Chocolate Smoothie Bowl

This chocolate smoothie bowl is a delicious and nutritious way to start your day. Filled with bananas, cacao, and almond butter, it’s also loaded with antioxidants and fiber. Plus, who can resist a healthy chocolate breakfast!

Chocolate Smoothie Bowl Ingredients

The main ingredients are both delicious and nutritious:

Bananas

A great source of potassium, fiber, and antioxidants as well as vitamins B6 and C. I normally buy a big bag of bananas and slice and freeze them so that I always have plenty on hand. O Organics also sells bags of presliced frozen banana slices if you’re in a hurry.

Cacao powder

Filled with antioxidants, flavonoids, fiber, and iron. I used Navitas Organics cacao powder.

Almond butter

A source of even more antioxidants, plus vitamin E, magnesium, and healthy fats. I prefer unsweetened almond butter such as Once Again or Barney Butter.

Honey

I prefer raw or Manuka honey for their nutritional properties. Plus they’re delicious.  Manuka honey is pricey, however, and a quality raw honey also works well.

Options and Substitutions

Looking for something a little different? Here are some other ideas:

• Give your smoothie bowl a protein boost by replacing the almond milk with soy milk or dairy milk, replacing half of the almond milk with yogurt, or by adding some protein powder.
• Switch up the toppings. I added raspberries, slivered almonds, and cacao nibs to my bowl, but there are endless combinations to choose from.  Add your own favorite fruits, nuts, seeds! If you want to reduce the calories in this bowl, topping with 1/2 cup of raspberries adds only 32 calories.
• If you can’t find cacao powder or cacao nibs, you can use cocoa powder and chocolate chips.
• You can substitute the honey with your favorite sweetener: stevia, monk fruit, maple syrup, or cane sugar are all good options.

Globally Inspired Variations

Because we love world flavors here at Cardamom Magazine, here are two globally-inspired ideas for you:

French Orange Chocolate Mousse Smoothie Bowl: Replace half the almond milk with orange juice and replace the cinnamon with vanilla. This gives your smoothie bowl a taste that reminds me of my favorite orange chocolate mousse in Paris (only with far fewer calories).

Mexican Chocolate Smoothie Bowl: Add 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper for Latin-inspired kick. 🌶️

Cocoa vs. Cacao

What’s the difference between cocoa powder and cacao powder? This is a common question. In short, cacao powder comes from raw, fermented beans that are not roasted. Cocoa powder comes from beans that are fermented and roasted.  Cocoa powder is a good source of iron, magnesium, and potassium. Cacao powder is an even higher source of these important nutrients.  If you’re interested in learning more, The Spruce Eats has a detailed article about the difference between cocoa and cacao.

Here are a few of my favorite chocolate brands:

• Navitas Organics.  I love Navitas Organics cacao powder and cacao nibs. These are fair trade products from a socially responsible company.
• SACO. For cocoa powder, I like SACO organic cocoa. It’s fair trade and gluten-free and SACO partners with Kiva to support entrepreneurs in underserved communities around the world. (Note I have been a Kiva supporter for over 10 years).
• Lily’s. If your topping of choice is chocolate chips, I recommend Lily’s baking chips, which are fair trade, non-GMO, and naturally sweetened with stevia.

Looking for another type of smoothie bowl?  Head to tropical Hawaii (from the comforts of home!) with our Pineapple Spinach Smoothie Bowl.

Chocolate Smoothie Bowl

Patrice Rutledge

This chocolate smoothie bowl is a delicious and nutritious way to start your day. Filled with bananas, cacao, and almond butter, it's loaded with antioxidants and fiber as well. And who can resist a healthy chocolate breakfast!

5 from 20 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 2 minutes mins

Cook Time 3 minutes mins

Total Time 5 minutes mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings 2 people

Calories 226 kcal

Equipment

• blender

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 3 bananas frozen and sliced
• 2 tablespoons cacao powder
• 2 teaspoons almond butter
• 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons honey

Instructions

 

• Place frozen banana slices in a bowl to thaw slightly.
• In a blender, blend all ingredients until smooth.
• Pour into a bowl, add toppings, and enjoy!

Notes

If you make any substitutions, you might need to modify the consistency of your smoothie bowl. To add thickness, add more banana slices. To thin your smoothie, add more almond milk. 

Nutrition

Calories: 226kcalCarbohydrates: 52gProtein: 4gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 4mgPotassium: 747mgFiber: 8gSugar: 28gVitamin A: 113IUVitamin C: 15mgCalcium: 53mgIron: 1mg

Keyword almonds, breakfast, cacao, chocolate, pineapple spinach smoothie, smoothie bowl, snack

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!