Chocolate Covered Cherry Smoothie
This easy, healthy Chocolate Covered Cherry Smoothie recipe 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.
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Here’s our full disclosure.
How to Make a Chocolate Covered Cherry Smoothie
This cherry smoothie is hands down, this is the best smoothie recipe I’ve ever made. In fact, I stopped halfway through writing this blog post to make one! How is that for putting my money where my mouth is!?
It’s actually very easy to throw together once you have all the ingredients on hand.
Cherry Smoothie Ingredients:
- Almond milk (or substitute your favorite milk of choice)
- Banana (preferably frozen in slices to create the perfect smoothie texture)
- Frozen dark sweet cherries (NOT tart red cherries)
- Baby spinach (I prefer organic, which is easy to find)
- Almond butter (or substitute your favorite nut butter)
- 100% cocoa powder or cacao powder
What Type of Cherries Should I Use for a Cherry Smoothie?
It’s important to note that you will need the 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 were 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!
Cherry Smoothie Pro Tips
- If you really like things sweet, you may want to add a dollop of raw honey.
- You will NOT taste the spinach but still enjoy all the health benefits of slurping up your greens.
- Peanut butter does NOT work as a great substitution to the almond butter. It’s got too much salt and throws the taste off.
- You could sub kale for the spinach.
- Make smoothie packs with this recipe! See instructions below.
What Blender Do I Need to Make this Cherry Smoothie?
Now, let’s talk blenders for a minute. Not all of them are created equal.
I’ve owned a lot of brands over the years–Frigidaire, Cuisinart, Ninja, Vitamix, and Oster. To really pulverize the freezer smoothie packs, you’ll need a high-powered blender.
The two blenders that stand out as clear winners from my experience are:
- The Vitamix because it is very high-powered, super simple, and will last for an eon. We both have this blender and it’s the BEST.
- A more affordable option is the Nutri Ninja Personal and Countertop Blender. This makes smooth smoothies and allows me to make single serving smoothies. The big blender doesn’t pulverize as well as the smaller containers do or the Vitamix, just so you know. We use the single-serving blender daily!
Alright now, if you’ve got your blender and ingredients on hand, it’s time to make your delicious chocolate shake…I mean your healthy Chocolate Covered Cherry Smoothie!
Or, spend a few minutes dividing up ingredients and make some freezer smoothie packs for later.
How to Make a Cherry Smoothie into a Freezer Smoothie Pack
What are freezer smoothie packs?
Only the best, most genius idea ever. You’ll simply toss most of your smoothie ingredients in a freezer bag/container to have on hand in the freezer. (Be sure to follow our layering instructions.) Then you can throw together a delicious, nutrient dense smoothie for breakfast, as a snack, or as a meal replacement anytime.
Amazingly, all of the fruits, vegetables, and add-ins that we’ve tested from frozen have worked well in a smoothie. That’s not always the case when you freeze certain fruits/vegetables for other uses, however. Smoothies are very forgiving!
If you’re trying to cut down on plastic bag use like we are, try these reusable silicone bags. We’ve personally tested these bags for weeks now. I’ve found them to be easy to rinse out and dry, and they do not leak. They seem well made and worth the investment.
Prep Time:
Yield:
Category:
Method:
Cuisine:
Print
PinDescription
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
- dollop of honey (optional)
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 (or reusable silicone bags) in this order:
- ½ 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
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.
Download our Smoothie Pack Printable
To make smoothie pack assembling SUPER easy for you, we’ve created a FREE printable.
In this PDF, you’ll get:
1) 7 delicious smoothie recipes
2) Shopping lists for single smoothies
3) Shopping lists for making packs in bulk
4) Four freezer pack labels per recipe
Just pop in your email address below to snag it!
More Smoothie Recipes like our Cherry Smoothie
Try making these other smoothies that we’ve shared in this series or Pin them for later:
If one has a Vitamix, could they just add almonds instead of the almond butter? And what do you think of adding dates instead of honey to up the fiber?
Yes! I do that frequently. I just buy a big bag of raw almonds and have them in the freezer. I also toss in a few walnuts each day, too. I don’t use any honey in this recipe, but if you want it sweeter you could try dates. But the cherries and banana add a lot of sugar already. It’s plenty sweet for me! I hope you enjoy it.
Do you think I could substitute avocado for banana?
I think the texture would work just fine, however it will be less sweet. Try it and you can always add in a little honey at the end if you want it sweeter.
OMG! I absolutely love this smoothie 😍 I didn’t think something so delicious is good for me. This tastes just like ice cream and I’m going to try to get my kids to drink this too! Thank you for this recipe👏👏👏👏👏
★★★★★
I’m so happy you like it, Nathalie. It’s hands-down my favorite, too. I drink it about 5-6 days a week for breakfast…going on about 2 years now. 🙂
This was AMAZING. It really does taste like a milkshake, I drank it in like five minutes. Do you think other fruits such as strawberries or blueberries could be used in place of the cherries? I’m just thinking of variety for future smoothies!
★★★★★
Yeah! Glad you liked it! I’ve tried other fruit in it’s place and it’s honestly just not as good. The cherries have a higher sugar content than the others. But, you could try it and always add a little honey to sweeten it more if needed.
What do you think about using kale in this smoothie?
It’s definitely not a one-to-one replacement for spinach. Kale has a stronger flavor for sure that can’t be masked as easily. If you use kale, I would suggest using less. Hope that helps!
😍😍😍 this is very yummy I love spinach in my smoothies. I have never tried cocoa powder but yum thanks for a good smoothie.
★★★★★
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Cindy! Thanks for the review.
Love this! I usually am disappointed with smoothie recipes, having to add much more liquid later on and then having it end up flavorless. This turned out perfect following the recipe exactly. AND it’s delicious enough to drink every day. Thanks ladies!
★★★★★
Yeah! So glad you loved it. It’s been my daily smoothie recipe for a whole year…no joke. I sometimes add whole raw nuts in place of the almond butter for a little variety and I usually pack in even more spinach, too (you don’t even notice).
Does this really have 60 grams of sugar???
Definitely not! Only about 22 grams. I just checked our nutrition app and found the mistake and corrected it. Thank you for asking!