Mexican chocolate is a rustic chocolate that’s spiced with cinnamon, and sometimes other spices for heat or nuts for texture. I add ground almonds to this Mexican Chocolate Smoothie, for taste, consistency, and nutrition. I’ve kept the base flavor simple with cinnamon, but a spicier option is included, should you prefer a little kick.
Thick Mexican Chocolate Smoothie worthy of Healthy “Milkshake” Status
This thick, spoon-able, Mexican Chocolate Smoothie recipe is an original favorite from the 1st edition of Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook. When I created the 2nd Edition, I needed to make room for some new recipes, and this one was cut. But I’m posting it up so that it isn’t lost, and adding some more options and tips:
Grinding Almonds – I use a spice grinder since it’s a small amount of almonds. If you have a high power blender, you might be able to toss the almonds in whole. In a pinch, you can substitute about 1 tablespoon of almond butter for the almonds.
Best Bananas – For the sweetest flavor, pick bananas that are very ripe. The more brown specks, the better.
Sweetener Options – I like to use very ripe bananas, so I’m often able to enjoy this Mexican chocolate smoothie without any added sugars. But if you want a more dessert-like experience, you can use a sweetened dairy-free chocolate milk beverage and/or add sweetener to taste. Most types of sweetener will blend nicely with this flavor. If the flavor just needs a little boost, try a pinch or couple drops of pure stevia extract.
Adjust the Thickness – I start with the least amount of milk beverage needed to ensure this smoothie is really thick, but you can add more for a thinner smoothie. If you accidentally thin it too much, you can blend in some ice.
Streamlining the Process – Once you know how much milk beverage, cocoa powder, and sweetener you like to use in this Mexican chocolate smoothie, you can add all ingredients at the same time.
Special Diet Notes: Thick Mexican Chocolate Smoothie
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan, plant-based, and vegetarian.
- ½ ounce (about 2 tablespoons) raw unsalted almonds
- 1 large ripe banana (or 1½ medium bananas), broken into chunks and frozen
- ¾ to 1¼ cups dairy-free chocolate almond milk beverage (I use unsweetened)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch salt
- 1 to 2 teaspoons cocoa powder, to taste
- Sweetener, to taste
- Put the almonds in you spice grinder and grind them into a meal or powder.
- Add the frozen banana, ¾ cup almond milk, ground nuts, cinnamon, and salt to your blender and blend until smooth. Add more milk beverage as needed to get things moving and for your desired consistency.
- Blend in the cocoa powder and sweetener (if using) to taste.
For More of My Everyday Recipes, Get Go Dairy Free!
4 Comments
Wow this was a great smoothie, I love the banana with all those flavors! Great tips
OMGoodness does this look fabulous! If I use sweetened chocolate almond milk do you think I need the cocoa powder? Looks like a dessert but on the healthier side!
Yes, I would still add the cocoa powder.
Yum. I didn’t have frozen so I used a fresh banana. Also didn’t have cocoa powder, but did have hershey’s choc syrup, so used that. I had some cocoa powder coated almonds and used those. It still tasted scrumptious! Oh and I used ice for thickness, as well.