Chocolate Protein Shake (Protein Powder-Free!)

It’s time to write this! Whenever I look on the internet for a recipe for many different foods, if The Minimalist Baker comes up among all the other recipes, I go to it FIRST!…And I usually follow it! Thank you!

With love,
Weslie

(You choose great options! …how many others would even think not to use protein powder, but real food?!)

I have left a previous comment but have made some changes that I think others may love too!

I need a large caloric shake in my daily regiment so I made this quite a bit large (essentially tripled the entire recipe) but also added the following:

– 1 tbsp Fenugreek seeds (for taste and health benefits)
– 1 tbsp Cinnamon
– 1 tbsp Vanilla

The original recipe is excellent but the small changes I made give it an interesting, and in my opinion rather enjoyable, dimension. Also, keep in mind that the above values are for 3x the recipe’s size :) Would highly recommend trying! Especially for the holidays.

I cannot emphasize enough how many times I have made this shake for breakfast. Probably at least a hundred times this year, especially this summer when I was working out in the woods and had to get out the door early. So filling, so delicious, it’s never let me down!

I’m a 21-year-old student athlete who needs the calories more than most, so I opted for 2-3x the amount of peanut butter and a second banana, as well as about 2-2.5c coconut milk. LOVE this. Will definitely be sharing with my friends. Thanks.

I left out the hemp seeds and added one spoon of maple syrup (I have a sweet tooth) and only used 1.25c almond milk because I ran out and it was really good! My baby is dairy intolerant and I’m breast feeding so this really hot the spot for a sweet treat! Thank you so much!

I LOVED this. This is amazing because I am very prone to “sugar crashes” (can’t drink fruit-forward smoothies), but had no problems with this delicious chocolatey one!

I felt like I was eating chocolate pudding. (I add less mylk to my smoothies.) I could eat it for dessert, honestly. :-)

I make this before a long bike ride. Today will be a 62 miler. I added some tofu and i am set. This is delicious!

Yeah, I had this for dinner tonight…..winning, because I am exhausted and this took such little effort! I prefer room temp drinks sooo this was perfect for me!

This is a really great shake and I’ve made it a lot. It is a little too thick and not cold enough for me so I started making it with 2 cups almond milk and still adding ice. Love it! Then I took it a bit further and added frozen cubes of coffee plus a tiny pinch of salt for next level yum! I’ve also added a scoop of instant coffee with good results.

I didn’t use the oats because of the high carb rating but I ended up putting in collagen peptides powder, almond butter, a handful of spinach and frozen blueberries and it was a hit! I’ve never had a chocolate shake before and I’ve been missing out!!

Delicious! I used almond butter. A very generous serving. I split the mixture into 2 servings.

I made this today, lovely! I did 1 TB of salted peanut butter and 1 TB of Trader Joe’s Cookie butter (yes not the healthiest) but it was delicious!!

Even without the 1 TB of Cookie butter, it’s scrumptious!

My new favorite shake! It’s so holesome, filing, creamy and delicious. I have used almond or hazelnut butter and it’s yum. The perfect breakfast or snack.

The flavor is delicious. We subbed the extra chia and flax (per the recipe suggestion) because we don’t have hemp seeds and that combined with the oats made this SUPER THICK. So thick in fact that I ate it with a spoon like a pudding instead of drinking it. VERY FILLING! We might play around with the balance in the future to make it more drinkable but it’s a pretty yummy pudding in the meantime.

I love this smoothie! It’s so chocolatey and delicious. I’ve been adding avocado to mine and it makes it extra thick and creamy :-)
Thanks for the recipe!

Super tasty, and kept me full during my active job til lunch. Thanks!

I made it this morning and absolutely loved it! I did make only half of the recipe, which was enough for me as an after workout snack.

I love the recipe! I’d add less milk than stated because it got quite watery the first time. Other than that it’s a great recipe!

I have been making this on Saturdays, as written, except I use soy milk instead of almond milk. I have half before my open water swim and half when I get back, very satisfying and delicious! Thanks for another great recipe.

Loved this! I have been missing the completeness that protein powder gives a smoothie and don’t always want to use an avocado to get the right texture/fillingness. Thank you for this recipe!

I modified a bit so i wouldn’t have such a large amount:

1 cup homemade almond milk
~3/4 of a small frozen banana
1tbsp of mixed flax/chia
Slightly less than 1/4 cup oats
2tbsp PB
1tbsp cacao
~1 tbsp hemp (was afraid of adding to much and tasting them, couldn’t tell they were there at this amount)

So, I made this at the spur of the moment, because I was HUNGRY. So, I didn’t have a frozen banana. I did add a room temperature banana, as well as 6 frozen strawberries to cool it down. Other than that, I made everything according to the directions (with just 1.5 cups almond milk, 2 TBS of cocoa powder, 2 dates). It is thick and my blender did work hard for it, so I may add the extra half cup of almond milk next time. My five year old and I LOVED it, but not my smoothie-disliking 8 year old (I hoped this might win him over). I plan to make this A LOT, as I have a hard time getting protein into my 5 year old. Dana, please please, pretty please, will you make at least 10 variations on this theme?

My new favourite chocolate smoothie! Taste and texture are so good! Better than proteins shake you can buy and so easy to make!

I made this twice this morning! The first time I added strawberries and my three year old daughter stole it. Second time around i made it for myself with blueberries. Yum.

Absolutely fabulous, no modification required. I used 1.5 cups of almond milk and the 2 pitted dated for sweetness – will make again! Thanks! :)

Yum! I really dislike chocolate protein powders so was super stoked when this recipe was released. Now I don’t just have to have vanilla protein powder shakes mixed with fruit/veggies. Nice to have another option for breakfast. Love this shake, it has great staying power until my next meal.

I added an extra banana and spinach and had this for breakfast. SO yummy!!

So so good! My banana wasn’t frozen so I threw in some ice and it was fantastic. My 6 year old loves it too, the nut butter didn’t overwhelm the taste, so it was like a big chocolate shake. Perfect!

I saw this recipe come through my email, I had all ingredients so I decided to give it a try for my post recovery run. I made it as the recipe says and it was delicious. I didn’t want the whole amount so I put about half in the refrigerator and ate it with a spoon topped with berries the next day. I’m assuming it thickened due to the chia seeds and the lower amount almond milk. Still tasted amazing the next day! Thank you!

Love this recipe! First time followed recipe exactly (no sweetener). Second time didn’t have a frozen banana so subbed tofu. Did not taste very good. Put it back in the blender, added more water, frozen strawberries, some vanilla yogurt and some maple syrup and it was much better. I bet it would be good with frozen strawberries in addition to or instead of the banana.

So fast, so delicious and really holds you over.

Delicious! I had to leave out the banana because I didn’t have any, so I added a cup of ice cubes to make it colder. I also added fresh ginger and ground cardamom. I thought I might not like the oats in this, but I couldn’t even taste them. I’m so excited to have a protein shake without protein powder (I have tried many brands and don’t like any of them.) Will definitely make this again. Thanks Dana!

I’m suprised you chose to use almond milk since you were trying to up the protein. Almond milk has very little protein (1g) in it compared to soy milk (7 g) per cup.

This is so amazing. I mean SO amazing! The only thing I did differently from the recipe was to use oat milk instead of almond milk. I think it made it a little creamier. Other than that I didn’t change a thing and it was perfect. I love that it doesn’t have any protein powder and yet it’s so filling. It’s basically a meal. A very tasty, chocolaty meal.

I used 2 frozen bananas, 2 medjool dates, 1.5 cups of soy milk, almond butter and raw cacao powder. It was thick, creamy and delicious! Thank you

Made this for a last minute meal. I used flax milk and didn’t have the hemp seeds so added more chia seeds. Great recipe. Delicious!! This is a keeper.

Another great recipe – I made it as listed _and_ still added a half scoop of vegan chocolate protein powder (I really like chocolate). It was totally amazing, and I don’t plan on eating again for at least 8 hours! :) It was, as a wise man once said: “thicker than a bowl of oatmeal.”

Can I just say that you continue to amaze me with all these recipes you come up with. Forever excited when I open an email from you
Ps, this shake is delicious

Great recipe. Great flavor. This will definitely be in my breakfast and dessert rotations.

I made it this morning, but with the adjustment of flaxseed meal and extra chia seeds (just because I don’t have any hemp seeds) and sweetened almond milk (that’s what I had) and then added additional sweetener of date syrup. Was really good, but I think that next time I’ll add a pinch of salt to enhance the flavour.

I made this for a post workout meal and loved it. I used two dates and added a handful of frozen spinach that I had. It was delicious! Thank you!!

Very nutritious and enjoyed it, thx

This shake is awesome! I love it.

I just made this. I can’t do hemp so I increased the chia to 3 T, and added 1 T ground flax and it tastes like an amazing chocolate pudding!! Bonus rounds!!!

YUM!!!! Left out the oats, added additional
hemp seeds, used almond butter -> still
fantastic!!! Another win from Dana! (I love this girl. )

Spectacular breakfast smoothie (and is perfect with a cup of black coffee.) I’ve always wanted a non-store-bought-protein-powder chocolate smoothie recipe, and yours is delicious and easy! I actually had all the ingredients but skipped adding dates to see if it was sweet enough sans dates and it was. With hot weather on the horizon (translation: lots of bananas will be peeled & frozen) this recipe is divine to get through summer. Thank you!

Made this as a study snack and oh I am in love! I made the hemp seeds free version and used oat milk instead of almond and it was delicious. It was so simple and quick to make that I am definitely gonna add this to my favourites.

I happen to have all the ingredients so I decided to try it for breakfast. The shake was actually really delicious! I used maple syrup instead of dates to sweeten. It’s pretty good as is, although I decided to add a few ice cubes which I liked a little bit better. I would definitely make it again, especially if I’m craving chocolate!

This looks fab! Thank you.

I agree with you. This may work only for persons who want alot of energy right before a workout.

Five Stars! And a million thanks! I used organic sunflower butter and coconut milk to make this — and it is the high calorie, high protein meal I needed as I complete radiation treatment this week. I can actually taste the fantastic blend of flavors, without the powdery aftertaste. It is dessert for dinner!

So happy to see this recipe after this morning’s run. I’ve never had oats in a smoothie before – it was like my beloved PB/Chocolate overnight oats in smoothie form :) Extra satisfying!

I just made this for my boyfriend and I for lunch and he literally slurped it down in under 2 minutes and asked for more. I made a small substitution for chia seeds with flax seeds since that’s what I had on hand. I used 1 1/2 cups almond milk but will use the full two next time. This might be a daily go to for now on! I would make another but I’m all out of almond milk. Bravo Dana! You’re a genius. So simple, yet so effective. Thank you for another healthy, delicious recipe!

This is my staple smoothie after the gym, taste soo good, a bit caloric, but worth, since i have ckd i cant be near protein powders, this.does.the trick!. Cheers!

Just made this and am really enjoying it. I followed the recipe for the most part, except replaced hemp seeds with flax meal and used low sugar almond milk and no dates. Delish! I’m not a fan of protein powder so I’m excited to add this recipe to my smoothie arsenal. :)

Just made it!! Absolutely delicious and filling!

Made this morning and it was delicious. I added 6 ice cubes.

I make frozen banana and dates smoothies all the time. I mean just those two ingredients with a splash of water or milk and it comes out tasting just like a milkshake. This recipe takes that smoothie up a notch! It’s delicious! Love the added protein and silkyness, it’s like a pudding or chocolate mousse. Must try!

DELICIOUS! I just watched the video and immediately went to make this. I had to swap the almond milk for oat milk, didn’t need to add dates or maple syrup as the frozen bananas I had were sweet enough. I also added half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon. So, so good. Thank you.

I was searching the internet for a non pea-protein based protein powder when this popped into my inbox. Perfect timing!

I just made it and subbed in hazelnut milk for the almond milk and added in a dash of Ceylon cinnamon. Absolutely delish!! Super chocoately and sweet without being overly sweet. (I left out the date because my hazelnut milk is sweetened with dates). Another winner, Dana!!

Amazing recipe, it is really nice to see a protein-powder-free vegan recipe – a lot of vegans I know, including myself, don’t use protein powders, so you’re saving a lot of us a lot of research by posting this. Thank you!

Sooo delicious. Thank you. Please keep the plant-based recipes coming. Super grateful for all you do in sharing these healthy recipes ?

I made this today. I used regular organic milk and extra chia and ground flaxseed in lieu of hemp. I added some blueberries I had lying around. It was delicious. Hardest thing about this recipe is cleaning the blender. Make it. Enjoy it. Repeat.

Delicious and satisfying! I used two bananas instead of 1 and 1 date. Definitely will make this regularly. Thanks for the recipe!