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This Chocolate Date Smoothie tastes like a rich chocolate milkshake! All you need is a few simple ingredients to make it.
I first started making this chocolate smoothie when I was pregnant and learned that dates may help to improve your labor & delivery experience. But, I’ve continued to drink this smoothie ever since because it’s delicious and nutrient-dense. It makes a healthy breakfast or delicious mid-day snack!
Dates are not only a source of plant-based iron and potassium, but they also are high in fiber. Research suggests that consuming dates may help to improve memory and they also may lower the risk for certain cancers.
Plus, they are a great way to add natural sweetness to a smoothie, without relying on frozen bananas.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This recipe calls for Medjool dates, which are often bigger than other varieties. Look for dates that are squishy and moist-looking for the best results. Drier dates will be harder to blend.
If you have dry dates that are difficult to split apart with your fingers, try soaking them in a bowl of very hot water for 10 minutes to help soften them up. After you drain away the soaking water, they are ready to use in this recipe.
Hemp hearts (which are hulled hemp seeds) add protein and the ground flax seed helps to thicken this date smoothie. If you would like to add protein powder, or would rather use peanut butter instead of almond butter, feel free! This smoothie recipe is easy to customize.
How to Make a Date Smoothie
1. Blend.
Add the almond milk, pitted dates, cocoa powder, flax seeds, hemp hearts, and almond butter to a high-speed blender. Blend until the dates are totally pulverized.
The mixture should look like a thick, smooth chocolate pudding when it’s done blending. Taste the mixture to make sure it’s as sweet as you’d like it to be, but keep in mind the flavor will be diluted with the next step. (It gets better with ice!)
2. Add ice.
For a slushy texture, add 1 cup of ice cubes and blend again. Depending on the consistency you are going for, you might need to add a little more ice.
The more ice you add, the more diluted the chocolate flavor will be.
3. Enjoy!
Serve this chocolate date smoothie right away for the best flavor and texture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can blend a handful of almonds or cashews into this smoothie for creaminess, if you have a high-speed blender. Or, try chia seeds, greek yogurt, or rolled oats as a nut-free alternative.
No, you can actually just use water as the base for this recipe, since the nut butter will add creaminess on its own. Oat milk, soy milk, coconut milk, or any other non-dairy milk will also work, but may slightly alter the flavor.
You can replace 3 of the dates with a ripe banana, but this will create more of a banana date smoothie with plenty of banana flavor. If you want to make a banana smoothie, try my Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie for another variation.
Yes, as written this recipe is naturally gluten-free and dairy-free, so it’s also vegan-friendly.
Add a dash of cinnamon for a Mexican chocolate flavor, or a splash of vanilla extract to make it taste like even more of a milkshake. You can also add a big handful of fresh baby spinach, which you won’t be able to taste at all. (But it will give the smoothie a slight greenish-brown hue.)
Looking for more smoothie recipes? Try my Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie, Strawberry Mango Smoothie, or Chocolate Avocado Smoothie for more ideas.
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond milk
- 4 to 5 Medjool dates , pitted
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds (or chia seeds)
- 1 tablespoon hemp hearts
- 2 level tablespoons cacao powder
- 1 tablespoon almond butter
- 1 cup ice cubes , plus more as needed
Instructions
- In a high-speed blender, combine the almond milk, 4 dates (use 5 if they are on the small side), ground flax, hemp hearts, cacao powder, and almond butter. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the blender if needed.
- Taste the smoothie and make any adjustments you need. The flavor will be diluted once you add the ice, but this is your chance to add more sweetness or cacao powder if needed.
- Add the ice cubes, and blend again, until the shake has a slushy texture. The more ice you add, the more diluted the chocolate flavor will be.
- Serve right away for the best taste and texture.
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this chocolate date smoothie recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it.
Best (No Banana) Smoothie. The recipe is missing a handful of raw spinach, which was included in the old version. One can easily leave out the almond milk in place of water. Easy to throw together, fulfilling the cravings for the chocolate smoothie addicts among us!
Wanted to make a chocolate smoothie without banana. This was incredible! Honestly, I was suspicious at first because of the ingredient list, but it somehow worked – especially with regular milk. Thanks!
I love this recipe! I have made it with almond and peanut butter and I like both. It’s creamy and delicious and tastes like a treat. I love having a smoothie option that doesn’t use banana
Yum! I wouldn’t say this tastes like a chocolate shake, but it’s good! I like the idea of putting the ice in after the other ingredients have blended. This helps give it a better, icy-frappuccino-y texture. I used 2 dates instead of 4 and I used some cashews instead of the almond butter because that’s what I have and the high power blender does a good job of making them disappear into the liquid. The color is def off-putting (um, baby diaper), but I’m not making this for anyone else so it’s ok. I also made a version with unflavored protein powder and that worked too (though it does have a slightly gritty texture). Anyway, super appreciative of the banana-free shake/smoothie recipes and am excited to try the hazelnut version and other flavors you created. Thanks! 7/20/23
I have a smoothie every morning and this is the best one I’ve ever tasted
Lovely recipe. Thanks for sharing.
This smoothie is perfectly creamy and tastes like the most indulgent chocolate shake (even with only 3 dates because that’s how we like it). One of Megan’s smoothies is always on rotation in our house for breakfast, and right now it’s this one!
Very good this will be my favourite smoothie 👍thank you for the recipe
This is very tasty. They only issue I have is the dates don’t completely blend. Maybe I should not keep them in the fridge or I need dates that are fresher. I may add a frozen banana to take my vitamins for more of a base but I wanted to try it alone and it tastes like a milkshake!
This is on repeat at my house – especially when curbing a chocolate craving!