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This deliciously healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie tastes like dessert! With the ultimate flavor combo, you can enjoy a protein-packed breakfast or snack (about 20 grams!) while you feel like you are indulging in a sweet milkshake. Kids of all ages will love to sip on rich and creamy Funky Monkey Smoothies.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Smoothie Recipe
I’m kind of a sucker for pairing chocolate and peanut butter together. Whether it’s a Peanut Butter Cup Flourless Chocolate Cake Roll or Peanut Butter Cup Brownies or Flourless Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies, who doesn’t love this amazing combination of flavors?
But any time I can get my favorite decadent flavor combo in a healthier way, I’m all over it. So this is the ultimate healthy dessert smoothie recipe for all the chocolate and peanut butter lovers out there. With a good dose of protein and some dark leafy greens, you’ll definitely fuel yourself through the morning until lunch or get yourself through the afternoon slump.
And when you want to cap off your evenings with a chocolaty dessert, just whip up a Funky Monkey Smoothie and indulge while you are treating your body well.
What is in a Funky Monkey Smoothie?
Let’s talk a little more about the simple ingredients that make this chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie so amazingly delicious and healthy. Plus I will share some substitutions you can make to customize your smoothie.
- Milk. Unsweetened almondmilk or ny other non-dairy milk will work. If you want to add more protein, you can use regular dairy milk.
- Leafy greens. Optional, but it’s a great way to sneak in extra vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Baby spinach has a mild flavor and basically disappears once you blend it. Kale is a nutritional powerhouse. Feel free to use your favorite or omit it completely.
- Cottage cheese or Greek yogurt. Yogurt is the go-to for many people in smoothies to add protein and more creaminess. You can definitely use that , but cottage cheese is a great option in this recipe because blends up so super smooth, without that bit of tartness from the yogurt. And the salt in the cottage cheese just enhances the sweetness of the fruit, as well as the nuttiness of the peanut butter in this recipe. If you avoid dairy, substitute a non-dairy yogurt like coconut or soy yogurt.
- Peanut Butter. Use your favorite brand or style, or even powdered peanut butter or peanut flour.
- Cocoa Powder. Basic Hershey’s or any other brand of Cocoa Powder is just fine, but you can use cacao powder for even more of a nutritional punch of antioxidants.
- Bananas. Frozen bananas blend up in smoothies so well to give them a creamy, almost milkshake-like texture. The more ripe your banana, the sweeter it will be.
- Ice. Adding several ice cubes will produce a thick, frosty smoothie. Decide how much to add based on the size of your ice cubes and your preferred texture. If you leave them out, you will have a slightly thinner smoothie (though you could reduce the amount of milk), but a richer flavor.
- Extras. Feel free to garnish your smoothie with banana slices, a drizzle of peanut butter or chocolate sauce, a sprinkle of mini chocolate chips or cacao nibs, or a bit of whipped cream.
How to make a banana chocolate peanut butter smoothie
Add the ingredients to your blender in the order listed above and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass or insulated smoothie cup and enjoy it immediately!
How to freeze bananas for smoothies:
I recommend peeling bananas before you freeze them, as the peel is very hard to remove from a frozen banana. You have a couple of options:
- Freeze them whole. Peel your bananas and freeze them whole in a plastic freezer storage bag or airtight freezer-safe container. Then you will have to cut the frozen banana into chunks before adding it to your smoothie.
- Freeze banana chunks. After peeling, cut the banana into chunks before freezing. You can place the chunks from each banana into a separate plastic baggie and put them all in a storage container before freezing so that you have them portioned out and ready to add to your blender.
I always recommend a high-powered blender like the Blendtec for the smoothest, most creamy smoothies. The Mini Wildside+ Jar is the perfect size for one or two smoothies. You can even use the “Smoothie” setting to have it gradually increase the speed to perfectly incorporate the liquids and frozen ingredients. Note, I do usually stop it a little before the cycle is over because I prefer an extra thick smoothie.
I am a Blendtec ambassador, and should you make any purchases through my Blendtec Store link, I will receive a small commission, but that also means you can use the code CUPCAKESANDKALECHIPS to receive 20% off.
Funky Monkey Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1 cup spinach or other dark, leafy greens, if desired
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese or plain Greek yogurt
- 1 Tablespoon peanut butter (or 1 Tablespoon peanut butter powder)
- 1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 large frozen banana, cut into chunks
- 4 ice cubes more or less depending on desired texture
Instructions
- Add the ingredients to a blender in the order listed, and blend until smooth.
- Pour into a glass and serve.
Did you make this?
Leave a rating below and tag @cupcakesandkalechips on Instagram and hashtag it #cupcakesandkalechips
Categories:
More healthy chocolate smoothie recipes
- Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Smoothie
- Chocolate Berry Smoothie
- Banana Chocolate Pistachio Smoothie
- Chocolate Mint Smoothie
- Banana Almond Mocha Smoothie
- Chocolate Avocado Smoothie is a dairy-free treat from Texanerin Baking
- Chocolate Raspberry Smoothie from Two Peas and Their Pod
- White Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie from Big Bear’s Wife
Enjoy!
Would vanilla chobani and some fresh frozen banana work ok?
Absolutely!
I just love these smoothieeees!
Here are some more delicious Greek Yogurt Recipes:
http://www.igreekyogurt.com
Sipping on this as I type. It’s so good! I love that it’s a guilt-free snack. Thanks for sharing, Brianne!
Delicious! Perfect for the times those chocolate cravings hit me 🙂
I use it for my ice cream cravings!
This looks delicious! There is nothing better than peanut butter, banana, and chocolate mixed together! I would love if you would share this delicious recipe over at my blog hop! That cheer makes me feel old ha I remember singing that! http://www.ablossominglife.com/2013/02/frugal-crafty-home-blog-hop-12.html
Thanks for stopping by! Banana, chocolate and peanut butter is always my favorite combo!
Wow, that sounds awesome!! Got it bookmarked, pinned and tweeted! Thanks for sharing this at Gluten Free Fridays!
Thanks! This is definitely a hit!
This smoothie looks and sounds phenomenal! I’m a huge fan of peanut butter, chocolate, and banana, so this is right up my alley. I’ve never seen banana flavored Chobani, but when I do, it will be all mine.
The banana is one of their newer flavors, so maybe it isn’t everywhere yet, but you have to try it. I like it right out of the cup with a scoop of peanut butter. Some mini chips wouldn’t be a bad thing either 🙂
This looks delicious! I love chocolate, banana and peanut butter together!
My favorite combo!!
I love it Brianne!
Simple, but sooo good!
My favorite Ben and Jerry’s was the chunky monkey…..BUT not anymore!!! This really sounds fabulous, and my hubby would love love it:-) YUM!!! Hugs, Terra
I only tried Chunky Monkey last June when we were in Vermont!
this is my kind of smoothie!
I love smoothies that make you think you are drinking a milkshake 🙂
Yummy! Love, love chobani yogurt. I have a hard time finding the banana flavor, but I will drive miles out if my way to get it;) thanks for the great recipe!
Hopefully it gets easier to find. It is still a new product. But it is good. Just picked up more today.
I hope so, this recipe might me good with the pineapple chobani too!
Give it a try! I’d love pineapple with coconut milk (maybe skip the peanut butter)
I just found your blog. I love the name of your blog, so cute! I love this recipe. I will have to try with some soy yogurt.
Thanks so much! I am not sure about the texture of soy yogurt, but Greek yogurt is pretty thick, so you may find you need less milk.
Ahahahaa I love your silliness-that is so cool that your mom is a cheerleading coach! This smoothie looks soooo delicious, I love me some funky monkey 😛
Haha, thanks! I didn’t get the cheerleader gene though. I was pretty terrible. My sister, though, was awesome!