Chocolate Cherry Smoothie

With rich velvety chocolate and juicy sweet cherries, this Chocolate Cherry Smoothie is a healthy spin on this classic pairing. Is there anything more decadent than chocolate-covered cherries? Trust me, you need this in your life!

It’s no secret I’m in love with chocolate. And if I can get my chocolate fix in a healthy form? Well, I’m all for it! This cherry smoothie recipe contains one of the best and healthiest chocolate hits of all time.

Packed with protein (that you can’t taste I might add), dark chocolate which is an anti-oxidant, and superfood cherries, you will totally be tricking your taste buds into thinking this is an indulgent dessert.

I created a whole bunch of delicious healthy superfood smoothies, and I think this one, just might be my favorite. It’s actually a toss up between this one and the Almond Joy Smoothie. Notice they both contain chocolate.  Yes. My favorite is always chocolate 😁.

Key Ingredients

• Plain Greek Yogurt – The plain Greek yogurt will give the smoothie a creamy consistency, and it also adds a shot of natural probiotics that will help with digestion. You can substitute Oikos triple zero Greek yogurt in either cherry or vanilla. Any other brand has too much sugar.
  
• 100% Whey Protein Isolate – This is my all time favorite protein powder because it’s very pure with no fillers and there is no weird taste, it is literally tasteless. The whey comes from milk. However, the isolate is processed so that it reduces the fat and lactose (or sugars from milk) so that the protein is much easier on the digestive system.
  
• Dark Chocolate Almond MIlk – The sugar content in almond milk is 25% lower than regular chocolate milk. It surprisingly also has 50% more calcium than milk. If you don’t have almond milk on hand, regular chocolate milk will work.

• Pitted Black Cherries – If you can, get them in season and then pit and freeze them, you can use them all year in your smoothies. You can also find them in the frozen foods section of your local grocery store. Fresh works great too, just add extra ice for the same texture.
  
• Cocoa Powder – Rich chocolatey taste (yum!). Cocoa powder itself is not naturally sweet.
  
• Stevia based sweetener – Stevia is great because it doesn’t mess with your blood sugar. Truvia is a great option for this recipe. If you’re not concerned about sugar, you can use honey, and you’ll need 2x as much as the recipe is listed for sweetener.
  
• Optional Dark Chocolate- shaved chocolate makes a beautiful and tasty garnish.

Why This Recipe Works

100% Whey Protein Isolate = no yucky protein flavor
Stevia based sweetener makes it better for you.
Ready in a minute.

How To Make A Chocolate Cherry Smoothie

This is an overview of the instructions, be sure to see the recipe card for all the details.

1. Add all ingredients (except the dark chocolate if using) to a blender.
   
2. Blend until smooth. 

Expert Tips

• Invest in a Cherry Pitter. It makes all the difference!
• Blender Speed – If you have a Vitamix or other high powered blender, it has a ‘smoothie’ setting. You’ll notice it starts on a lower speed, then gradually increases. . The lower speed pulls the bigger chunks of fruit downward and blends them more evenly. If you don’t have this setting, then start it lower, and gradually increase the speed until you reach high. If you leave it on a higher speed the entire time, the chunks of fruit won’t blend as well. Start low for thirty seconds. Then high for another thirty seconds. 
  
• Where to find Whey Isolate: This one from amazon looks decent. I typically buy mine from the local health food store. You could also substitute collagen.
  
• There are plenty of stevia based sweeteners out there. I always recommend checking a conversion chart because they are not all created equally. Truvia is twice as sweet as sugar.
  
• Use the fine side of a grater, or a microplane to ‘shave’ or grate some dark chocolate on top of the smoothie as a garnish. I prefer 80% dark, use your favorite.

Frequently Asked Questions

Storing and Freezing

Smoothies are best consumed immediately after making them.

Freezing the smoothie itself is not recommended, but here are some options:

1. Prepare the non-liquid ingredients in air tight freezer bags and store in the freezer for up to three months. Each bag should make 1 smoothie. Then when ready to make it, just add the liquid ingredients and your smoothie pack to the blender.
   
2. You can make your prepared smoothie into popsicles or gogurts. Use popcicle molds or these disposable zipcicles. They will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.