Chocolate Beet Smoothie

Chocolate Beet Smoothie made with beets, greek yogurt, nut butter, and cacao. The combo of chocolate and beets packs vitamins, minerals, & antioxidants and is loaded with protein, healthy fats, and carbs and makes a perfect breakfast, snack, or natural pre-workout.

Last updated on April 16, 2020.

How do you feel about putting veggies in smoothies? Personally I am all for it – you can tell from the looks of this chocolate smoothie and green smoothie.

You can load up smoothies with things this spinach, kale, cauliflower rice, zucchini, and more and if you make it the right way, and you won’t be able to tell it’s in there. Doesn’t get any easier than that, especially if you struggle to get in enough veggies throughout the day.

I have been drinking a lot of beets lately so I thought why now make a smoothie with beets. And add chocolate since most people are weirded out by beets. Hence the birth of the chocolate beet smoothie.

I know, the combination sounds weird, but works really well. Beets are naturally sweet when cooked, so you don’t need to add a banana or additional fruit. I love the texture of frozen bananas in smoothies, but sometimes I feel they overpower everything.

The sweetness of the beets plus a little honey balances perfectly with the bitterness of the cacao.

It also has protein from greek yogurt and healthy fats from nut butter. My husband has never been the biggest fan of beets. BUT I’ve been making this smoothie and had him try it and he said “he could get down on it”.

So don’t knock it till you try it!

Benefits of beets and chocolate for pre-workout!

Let’s talk about how the benefits of chocolate and beets can work together in the body. And I am talking about raw cacao (dark chocolate) and not the candy bars found in the drug store.

Cacao contains magnesium, dietary fiber, and antioxidants including flavanols and polyphenols. Magnesium is one of the most important minerals for heart health. The flavanols in cacao prevent fat-like substances in the bloodstream from clogging the arteries. They also moderate nitric oxide, which is a compound found in beets.

Beets are loaded with potassium, are high in magnesium, and can help replenish iron. Besides being a source of antioxidants, beets contain dietary nitrates. Dietary nitrates convert to nitric oxide, which is responsible for the dilation of blood vessels and helps support blood circulation.

This improves an athlete’s capacity for sustained exercise and endurance. Nitric oxide also helps the speed of nutrient delivery to the muscles, improving energy efficiency for performance and recovery. Pretty freakin cool in my opinion!

By pairing the beets with chocolate, this smoothie makes one perfect pre-workout snack. Say goodbye to those packaged pre-workouts with half of the ingredients you can’t pronounce and hello to this chocolate beet smoothie.

How to make a beet smoothie

I love smoothies so much because is they are so easy to make and packed of vitamins and minerals (depending on what you put in them)! It’s as easy as adding all your ingredients into a blender and blending it up. This chocolate beet smoothie smoothie has just 8 ingredients and is full of protein, healthy fats, fiber, and carbs.

Here is what you need:

• almond milk
• cooked beets – I buy already cooked ones
• greek yogurt – plain or vanilla
• frozen cauliflower rice
• cashew butter – or whatever nut butter you like
• cacao powder
• honey
• cinnamon

First, prepare beets if needed (more on that below). To make it easy on myself, I just buy the precooked ones (I usually get them at Costco). Next add everything to you blender (I used my Vitamix) and blend it up. Top with some toppings if you like and enjoy!

This smoothie is not as thick as my typical smoothie. I usually like them THICK. But since it makes a great pre-workout, I didn’t want a heavy smoothie sitting in my stomach when I’m trying to do burpees.

Beet smoothie additions or substitutions

You can customize this smoothie to your liking and add in more protein or fruit depending on how you like your smoothies. Here are some things I think would be delicious:

• chocolate protein powder – I usually add a scoop for more chocolate flavor!
• banana – great for making the smoothie thicker and some added sweetness
• yogurt – use vanilla or plain and dairy or non dairy
• nut butter – any kind of nut butter should work and to make it nut free, try tahini or sunbutter
• avocado – more healthy fats and makes it really creamy
• chia seeds – great for added healthy fats and fiber!
• ice – if you want more frozen texture

How to prepare beets for smoothies

I use store bought cooked beets to make life easy, but you can totally cooked them yourself. To prepare beets for smoothies, thoroughly clean them. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add beets to a steamer basket, and steam about 45 minutes until tender (I prefer al dente). The skin should be easy to peel off when they are hot. Let cool completely and store in a tightly sealed glass container for up to a week.

Can I freeze beets for smoothies

Yes, beets freeze really well for smoothies. To freeze beets, take cooked beets and slice or dice them into 1-2″ pieces. Line a baking sheet or plate with parchment paper (this makes them pop right off when frozen) and spread out evenly to make sure they freeze individually. Place in the freezer for a few hours until frozen and store in a bag in the freezer for easy use.

This smoothie recipe does not call for frozen beets, but you can easily freeze them for it!

More healthy smoothie recipes

• sweet potato smoothie
• post workout chocolate protein smoothie
• pineapple green smoothie
• coffee protein smoothie
• orange creamsicle smoothie

4.43 from 19 votes

Chocolate Beet Smoothie

Author: Kelly Nardo

Chocolate Beet Smoothie made with beets, greek yogurt, nut butter, and cacao. The combo of chocolate and beets packs vitamins, minerals, & antioxidants and is loaded with protein, healthy fats, and carbs and makes a perfect breakfast, snack, or natural pre-workout.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Breakfast, Drinks, Snack

Calories: 353kcal

Protein: 30g

Carbs: 37g

Fat: 10g

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 1

ingredients

• 1/4-1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (depending on desired consistency)
• 3/4 cup plain greek yogurt (used Siggi's 0%)
• 1 cup diced cooked beets* (150 grams/2-3 small-medium)
• 1 cup frozen cauliflower rice
• 2 heaping tablespoons cacao powder
• 1 tablespoon cashew butter
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder (optional)
• additional add-ins: chia seeds, frozen banana, avocado...
• optional toppings: granola, cacao nibs, cinnamon...

instructions

• All all ingredients to a Vitamix or high powdered blender and blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Top with toppings or drink as it.

notes

*I used prepackaged cooked beets, but if you can't find any you can steam beets for about 45 minutes until tender. The skin should peel when they are warm. Let cool before using.

This smoothie is not super thick, so to make it thicker, add in one of the additional add ins!

nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Chocolate Beet Smoothie

Amount Per Serving (1 smoothie)

Calories 353 Calories from Fat 90

% Daily Value*

Fat 10g15%

Saturated Fat 2.4g15%

Polyunsaturated Fat 1.4g

Monounsaturated Fat 5.3g

Potassium 638mg18%

Carbohydrates 37g12%

Fiber 9.1g38%

Sugar 23.3g26%

Protein 30g60%

Vitamin A 340.5IU7%

Vitamin C 54mg65%

Calcium 493mg49%

Iron 4.6mg26%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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