick. But I couldn’t really taste the spinach so there’s that!
Michelle Hunt
I love this smoothie. As a sugar free lady, I will be using this recipe when I feel the need for a chocolate hit. Health benefits and satisfying cravings
Ashlee Townsend
This was absolutely delicious! I think the almond milk and using frozen strawberries made it extra creamy. Adding this to the regular routine!!
Anita
This was a very good smoothie. More like a desert. This one will be added to my favorites for sure.
Tiffany Richardson
Not my favorite! Which is shocking because I love all thing chocolate. Another poster mentioned super ripe starwberries and i think fresh berries in this one might make it better. The frozen ones were rather tart and clashed a bit with the cocoa.
Simple Green Smoothies
He Tiffany,
Feel free to add some all natural sweeteners to your smoothie if it's too bitter. You are completely correct that if your fruit isn't perfectly ripe it might cause your smoothie to taste tart.
Check out our recommendation for all natural sweeteners:
Kathy
Chocolaty deliciousness. One of my favorites!
Jenn L.
Love love love this recipe!
Ana
I was suffering from a migraine and craving my usual chocolate junk food but made this instead. So glad I did! Such a great and filling treat! I added oats and almond butter for a complete meal. It more than eliminated my craving, kept me full, and took away my icky headache and groggy feeling. My current favorite smoothie.
Anita
I will thaw the frozen strawberries next time. It was to cold since it’s winter in Minnesota, it was nice and thick and I did add some ground flaxseed.
Brittany Gibson
Chocolate lover here! I really enjoyed this smoothie, it is a chocolate lovers dream minus the sugar. It isnt all that sweet but did surprisingly satisfy my sweet tooth. This will be a go to smoothie in order to cut out candy bars and other sweet cravings.
Rebecca
I didn't want to buy a big bag of cacao powder, since I didn't think I'd use it for other things. I ended up just having this smoothie for lunch and replacing the cacao with chocolate plant-based protein powder. It was filling and tasted yummy although I think the chocolate flavor was more toned down than it would have been with actual cacao.
Tanya
This is a smoothie I could make regularly! My blender is able to really make this smooth and the flavor is great! Love this one!
Julie
Yummo!
Maxine
This was delicious, I really like this one
Sarah Biel
I had this first thing in the morning and 2 tbsp of cacao powder was too much for me I think. I’ll likely try it again with a little less after a workout bc it has great potential to be tasty!
Marci
I’m giving up coffe while I’m participating in this challenge. The cacao powder provided the missed coffee flavor for me so this smoothie is my favorite.
Aimee Dewar
Hey, even my littlest (super picky) smoothie drinker drank it! I did have to quite a bit of extra liquid bc my blendtec didn’t like that all the berries and bananas were frozen.
Cynthia
Loved this smoothie! It was like a milkshake.
Carolyn M Regan
This Chocolate Strawberry smoothie was much better than it looked. The cacao turned it a very ugly brown. However, I loved the mix of the strawberry, chocolate and slight added flavor of the almond milk. It was super thick and I needed to add a little water to blend it but really good!
Susi
I love feeling decadent with the chocolate in this recipe!
Valerie W
One of my favorites, although I did use a little less cacao powder. With both frozen strawberries and frozen bananas, it was thick like a (healthy) milkshake.
Sheera
I don't know if the fact that the ingredients were not frozen and that I waited a while before drinking my smoothie somewhat affected the taste but this was not my favorite. Didn't really like the bitter after taste from the cocoa. I just saw that I'm not the only one who didn't enjoy this too too much. I would make it again though just for the great health benefits from the cocoa and will tweak it a bit to make more enjoyable for my taste.
Simple Green Smoothies
Hey Sheera,
If you ever feel like your smoothie is too bitter you can always add some all natural sweeteners. Sometimes if the fruit isn't just ripe they are missing their delicious flavor.
Check out our recommendations for all natural sweetners:
Marilyn
Ok I may be the only one but this was not easy to go down. There was nothing bad about it, just didn’t love it like the first two. Will def try again and see with different strawberries. But I did make it and drank it so that’s a win!
Simple Green Smoothies
Hey Marilyn,
I am sorry this wasn't a win for you... That is why we love offering so many different recipes to everyone, so you know what you like and don't like. After these 30 days you will have a list of favorites that will be able to keep you going with your daily smoothie habit 🙂
Mireille
I really enjoy this recipe, but you need to use super ripe and sweet strawberries for it to shine! Otherwise, it's pretty tart. Defrosting strawberries a little helps to bring out their flavour too.
Simple Green Smoothies
Hey Mireille,
You are exactly right! If your fruit isn't perfectly ripe you might have a bitter tasting smoothie on your hands. You can always add some honey to your smoothie if that happens so it doesn't taste soo bitter.
Marie-Claude Turbide
Not my favorite... If i repeat this recipe I’ll add less cacao powder...
Emily
Strawberries! Chocolate! Yum!
Anne Coltman
I love chocolate so this is one of my favorites! I could pro even get my picky child to drink it!
Neal
Probably my least favourite so far. That being said i had to make a few subs for things I had at home so the actual recipe might be a lot better. My version was a bit bland. Still drank it though.
My subs - normal milk for almond ( was out of it), blueberries for strawberries, choc protein powder for cocao.
Also my banana was not that ripe so maybe it was just bad ingredients ! I will try this one again
Jada
Not my favorite green smoothie. I did however make some changes. I added my berry flavored greens powder, vanilla protein powder, and used kale in place of spinach. A good smoothie, just not my favorite.
Nicole
Tastes like a milkshake! I would like to try this one with coconut milk, as the almond milk sometimes has a tangy flavor to it.
Chilly
Yummy!!& so deliciously I’m a fan of this.... will definelty make more again.
Tina
Chocolate smoothies have never been a favorite in our house. I used half the amount of cocoa powder and my milk kifer instead of almond milk with a bit of vanilla protein powder. As far as chocolate smoothies this is one of the better ones.
Lolita Wallace
My favorite so far!
Claire Roantree
how can you go wrong with chocolate and strawberries! The ratios in this recipe are delish!
Tanya
Gotta love chocolate & strawberries !!
Latasha Ingram
Lets just say I’m not a big fan of this smoothie. I’m struggling to drink this one and I happen to enjoy green smoothies! It’s the cacao powder that done it for me the after taste is what gets me. #greensmoothie #30daychallenge
Cecilia Anderson
Wow! Can I say yum! I added chocolate protein powder in replace of the cacao powder. This is so good!
Kellyann Mitchell
Just blended this one up to take with me for the day but I couldn't help to steal a sip. Good Lord, this one is good!
Jennifer
This was soooooo good!! Normally, I'm not a big fan of chocolate green smoothies, but I really liked this one!
Katie
It’s crazy how much this really does taste like a chocolate dipped strawberry. After the first few happy sips I kept thinking of our local strawberry festival and sitting on the grass with my kids eating those fresh berries covered in dark chocolate. This is the super healthy and delicious memory in a glass jar.
Pamela LaBouve
I used kale because I was out of spinach, and since both of my fruits were frozen I needed to add a little extra almond milk, with that being said it was delicious!
Antoinette
My favorite so far!
Shannon
Delicious! My 9-year-old and I loved it.
K D
Favorite one so far! Used homemade almond milk (just almonds and H2O), and it was nice and creamy. Could only find cacao nibs at the store so I tossed them in the coffee mill. A little more textured than powder but in a good way. It'll definitely be one of my freestyle smoothies this week!
Olivia
Love it
Liz
This smoothie was really lovely! My frozen strawberries aren't the sweetest, but I imagine with nice froze strawberries (or fresh ones!) it'd be wonderful!
Simple Green Smoothies
Hey Liz,
If you have perfectly ripe strawberries, this smoothie tastes like a dessert!!
Feel free to add some extra sweeteners for when your fruit isn't ripe and leaves that bitter taste.
Pam
Mmm mmmmmm. This is good. I used a mixture of leaves from my garden (beetroot, lettuce, spinach and rocket) as well as some kale. I'm going to try it again without the rocket as that came through a bit too strongly.
Sue
Can't wait to try this one, just a question, I'm sharing all of this with my daughter who is pregnant. My cacao powder comes with a warning for pregnant women, any suggestions for a cacao substitution?
Holly Billings
Subbed 1/2 as much frozen kale and switched 1/2 the strawberries for frozen mango and frozen cherries since we were almost out. Still delicious!
Melinda Velasco
Thus is my favorite one!!
Emily
Really helps with the sweet tooth! I love chocolate and this does not disappoint!!
Vanessa Coutu
I actually HAVE had this smoothie before -- you shared it before with Kale...so basically the same thing. THIS. SMOOTHIE. IS. DELICIOUS. 😀
Vanessa Coutu
I don't usually go for sweeter, chocolat-ey smoothies in the morning, but this is great suggestion for sweet tooth cravings! For me, this would be late evening or specifically, after a workout. I, too, would add protein for the extra benefits! Thanks Jen!!
Rachel
Ops!, forgot to rate recipe.
Rachel
I started today with this one because I was in a hurry this morning and I was not sure how to add the 1 and 1/2 orange for the citrus smoothie. The smoothie was a bit bitter and I added some Manuka honey, maybe next time I would use only a bit less of the cacao, but did like it. For the orange on the citrus smoothie though, does it mean squeeze an orange in a half or peel it and add it?
Another question the challenge is to have a smoothie a day only or to replace a meal or is it up to us as long as we have a smoothie a day?
Kim
Peel the orange and add the whole fruit to the smoothie. The challenge is to add one green smoothie a diet to your normal diet. You don't need to replace a meal with a smoothie.
Courtney Wells
This is my second time doing this challenge and I still have my recipes from the last time a couple yreas ago! My husband always picks at me when I break them out for a break for the yuck!! This time I signed up for new recipes and begged him to take the challenge too. He finally caved and is doing it with me. He was very impressed with the flavor after yapping about the spinach!! This I alter cause I'm not a chocolate person. Instead I add peanut butter powder... It's like a PBJ !! The rest of the recipe is great!! Tastes great
Brian
Tried this one first because I didn't have any fruit frozen for the first two. Overall I liked the taste, but it was a little bitter for me. I will reduce the cacao next time.
Liz
Love this one! I started with it during the challenge because I already had all the ingredients ready, and it did not disappoint. I’m looking forward to trying the others!
Anette Stahl
Very refreshing! Since my frozen strawberries didn't have much flavor I'll add some dates next time! (or get better strawberries)
#simplegreensmoothies
Brandy Bowers
Will need to try this one yet still. Need to have some yummy strawberries in house!!! Well at least purchase the frozen kind LOL
Rachelle Roberts
This is definitely a winner, it tastes like dessert for breakfast. One of my faves when I switch out strawberries for cherries. Yummm!
Laura Collins
Yum! Love it!
Tina
My Personal Fav, delicious!
Sharron
This smoothie is amazing! One of my favs that I will make again and again! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Kacey Baxter
I am looking forward to this one! I am a dark chocolate addict, so hopefully this will give me a little daily boost. Can this be made with water instead of almond milk? Or will it affect the taste and consistency?
Bethany
I never know which fruits to pair with cacao. I'll have to give this one a try!
Nan
My fav!
Nancy A.
Have to make this soon! Sounds delicious, love strawberries and as soon as I buy them, will be making this!
Shirley
Loved it, but oops, didn’t read the recipe correctly and used water instead of the almond milk, I’m sure I would have loved it more! Lol
Katrina Piva
Perfect for those days when you just want chocolate for breakfast... chocolate smoothie without the guilt!
Laura McLendon
This one is gonna be tough for me, strawberries and I don’t agree so I will have to figure out a good substitute..looking forward to it!!!
Nikiesha
This smoothie tastes really good
Jen Hansard
I never would have thought that chocolate and spinach could go so well together— you don't even taste the spinach! It''s seriously like a Red Velvet MIlkshake that's waaaay healthier for you! Bring on a healthy 2019!
Kristi Peck
this sounds interesting I will be trying it as I have a bag of cacao powder