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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 a breakfast meal replacement shake for a few reasons.
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.
Weight Loss Shake Ingredients + Benefits
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. It truly tastes great and is good for you. Here’s what I’m blending:
- Unsweetened 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.
- Spinach: This superfood 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!
- Banana: An easy way to naturally sweeten a shake for weight loss and bring out the creaminess.
- Cacao powder: surprisingly, cacao can help regulate appetite and aid in weight loss… and who doesn’t want to sip on a chocolate shake?
- Almond butter: Full of healthy fat and adds a lovely nutty flavor to this shake.
- Hemp hearts: High in protein, healthy fat, and fiber, these little beauties add texture and richness, while boosting the shake’s protein content for a more satisfying drink.
- Ground cinnamon: Helps regulate blood sugar, which is linked to an optimally functioning metabolism. It adds a warm, sweet spice that balances the creaminess and chocolate flavors.
- Cayenne pepper: Helps improve digestion by promoting the breakdown of food in the stomach. Its subtle spice contrasts perfectly with the sweetness and chocolate.
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 protein 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.
Perfectly chill your Shake
Use a frozen 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.
- Hemp hearts can be swapped with chia seeds or a plant-based protein powder.
- Swap spinach with the leafy green of your choice.
- Can’t find cacao powder? Then use unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Use the plant-based 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.
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.
More Weight Loss Shake Recipes
If you love this weight loss shake recipe, then I’ve got even more protein shake ideas for weight loss to add to your meals.
- Meal Replacement Smoothie: This is my go-to lunch, knowing I won’t feel hungry or have a sugar crash 30 minutes later.
- Vanilla Protein Shake: I love this protein shake and how full I feel after finishing it.
- Flaxseed Smoothie: This is a great smoothie for those mornings when you need to “get things moving,” if you know what I mean. And it tastes delicious.
- Caramel Protein Shake: For those that like a sweeter start to their day, this is the perfect morning beverage. It’s creamy, thick and protein-rich.
Don’t forget to rate + review this shake once you’ve made it. I love getting all your feedback!
Chocolate Weight Loss Shake
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond milk unsweetened
- 1 cup spinach fresh
- ½ banana
- 2 tbsp cacao powder
- 2 tbsp almond butter
- 1 tbsp hemp hearts
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon ground
- ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Add leafy greens and liquid to blender, blend until all chunks are gone.
- Add in remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
Video
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.
You suggested some ingredient swaps, but not one for the one thing I would need to swap out of this smoothie: the banana. I am trying to eat as close to keto as I can, since I am pre-diabetic. Any suggestions? Thanks for your ideas.
Hi Susan! I’d suggest using avocado in place of the banana!
What can we use instead of the cayenne pepper? Or can we only use half?
Hi Jessica! You can omit the cayenne if that works better for you.
Hi Jessica! Yes! You can use half or even omit it completely.
Thank you for these smoothies. It gives me a lot of ideas. My friend hates bananas so I am trying to create some smoothies for her.
Yuck
While I don’t make this for “weight loss” purposes, I make this on repeat! It’s super filling and a nice little kick of caffeine without having coffee.
Hi Liv! This is one of my faves too, sooo filling! If you like this one, check out our other smoothie recipes as well!
Me encantan tus licuados!!! Haces mucho bien compartiendo tus conocimientos.
Gracias!!!
So glad that you love our smoothies, Ana Maria! You’re so welcome! Be sure to check out our other smoothie recipes!
I really love your smoothies and I enjoy all the emails. How do you calculate 17 grams of protien in that chocolate smoothie.?
Most of the protein in this one comes from the hemp hearts, cacao powder and almond butter!
Loved the rich chocolate-y flavor of this, not too sweet. Added 1/2 cup cauliflower and used homemade protein powder instead of just hemp hearts. Super filling.
Hey Erin- So glad you loved this one! I’ll have to try your suggestion next time I make one!
I tried this and love it! Hemp seed isn’t readily available here so I subbed with ground flax seeds. It was a bit too chocolatey for me so I would lessen the cocoa next time. I also lessened the cinnamon to 1/3 tsp since i thought it might overpower the drink. Best tip I guess is to use a ripe/very ripe banana if you’re after that sweet taste without additional sweetener.
That was disgusting. Sorry.
Aww! So sorry to hear that Denny. Most of the ingredients are not sweet (except the 1/2 banana) and cacao can be bitter to many people, so I get it! This recipe is designed to boost your metabolism and help curb cravings later on by not spiking your blood sugar. However, if you’re looking to make this smoothie sweeter, using Medjool dates is a great way to add that sweetness without using refined sugar.
You may want to try our Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie or our Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie if you’re looking for something a bit more decadent. Thanks for the honest feedback!
it’s not supposed to be delicious
Great recipe! Really didn’t think I would like the cayenne, but it has a great taste! Can you tell how well they taste if made before hand? How does it take if it was frozen? I am thinking about making more than one since thr recipe calls for 1/2 a banana – so making more than 1 at a time and freezing it or saving it for the next day. Thanks!
Hi Wendy,
That’s a really great question! My recommendation for smoothie prep is to make smoothie packs.
So, rather than blend the smoothies and then freeze (you can lose some of the amazing plant-based nutrients and benefits), I would put your smoothie ingredients (minus the liquid base and pantry items) into a freezer bag, mason jar or other air-tight storage container of your choice and stick those packs in your freezer.
Then, whenever you’re ready for them, dump it into your blend, add the liquid base and blend away!
Still saves you lots of time and the leftover smoothie ingredients won’t go to waste!
If you’d like, we have a whole article about prepping smoothies that you can check out —> How to Meal Prep Smoothies
I really enjoy this smoothie! I’m trying it as a meal replacement once a day, so we’ll see how that goes! I’ve had a hard time losing the extra baby weight since my daughter has never been a good sleeper, so I’m always tired. My diet is very alkaline and I go on hiking trails with her at least twice a week, but I’m hoping this smoothie will give me the extra boost I need to lose some weight.
Will it give me the same results if I don’t do spinach and the cayenne pepper?
Cheyenne, that’s a great question. While the spinach is full of phytonutrients and fiber to minimize any blood sugar spikes from the natural sugars in the smoothie you can also get some of the same benefits from other greens such as kale, arugula, swiss chard, romaine lettuce, beet greens, carrot tops, collard greens, or celery to name a few. As for the cayenne pepper it helps curb your appetite and boost you metabolism naturally. Some swaps you could try would be matcha powder, chia seeds, or even avocado.
I have diverticulitis and have to be careful eating things that have seeds. What can I exchange for the hemp hearts?
Hey Cindy,
That’s a great question! Lots of the suggested substitutions for hemp hearts are other seeds, so I def wouldn’t recommend that to you. You could absolutely omit the hemp hearts in this recipe. I bet it would still be every bit as delicious! Maybe add a different nut butter to add a little extra nutty flavor – my second favorite nut better is sunflower seed butter or Sun Butter (brand).
Hulled hemp hearts are an option…same benefits, easily digested without running the risk of them getting hung up in the intestinal tract.
Gross and watery.
Loved this smoothie. The recipe didn’t indicate how much cayenne pepper to use so I took a wild guess and used the same amount as the cinnamon 1 tsp. Probably a little too much but it wasn’t so strong that I couldn’t stomach it! Maybe you could add the amount to the recipe for future smoothie fans:) Thanks for this smoothie… delicious!
Wow, Robin I’m glad it wasn’t too spicy for you. Yes, we’ll def add that information. For most recipes calling for cayenne pepper we recommend to taste as everyone can handle a different level of spice.
I’d love to try these but they all have almond butter or almond milk in them and I’m highly allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, cashews ect. I know I can replace the almond milk with oat but what can I use to replace the almond butter that would have the same effect and mix well into the smoothie I’m not much of a cooker but I’m trying to get healthier and loose weight
mashed avocado, mashed banana, Greek yogurt, or unsalted butter
You might try sun butter.
1,000% YES! Great suggestion, Kim! Sunbutter is incredible! Great recommendation.
Maybe sunflower seed butter?
Hey Kay – great suggestion! Sunflower seed butter totally works for this recipe. Feel free to swap sunflower seed butter any time a different nut butter is used. 🙂
Hi I really REALLY do not like banana, how can I replace these in my drinks.