Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie
Need a high-protein balanced smoothie that doubles as an incredible sweet treat? I gotchu. This peanut butter cup smoothie is thick, indulgent and full of chocolate peanut butter flavor.
- 1 Erica’s Thoughts
- 2 Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie:
- 3 What You’ll Need to for this Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie Recipe:
- 4 How to Make:
- 5 Expert Tips and Variation Ideas
- 6 FAQs
- 7 If you love this peanut butter cup smoothie you’ll love these other healthy recipes!
- 8 Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie Recipe
Erica’s Thoughts
I’m generally not a huge smoothie person. I’ve got to be in the right mood, ya know? But this is the formula that I come back to again and again. The reason I don’t love smoothies is because I don’t find them very filling. Most smoothies are made with mostly fruit or fruit juice and generally don’t include quality sources of protein and fat to help keep you full.
This chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie has a balance of protein, healthy fats and satisfying carbs AND it tastes like favorite chocolatey treat (ahem, reese’s peanut butter cup). The frozen bananas give it a creamy ice cream consistency and the little bits of peanut butter cup studded throughout give it blizzard vibes. It is such a tasty smoothie (milkshake!?) and although we don’t have Tropical Smoothie where I live, I’m sure it’s better haha! I love it paired with granola or hard-boiled eggs for a delicious breakfast, as a post-workout snack or as dessert to satisfy my sweet tooth. Let’s dive into why you’ll love this smoothie and how to make it at home.
Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie:
- Creamy decadence: Imagine sipping on a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, but in smoothie form. This drink combines the classic flavors of peanut butter and chocolate into a creamy, dreamy concoction.
- Nutritious Ingredients: While it tastes indulgent, this smoothie is packed with wholesome ingredients like bananas, cocoa powder, flaxseed, and protein powder, making it a well-rounded snack.
- Quick and Easy: With just a few simple ingredients and a blender, you can whip up this smoothie in under 5 minutes.
- Customizable: You can add more protein powder or Greek yogurt for a protein boost, switch out peanut butter for almond butter, add nutrition boosters like chia seeds, this recipe is quite versatile!
What You’ll Need to for this Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie Recipe:
Bananas: banana provides natural sweetness and a creamy texture. Make sure they’re frozen!
Peanut butter: I use the organic natural peanut butter from Costco. It has a very simple ingredient list- peanuts and salt! You can use crunchy or creamy peanut butter.
Ground flaxseed or hemp hearts: if you have these ingredients on hand they are quick nutrition wins. Flaxseed is a great source of heart-healthy fats and fiber while hemp hearts provide plant-based protein.
Cacao powder: you can use unsweetened cocoa powder or cacao powder. They are different but can be used interchangeably for this recipe. You can find either in the baking aisle of the grocery store.
Protein powder: technically, this ingredient is optional but it does significantly boost the protein content of this smoothie. I love this protein powder.
Ice cubes: ice gives the smoothie some extra bulk and chilliness.
Milk of choice: use whatever type of milk you enjoy/have on hand! If you want this smoothie to have the most protein possible choose soy milk or cow’s milk. Other milk alternatives are unsweetened almond milk, coconut milk, oat milk or rice milk.
Dark chocolate peanut butter cups: I have an unhealthy obsession with the dark chocolate peanut butter cups from Trader Joe’s, they are SO good. You could also use a Reese’s peanut butter cup or a few chocolate chips.
How to Make:
Start by gathering all your ingredients. If your banana isn’t frozen, pop it in the freezer for a few hours beforehand.
In a high-speed blender, add the frozen bananas, peanut butter, cocoa powder, scoop of protein powder, flaxseed or hemp hearts, ice cubes, and milk. Blend until smooth and creamy. The key to a smoothie with a thick consistency is to blend on low speed. That’s why you need a high-powered blender that can blend on low but still make it super smooth.
Once everything is blended, toss in the peanut butter cup or chocolate chips and give the smoothie one last quick blend. This will distribute the chocolate without fully blending it, giving you delightful chocolatey bits in every sip.
Pour your smoothie into a glass and enjoy immediately!
Expert Tips and Variation Ideas
- How to freeze fresh bananas: Peel and place very ripe bananas in a gallon Ziploc bag. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Peanut butter alternatives: You can swap out peanut butter for another nut or seed butter like cashew butter, sunflower seed butter or almond butter.
- Extra protein: Get an extra boost of protein by adding more protein powder or a scoop of plain Greek yogurt!
- Banana thoughts: If you are a banana hater you could replace the bananas with frozen avocado. Keep in mind this will maintain the creamy consistency but drastically decrease the sweetness.
- Do it up: Top your smoothie with extra peanut butter, chocolate chips, granola or banana chips!
FAQs
To meal prep this smoothie: combine the bananas, protein powder, flaxseed and cocoa powder in a quart-sized Ziploc bag, seal tight and store in the freezer. When ready to enjoy, dump the contents into the blender, add peanut butter, ice and milk and blend. If you’re not a breakfast person this can be a great way to meal prep for busy mornings!
It can be! Just make sure to use a plant-based milk and protein powder, and you’ll have a vegan smoothie!
There is not a perfect sub for the bananas. You can use frozen avocado for equal creaminess but will likely have to add a sweetener like pure maple syrup or honey to compensate for the loss in sweetness.
You can use peanut butter powder instead of regular peanut butter if you are considered about the calorie content. However, most of the fat in peanut butter is unsaturated and heart-healthy!
For a lower sugar version, try using frozen avocado instead of bananas and omit the peanut butter cup or chocolate chips.
If you love this peanut butter cup smoothie you’ll love these other healthy recipes!
If you try and like this recipe please don’t forget to leave a comment and star rating down below! If you love more lifestyle, behind the scenes and ‘eating in real life’ type of content come find me over on Instagram, @itsaflavorfullife, I love connecting with you all there!
Print
Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: N/A
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Smoothie
- Method: Blend
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Creamy, rich and full of chocolate peanut butter flavor, this peanut butter cup smoothie is perfect for breakfast, a post-workout snack or a nourishing sweet treat!
Ingredients
- 2 frozen bananas
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 scoop protein powder
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed or hemp hearts (optional)
- Handful of ice cubes
- ½ cup milk of choice (soy, almond, dairy, coconut, etc)
- 2 dark chocolate peanut butter cups (like the kind from Trader Joe’s or Reese’s), roughly chopped
Instructions
In a high-speed blender, combine the frozen banana, peanut butter, cocoa powder, protein powder, flaxseed or hemp hearts, ice cubes, and milk. Blend on low speed until smooth.
Add the peanut butter cups and blend very briefly to mix them into the smoothie without fully blending.
Pour into a glass and try not to drink too fast! 🤤
Notes
See above blog post for tips, variations and answers to frequently asked questions!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 recipe
- Calories: 308
- Sugar: 21.7 g
- Sodium: 164.9 mg
- Fat: 11.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 41.3 g
- Fiber: 5.6 g
- Protein: 18 g
- Cholesterol: 31.4 mg
This sounds lovely but the dates are not in the ingredient list! How many do we need? Thanks <3
Hi Harper, I am SO sorry. It is fixed now! WHen I originally tested the recipe I included dates but during my retest I decided it was better without but apparently I accidentally used my first draft of directions when creating the blog post! No dates!
Erica
This looks delicious!
Are the ingredients supposed to have an ad between each one? I hate to be curmudgeonly, but it makes it difficult and, dare I say, annoying to read the recipe.
Thanks for sharing.
Hmmm in between the ingredients? That’s not how it looks on my end… I’m sorry it’s annoying, but unfortunately the ads get auto-injected onto my site and I don’t necessarily have a say where exactly they are placed. I will say though, I only see two ads in the recipe card when I look at the post and they’re not in between ingredients. Sorry that it’s difficult!
This smoothie was very creamy and the banana wasn’t overpowering, which I enjoyed! I loved the addition of the candy, made me feel good about it, without feeling deprived!!