chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie
Published: November 2023
A nutritious and delicious toddler smoothie!
This smoothie is one of my toddler’s absolute favorites and I like to make a double batch so I can enjoy one with him! The ingredients are simple, they’re nutritious (you have leafy greens and superseeds in the mix!), and it tastes so good. You’re basically making a healthy chocolate milk in smoothie form here * cue the confetti *!
Another fun thing about this recipe is that it can be poured into popsicle molds, frozen, and you have yourself some chocolate peanut butter banana pops!
EQUIPMENT YOU’LL NEED
A high-speed blender: the Nutribullet personal blender is one that I love when I’m making smoothies for my toddler and if I’m making a larger batch of smoothies (esp when I’m freezing more into popsicle molds), I love the Ninja countertop blender.
Smoothie cup: this recipe makes one toddler-sized smoothie in the Little Ecos Smoothie Cups, which I totally love. These are very multi-purpose (can be used for storing food on-the-go and keeping food cool) and work so well for smoothies. I also love the Elk and Friends Smoothie Cups!
Popsicle molds (optional): I mentioned above that you' can pour this mixture into popsicle molds and freeze for some delicious homemade popsicles! Here are the molds I like to use!
INGREDIENTS
Milk of choice: whole milk, almond milk, etc. will all work here
Frozen ripe banana: both frozen and ripe are key in this recipe. The frozen banana will give this smoothie a smooth texture and the ripeness will give it a natural sweetness.
Cocoa powder: we only use a little bit in this recipe but it gives it a delicious light chocolate-y flavor here. If you’re making this smoothie for littles under 2, I would omit the cocoa powder.
Peanut butter: gives the smoothie a nice, nutty taste. In place of peanut butter, you can use almond butter/cashew butter OR a nut-free option like the Garnish Seed + Oat Butter (we love this one and I even have a code here! Code MYTODDLERSKITCHEN gets you 20% off at checkout!)
Cinnamon: one of my favorite ingredients in smoothies - it’s subtle but makes it so much more delicious.
Superseeds: The superseed boosters from Tiny Sprouts are a perfect add-in for this recipe to give it some added nutrition! Milled chia seeds, hemp seeds, flax seeds, etc. can easily be sprinkled in. Code MYTODDLERSKITCHEN gets you 10% off your purchase on the Tiny Sprouts site!
Leafy greens: spinach or kale both work here! I like to use spinach in smoothies - you can’t taste it and in this one, it doesn’t turn the smoothie green (the cocoa powder will give the smoothie a brown chocolate-y color)
Maple syrup or honey to sweeten: totally optional, but if you taste the smoothie after blending and feel that it needs a little more sweetness, you can add a dash of maple syrup or honey to sweeten and pulse in blender 1-2 more times.
DIRECTIONS
Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend until texture is smooth.
After blending, add maple syrup/honey to sweeten if you'd like! This is optional but if you do add, pulse about 2 more times in blender after adding.
NOTES
The banana should be frozen in this recipe to give the smoothie the best texture.
Ripeness in the banana is key to make this smoothie sweet. If you'd like to add a little more sweetness, 1/2 to 1 tbsp of maple syrup or honey will work as well (make sure to avoid honey if under 1).
Your milk of choice will work here (whole milk, almond milk, etc.)
In place of peanut butter here, you can use almond butter, cashew butter, granola butter, oat + seed butter, etc. Any will work and will help to thicken up the smoothie and give it a nice creamy taste.
In place of spinach, you can also add a handful of kale or omit alltogether. The leafy greens add some extra nutrition to this smoothie and won't turn the smoothie green in this recipe (the cocoa powder will make it a nice chocolate brown) and can barely be tasted in this recipe.
To thicken up smoothies, you can add about 1-2 tbsp of Greek yogurt or avocado.
This recipe can also be used for homemade popsicles! Just pour the batter into a popsicle mold and freeze for up to 3 months.
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