When my sweet tooth hits I want to eat something right away. But I also know if I fill up on cookies I’ll be shaky and hangry in no time. Instead, I like to whip up a smoothie that can both satisfy my sweet tooth and give me lasting energy without the crash. Enter this Mint Chocolate Smoothie.
Dessert smoothies bring up the sweetness level in a smoothie, yet do it in a strategic way. They use the power of natural sugar in fruit like bananas so you still get the fiber. Plus, by adding a natural energy ingredient like cacao powder (which contains natural caffeine), you’ve got an energy booster in a cup!
Don’t let the spinach in this keep you from blending the ultimate minty dessert smoothie today.
Table of Contents
Mint Chocolate Smoothie Ingredients
Even my dessert-like smoothies use whole food, plant-based ingredients. I love getting creative with food and figuring out just the right combos of unique ingredients to bring the flavor and texture I want.
- Almond milk: I use almond milk since it’s widely available in most grocery stores today.
- Spinach: This superpower green is full of protein, vitamins and minerals that will naturally energize you.
- Mint leaves: A little mint goes a long way! Plus herbs like mint naturally help your body detox.
- Banana: A creamy, naturally sweetened way to add thickness and lightly sweeten your smoothie.
- Avocado: My fav way to add healthy fat to smoothies. Add them in fresh or frozen!
- Medjool dates: I love the way this fruit adds sweetness to a smoothie as well as fiber.
- Cacao powder: A chocolate-lovers dream ingredient! 1 tablespoon will turn any creation into a chocolate-y heaven.
Easy Ingredient Swaps
Before running off to the store for some new-to-you ingredients, check your kitchen! You may have some easy swaps on hand that will work great in this treat. 100% unsweetened cocoa powder can be used in place of cacao powder with little to no flavor change.
No need to use almond milk if you’ve got another kind of dairy-free milk on hand. Cashew milk or oat milk would work great in this recipe. While fresh mint leaves really elevate the flavor in this mint shake, mint extract can be used in a pinch.
How to Make a Minty Chocolate Dessert Smoothie
Since this smoothie has leafy greens, I like to use my two-blend method for the smoothest finish possible. First, blend the spinach, mint leaves and almond milk until smooth. Make sure no leafy chunks remain (the gaps between your teeth will thank you!).
Second, add the remaining ingredients and blend again until smooth. This gives your blender the chance to really break down the leaves before blending everything else and is really a no-fail way to avoid leafy smoothie chunks.
Pro Tip: Dates are rather sticky, and can be tricky to blend completely. I like to add them in the 2nd step and slowly get my blender speed to medium. Leave it blending on medium until you don’t hear the dates whipping around in chunks, then turn it up to high to finish off the blend.
Blending a Mint Chocolate Protein Shake
If you want to get the most out of this chocolate creation then add a plant-based protein powder to turn this into the ultimate mint chocolate protein shake. Most of us don’t need bodybuilder amounts of protein and the other weird ingredients in many commercial protein powders, so stick to a plant-based protein powder like my protein powder recipe for a super clean, super fine powder.
It will boost this mint chocolate smoothie by 10g of protein and add in healthy fat and fiber to help your body get full and stay full.
Mint Chocolate Smoothie FAQs
I use spinach, fresh mint, almond milk, banana, avocado and cacao powder to make my chocolate mint smoothie. These ingredients might sound a bit odd together yet once blended, they create the perfect shake-like texture and rich chocolate flavor you’re looking for.
Use cacao or cocoa powder for that chocolate flavor you desire. 1-2 tablespoons per serving is more than enough. Use plant-based milk instead of water as the liquid base to keep the creamy-nutty combo you want in a chocolate smoothie. Then add in ingredients like banana and avocado to thicken the smoothie to perfection.
They can be! My mint chocolate smoothie is full of whole food, plant-based ingredients that deliver the sweetness, chocolate flavor and creaminess you want yet without any weird junk in them. And bonus, it’s super easy to blend!
More Dessert Smoothie Recipes
Love when a smoothie can double as a dessert? So do I! Save these recipes for your next dessert night or to use as a great afternoon energy boost:
- Red Velvet Smoothie: Seriously brings the red velvet flavor in a glass.
- Chocolate Covered Cherry Smoothie: Another rich, chocolate and fruit smoothie for all those chocolate covered fruit lovers.
- Cinnamon Bun Smoothie: Breakfast vibes whenever you want with this warming cinnamon smoothie.
- Strawberry Milkshake: All the love of a milkshake without any of the dairy in this fresh strawberry shake!
Love this recipe? Please leave a rating in the recipe card below & if you loved it, leave a comment further down. Thanks for visiting!
Mint Chocolate Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cups almond milk unsweetened
- ¾ cup spinach
- ¼ cup mint leaves fresh
- 1 banana
- ¼ avocado
- 2 medjool dates
- 1 tbsp cacao powder
- cacao nibs optional
- 1 serving homemade protein powder optional
Instructions
- Blend spinach, mint and almond milk until smooth.
- Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Enjoy!
Notes
- Use at least one frozen fruit to make the smoothie cold. Bananas are easy to freeze and toss into any smoothie.
- Add plant-based protein powder like homemade protein powder to quickly turn this into a protein-packed shake.Â
- Swap cacao powder with 100% unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Swap almond milk with the plant milk of your choice.Â
Where do I find cacao? I can never seem to find it!
Hey Anna.
You can find cacao in the baking section, usually near the dried coconut. 🙂
I have mint extract on hand. Can that be used in place of the mint leaves? Want to try this tomorrow but hoping to avoid an extra trip to the store.
Go for it. 🙂 Let us know how it compares, once you get fresh mint. 🙂
I often use mint in my smooties. I love the mint! I buy the little potted mint plants at Sprouts and keep it in my windowsill by the sink. That way I always have FRESH mint. When I have used it all up, I buy another one. I find this is very cost effective. I also do that with basil, which is also wonderful in some smoothies!
Awesome idea, Karla!
Is there something we can substitute the dates with?
Hey Aja.
Yes indeed.
I was wondering if the dates are optional? I don’t normally put them in and I didn’t know if they were a sweetner or if it added flavor. Thanks!
Hey Sophie.
They are added for the sweetener. Feel free to check out more options here for sweetening your smoothies. 🙂
Last time I put dates in my cheapy blender it came out chunky….is there a way to fix that? Can I put them in the spinach stage?
Hey Tiffany! 🙂 Yes, you can. 🙂 A little tip with dates, if you soak them in the liquid you plan on blending with for a few hours or even overnight in the fridge, it makes the best creamy smoothie, ever!!
Thanks for the tip on the dates. I will try soaking them from now on!
Thanks I’ll try it this week!
Can’t see the recipe. I know there is a way to change the URL in order to see it but I can’t remember what it is?
Also, are you guys working on a fix for this bug?
thanks!
Update — seems like it might be a Chrome issue. I tried the link using IE and it works. Just a tip for anyone else who is having trouble seeing the ingredients!
Thanks, Abby. Glad you can see it now.
Wondering if there is any other kind of milk I can use, cannot use Almond Milk ( could I substitute Soy milk?)
Hey Marie. Try rice milk or oat milk. https://simplegreensmoothies.com/dairy-free-smoothies
Is cacao powder the same thing as unsweetened cocoa powder? If not, where do I buy it?
If it is 100% unsweetened cocoa powder you are good to blend! 🙂
Thanks for the info on cocoa powder!
Drinking this now! For my mid afternoon snack. Mine more green than brown, and how do I ever get dates to blend, still got little sticky clumps. However, my poor culinary skills aside, DELISH…………
Hey Krysia.
A little tip with dates, if you soak them in the liquid you plan on blending with for a few hours or even overnight in the fridge, it makes the best creamy smoothie, ever!! 🙂
It took me awhile to find the medjool dates but either trader joes or whole foods. Usually for whole foods you have pick your own and weight them, but I find that better because I normally don’t eat dates anyway.
Great tip, Bridgette. 🙂
Costco has Medjool dates. It is a large box but all you need to do is store them in the freezer. They are ready to seed and remove skins after a quick soak in warm water or other liquid.
Yum! It’s so good!
Cheers!
I get mine at the Middle Eastern market in Phoenix, but Whole Foods carries them. You can use any kinds of dates. Just seed them.
Thanks, Kris! You rock!
Where do you find medjool dates. Never heard of them.
Hey Sharon.
Thanks for the comment. Not sure where you live, but I find mine at Costco for $7. Also Whole Foods has them in the Bulk Section or Waitrose should have them in the dried fruit section. 🙂 Hope that helps! 🙂
This smoothie looks REALLY delicious. I am definitely going to try it.
Go for it! Let us know how it is!
You can get them at most stores. Try Publix, Kroger, Sprouts or Trader Joes.
Thanks, Yazmin! 🙂