This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my affiliate policy.
This weight loss shake recipe uses whole food, plant-based ingredients that will give you the nutrients you need to conquer your day. I use this recipe as an alternative to my vanilla protein shake when I’m craving chocolate smoothies. It’s high in protein and healthy fat, so I start the day full and satisfied. Cacao powder also gives this weight loss protein shake natural caffeine to wake me up, a bonus on busy mornings.
Table of Contents
Chocolate Weight Loss Shake Ingredients
Unlike most “weight loss shakes”—which are often filled with cheap proteins, artificial ingredients, and leave you with a chalky taste and hunger—this one is the complete opposite. Together, these ingredients create a chocolate weight loss shake that’s rich, satisfying, and balanced—without relying on added sugars or fillers.
- Almond milk: Rich in vitamin E and magnesium, this plant-based milk is low in sugars and carbs. Its mild, slightly nutty flavor pairs perfectly with the other ingredients. You can make your own almond milk or buy one of my recommended almond milk brands.
- Spinach: This leafy green vegetable is a staple in a lot of my shakes since spinach contains fiber, protein, iron, calcium and so much more. Bonus—you don’t even know it’s there!
- Frozen cauliflower: Thickens the shake and adds nutrients without changing the chocolate flavor.
- Frozen banana: Just enough natural sweetness and creaminess without spiking sugar.
- Cacao powder: Deep chocolate flavor plus antioxidants, making this feel like a treat.
- Almond butter: Full of healthy fat and adds a lovely nutty flavor to this shake.
- Cinnamon: Adds warmth and may help support balanced blood sugar.
- Cayenne pepper: A small pinch brings gentle heat and supports metabolism.
- Protein powder: The key to turning this into a filling, protein-rich shake.
Save This for Later!
Enter your info below and I’ll send it straight to your inbox to save for later.
▶ Want healthy eating to stick? Start with my free 5-Day Smoothie Challenge for daily recipes, simple tips, and a tracker to build the habit — or jump into the 21-Day Cleanse for a full step-by-step reset.
How to Make a Weight Loss Shake
The beauty of a shake is that you can “eat and run.” I call it the world’s healthiest fast food because you can get a delicious, fast meal in five minutes! Blending this chocolate weight loss shake is super easy, yet I like to do it in two steps to ensure I always get the smoothest result.
- Blend the almond milk and spinach together until there are no leafy chunks left. If you need to stop the blender and scrape down the sides to achieve this then go for it.
- Add the banana, cocoa powder, almond butter, cinnamon, hemp hearts, and cayenne pepper. Then blend again until smooth.
How to chill a Shake
Freeze banana to cool down this chocolate weight loss shake, or pour over ice after blending for a refreshingly cool drink. This will last up to 24 hours in the fridge, so feel free to make two servings and save one for tomorrow.
Ingredient Swaps
If you read through the ingredient list and got caught on one or two ingredients then let’s fix it to make this weight loss protein shake work for you.
- Almond butter can be swapped with the nut butter of your choice.
- Swap spinach with your preferred leafy green vegetables.
- Can’t find cacao powder? Then use unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Don’t like almond milk? Use the non-dairy milk of your choice. Each kind can offer different nutrients and even a bit more protein than the almond milk used in this protein shake recipe for weight loss.
More Weight Loss Shake Recipes
If you’re loving this weight loss shake, there are plenty more protein-packed smoothies to keep things fresh and satisfying. For a lighter, refreshing sip, the banana chocolate protein shake blends creamy and fruity flavors, while the salted caramel protein shake tastes like a treat yet delivers staying power with healthy fats and protein. The meal replacement smoothie is a balanced option when you need something filling that can stand in for a meal.
If you make this chocolate weight loss shake 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 Weight Loss Shake
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond milk unsweetened
- ½ cup spinach fresh
- ½ banana frozen
- ½ cup cauliflower florets frozen
- 3 tablespoon cacao powder
- 1 tablespoon almond butter
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ground
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 serving protein powder
Instructions
- Add spinach and almond milk to blender. Blend until all chunks are gone.
- Add in remaining ingredients (except protein powder) and blend on high until smooth.
- Add in protein powder and blend on low to mix in. Pour into glass and enjoy immediately.
Video
Helpful Tools
Notes
- If you prefer your shakes extra cold, feel free to pour your shake over a glass of ice.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to enjoy.
- Swap almond milk with the unsweetened plant-based milk of your choice.
- Swap almond butter with nut or seed butter of your choice.
- Swap spinach with any leafy greens you want.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review for a chance to win signed copies of my cookbooks!Common Questions
They can be, but make sure your protein shake recipes are full of some key things: healthy fat, protein, and whole food ingredients. Ditch the weird powders and fancy supplements and stick to healthy weight loss shakes made with only real ingredients. I make sure every protein shake I drink has healthy fats, protein from plant-based sources, and only natural sugar from fruits and vegetables.
If you are using a protein shake as a meal replacement, or really anytime, make sure it has a good balance of carbs, fat, and protein. Your body needs healthy fat to function fully and surprise, it actually helps you stay full longer! A good amount of protein in each meal will also help fill you up, and help process the natural carbs.
If two shakes a day works for you, go for it. Make sure you focus on a variety of ingredients in those drinks so you get the most nutrients you can. I like swapping up my leafy greens on a regular basis as well as using a wide variety of produce. This way, my body gets all the vitamins, minerals, and more that it needs to thrive.
Hi, I have a thyroid condition and am often told to avoid spinach and other goitrogens as they can interfere with the production of thyroid hornomes. I know that cooking goitrogens removes the issue but would this work as well in this type of smoothie or can you suggest an alternative? I would feel uneasy about eating them every day. Thank you
Hey Amanda – you can swap greens any time. We use spinach quite a bit just because it’s mild and easier for everyone to get used to when first rawkin green smoothies. Check out our article Ultimate Guide to Leafy Greens for great swap ideas for your greens. And def check-in with your doc to be sure the ingredients are best for your thyroid. 🙂
Hi! I just made this for the first time. It’s good! I prefer it colder, so think I will add ice next time. I had it for dinner. I don’t normally have smoothies for dinner, but we had lunch out and I wanted to do something lighter. Is this smoothie better for you in the morning? I just did your 7 day cleanse and have been checking out your other smoothie recipes. I am considering doing this recipe and the fat burning smoothie, 2 smoothies a day for weight loss – 1 for B, 1 for L. Is that a good plan? Does it matter which one I do for which? Thank you!
Hey Kim! You can def add ice but you could also freeze your bananas and spinach and that would make your smoothie creamy and cold. 🙂
Because this smoothie contains cayenne pepper, which gives your metabolism a kick, I think I’d drink it in the morning. But, you really can drink it any time during the day. Many folks drink a smoothie for breakfast as well as one for lunch, that’s actually what we do during our 7-day summer and winter reset cleanses. And it doesn’t matter which smoothies you drink, as long as you’re drinking one! We have so many, it really depends on what you’re looking to get out of your smoothie. We have smoothies that are anti-inflammatory, cleansing, and packed with antioxidants. Take a look around our recipe page for those and more.
Hope you enjoyed our 7-day challenge. We’ll be doing a 10-day smoothie challenge starting on June 15 and our summer Plant-Based Cleanse starts July 6. You should join us for those!
I don’t have almond butter can i substitute with something else? I have chia seeds and not the hemp hearts so I will be try that out. For the meantime that you reply I will try without the almond butter. Hope to get a response from you soon thank you.
Hey Mayra! You can sub with another nut butter if you have some. Or, you can use one serving of protein powder instead of nut butter. We have a brand new and awesome powder called homemade protein powder that a lot of people are loving! Here’s a link for more info: https://simplegreensmoothies.com/homemade-protein-powder
I stumbled across this recipe and I decided to give it a try but my gosh the cinnamon and cayenne was too much for me. I may have been a little heavy handed because it’s spicy. I don’t taste any sweetness at all but I’m going to chug it anyway.
Hey Lakia! Just the smallest amounts of cinnamon and (especially) cayenne will work great in this smoothie! Def give it another try with less of those, and I think you’ll like it more. Also, using a banana with brown spots will give it a little bit more sweetness. 🙂
Hi,
Is is possible to make this smoothie without banana? Does the smoothie still have the same benefits or do I have to substitute it with something else?
Hey Stephanie! If you prefer to not use banana in your smoothie, you could use avocado (for the creaminess) and a few medjool dates (for the sweetness). You could also use mango (both creamy + sweet) but that option will contain more natural sugars. 🙂
I just made this smoothie today for the first time and the taste of cinnamon was a bit too much. I noticed that you say 1 Tsp of cinnamon but in the video u used 1/4 Tsp. Also i doubled the recipe so i can drink one the following morning, i dont know if me doubling the recipe just gave me a strong cinnamon flavor.
Hi Mike! This recipe does call for 1 tsp. of cinnamon but if that’s too strong for you, def try 1/4 or 1/2 tsp. and see if you like that better. I do think that if you made the smoothie ahead of time and put it in the fridge, that could be the reason. The longer a spice like cinnamon sits in a green smoothie, the stronger the cinnamon taste is going to be. Try making the smoothie ahead of time with all the ingredients except the cinnamon and then add that right before you drink it and see if that makes a difference.
Love it….weight loss including chocolate….my husband is hooked….lol
Isn’t this one good?! And you feel like you’re eating dessert! 🙂
The first time I made this, it tasted awful! I don’t know what I did wrong. I now have it every morning and love it.
Who knew how delicious almond butter is compared to peanut butter! Loving this recipe!
I agree, Joy. Once I tasted almond butter, I never wanted to go back to peanut butter!
I tried this today, it’s not as delicious as it sounds, I like the idea of the warm almond milk..I’m also hoping for the metabolism boost so I’m going to give it another try tomorrow. Thank you for the recipe!
This is in my regular rotation now. I am going to prep a lot of bags. It has a lot of my favorites and who doesn’t like chocolate and bananas together?
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! This sounds super easy and doable. Im wondering what the serving size is?
This recipe yields 2 cups or about 16 ounces, which is one serving of smoothie deliciousness!
how much calories are in a serving?
We don’t have calories listed for this one but you could use something like My Fitness Pal to help you figure that out. 🙂
Right now, November in I prefer warm smoothies. I don’t feel like cold when its cold outside. So I use warm almond milk and let my vitamix run a little longer. Yummy and warm
That sounds so delicious! I am the same way I love drinking warm things during the cold months 🙂
Would it be ok to swap out the hemp hearts for flaxseeds? I have never used hemp hearts before, what is the difference, benefit -wise, between the two?
Hey Janice,
You can totally swap the seeds if you would prefer that. The difference is flaxseeds have a lot more omega 3 fatty acid in them then hemp hearts and hemp hearts have a lot more protein in them then flaxseeds.
Hope that helps!
Can chocolate protein powder be a subsitute for cacao powder?
Hey Lacey,
If you prefer the chocolate protein powder then you can definitely add that as a substitute!!
So if I do that do I leave out the hemp seeds?
Yeah, that’s what I would suggest.
And it would it affect weight loss?
Try as I might, I just do not love cinnamon. I’ve made this smoothie and it’s ok but I know I’d really enjoy it without the cinnamon. Any recommendations for a substitute with similar benefits?
Hey Joanna,
You can swap the cinnamon for nutmeg if you prefer that!
Would this recipe be considered a single serving or is it two? Thank you!
Hey Tricia,
This recipe is for one serving!
My new Breakfast Smoothie, just so delicious. Wish there was more!
Thank you.
It really is so delicious!!! SO glad that you love it Deborah!!
This might be my new favorite! Yum!
Love that Roxy!!!
I’m not a fan of chocolate in the morning. What is a good replacement for the cacao powder? Vanilla protein powder?
thanks
So yummy! I will add this to my plan!