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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 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!
Skinny 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.
- Swap cacao powder with 100% unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Swap almond milk with the plant milk of your choice.
Happy Valentines Day ladies! THIS IS AWESOME!! Sooooo freakin’ delish!!! Will be sharing recipe only with my peeps, they can’t have my smoothie, ITS ALL MINE MINE MINE!!!! YUM!!!
🙂 Enjoy!
Hi Ladies! I’m a Girl Scout leader and had to chuckle when I read this! So true! While I am not on a “diet” per se, I have committed to a healthier lifestyle. Loving the smoothies and sharing with everyone I know! I’m currently staring at hundreds of CASES of cookies lol…. my SUPER PICKY 11 year daughter has recently been showing more interest in her health (shes always been very active and sporty but a TERRIBLE eater!) and I would LOVE to share “healthy cookie swaps” with my awesome team of 11 year old ladies! Mine tried the Beginners Luck (I’m shocked she wanted to!!) and then wanted THIRDS! If you put together a Samoa (Caramel Delight) smoothie, my fav lol, my team will be your guinea pigs! Keep Rawking!
Hey Liza!
Thanks for the comment. I was a Girl Scout too! Troop 417! 🙂 We are so glad you are enjoying this recipes, I did already consume some boxes of Samoas with my family in support of the GS! 🙂 That recipe has been a big request. Maybe a good one to share next year. I will get testing it now. 🙂
This was a treat! Thank you and the mint wasn’t too overpowering which worked out wonderfully. I usually don’t like mint in my smoothies but this was actually nice.
hmmmm, can you make up a samoas green smoothie next? 🙂 obviously coconut milk with some cocoa, but where to get that caramel flavor?
Great idea!
Can I substitute the cacao powder for cacao nibs?
Yes, indeed. 🙂
I absolutely love all your recipes!! I started the 30 day challenge a year ago during Ramadan, and I can’t begin to tell you how much they helped me during the fasting month. I haven’t stopped making green smoothies I drink one almost everyday. Since then I have lost about 19 lbs but of course with clean eating.
That’s wonderful, Michelle! Cheers!
I started making your green smoothies almost a year ago, during Ramadan. I just wanted to tell u that I absolutely love all of them. I started the 30 day challenge while I was fasting and I’ve never felt so good!!! Keep up the amazing job!!! BTW I have lost about 19 lbs while drinking the smoothies but I have also changed my eating habits 🙂
Hi Michelle!
You rawk! Thanks so much for the kind words and we are so glad that you are loving green smoothies as much as we are! Cheers to you!
I’m trying to find a substitute for bananas. I can eat them alone but I absolutely hate them in my smoothies. I keep trying different recipes and it seems it’s the only thing I can taste even if I reduce the suggested amount. I love mint and choco combo so I do not want to take that chance. What are the suggestions? I think somewhere I read papaya.
Yummy! I used Almond and Coconut Milk blend which probably helped to make it extra yummy! I also added two more dates, I like it sweet. I am new to green smoothies and I am glad I remembered this recipe before I stopped and got ice cream, I wanted something sweet and this did the trick. Also, this is my first time using a avocado in a smoothie. I was terrified that it would have a weird taste with it but it didn’t! Oh yes for those that live in Los Angeles; Ralph’s usually have the dates in the bulk food section too!
Hey LadyCabby!
Thanks for the comment. So glad this hit the spot for you sweet tooth. I love ice cream too, but I am always looking for ways to cut back. Cheers to you + thanks for the Ralph’s tip. 🙂
I looked up the calorie count and found it is high as is the number of carbs and sugar. I like the idea of the recipe though, so I think I will reduce the banana to one and the dates to two and hope for the best taste.
Hi Rosella. We personally don’t count calories, so we don’t include them in our recipes at this time. You’ll find that when you consume more nourishing whole fruits and veggies, you will not only feel full longer, but you’ll also have lessened cravings for high-calorie, nutritionally empty foods. So in the end it balances out. But we know many people would like to have calorie info. Three great resources for tracking calories are Self Nutrition Data and the phone apps My Fitness Pal and Lose It.Healthier than Thin Mint Cookies.
Hey, I was wondering if I could substitude mint with something, because on one hand I am taking homeopathic medicine and I shouldn’t take in mint + I really don’t like it..
Thank you! 🙂
Hey Adriana.
Here are some great herbs to sub in: https://simplegreensmoothies.com/fresh-herbs
Hi,
My biggest problem with drinking the green smoothies it that most of the time they call for Almond milk (which I am allergic too and coconut milk isn’t always a good substitute. I’m allergic to soy as well) and I am allergic to Avocados. So how would I be able to make your skinny green mint smoothie? I really want to do the challenge but I don’t know what to use for substitutions. Any suggestion from you would be greatly appreciated.
Audrey
Hey Audrey.
Thanks for blending with us! Here are a links to our favorite liquids, https://simplegreensmoothies.com/dairy-free-smoothies
What about oat or rice milk?
Bought all ingredients today. Am soaking dates in almond milk tonight
Cant wait to try in the morning
thanks for sharing receipe
Let us know how it goes. 🙂
I have been trying several different smoothies, great recipes in The Simple Green Smoothie Solution. I just picked up some mint
will be trying this one soon.
Question: Can “Kefir” be used as a substitute for liquids in recipes?
Pam
Hi Pam!
Thanks for blending with us. Great question! If it is a dairy kefir we would suggest staying away. We’ve talked with a lot of nutritionists and milk isn’t all that it’s been hyped up to be. Dairy is one of the highest diet allergies (and often goes undiagnosed), yet can cause inflammation and infections. And if you aren’t buying organic milk, you’re also getting doses of antibiotics, hormones, etc that can tip your own body out of whack. So we just avoid milk for our family (and opt for almond milk). We get our calcium from plant-based sources mainly— broccoli, spinach and kale.
It’s definitely a personal choice, and you just have to decide what works best for you and your family.
This poster said “kefir.” Perhaps I didn’t read correctly… Where did she say, dairy? There’s non dairy kefir. Not all kefir is made of dairy or soy… Whole foods in some stores also sell kefir made from coconut milk. You can also make yourself, almond milk kefir, coconut milk kefir, and coconut water kefir. You can do this without the kefir grains and by using a good probiotic powder. Like this knowledgeable source recommends. I do this sans the Stevia:http://healthyblenderrecipes.com/recipes/raw_almond_milk_kefir And, you can of course especially in the case of almond milk kefir, make the almond milk yourself if you have the means to do so as that link directs. Point being, it’s not as simple to assume that all kefir is dairy. If you haven’t sought out the non dairy and non soy kefirs, or made your own homemade almond milk kefir, you should at least once! You won’t go back to store bought ever. and, a little kefir can change up your green smoothies. You do have to watch the amounts as Kefir has the tartness of yogurt (IMO anyway,) so you probably won’t want to sub one for one for other liquids like almond milk for instance. 🙂
Hi Amy.
Thanks for your comment + yes, kefir can be used, our recipes are here to inspire you — you don’t have to follow them to a T. Yet we do think they are mighty tasty! Feel free to use other green smoothie recipes and even make some up yourself. The key to making green smoothies your lifestyle is making it easy and part of your daily routine, if you would like to add kefir, go for it! 🙂 Cheers.
Costco sells the medjool dates. They have some in a plastic tub & others in a bag. The ones in the bag are organic.
Great tip!
Do you have nutrition information available for this smoothie? Or am I just not looking in the right spot 🙂 (i.e.: calories, sugar, carbs, etc.) Thanks!
Hi Becky.
We personally don’t count calories, so we don’t include them in our recipes at this time. You’ll find that when you consume more nourishing whole fruits and veggies, you will not only feel full longer, but you’ll also have lessened cravings for high-calorie, nutritionally empty foods. So in the end it balances out. But we know many people would like to have calorie info. Three great resources for tracking calories are Self Nutrition Data and the phone apps My Fitness Pal and Lose It.
Here is a link to nutrionial information: https://simplegreensmoothies.com/