Nutella Smoothie
Chocolate for breakfast, anyone? This healthy easy Nutella smoothie tastes oh-so decadent, yet is made with whole ingredients like hazelnuts, cacao, and banana for a delicious treat that’s nourishing enough to have for breakfast.
About this Nutella Smoothie Recipe
I’m a big fan of anything-chocolate, especially if I can sneak it into a wholesome smoothie recipe! So when I set out to create this Nutella smoothie, I wanted to capture the rich, indulgent taste of the famous hazelnut spread, but I wanted to do it with whole ingredients.
Scanning the ingredient list online, I found that the ingredients in Nutella include sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, milk, cocoa, soy lecithin, and vanillin. For this whole-food smoothie I decided to skip the refined sugar, the milk, the palm oil, and the soy lecithin.
I kept the hazelnuts, cacao, and used real vanilla extract, and used the natural sweetness from banana and optional maple syrup to capture that signature Nutella taste. The result is this satisfying, smoothie with enough staying power to fuel you through whatever your day brings (but that still tastes like a total treat!).
Process & Tips
The beauty of a good smoothie recipe is that all you really need to do is add all your ingredients to a blender and let it work its magic. In a matter of minutes you’ll be sipping on a delicious, feel-good smoothie! Plant-power comes in the form of banana, ground flax seeds, and hazelnuts.
Fun Nutella Smoothie Variations to Try
- Without banana: Make a Nutella smoothie without banana by swapping in ½ cup frozen cauliflower rice. Yes, it might sound strange, but the cauliflower will add the same creaminess and body to the smoothie without much taste.
- Nutella smoothie bowl: To make a nutella smoothie bowl, make the smoothie thicker by only using 1 ½ cups of milk. Be sure to use frozen banana (or frozen cauliflower rice) to help you get that thick consistency. Once blended, pour into a bowl and add your choice of smoothie bowl toppings.
- Peanut butter Nutella smoothie: Add 1-2 tablespoons of unsweetened peanut butter to the smoothie along with the other ingredients.
- Blueberry Nutella smoothie: Add one cup of frozen blueberries to the smoothie along with the other ingredients.
- Cherry Nutella smoothie: Add one cup of frozen cherries to the smoothie along with the other ingredients.
For an extra boost of green goodness, add a handful of baby spinach or baby kale before blending!
Key Ingredients & Modifications
- Frozen banana: The banana adds some natural sweetness to this smoothie. You can use fresh or frozen banana in this recipe. If using fresh banana, be sure to add some ice for better texture.
- Toasted hazelnuts: The hazelnuts are what give traditional Nutella its signature flavor and together with the cacao/cocoa powder, they’re the star ingredient of this smoothie. If you substitute another nut or seed in its place, it’ll still be delicious but it won’t have that same taste.
- Cacao powder: I like the taste and depth of flavor cacao powder adds, but you can also use cocoa powder in its place.
- Ground flaxseed: I find it easier to use ground flaxseed but you could also add whole flax seeds if you have a high speed blender. Chia seeds would also work in place of flax seeds in this recipe.
- Chocolate protein powder: You can use any chocolate protein powder you like the taste of. To keep this recipe vegan friendly, be sure to use a plant-based protein powder. To keep this recipe paleo friendly, be sure to use a grain-free and dairy-free protein powder.
If you’d rather just use prepared Nutella, that will work, too. Simply replace the hazelnuts with 2 tablespoons of Nutella and proceed with the recipe.
Nutella Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 large frozen banana, broken into chunks
- ⅓ cup toasted hazelnuts
- 2 tablespoons cacao powder, or cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seed
- 2 cups unsweetened milk of choice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, optional
- 2 scoops chocolate protein powder, optional
- ½ cup ice, optional
Equipment
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a high speed blender. Blend until smooth and enjoy immediately.
Notes
- Nutrition information calculated using almond milk, maple syrup, cocoa powder and chocolate protein powder.
- For vegan, be sure to use a vegan protein powder and plant-based milk.
- For vegetarian, be sure to use a vegetarian protein powder.
- For paleo, be sure to use a paleo protein powder and plant-based milk.
- For more ingredients & modifications, see full blog post above.
