There is just something about starting your day off with chocolate that makes the rest of the day better. You can do that and keep it healthy with this Healthy Nutella Smoothie. More like a milkshake than a smoothie, it is just 4 ingredients and we have included the recipe for our homemade healthier Nutella too.
Dessert for breakfast! Need we say any more? We love ourselves a savoury breakfast of course, as they are a great way to start your day with lots of veggies. But, a sweet breakfast can sometimes make it easier to get out of bed.
The thought of this Healthy Nutella Smoothie will have you, and any kids in the house, jumping out of bed in the morning. Who is going to say no to chocolate for breakfast?
Jump to:
Why should you try it?
- A healthier alternative for kids with love Nutella
- Under 300 calories per smoothie
- An easy way to sneak some spinach in
- Chocolate for breakfast!
What you will need
- Milk - We used skimmed milk, but you could use semi-skimmed or whole, or even use almond milk instead.
- Banana - This makes the Nutella smoothie thick and creamy. It doesn't give it a really banana flavour though, as it's the Nutella that is the main flavour.
- Nutella - We used our own homemade healthier Nutella in this smoothie, but you could use regular Nutella, or even a cheaper store bought alternative.
- Cocoa powder - This gives it even more of a chocolatey boost.
Step by step
One: Put all of the ingredients in to a blender. Blend until smooth.
Two: Pour in to glasses and serve.
Is Nutella healthy?
Let's talk about Nutella - I am sure we have all found ourselves spoon deep in a jar at 1am. Who knows what they put in it (best not to look really), but that stuff is addictive, and full of sugar.
Of course everything is fine in moderation, but I don't like starting the day with that much sugar.
Homemade Nutella
Because of this, we make our own homemade healthier Nutella and it's kind of awesome! It's lower in sugar, palm oil free and can be vegan too. It isn't super low calories, but the ingredients are more nutrient dense.
If you wanted to trick your kids, rather than buy a new jar, you could put the homemade stuff into an old empty jar of Nutella and I don't think they would every know.
We sweeten ours with some dates and a little bit of maple syrup. So it is still nice and sweet, but isn't going to send you in to a sugar coma. If you like yours on the super sweet side, then you could always add more. Or just leave it out completely.
Hazelnuts are a good way to add some healthy fats to your diet and they are high in vitamin E too. Peanut and almond butter seem to get all the glory when it comes to nut butter, but hazelnut butter is delicious and it's what forms the base of our homemade Nutella.
Chocolate smoothie
We added a little bit of extra cocoa powder to this to make it extra chocolatey. Did you know that cocoa isn't bad for you and it is considered a 'superfood'?
Lots of people avoid it because they think it is unhealthy, but although a lot of chocolate products are not particularly healthy, that is because of all the sugar that is added to it. It isn't the cocoa itself.
Cocoa powder can provide antidepressant benefits, it is full of antioxidants, and it can also lower blood pressure. That's enough to convince us to enjoy another chocolate smoothie!
How to serve it
You could just pour it in to a glass and keep it how it is. However, we like to take it to the next level and add some reduced fat squirty cream (Reddi-wip), a drizzle of caramel sauce and then a strawberry on the side. You could use chocolate syrup too.
FAQs
There is the dates and maple syrup in the homemade Nutella, but we also added a banana to the Nutella smoothie because not only will that appeal to those with a sweet tooth, but it makes it nice and thick too.
I don't think it tastes overly banana-y, but I know some people really hate the taste so you might want to leave it out. You should replace the thickness though, so add some avocado instead.
You could use something like mango, but it does have a strong flavour.
Fresh is always best so you should try to drink the smoothie straight after making it. However, to save yourself some time in the morning you can make it the night before. Just store it in an air tight container in the fridge and make sure to give it a good stir before you drink it.
Extra tips
- If you want to keep this totally vegan, then make the Nutella with a non-dairy milk and use non-dairy milk when making this smoothie too.
- Make the smoothie a little more indulgent and more like a milkshake by topping with a squirt of whipped cream.
- If you are making this in the height of summer, throw some ice cubes in before blending to make it super cold.
- Hate banana? Swap it for avocado so you still have a thick smoothie, but none of the banana taste.
- Give the smoothie a veggie kick by adding a handful of spinach - you can't even taste it!
More smoothie recipes
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DON’T FORGET TO RATE THE RECIPE ↓
Recipe
Healthy Nutella Smoothie
Ingredients
- 500 ml Skimmed milk
- 1 Large banana
- 2 tablespoon Homemade Nutella
- 2 tablespoon Cocoa powder
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients in to a high powered blender and blend until smooth
- Divide between two glasses and top with whipped cream (optional)
Notes
- If you want to keep this totally vegan, then make the Nutella with a non-dairy milk and use non-dairy milk when making this smoothie too.
- Make the smoothie a little more indulgent and more like a milkshake by topping with a squirt of whipped cream.
- If you are making this in the height of summer, throw some ice cubes in before blending to make it super cold.
- Hate banana? Swap it for avocado so you still have a thick smoothie, but none of the banana taste.
- Give the smoothie a veggie kick by adding a handful of spinach - you can't even taste it!
Shauna
I used a frozen banana and only added 2 cups of almond milk and it was still pretty runny. More like chocolate milk than a smoothie so I added 8 ice cubes to thicken it up. The taste is great!
Dannii
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I like my smoothies fairly thin, so they go further, but I add in some avocado if I want to thicken it up a bit :)
Kavita Favelle
Totally agree with you that the shop-bought Nutella is not the healthiest of snacks, not to mention the issue of palm oil, am with you on that. The homemade one looks fabulous and so does the smoothie. I love cocoa and I love high quality dark chocolate, which is low in sugar and has no palm oil. This recipe looks like such a great start to the day.