Who wouldn’t want an almond butter cup smoothie for breakfast? What if I told you that this smoothie is rich in antioxidants, protein, healthy dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals? This smoothie makes me feel like I’m a total superfoodie and a kid all at the same time. It is really a magical chocolate experience.
This smoothie is super easy to make and takes less than 5 minutes. It is raw, vegan, soy-free, peanut-free, refined-sugar free and gluten-free.
Nut free option: For those with a nut allergy you could try to substitute sunflower seed butter for the almond butter and sunflower seeds for the almonds. I haven’t tried this yet but imagine it would work well.
This recipe contains raw cacao powder and cacao nibs for some healthy chocolate flavor. Not sure what cacao powder and cacao nibs are? Here is a quick overview:
Raw Cacao Powder & Cacao Nibs. Raw cacao powder and cacao nibs are incredibly nutritious and my new go-to solution when I need a chocolate fix. So what are they?
Cacao powder is produced by cold-pressing unroasted cacao beans which keeps their healthy enzymes intact. Cacao powder is a healthy alternative to conventional cocoa which is over-processed and oftentimes full of sugars and fillers. Plus, cacao powder contains antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and minerals such as magnesium and iron.
Cacao nibs are known as nature’s chocolate chips. They are crunchy pieces of husked cocoa beans that come straight out of the tropical cacao fruit. It is considered pure chocolate and has a very bitter yet slightly sweet flavor. Cacao nibs are an excellent source of iron and dietary fiber. And one ounce of cacao nibs offers 4 grams of protein so it makes for a great plant-based protein boost for smoothies.
With both cacao powder and raw cacao nibs, you can get your chocolate fix with tons of health benefits and without loads of added sugar and additives. Cheers to that!
Almond Butter Cup Smoothie
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 mins
- Yield: 1 1x
Description
Raw, vegan, soy-free, peanut-free, gluten-free, refined sugar free
Ingredients
- 1/2 of a banana, sliced and frozen
- 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk ice cubes [about 6 cubes]
- 1/2 cup unfrozen unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1 tablespoon unsalted raw almond butter
- 1/4 cup raw slivered almonds without the skin (I did not test with the skin on or roasted almonds but I imagine that would work well too)
- 2–3 dates or 1 tablespoon date paste
- 1 tablespoon cacao powder (or sub unsweetened cocoa powder)
- sprinkle of cacao nibs for garnish
Instructions
- The night before, slice half a banana and freeze. Also pour almond milk into an ice cube tray and freeze about 8 cubes.
- Good morning 🙂 When you are ready to make the smoothie, place the frozen banana and almond milk ice cubes into a high speed blender. Add unfrozen almond milk, almond butter, almonds, dates or date paste and cacao powder. Blend from low to high speed until smooth and creamy.
- Add additional frozen banana for a thicker smoothie and add additional almond milk for a thinner consistency.
- Pour into a glass and sprinkle cacao nibs on top. Enjoy immediately.
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: Smoothie
Made this today. Fantastic recipe! Sweet and deliciously refreshing on a hot summer day. I didn’t freeze the milk because I forgot. Instead added some plain ice cubes to the blender with the other ingredients. So yum!
Awesome thank you so much! If you don’t have frozen almond milk you can add raw blanched slivered almonds and ice. That will keep it nice and creamy :). Or more almond butter along with the ice. Just a suggestion. Glad you loved it as is though! Best, Elaine
Amazing Smoothie cup. It is a perfect cup for my kid. It is delicious and rich in protein, all kind of nuts, fiber, and energetic.
Thank you so much! We love it too!