This easy Mocha Smoothie recipe will quickly become your new go-to breakfast. It's made with healthy, wholesome ingredients like banana, yogurt and espresso, and it tastes amazing, too!
Mocha may just be the best flavor combination around. I mean, coffee and chocolate were meant for each other! What better way to consume them than in this healthy mocha smoothie recipe?!
I feel like I just posted my coffee tahini smoothie recipe -- another awesome coffee smoothie -- but this recipe is more of a classic.
But first, what is mocha anyway? According to Roasty Coffee, mocha refers to "a regular latte with chocolate syrup added to it." So, think of this mocha smoothie as that, only healthier!
If you're a fan of mocha, I promise you will love this recipe.
Ingredient notes:
Banana - I love using banana as a base in many of my smoothie recipes (see X and X as examples); but, if you don't eat bananas, you can omit it altogether and either add extra nuts or use ½ cup of rolled oats instead.
Almonds - Can substitute raw cashews or walnuts if you prefer, or omit altogether to keep this nut-free.
Yogurt - Plain Greek or your favorite plain dairy-free yogurt works.
Espresso - Either espresso powder or freshly brewed; if you have an espresso machine, you can use a shot or two of espresso, but if you don't, espresso powder works great.
Cocoa - No substitutions; since this is a mocha smoothie, you need to include chocolate.
Dates/maple syrup - Used to sweeten the smoothie; Feel free to add more/less depending on how sweet you want the smoothie to be.
Method
Boy oh boy do I love how easy smoothies are to make.
Simply add everything to your blender then pulse for 1 minute until everything is smooth and well-blended.
Tips and tricks
-To make the smoothie extra thick, use a frozen banana and/or add a handful of ice cubes to the blender.
-Make sure to use pitted dates; otherwise, you'll have to remove the pits from the dates before placing them into your blender.
-The dates make this smoothie sweet enough (in my opinion), but if you want it to be a tad sweeter, definitely add the maple syrup in as well.
Can this be made ahead of time?
Yep! If you want, you can make this smoothie the night before, then store it in the refrigerator so it's ready to go in the morning. Note: you may have to add more liquid to it because sometimes it thickens when it sits in the refrigerator for an extended period.
More smoothie recipes
If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
Mocha Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 banana
- 3 pitted dates
- ⅓ cup raw almonds
- ¼ cup yogurt Greek or plain dairy-free
- 2 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder or 1 oz. brewed espresso
- ½ cup almond milk
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup optional
Instructions
- Place ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
UPDATE NOTE: This post was originally published in April 2015. It was updated with new text and photos in January 2021.
Sandra Smith says
I love "Healthy" recipes! I just don't see the nutritional breakdown.
Alysia at Slim Sanity says
Instant coffee is the key here! I need to pick some up 🙂
liz says
Can one substitute dates with honey?
Erin says
You could try--honey has a stronger flavor than dates do, so you may be able to taste some of the honey in the smoothie. If you DO try it, let me know how it turns out!
Robyn says
Great-looking smoothie. Just a stickler grammar tip... "Mondays" and "mochas" and anything else PLURAL doesn't get an apostrophe. 🙂 Apostrophes are for possessives. As in "the mocha's consistency was a little thin." But if you have three mochas, no apostrophe. 🙂 We don't drink mocha's. Some readers find such things painful. 😉 Thanks!
Erin says
Ha thank you--a much appreciated grammar tip. I'll remember this for future posts.
She Rocks Fitness says
Almond coconut milk??? I need to look for this the next time I food shop. I just tried the cashew milk and I'm addicted to that...so creamy and good!
Tamieka@fitballingrunningmom says
hmmmm dates, I have never had them but looks like I need to try them! Thanks for this!
Have a great day!
Julia says
I am AAAAALL about the coffees! And the easy breakfasts! This smoothie looks so rich and creamy! I must drink one each and every day!
Arman @ thebigmansworld says
YES. I got belitted for putting coffee in my smoothie.
Then I realised it was because it was decaf coffee. Totally warranted. Pinned.
Erin says
Decaf coffee=useless. I guess you know that though 😀
Sarah @ Making Thyme for Health says
Your weekends sound a lot like mine, girly! Too much work and too little play. 🙂
I've actually never been a coffee drinker because I chipped my tooth as a kid and was afraid it would stain my bond, lol. So this looks like a delicious alternative for me! And it's actually much different than what I was expecting considering you said it was a lot like the smoothie I posted.
Erin says
Busy weekends forever ha! I think I meant to say that we used some similar ingredients and both made smoothies 🙂
Lily Lau says
Almond and coconut, can't wait to try this lovely smoothie! 🙂
Erin says
Thank you! Let me know if you do 🙂
Dani @ DaniCaliforniaCooks says
Chocolate, coconut, and coffee and some of my three favorite flavors. I'm inspired by this!!
Amanda @ .running with spoons. says
Dates, coffee, and chocolate in smoothie form? LOVE IT! I'm a one cup a day kind of girl too, and I'm pretty sure I picked the habit up around the start of university. Before that I hated it, but my dad was huge on coffee and I always loved the smell.
Christine@ Apple of My Eye says
You sold me as soon as I read that this smoothie has coffee in it.... <3. And the fact that it has the extra goodies of almond and coconut probably take it to the next level! NOMS.
Deanna @ The Live Fit Girls says
YUM! I almost used my Almond Breeze to make a coffee smoothie!! I think I'll use the left over almond coconut milk to recreate this!! Coffee is a MUST for me every morning! I used to work at a coffee shop in college and became an addict...oops! I suppose there are worse things to be addicted to! 😉
Erin says
Hahah right? I always think that too 🙂
Kelly @ Kelly Runs For Food says
This is definitely my kind of smoothie. I didn't drink coffee until college, either, but now I love it! I usually have one or two cups a day.
Laura says
Oh my golly, I made this exact same flavour of smoothie yesterday! Sooooo delicious:)
Erin says
Yay for coffee smoothies!
Holly @ EatGreatBEGreat says
Yum, yum, yum! All of my favorite things all rolled into one!
Erin says
Thanks Holly!
Alejandro Peralta says
I made it yesterday it was delicious