For the past week, I have been making protein chocolate peanut butter smoothie just about every day, primarily for breakfast.
With the combination of rich cocoa powder, sweet banana chunks, and creamy, soft natural peanut butter – it’s pretty tempting to whip up TWO glasses of this magical stuff.
To get this smoothie extra thick, I added oats and chia seeds, which, by the way, is also packed with plant-based protein and fiber. The smoothie yields a whopping 25 grams of fiber and 23 grams of protein.
My protein chocolate peanut butter smoothie was bursting and spilling out of my glass cup. It was out of control. So grab those straws and spoons – this snack is more like a meal.
If you were looking for a thick smoothie recipe that’s generous, creamy, and frosty – you came to the right place.
Tips To Creating A THICK Smoothie:
- Use cold and frozen ingredients as often as you can.
- I used frozen bananas and some ice to add real substance to this smoothie.
- When oats are combined with liquid, they thicken up and expand – use them to your advantage
- Similarly to oats, chia seeds will also help create a chunky smoothie. A little goes a long way, though.
How To Freeze Banana
There are two ways to freeze a banana and it depends on if you want to foot the work now or later. I flip-flop both ways, depending on my laziness levels at the given moment.
For any way you choose, I suggest starting with a very ripe banana. Ripe bananas become naturally sweet, which allows you to omit or reduce the addition of sugar/sweetener in the protein chocolate peanut butter smoothie.
Freeze The Banana Whole
Once the banana is ripe, throw the whole thing in the freezer. No additional steps needed. If you plan on using the banana for a smoothie that same day, freeze it for at least 3 or so hours.
Easy, right? The work just comes later.
Unpeel And Cut Banana To Freeze
Unpeel a banana as you normally do. Once that’s done, cut up the banana into about ½ inch chunks. Place the piece on a plate and stick it into the freezer. No need to wrap or cover – just let them be cool, calm and collected all on their own.
If you are batch freezing bananas, you can use a freezer-safe bag to keep things organized and make more space.
For cut up bananas, freeze for at least an hour.
How To Unpeel A Frozen Banana
If you’ve thrown the entire banana into the freezer, then you’ll have to deal with the unpeeling later.
The peels will be frozen and it will be much more challenging to unpeel them. However, there are a couple of ways to get this done.
- Run warm water over the frozen banana for a few seconds.
- Microwave the frozen banana.
- Cut the banana peels with a knife.
For details on how to effectively unpeel a frozen banana, check out 3 Ways To Unpeel A Frozen Banana.
Best Blender To Use
Most blenders are pretty good at making smoothies. But if you want your smoothies perfectly creamy and whipped-like, a high-powered blender is a great way to get that result.
I use Nutribullet for all of my personal smoothies. It also comes with a to-go lid and cup, which is great when you need to just blend and go.
If you’re making smoothies for a crowd or family, use a larger blender like Oster.
Here Are More Smoothie Recipes To Check Out:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dairy-free milk
- 1 frozen ripe banana
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1 tablespoon honey (or sweetener of choice)
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 1/2 cup oat bran
- 2-3 icecubes
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Pour all ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour and serve in a glass cup.
Notes
- This smoothie recipe is using bulky, fiber-rich ingredients including chia seeds and oats. This smoothie will be thick. If a straw doesn’t do, you can use a spoon.
- I used oat bran, old-fashioned oats can be used too.
- I used Hershey’s Cocoa Special Dark chocolate.
- To thin out the smoothie, add more water. To make it sweeter, add more honey or sweetener of choice.
If you’re curious, here is the rough nutritional value with the ingredients I used:
- 25 grams of fiber
- 23 grams of protein
- 90 grams of carbs
- 25 grams of fat
- 585 CALORIES
Did you try out this Protein Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie recipe?
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