If you’re a fan of chocolate covered strawberries, then this chocolate strawberry smoothie is for you. A naturally sweet, indulgent dessert.
I love mixing flavors and coming up with new combos for delicious smoothies. Don’t let the leafy greens in this one scare you. This chocolate strawberry smoothie has the texture of a milkshake and will satisfy all those sweet chocolate cravings.
Smoothies with a milkshake texture are my jam, but dairy is not my friend. Most of my smoothie recipes use plant-based ingredients, yet still blend together into a creamy treat.
Table of Contents
Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie Ingredients
- Kale: A leafy green in a dessert?! Kale YEAH. Massage the kale and de-stem before adding to the blender to cut down on the bite. Tip: Baby kale is a milder kale option.
- Almond Milk: Unsweetened plant 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.
- 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 I want.
- Cacao Powder: Unsweetened cacao powder is a chocolate-lovers paradise. No need for extra sweetener since you’re using other fruity ingredients. Surprisingly, cacao also helps balance the bite from the kale.
Simple Ingredient Swaps
This dreamy chocolate smoothie will stay dreamy, even with a few easy swaps. Use the dairy-free milk of your choice in place of almond milk. Strawberries can be swapped with any berry you choose. Use unsweetened cocoa powder in place of cacao powder.
Cut back on natural sugar by using 1/2 the banana and adding 1/4 an avocado. Boost protein, healthy fat and fiber by adding in this homemade protein powder.
Why I Add Leafy Greens 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 leafy greens to smoothies provides protein and fiber to break down the sugar from the fruit into useable energy for your body.
Pro Tip: Add 1 cup of leafy greens to any fruit smoothie to help cut down on the natural sugar. 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).
Tips for Blending
Smoothies can sometimes get a little thin, which is harder to enjoy (in my opinion). I always make sure to blend an ingredient that naturally thickens my smoothie. This chocolate strawberry smoothie uses almond milk as the base (thicker than water) and banana.
Other easy thickeners include vegan yogurt, cauliflower or avocado. You can also swap out almond milk for cashew milk, oat milk or coconut milk for a creamier liquid base.
Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie FAQs
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.
My version of a chocolate strawberry milkshake uses a banana as a natural sweetener and thickener and cacao powder for a less processed, yet still chocolatey flavor. Plant milk makes this delightfully dairy free.
Yes! Just make sure the cocoa powder is 100% unsweetened and the only ingredient listed is cocoa powder.
More Dessert Smoothie Recipes
I love the idea of a dessert that gives my body a natural energy boost instead of putting me to sleep. Smoothies like my chocolate strawberry smoothie taste like a sweet treat yet use plant-based ingredients. Here are a few more favorite ‘desserts’.
- Strawberry ‘Milk’shake
- Chocolate Covered Cherry Smoothie
- Raspberry Smoothie
- Shamrock Shake
- Skinny Mint Smoothie
- Strawberry Smoothie
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Shake
- Cinnamon Roll Smoothie
I’d love to know how this smoothie turned out for you; will you leave a rating + review once you’ve tried it?
Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup kale
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 cup strawberries frozen
- ½ banana
- 2 tbsp cacao powder
- 1 serving homemade protein powder optional
Instructions
- Place kale and almond milk in blender. Puree until smooth.
- Add fruit and cacao, and blend again.
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.
Love this smoothie! Great for chocoholics 🙂
Second time I had this smoothie. Liked it this time too. Need to remember to leave the stem on when I use fresh strawberries per Jen’s video.
This was my least favorite smoothie. I found it to be a bit bitter. I am not a huge chocolate lover in terms of chocolate flavored foods (like I’ve cream, cake, etc) which may be why I am not a fan. Also, I really couldn’t taste the strawberry flavor. I might try again with maybe just one tbsp cacao powder to cut out some of the bitterness and maybe a little more banana and strawberry..
Hey Terry,
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 thought this was really yummy! A bit rich for my breakfast though.
Hey Tiffany,
I am so happy that you enjoyed this recipe! Maybe you can swap it out for a dessert instead of having it for breakfast.
Enjoy!!
Delicious. I substituted chocolate almond milk and used a chocolate peanut butter whey protein in place of the cacao .
Hey Dora,
Yumm that sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing that 🙂
This smoothie was my least favorite this week! I think it was mostly the cacao powder that did it for me!
Very yummy after I added a bit of maple syrup as felt it needed a bit of sweetness but that might be because I woke up with a bad cold this morning:( and felt really grim. I think perhaps there is an adjustment period with green smoothies as my stomach is not feeling very happy either?
Hey Pam,
If you are new to drinking green smoothies your stomach might feel upset for a little bit. You are consuming a ton of fiber that your body isn’t use to so make sure you are drinking a lot of water to flush everything out.
Hope you start feeling better soon!
I like that the cacao has antioxidants, but this was my least favorite smoothie this week, flavor-wise. I may try again with 1 Tbsp and more banana!
I loved this recipe. I am a chocolate lover and I was surprised that all ingredients complimented each other. I’ll make this smoothie twice this week.
This is my favorite out of week 1!!! I’ve had this twice already. Is it possible to overdo it? I don’t eat chocolates on a regular basis but this smoothie was just sooooo good!
Hey Jill,
Nope!! That is why we have this challenge and so many different recipes, so you can find what you love and stick with it after the challenge.
I am so glad that you love this recipe and that it will be a keeper 🙂
Cannot wait for you to try all our other recipes we have in store for you!
Not my favorite.. Added more berries and than it became yummy. Also added eggs to make it a meal
I loved this smoothie. I felt like I was drinking a chocolate shake for sure. It was so smooth and yummy!
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.
LOVE LOVE LOVE – Bananas, Strawberries and Chocolate……….how can you go wrong. Will make this again over the weekend
Chocolate! Yay!
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!