Chocolate Covered Cherry Smoothie
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This Chocolate Covered Cherry Smoothie tastes like a chocolate shake (seriously!) but is chock full of antioxidants and protein thanks to spinach, dark cherries, almond butter, cocoa powder, and more. It’s dairy-free, gluten-free, and we teach you how to make it into a freezer smoothie pack for later.
This post is sponsored by Hy-Vee (Columbia).
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Flavor – This fruit smoothie tastes like a chocolate shake.
- Reader-favorite – Besides being Rachel’s favorite, many of our readers keep coming back to this one again and again. Serve with some Cinnamon Toast made in the Oven for a divine meal!
- It can be prepped as a smoothie pack – Scale it up and freeze the smoothie packs.
- More fruits and veggies – Like our other recipes that sneak in vegetables and fruits, smoothies are an easy and tasty way to eat more produce at breakfast.
We love packing in as much tasty nutrition to every bite we can, like our Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins and Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal, too.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes:
- Almond milk – I use plain, unsweetened. You can substitute your favorite milk of choice.
- Frozen dark sweet cherries – NOT tart red cherries.
- Almond butter – Peanut butter does NOT work as a great substitution for almond butter. It’s got too much salt and throws the taste off.
- Optional: Protein powder – I’d suggest adding in some unsweetened protein powder to balance out the natural sugars in this smoothie. I personally like Vital Proteins.
Where to Get Your Ingredients
We suggest grabbing the ingredients for this recipe at your local Hy-Vee, since they are well-stocked with the frozen dark sweet cherries year round.
Plus, I can get organic spinach, almond butter, almond milk, and cacao powder from their Health Market to make sure my smoothie is filled with clean ingredients.
Make It a Freezer Smoothie Pack
What are freezer smoothie packs?
A freezer smoothie pack is a pre-prepared mixture of ingredients for making smoothies that is portioned, packed, and stored in the freezer until you’re ready to blend it into a smoothie.
To Prep the Smoothie Pack:
Layer ingredients in small freezer bags (or reusable silicone bags) in this order:
- 1/2 banana
- 1 cup frozen dark sweet cherries
- 2 tablespoons almond butter
- 1 cup baby spinach (preferably organic)
- 1 tablespoon 100% cocoa powder or cacao powder
- Optional: 1-2 scoops protein powder
Seal tightly, squeezing out the air, and freeze for up to 3 months.
To Make the Smoothie:
Pour the liquid in your blender, dump in the frozen smoothie pack, and blend.
More Smoothie Recipes
We worked hard to develop 7 delicious smoothie recipes and teach you how to prep them as freezer smoothie packs. Here are the other flavors available:
FAQs
It’s important to note that you really can’t substitute dark, sweet cherries. I tested this with the tart red version, as well as strawberries, and it just wasn’t the same. Neither of those fruits was as sweet.
You may have to hunt a bit to find which store carries them. They can also be pricey so try to buy in bulk when on sale if possible!
Yes! If you don’t drink all of your smoothie, pour it into an ice cube tray (or something to help portion it out) and freeze. Then pop out the small portions of smoothie to toss in your blender the next time you make a smoothie.
Sure! Feel free to add in a sugar-free, unflavored protein powder or collagen powder. I like Vital Protein Collagen Peptides. You may need to add a little more liquid if you include this ingredient.
We have written a post with all our tips for freezing bananas. The main takeaway is to freeze the banana slices on a baking sheet for a few hours and THEN transfer to a freezer-safe container.
7 Must Have Smoothie Recipes
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More Chocolate Breakfast Recipes
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Chocolate Covered Cherry Smoothie
This Chocolate Covered Cherry Smoothie tastes like dessert but is chock full of antioxidants and protein thanks to spinach, dark cherries, almond butter, cocoa powder, and more. Easy, single serving smoothie that can be made into a smoothie pack, too.
Ingredients
- 1 – 1 1/2 cups unsweetened plain almond milk (or milk of your choice)
- 1/2 banana, sliced (preferably frozen for best smoothie texture)
- 1 cup frozen sweet dark cherries (NOT red tart cherries)
- 1 cup baby spinach (preferably organic)
- 2 tablespoons almond butter
- 1 tablespoon 100% cocoa powder or cacao powder
- Optional: 1-2 scoops unsweetened protein powder (I like Vital Proteins brand)
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Instructions
Make It Now:
1. Start by adding 1 cup almond milk to a high-powered blender. Then, add all the other ingredients.
2. Blend until smooth. You may need to stop and stir/shake the blender or add up to 1/2 cup more of almond milk, as needed, to make sure it gets smooth.
3. Taste and add a dollop of honey, if preferred.
Make Freezer Smoothie Packs for Later:
1. Layer ingredients in small freezer bags in this order:
- 1/2 banana
- 1 cup frozen dark sweet cherries
- 2 tablespoons almond butter
- 1 cup baby spinach (preferably organic)
- 1 tablespoon 100% cocoa powder or cacao powde
- Optional: 1-2 scoops protein powder
2. Seal tightly, squeezing out the air, and freeze for up to 3 months.
3. To Blend: Pour 1 cup almond milk into a high-powered blender first. Break up the ingredients in the bag by hitting it on the counter or crunching it with your hands. Dump the ingredients from the bag in and follow blending instructions above.
Notes/Tips
- It’s important to note that you really can’t substitute dark, sweet cherries. I tested this with the tart red version, as well as strawberries, and it just wasn’t the same. Neither of those fruits was as sweet.
- Check out all 7 smoothie packs and download a recipe cheat sheet and shopping list.
- If you’d like to add in more protein, feel free to add in a sugar-free, unflavored protein powder or collagen powder. I like Vital Protein Collagen Peptides. You may need to add a little more liquid.
This is the perfect hot chocolate recipe. I added a few drops of peppermint extract, it was chocolatey and decadent.
So glad you enjoyed our Hot Chocolate recipe PJ. Here’s the link for others to find it: https://thrivinghomeblog.com/homemade-hot-chocolate-recipe-only-3-ingredients/
This is our favorite smoothie. I make the freezer packs. I found it difficult to get all the cocoa powder out of the bag and I’ve the blender…it kind of went everywhere. I started mixing the cocoa powder with the almond butter before making the freezer packs and it works great!
Thanks for the suggestion Joan! You are in good company with this one being your favorite since it is Rachel’s too! 🙂
This an amazingly tasty and easy smoothie!
One of my favorites too! Thanks for the review Molly.
I agree, Molly. It’s my fave! So happy you like it too.