During my early middle school years, my mom drove my younger brother and me to a college about 30 minutes away to watch weekend basketball games. With our ages, we qualified for the cheap kid’s ticket prices, and we sat in the upper bleachers so we could see the whole court.
Since I played basketball in elementary school, we attended the women’s games more than the men’s. (Plus their team fared much better that year!) The arena filled with energy as the ladies sprinted up and down the court, led by lots of college kids shouting and even a senior citizen band playing pep songs in the grandstand.
Every once in a while, I invited my best friend along. Although she never played, as a cheerleader, she still understood the game. Shortly before the starting whistle blew, we would run downstairs to the snack stand to buy extra cheesy nachos, our favorite stadium food, to fuel us for the next few hours of cheering.
Back then, my brother was fairly selective about the foods he ate (some might call that “picky”), so Mom always stopped at In-N-Out on our way out of town. He’d order a plain hamburger, ketchup only; my best friend and I would ask for a basket of fries; and if Mom was feeling generous, she would buy a chocolate milkshake to split around the car. As a chocoholic even at that age, I usually tried to sneak an extra sip or two!
When I tasted this Healthy Chocolate Milkshake, those memories began flooding back. Just like In-N-Out’s, this is thick, creamy and extra chocolaty. But with just 5 ingredients (including ice!), it’s actually healthy enough for breakfast!
Normally I’m not a big smoothie-for-breakfast type of person. Even during the summer, my fingers and toes turn white and lose their circulation while I sip, leaving me crawling under thick fuzzy blankets and pulling on warm woolen socks. But this one… This one just may have converted me!
For starters, it’s super simple and uses ingredients you probably store in your pantry and fridge already. No protein powder necessary! The big protein boost comes from Greek yogurt, which also makes the smoothie thick and creamy like a milkshake.
Protein-packed milkshakes… That almost sounds too good to be true!
Cocoa powder and vanilla crème stevia provide the sweet chocolaty taste. I chose vanilla crème stevia because it’s a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener (aka it isn’t artificial or refined!). Feel free to use whatever you prefer instead! Adjust the amount to suit your tastes too: less for a darker, richer smoothie or more for a sweeter, dessert-like milkshake.
Milkshakes for breakfast? That’s definitely something I can get behind! ?? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your milkshake and feature it in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Healthy Chocolate Milkshake | | Print |
- ¾ cup (180g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ½ cup (120mL) unsweetened cashew or vanilla almond milk
- 2 tbsp (10g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp vanilla crème stevia OR 1 tbsp (13g) Truvia (or adjusted to taste)
- 1 cup (130g) ice cubes
- Add all of the ingredients to a blender in the order listed, and pulse until thick and creamy. Serve immediately.
Any sweetener may be substituted for the vanilla crème stevia or Truvia. (But vanilla crème stevia is one of my favorite ingredients, and you'll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too! I buy it online here because that's the cheapest price I've found.) You'll want the equivalent of 1-2 tablespoons of granulated sugar.
To help prevent the smoothie from separating, add ⅛ teaspoon xanthan gum.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, sugar-free, high protein}
More protein smoothies from other food bloggers…
♥ Banana Pie Protein Smoothie by Mariah’s Pleasing Plates
♥ Chocolate Fig Protein Smoothie by A Healthy Life For Me
♥ Strawberry Cheesecake Protein Smoothie by Fit Foodie Finds
♥ Black Forest Protein Smoothie by The Healthy Maven
My fingers and toes turn white too! Stupid Raynauds! Lifelong annoyance!! Pinning your smoothies though! I’ll just drink it next to a fire, with a giant blanket wrapped around me. ?
Thanks so much Amanda! 🙂 So true about a lifelong annoyance… That’s how I’ve been drinking my smoothies this winter, just sitting underneath a heating vent instead of a fire!
This shake looks really delicious, I made it…. I’m sorry but it was not as good as it looks the bitter taste of the Greek yogurt still overpowered…
I appreciate your interest in my recipe Anita! That sounds disappointing and not at all how the milkshake is supposed to taste. It’s supposed to be chocolaty and sweet! Did you see the bit about adjusting the sweetener to taste in the Ingredients list? It may be that your taste buds aren’t as sensitive to Truvia — or whatever sweetener you substituted! You can also use vanilla Greek yogurt, if you prefer. 🙂
I had the same issue. Thanks for the suggestion, I think I’ll switch to vanilla Greek yogurt! I added a banana to mine along with the Truvia to help sweeten it. (Also threw in some spinach to add some veggies for the day!)
You’re welcome Alyssa! I hope the vanilla Greek yogurt works much better for you, and I absolutely love your idea of adding spinach to sneak in more veggies! 🙂
A little thing I found out with Greek yogurt is that if you mix the yogurt, cocoa, milk, and maple the night before, it lets the flavors merry and doesn’t have that tartness that Greek yogurt is known for. Then you can add the ice and blend when ready! Gook luck
Such a great tip! Thank you SO much for sharing, Ivie!! 🙂
I’ve just come across this recipe and it’s great. I have a tendency to rush through a small breakfast then get hungry again an hour later. This recipe is so quick and filling and satisfies my lust for chocolate all in one go. I added a little coffee powder to get me moving in the morning, it’s perfect.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this milkshake Izzy! I love your idea of adding coffee powder — I definitely need to try that sometime! 🙂
Amy;
Hi,I am going to copy your healthy chocolate milkshake recipe right now and I am going to buy this milkshake in my magic bullet blender,and after I drink your milkshake I will let you know how much I enjoy drinking it.I love drinking smoothies and milkshakes as long as I can put natrel milk,almond milk,coconut milk,cashew milk in them with protein powder in them as well.
Amy,do you think it will be OK and fine to put these items in your milkshakes and smoothies?
Kim
I really appreciate your interest in my recipes Kim! I haven’t tried adding protein powder to my recipes, so I don’t personally know. However, any milk will work in my smoothies! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of this!
Amy;
Hi,I have all of the ingredients to make your healthy chocolate milkshake but I don’t have the vanilla Greek yogurt.can I still make your milkshake without the yogurt?
Would it taste any different without the yogurt in it?I am not sure if I can have the chocolate syrup to drizzle on top of your milkshake because I am a diabetic unless it is low sugar syrup?
I have seen caramel sugar free syrup in the grocery store in the city I live in.
Kim
I am up really late early in the morning because of my painful arthritis symptoms bothering me.
This smoothie does require the Greek yogurt! However, you can easily substitute sugar-free chocolate syrup for your diabetes. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of it Kim!
Amy;
Hi,I just made your chocolate milkshake and I followed your recipe but it was still a bit bitter so I put in a tablespoon of chocate protein powder,and 4 slices of frozen banana and it tasted better,very tasty but it looked like a smoothie and not a thick milkshake like a shake should be,still it was really good.
Kim
I’m glad you were able to modify this recipe to suit your tastes Kim! 🙂
Highly disappointed… Ended up with bitter chocolate water basically ??
That sounds really disappointing Hatice! 🙁 This recipe is supposed to taste sweet and chocolaty, just like a regular milkshake, so I’d love to work with you to solve that issue! Did you make any substitutions to the recipe, including those in the Notes section? What sweetener did you use? Did you use the full amount of ice, and how long did you blend it? We’ll sort this out so your milkshake turns out correctly if you decide to make it again! 🙂
I used coconut milk and honey. Here in turkey they dont sell xanthan gum. I did use the suggested amount of ice, but i think the issue is in the recipe because reading through the comments many have mentioned the bitterness and i think another person also mentioned it being watery as well.
Thanks for the info Hatice! I’ve made this recipe countless times exactly as written, so I know it works! 🙂 If your milkshake was bitter, then you can definitely add more honey. (That’s why it reads “or adjusted to taste” next to the sweetener in the ingredients list! 😉 ) The xanthan gum really helps with the texture and preventing the milkshake from turning watery, so omitting that definitely factors into the watery issue that you saw. Also, some brands of Greek yogurt aren’t as thick as others. If yours was on the runny side, rather than the thick side (aka it slides off a spoon!), then use ¼ cup of coconut milk instead. 🙂
I don’t recommend this recipe. It just does not taste right. The amount of sweetener you have to use to counteract the overpowering flavor of the Greek yogurt makes it not healthy anymore. The consistency is watery. Lastly it was not filling. I didn’t think this was good is of the ingredients.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Patricia! That sounds disappointing and not like how this milkshake should turn out at all, so I’d love to work with you to figure out why that happened. 🙂 What sweetener and Greek yogurt did you use? How much of the sweetener did you add?