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Today I’m giving you a Red Velvet Smoothie with rich chocolate flavor, just the right amount of sweetness, and that velvety texture you want in a creamy dessert. And that gorgeous red color? It comes from a little bit of beet. Don’t worry—you won’t taste it at all.

This luscious smoothie satisfies my sweet tooth, gives me natural energy, and feels festive enough to share with someone you love. Don’t let the spinach fool you. If you’re exploring my world a chocolate smoothies, this recipe is a winner.

Table of Contents

delicious red smoothie

Ingredients You’ll Need

Each ingredient plays a role in creating that classic red velvet flavor—rich, creamy, and just sweet enough—while still being nourishing.

  • Coconut milk: Creates a creamy, dessert-like texture and adds healthy fats for satiety. Check out the best coconut milk brands to use in smoothies.
  • Frozen strawberries: Provide natural sweetness, a slight tang that red velvet is known for, and help thicken the smoothie for a milkshake feel.
  • Spinach: Adds fiber, iron, and folate while giving the smoothie a nutrient boost without changing the flavor.
  • Medjool dates: Add caramel-like natural sweetener that has fiber and minerals for steady energy.
  • Beet, raw: Gives the smoothie its signature red velvet color and adds antioxidants—no earthy taste, promise.
  • Cacao powder: Delivers rich chocolate flavor and antioxidants for that classic red velvet vibe. Explore my other cacao powder recipes you might like.
  • Pure vanilla extract: Rounds out the flavors and enhances the natural sweetness.
  • Coconut whipped cream: Adds a decadent flavor and look to this smoothie.

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How to Make a Red Velvet Smoothie

For the smoothest, creamiest texture, blend this smoothie in two simple steps. For more in-depth instructions, check out my how to make a smoothie guide.

  1. Blend the base. Add spinach and coconut milk to the blender and blend until completely smooth.
    Tip: If you’re using one of my recommended blenders for smoothies, you can wait to blend until step 3.
  2. Add the flavor. Add frozen strawberries, Medjool dates, beet, cacao powder, and vanilla extract.
  3. Blend until velvety. Start on medium speed, then slowly increase to high until thick, smooth, and creamy.
  4. Serve and enjoy. Pour into a glass and enjoy right away, or top with coconut whipped cream for a festive dessert smoothie.
Red velvet smoothie in a stemmed glass with heart-shaped strawberries.

Ingredient Swaps

This smoothie is flexible and forgiving—use what you have.

  • Strawberries: Frozen cherries or raspberries also pair beautifully with chocolate for a fun twist.
  • Coconut milk: Swap with cashew milk or oat milk for a lighter texture.
  • Medjool dates: Use 2 tablespoons maple syrup or 1 tablespoon date syrup for easier blending.
  • Beet: Replace fresh beet with ½–1 teaspoon beet powder for the same vibrant color.
  • Cacao powder: Unsweetened cocoa powder works just as well with a slightly milder chocolate flavor.

More Chocolate Smoothies

If you’re craving more sweet, nourishing chocolate smoothies, there are plenty of delicious options to keep things fun and satisfying. A chocolate peanut butter smoothie brings that rich, salty-sweet combo that feels like a treat but fuels you well. You might also like a chocolate strawberry smoothie is bright and fruity with a classic chocolate-covered-berry vibe. A chocolate cherry smoothie adds a deep, slightly tart flavor that pairs beautifully with cocoa. And you can’t go wrong with a chocolate banana smoothie—it’s creamy, comforting, and always a crowd favorite.

If you make this red velvet smoothie 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.

Red velvet smoothie in a stemmed glass with heart-shaped strawberries.
4.66 (20 votes)

Red Velvet Smoothie

This Red Velvet Smoothie is rich, chocolatey, and naturally sweet with a silky, dessert-like texture. Made with strawberries, cacao, coconut milk, spinach, and a touch of beet for color, it’s a healthy treat that tastes indulgent but fuels you with real food.
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Prep: 3 minutes
Blend: 2 minutes
Total: 5 minutes
Serves: 1
Author: Jen Hansard

Ingredients 

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Instructions 

  • Blend spinach and coconut milk until smooth.
  • Add remaining ingredients, and blend until smooth.
  • Top with a dollop of coconut whipped cream, if desired.

Helpful Tools

high-speed blender
smoothie blender

Notes

  • Use frozen fruit to make smoothie cold.
  • Swap spinach for the leafy greens of your choice.
  • Swap Medjool date with the natural sweetener of your choice (maple syrup, honey, etc.)
  • Use canned coconut milk for a richer, creamier smoothie.
  • Use carton coconut milk for a lighter smoothie.
  • Unsweetened cacao powder can be swapped with unsweetened cocoa powder.

Nutrition

Serving: 16 oz | Calories: 289 kcal | Carbohydrates: 35 g | Protein: 4 g | Fat: 15 g | Saturated Fat: 14 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1 g | Sodium: 216 mg | Potassium: 655 mg | Fiber: 7 g | Sugar: 18 g | Vitamin A: 2842 IU | Vitamin C: 95 mg | Calcium: 70 mg | Iron: 2 mg

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Common Questions

What kind of coconut milk should I use?

Both will work fine in this smoothie recipe. Canned coconut milk gives a thicker, creamier texture. Carton coconut milk is much thinner and less caloric— which is what I usually use.

Can I use cocoa in a red velvet smoothies?

Yes—you can use cocoa instead of cacao in this smoothie. Cacao is less processed with a slightly richer, more intense flavor, while cocoa is more processed and tastes smoother and milder. Both work well here—just be sure to use unsweetened cocoa or cacao so the chocolate flavor stays balanced.

Do I need to add spinach to this recipe?

Nope! If the spinach is throwing you off, leave it out. I like to add leafy green vegetables to most of my smoothies for the added health benefits, yet it’s totally up to you!

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Comments

  1. Wow! Love the color of this smoothie. Definitely going to give this one a try. Perfect for a romantic night!

    Reply

    1. YES! The beets add a major nutrient boost + amazing color!

  2. Hi! So on a whim home from school we stopped by the farmers market and got the ingredients for this smoothie. It’s delicious! My girls loved it. We went with raw beets (we have a Vitamix so it could handle it with frozen fruit) and used unsweetened vanilla almond milk. So just in case anybody is wondering, it’s yummy with almond milk as a substitute!

    Reply

  3. This is very refreshing and delicious! Easy to make and extremely smooth!

    Reply

    1. Hi Liz!

      Thanks so much for reaching out + for your kind words! We’re so happy to hear you enjoyed it!

      Cheers :).

  4. Hello –
    I’m pre-diabetic and tightly control my sugar intake through diet. How many grams of sugar does 1 serving of this smoothie have? Whenever I have looked at coconut water in the stores, its seems to have a high sugar gram count. I imagine coconut milk is even higher. Any suggested substitutes?

    Reply

    2. Coconut water is very high sugar impact, while unsweetened coconut milk is not. The fat makes a difference and is SO healthy for your brain and the rest of your body!

      I would probably replace the dates with stevia, monk fruit or xylitol for a no healthy no sugar alternative.

    1. Hi Mary Ann,

      You can often find cacao powder at your local health food store or at grocery stores like Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. Unsweetened cocoa powder is the perfect substitute, and can easily be found in your baking aisle!

      Cheers 🙂

    3. Thanks for sharing TC! We love stores like Costco + Sam’s Club!

    1. Hi Larissa,

      Great question! There are several types of coconut milk available. It can be hard to know which to choose! Coconut cream is the thickest and richest. It has the least amount of water. Then there is full-fat or regular coconut milk. It still has plenty of rich, creamy taste, but has a higher liquid ratio. Light coconut milk has the mildest flavor, highest water content, and least amount of calories compared with the other varieties. Think of these as you would heavy cream, whole milk, and low-fat milk.

      You’ll find coconut milk packaged in several ways – cans, cartons (shelf-stable and refrigerated), or frozen.

    1. Hi Kalynn,

      I personally haven’t tried canned beets, but they’re worth a try! Just check your label and make sure there’s no additives.

  10. Hi there,

    I also dislike beets, but how strong do they taste in the smoothie? I could probably tolerate a taste that is subtle.

    Thanks!

    Reply

    1. Hi Melissa,

      Great question! All of the other yummy ingredients help cover the flavor of beets in this delicious “guilt-free” treat! We love the beets in this recipe for their major health benefits and the deep red color they add to our Red Velvet Green Smoothie!

      Cheers 🙂

  11. Any suggestions on what to replace the strawberries with? Blackberries, cherries, blueberries, etc do fine? (Losing the red velvet feel on the blueberries, I suppose, ha!) I seem to have a slight reaction to strawberries (but no other berries) but would love to try this recipe! Many thanks!

    Reply

    1. Hi Am,

      Thanks for reaching out! All berries make a great substitute for strawberries in this recipe. We especially love reaching for raspberries, blackberries, or cherries!

      Hope this helps! 🙂

  13. When you say cacao are you talking about the regular cocoa powder that I would buy for baking?

    Reply

    1. Hi Debbie,

      Great question! Raw cacao is made by cold-pressing unroasted cocoa beans. The process keeps the living enzymes (meaning major health benefits) in the cocoa and removes the fat (cacao butter). Cocoa powder is raw cacao that’s been roasted at high temperatures. Sadly, roasting changes the molecular structure of the cocoa bean, reducing the enzyme content and lowering the overall nutritional value. But if you have unsweetened cocoa powder on hand, it makes a great substitute in any of our recipes that call for cacao.

      Cheers 🙂

  14. Hello, I’ve been making green smoothies for years, but somewhat new to SGS and just signed up for the 30-Day Smoothie Challenge last week. I’ve been exploring the website for some recipe options, and happened upon this which sounds awesome.

    With one exception.. Beets. I hate ’em.

    I assume they are mainly for the added color here, would that be correct? If there’s more to it, what might be a good sub? Thanks so much!

    Reply

    1. Hi Candance,

      We’re so happy you found us in this busy internet world! Thanks for blendin’ with us! You’re right the beets in this recipe add the deep red color of our Red Velvet Green, they also add folate, fiber, + vitamin C! Not a fan? Swap out beets for an additional 1/4 cup of strawberries.

      Cheers 🙂

  15. My Red velvet keeps coming out brown! what am I doing wrong? I am just halving the quantities!!

    Reply

    1. Hi Nish,

      The combination of berries + dark leafy greens can sometimes turn your smoothie brown. The flavor + nutrition of our Red Velvet Green Smoothie is still there, but we understand any frustration when you’re hoping for a glorious red green smoothie! If you’re looking for more red, simply add extra beets the next time you blend this recipe!

      Hope this helps, and thanks for blendin’ with us! 🙂

    1. Hi Angela,

      Great question! Our recipes make two 16oz servings!

  17. Is there another type of flavoring that anyone has used besides the chocolate? I am allergic to chocolate. I wasn’t sure if there were other options for unsweetened flavored powders. Thanks in advance!!

    Reply

    1. Hi Alicia,

      Thanks for reaching out! Would your allergies allow you to use carob powder? Carob is a chocolate substitute made from the roasted pods of the carob tree. We recommend using slightly less carob powder because its flavor is stronger than the flavor of cocoa.

      Hope this helps!

  18. Hi Lori Jo,

    Thanks for reaching out! Our recipes are here to inspire you, please don’t feel like you need to follow them to a T. We suggest following the Simple Green Smoothie Formula of 2 cups liquid base, 2 cups leafy greens, + 3 cups fruit, but change it up, and blend what works for you!

    Cheers 🙂

    Reply

  19. You gave a substitute for dates (Bananas, honey, + maple syrup), but I’m allergic to bananas and don’t like dates. What else could I use in place of dates? Thanks!

    Reply

    1. Hi Lori,

      Have you tried using honey or maple syrup? They’re both great options for replacing dates in this recipe if you’re allergic to bananas.

      Cheers 🙂