If you grew up dipping crispy french fries into your cold, creamy Wendy’s frosty, wow do I have a surprise for you. This epic chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie literally tastes JUST like a frosty but is naturally sweetened with fruit and made with five simple ingredients.
I made this last summer on repeat and absolutely had to share it again! Enjoy this chocolatey goodness for breakfast, a filling snack or even a healthy dessert any day of the week. French fries optional but recommended.
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5-ingredient chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie
That’s right, you’ll just need 5 simple ingredients to make the creamiest, most delicious chocolate banana smoothie recipe ever. It seriously tastes just like ice cream but is packed with sneaky protein! Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Banana: I like to use a frozen ripe banana to keep the smoothie nice and cold and give it a natural sweetness.
- Cacao powder: that rich, chocolate-y flavor comes from iron-packed cacao powder!
- Peanut butter: a couple tablespoons of natural, creamy peanut butter make the chocolate banana smoothie so delicious. I linked my favorite brand and you can use the code ‘AMBITIOUS15’ for 15% off!
- Vanilla extract: for a little extra flavor boost.
- Milk: feel free to use any milk you’d like. I prefer unsweetened almond milk.
Easy ingredient swaps
This vegan chocolate banana smoothie is easy to customize with your taste preferences and what you might have on hand.
- Choose your milk. Feel free to use any milk you’d like in this recipe. Almond milk tends to have a neutral taste in smoothies, coconut milk will add a subtle sweetness and creamy flavor, and regular milk will add a boost of protein.
- Swap the nut butter. I love the flavor that peanut butter gives to this smoothie recipe, but feel free to swap it for almond or cashew butter.
- Use cocoa powder. Out of cacao powder? Unsweetened cocoa powder will also work well.
Our favorite nutritional boosters
This easy chocolate peanut butter smoothie is great for adding your go-to nutritional boosters. Here are some of our favorites to add:
- Flaxseed meal: this is one of my favorite ingredients to add to smoothies for a little boost of fiber and minerals, and is especially great for nursing mamas as flaxseed can help increase milk supply. Usually, a tablespoon is plenty! Here’s a brand I love.
- Hemp seeds: feel free to throw a tablespoon of hemp seeds into your smoothie for a boost of healthy fats, omegas and minerals.
- More veggies: you could also try adding some frozen cauliflower for an extra boost, or adding a handful of spinach or kale. You’ll never be able to taste them!
- Protein: Easily add more protein to a smoothie by adding some greek yogurt or 1 scoop of your favorite protein powder. I recommend Vital Protein collagen peptides or Four Sigmatic Plant-Based Protein Powder.
How to make the creamiest chocolate banana smoothie
With a few tips & tricks you’ll have the best creamy chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie every time:
- Use frozen fruit. This helps keeps the smoothie cold and thick. Sometimes ice doesn’t blend as well, so it’s best to skip unless absolutely necessary.
- Add more liquid as needed. Don’t be afraid to add more liquid if your smoothie is too thick or won’t fully blend. High powered blenders tend to blend frozen fruit much better, so if you have a regular or personal size blender, you may need to add more milk.
- Start at low speed. You’ll want to start blending low and then gradually increase to high to help blend all ingredients. Finally end with the blender on low speed.
- Sweeten to taste. If your chocolate banana smoothie doesn’t taste sweet enough for your liking, you can add a 1/2 tablespoon of honey, pure maple syrup or 1 pitted Medjool date. Be sure to use a super ripe frozen banana for the right amount of sweetness to start.
How to meal prep this smoothie
Feel free to make the smoothie as-is or double it for later and check out my three amazing ways to prep and store smoothies right in your freezer. Perfect for busy weeks!
The best smoothie tools
Check out more of our favorite go-to kitchen essentials here.
More smoothie recipes to try
- Good Morning Coffee Lover’s Smoothie
- Coconut Chocolate Zucchini Smoothie (with sneaky veggies)
- Peanut Butter Blueberry Banana Smoothie
- Snickerdoodle Tahini Date Smoothie
- Orange Creamsicle Smoothie
Get all of our delicious smoothie recipes here!
I hope you love this chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 large frozen ripe banana
- 1-2 tablespoons cacao powder (or use unsweetened cocoa powder)
- 2 tablespoons creamy natural peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice), plus more to thin as necessary
Instructions
- In a large high-powered blender, add in all ingredients and blend on high for 1-2 minutes or until all ingredients are well combined. Start with 1 tablespoon of cacao powder, but feel free to add another if you like it extra chocolatey. If necessary, add in more almond milk to thin the smoothie. Makes 1 smoothie. Feel free to double the recipe to serve 2.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on June 16th, 2021, republished on June 7th, 2022, and republished on May 4th, 2025.
hello i just wanted to say that this smoothie was amazing
So glad you enjoyed!
I love this smoothie but I wish I knew where the amount of ingredients that you need is.
Oops sorry I didn’t see the other comment before this sorry!!
No worries! Hope you get a chance to try it!
Delicious! I used 1 TB spoon of cocoa, added a scoop of protein powder and 2 dates for sweetness. I’ll be making this again
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
This smoothie was good! I doubled the recipe and it made it taste even more amazing. Thank you so much for the recipe. I will be making this smoothie everyday.
So glad you loved it!!
This was AMAZING!!! It was the first chocolate smoothie I have made and man it is GOOD. I did throw a frozen beet in there for some extra nutrients but I did not taste it (I wouldn’t have minded honestly). Perfect blend of chocolate, peanut butter and banana. Perfecto!
So happy you loved it!!
I found your website recently and just made chocolate smoothies. Oh, my goodness! My husband and I are both so thrilled I found you! I followed our first one exactly as written and it was the best one I have ever made. I tried it again today and made it with protein powder and added 1 T of Hershey’s dark chocolate. It was also excellent. Thank you so much! I am anxious to try your other recipes. I like how healthy they are. We both are trying to lose weight.
One of our all-time favs, too! So happy you found Ambitious Kitchen – I hope you find tons of new favorite recipes here 🙂
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Tasted like a milkshake dream
So good!!
I’ve been making this smoothie for years and it’s my absolute favorite. I add a cup of ice for thickness and it’s perfection.
So happy to hear that!
WOW. This was incredible. It helped curb my cravings for a candy bar. This is great as a snack too. Easy to make and delicious. I added in plain flavored protein powder to add in more protein. Unfortunately I didn’t have any frozen bananas. I used fresh and added in ice. I used oat milk. Either way it came out VERY good and I will make this again. Next time though I will freeze some bananas. I was too lazy to wait until my bananas froze because I was hungry.
Perfect! I like to buy extra bananas to freeze for later 🙂 such a great snack or treat!
Absolutely delicious – simple and all the ingredients are in my kitchen. Rich chocolatey taste better than any milk shake I’ve purchased. I used plant based milk and it really is a delicious shake.
So good! One of my favs, too 🙂
Perfect post workout smoothie! I added a scoop of vanilla protein powder and blended everything else and wow- delicious.
Absolutely! So glad you enjoyed!
Yummy!!! 😋
Sounds weird but HEAR ME OUT: add 1.5 tbsp of avocado to this and your mind will be blown
Oh I’m down!!
I had my wisdom teeth removed 4 days ago and have been on a liquid diet since. I’ve been eating yogurt, broth, homemade soup, applesauce, ice cream, and jello, I’m never satisfied. On day 4 I’m feeling shakey, weak, sluggish, and cranky so I figured I could use a little more protein. The only way I could get it at this point is liquified peanut butter so I looked for any smoothie with peanut butter in it and found this one. I no longer feel half dead. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, it’s absolutely delicious and it fills me up like a proper meal.
So glad you found this one! Get well soon!
Hi!! I am trying to make this smoothie, but don’t have coco powder. Is there an alternative that I could use instead? Weird one, but perhaps hot choclate powder? (XD) Or I could just put chucks on choclate inside instead?
Hi! Hmm the hot chocolate powder or actual chocolate will work but it will make the smoothie a LOT sweeter
Okay i know it’s basically winter now but i still crave smoothies 🤣🤣 This was so good! I added some spinach and vanilla protein powder, reminds me of a chocolate shake, will be on repeat for me
Same!! I love this one all year round 🙂
Thank you for this smoothie recipe!!! I have a sweet tooth with a special place in my heart for chocolate. I have been trying to lose weight and this is the replacement treat I was looking for. It’s quick, healthy and delicious and I share it with everyone I know.
So glad you loved it!!
Love this recipe vegan for me ….
Omg.. absolutely delicious and creamy! I added a scoop of chocolate protein for a bit of an extra kick and it did not disappoint. My toddler and I loved it! It was almost like a milkshake/frosty 😊
So good!! Glad you both loved it 🙂
it was really not sweet 🙁
Hi! Was your banana SUPER ripe? That should provide the perfect amount of sweetness.
If there were more than 5 stars, I’d rate it higher!
This recipe is probably my new favorite for smoothies!
My family enjoyed it to, and I think I’ll try adding the spinach next time!
The smoothie was AMAZING!!
So happy to hear that!!
This smoothie recipe nailed what I was looking for! Not rediculously sweetened, just a delectable balance of chocolatey, peanuty, banana goodness. I used whole milk and my banana was room temp, so it was less like a smoothie, and more like a flavored chocolate milk. Use a good peanut butter! It makes a difference! I had B Nutty Buddies brand on-hand and loved it!
Absolutely! Glad you loved it 🙂
This smoothie is soooooo yummy! It is exactly what I was looking for. Our local Santa Barbara smoothie shop makes one very similar that my boys and I often get but they were closed when the craving hit so we thank you for the awesome recipe! Ohhh…the money we’ll save, too! I only had unsweetened cocoa powder and didnt add any additional sweetener. I added a little bit of crushed ice which I would only recommend doing if you have a very strong blender to complyh
Amazing! So glad you found this one!
Used PB2 powder instead of normal peanut butter- in total only 212 calories and soooo tasty!!
I’m glad that worked out well!
I haven’t tried anything yet, but your site is really helpful, and I don’t get lost looking for the recipes. This is awesome.
I’m so glad! Hope you find some recipes here to try 🙂
I made this smoothie for my kids for breakfast… snuck in a dollop of plain Greek yogurt and a scoop of flax. They loved it and asked for more!
Amazing! One of my go-to’s!
The recipe turned out great but I couldn’t find it very easily.
Hi! Do you mean you couldn’t find it on the website? Or once you were in the post? Feel free to use the “jump to recipe” button at the top of the page 🙂
Thank you for the recipe! It helped me make my own with what I had at the moment of craving a peanut butter smoothie! I used 1 banana, a big spoon of hot cocoa powder, couple table spoons peanut butter, oat milk, and a few nutty&fruity brand dried strawberry soft & juicy. I enjoyed it. Hubby didn’t. But I’m excited to try more modified versions!
Love that! Perfect breakfast (but sorry your husband wasn’t a fan!)
I doubled the recipe and added a fistful of spinach – delightful! Very thick. I was craving something chocolatey after a dental surgery and this is what I made. It was super satisfying!
Love it! Perfect snack or breakfast for recovering 🙂
Delicious! I added a scoop of vanilla flavored whey powder. Tastes just like a chocolate shake. I’ll definitely make this again!
So good!!
Absolutely delicious! I love recipes that even my kids will eat.
I’m all about the kid-friendly recipes! Glad this one was a hit!
I like to add one scoop of chocolate protein powder too.
Great idea! Perfect breakfast.
Delicous recipe
We always have it
So glad you’re loving this smoothie, Mikayla ❤️
Great recipe! The smoothie was delicious. The only problem was is the 🍌 I used were sour…
Absolutely delicious smoothie! I used lactose free milk for it…Only problem was the bananas I used could have been less sour.
I just made this. Oh damn, it’s good!
WOO! This is the best, glad you’re loving this smoothie 😍
I added a date in for extra sweetness and it was delicious!
Nice! So happy you loved it, Nadia!
Delicious! Also tastes great with a scoop of plain or vanilla protein powder added to it. Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Sounds SO delicious! Glad you’re loving this smoothie, such a delicious treat!
Your recipes look amazing! I have a question. You say that smoothies can be made in advance and frozen, but whenever I freeze a smoothie it gets icy and becomes unpalatable even after it defrosts because the ice crystals don’t break down. Is that your experience?
Thanks so much! I would recommend making sure you store in an airtight container!
I’m new to smoothies and this is my favorite so far. I used dark cocoa, 2% milk, frozen banana and peanut butter, but no vanilla. It was yummy!!!
Amazing!! SO happy you love this one. I have a ton of other smoothies on my site — hope you can try them 🙂
Amazingly delicious! Added one chopped date instead of any sweetener and it was the best. Rich, chocolate flavor enhanced with dark cocoa powder, too.
That’s a great idea! SO happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie Smoothie is delicious, and rich, The recipe is quite simple. I love this smoothie!
Loved this! I used half a banana, the unsweetened baking cocoa powder, unsweetened vanilla almond milk and PBfit peanut butter powder with a few drops of monkfruit sweetener. It’s 0 points on WW and a perfect snack. Tysm for this yummy recipe!
Yay!! Such a great healthy snack.