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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 mint chocolate chip smoothie that can both satisfy my sweet tooth and give me lasting energy without the crash.
This chocolate mint smoothie takes sweetness to the next level in a smart and wholesome way. It relies on the natural sugars in fruits like bananas, ensuring you still get all the fiber. Plus, with the addition of cacao powder (a natural source of caffein), you’ve got a delicious energy booster in a cup!
Don’t let the spinach in this keep you from blending the ultimate minty flavor dessert smoothie today.
Why This Smoothie Rawks
This skinny mint chocolate chip smoothie isn’t just a delicious dessert-inspired treat—it’s also packed with nutrient-dense ingredients that nourish your body while satisfying your sweet tooth! Here’s why this recipe deserves a spot in your blender lineup:
- The cacao powder delivers a natural energy boost with its caffeine and antioxidant content, so you can crush your day without the dreaded sugar crash.
- Spinach and avocado team up to provide fiber, healthy fats, and essential vitamins that support heart health, regulate blood sugar, and keep your digestion happy.
- Banana and Medjool dates bring the perfect touch of natural sweetness (bye-bye, processed sugar!) while delivering potassium and fiber to keep you energized and satisfied.
- Fresh mint adds that refreshing, cooling kick you love while also supporting healthy digestion and fighting inflammation.
Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie Ingredients
Even my dessert-like mint chocolate chip smoothie uses 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: A versatile and creamy base, almond milk is easy to find in most grocery stores. Choose unsweetened for a neutral flavor or vanilla for a hint of sweetness. Check out my best almond milk brands guide.
- Spinach: This vibrant leafy green adds a subtle earthy flavor and beautiful color to your smoothie. Look for fresh, crisp leaves at the store or farmers’ market for the best quality.
- Mint Leaves: Just a few mint leaves can add a refreshing pop of flavor to your smoothie. Pick up fresh mint in the herb section—look for bright, aromatic leaves.
- Banana: A frozen banana creates a creamy, thick texture and a natural sweetness. Choose ripe bananas, freeze them peeled, and they’ll be ready when you are.
- Avocado: Perfect for adding richness and creaminess to your smoothie. Avocados bring a mild, buttery flavor. Fresh or frozen chunks both work—just pick avocados that are slightly soft to the touch.
- Medjool Dates: These naturally sweet gems add caramel-like flavor to your smoothie. Look for plump, soft dates in the produce or bulk section or order them online. Don’t forget to remove the pits!
- Cacao Powder: A single tablespoon of cacao powder delivers a deep, chocolatey flavor. Look for high-quality cacao in the baking aisle to make your smoothie indulgently rich.
- Cacao Nibs (Optional): Sprinkle cacao nibs on top for a satisfying crunch and a hint of chocolate. They can be found in the baking or health food section. You can also order them on Amazon.
How to Make a Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie
Since this smoothie has leafy greens, I like to use my two-blend method for the smoothest finish possible.
- Combine spinach, mint leaves, and almond milk in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Check that no leafy chunks remain to ensure a smooth texture. (The gaps between your teeth will thank you!).
- Toss the remaining ingredients into the blender. This gives your blender the chance to break down the leaves before blending everything else and is really a no-fail way to avoid leafy smoothie chunks.
- Blend again until completely smooth and serve with your favorite toppings, like cocoa nibs or fresh mint leaves.
How to Blend Dates
Dates are rather sticky and can be tricky to blend completely. I like to add them in the 2nd step of my mint chocolate chip smoothie 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 the blend.
Easy Swaps and Add-Ins
Before running off to the store for some new-to-you ingredients, check your kitchen for these easy swaps.
- Swap almond milk: No need to make a smoothie with almond milk if you’ve got another kind of dairy-free milk on hand that will work great in this recipe. Cashew milk, oat milk, or coconut milk would work great in this healthy mint chocolate chip smoothie. Here are 5 dairy-free milk recipes that I love making.
- Swap mint leaves: While fresh mint leaves are the ideal choice, you can use mint extract if you don’t have any on hand.
- Swap cacao powder: Use 100% unsweetened cocoa powder in place of cacao powder for almost the same great flavor.
- Add frozen fruit: To make the smoothie cold, include at least one frozen fruit. I love to freeze bananas and toss them into any smoothie. Here’s a step by step guide on how to freeze bananas.
- Add plant-based protein powder: Most of us don’t need bodybuilder amounts of protein and weird ingredients in many commercial protein powders. Give my plant-based Homemade Protein Powder recipe a go for a super clean, super fine powder to add healthy fat, fiber, and 10 grams of protein to this smoothie or any smoothie for that matter!
COMMON QUESTIONS
I use spinach, fresh mint, almond milk, frozen 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.
They can be! My mint chocolate chip 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!
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.
Absolutely! Chocolate and mint are a match made in flavor heaven. The cool, refreshing taste of mint perfectly balances the rich, creamy sweetness of chocolate, creating a deliciously refreshing combo that’s satisfying and crave-worthy.
To make your mint chocolate smoothie ultra-thick and creamy, try adding frozen bananas, avocado, or a scoop of Greek yogurt! These ingredients will turn your smoothie into a rich, velvety treat that feels more like dessert than breakfast. Pro tip: Use less liquid to get that irresistible, spoon-worthy texture!
More Healthy Dessert-like Smoothies
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 Cherry Smoothie: Another rich, chocolate and fruit smoothie for all those chocolate-covered fruit lovers.
- Cinnamon Date Smoothie: Breakfast vibes whenever you want with this warming cinnamon smoothie.
- Strawberry Vegan Milkshake: All the love of a milkshake without any of the dairy in this delightful and fresh strawberry shake!
If you make this mint chocolate smoothie, I’d love to hear how it turned out in the comment box below. And if you’re interested in more plant-based recipes (and exclusive content), sign up for my weekly recipe newsletter.
Skinny Mint Chocolate Chip 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.
- Swap cacao powder with 100% unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Swap almond milk with the plant milk of your choice.
I grow my own mint in a strawberry planter outside. Right now everything is frost bitten but as soon as it starts growing again you can be sure that I’ll be using very fresh leaves.
Sounds great but what can I substitute for banana (allergy) Thanks, would love to make this!
Hey Carol – I would add swap an extra half of an avocado for the banana. So, your recipe would have 3/4 of an avocado. I would maybe add in an additional date, to replace the sweetness from the banana, too. So, 3 dates.
Your modified recipe would look like this:
Mint Chocolate Smoothie –
1 cups almond milk unsweetened
3/4 cup spinach
1/4 cup mint leaves fresh
3/4 avocado
3 medjool dates
1 tbsp cacao powder
cacao nibs optional
This is very similar to a smoothie we “reverse engineered” from a vegan smoothie/salad/wrap place in Maui.
Try swapping the spinach for kale, and adding a few TBS of both unsalted macadamia nuts (or raw almonds), and cacao nibs at the very end, and then just “buzz” your blender briefly. The resulting tiny, chewable pieces of chocolate + nuts will satisfy, not only your Thin Mint craving, but a McFlurry/Blizzard hankering, as well!!!
Great suggestion, Abbie! That sounds amazing!
I just ordered some cacao nibs after trying them at a local smoothie shop, can’t wait to try them in this!
Fabulous!!
When you talk about medjool dates in recipes, are you referring to the big ones (3-4 inches) or the 1 inch ones? We have both here (in the UK) and I’m just wanting to get my proportions right!
Nice use of my fresh mint! Even with a frozen banana, it needed something cold. Ice cubes watered it down a bit. But it was still good.
This one is so tasty! I recommend using both frozen banana and frozen avocado. I do that and along with the spinach, mint, and almond milk (all refrigerated), my smoothie isn’t freezing but it is nice and cold.
I love Girl Scout cookies, yet am trying to watch my weight and truly did enjoy this recipe. It has a very similar taste to the cookie, yet is even more satisfying. Plus, it actually is nourishing so my body will thank me for it!
This is a good one!!
I love to eat avocados, but can’t seem to put them in my smoothies…crazy, I know 🙂
What can I use in place of avocado, in smoothies?
Thanks.
Hi Grace,
Swap in another healthy fat you love. My go-to substitute is a tablespoon of coconut oil or almond butter.
I am allergic to bananas, and I see a lot of smoothies with recipes that involve banana. Can I substitute an avocado in place of a banana? Or is there anything else texturally that will be equivalent? Thank you!
Hi Amanda,
Allergic to bananas? I’ve got you covered! Avocado is a great choice + one of my favorite swaps. They make smoothies super creamy, but you may be missing out on some of the sweetness. If you need extra sweetness, add in a natural sweetener like Medjool dates, honey, or maple syrup.
Other great banana swaps are – mango, papaya, chia seeds, unsweetened applesauce, pears, medjool dates, and nut butters.
Learn more about yummy-banana free recipes + substitutes here…
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/peach-spinach-smoothie
Would dried mint be okay? I have tons from my garden from summer!
Hi Kayla,
It’s definitely worth a try! Just follow the 3 to 1, fresh to dry ratio.
Hi, am Sandra
I have been trying your smoothie recepies for a week and a half and I really love them. Never thought I would really like them since I never cared for spinach and kale. I have to say they are really a boost. I can feel a difference in my energy level. Thank you for sharing all those delicious recepies.
Hi Sandra,
Thank you so much for reaching out + taking the time to share your green smoothie love!
Cheers to health, happiness + leafy greens!
YUMMY!! My attempt came out quite thick & creamy. I subbed 75g cashew butter + 2 cups water since I don’t have any almond milk on hand — so glad I bought a bundle of mint. A 1 ounce bundle, if you exclude the stems: leaves only is a *jam-packed* 1/2 cup =) Next time I will try 1 whole avocado + 1 banana.
Cheers Joanna!
Hi!
I recently purchased your 7 day reset cleanse… We are on day 3 and enjoying the recipes. I noticed for tomorrow one of our snacks is popsicles… That got me thinking that this is more of a summer/warm weather cleanse? We are in Toronto Canada, it’s still winter here… unfortunately ha!
Do you have any snack suggestions to replace this recipe? We’ve been rotating the tamari almonds and apple almond butter… Might be over doing them 😉
Thanks for your help!
Hi Michelle,
Too cold for popsicles? No worries! Swap in a different snack from the meal plan. My favorite is our “donuts”! Maybe switch it up and use peaches instead of apples!
Cheers!
My daughter hates bananas (and dislikes fruit in general)…what is a good substitute for bananas in this recipe?
I went without dates (just didn’t Have them), and it was still sweet enough…. nothing else added ;). Oh, I used dark cocoa powder too but a teaspoon less than you guys suggested.
Hi Jessica,
Thanks for sharing! We love hearing different adjustments to our recipes, and love hearing without dates you still enjoyed the sweetness of our Skinny Mint Green Smoothie!
Cheers 🙂
I love your web site and your smoothie recipes and info. THANKS! I would love your recipe cards, but i don’t use paper. I would love it if i could buy a digital version. Any intention to make them digital for sale????
=)
Thanks for these great pages!
Barbara
~inspired girl
Hi Barbara,
Thank you so much for reaching out! And you’re in luck! We just launched our mobile recipe cards this week!! They’re beautifully formatted recipe cards for quick + easy blending. Check them out here…
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/recipes
I agree with Barbara! This website is one of my favorites! I am so happy to be a Rawstar! 🙂 This skinny mint green smoothie is fabulous! I used spearmint. I was not sure if I should do peppermint. Is there a favored ‘mint’ for the smoothies? It was very good with the spearmint. I also cut back on the dates and bananas – I do not do many carbs. It was, nonetheless, very YUMMY! Thank you so much Jen and Jadah, for all your hard work and for the time you spend to help us all be healthy and fit in a delicious way!!!
Hi Barbie,
Thanks for blending with us! Reach for any mint herb you enjoy whether that’s peppermint, spearmint, etc…
Cheers 🙂