Vegan Chocolate Banana Smoothie Bowl

A naturally-sweetened smoothie bowl for under a buck! Perfect for breakfast or dessert.

Summer 2020 was many things. For me, it was the Summer of Smoothie Bowls.

Is it still summer? No. Does it matter? Also no.

You can make smoothie bowls anytime of year. Throughout this past summer, I usually had one for breakfast. Sometimes lunch. Occasionally, as a dessert.

Smoothie bowls are great because you feel like you’re either having a decadent breakfast or a healthy dessert.

I’ve made so many versions of these. For this post, I’m keeping it simple with a 3-ingredient recipe. Super duper easy.

The three ingredients don’t include the toppings because, honestly, you don’t even need them. Alone, this chocolate banana smoothie bowl stands on its own – like a bowl of chocolate soft serve ice cream.

INGREDIENTS

Exact amounts are in the recipe at the end of this post.

This recipe is embarrassingly easy.

• bananas
• cacao powder
• milk (of your choice)

INSTRUCTIONS

Additional instructions are in the recipe at the end of this post.

The key to a good smoothie bowl is using frozen ripened bananas. My own banana-freezing method:

• Make sure the bananas are ripe (not green but spotted brown)
• Peel the bananas before freezing
• Break the bananas into chunks
• Store the chunks in a large plastic bag in the freezer

If you prefer not to use plastic bags, you can store the frozen banana chunks in a glass container with a lid. I used to store frozen banana chunks this way, but they’d get stuck to the glass and I usually found it too difficult to get them out. A plastic bag is something you can whack on the kitchen counter if need be.

BLENDER VS. FOOD PROCESSOR

Some smoothie and “soft serve” ice cream recipes suggest blenders and some suggest food processors. I always thought a blender was the way to go for anything involving liquid, so I used a blender for this recipe. Once I did attempt to make this in a food processor, but it did not go well – the frozen bananas refused to pulverize and I had to transfer everything to a blender and then wash two things.

A food processor is great for making things like pesto sauce, oat flour, or date bars.

If possible, I would use a blender for this recipe.

Depending on your blender, you might have to stop the blender after 10-15 seconds to scrape the frozen banana chunks off the sides and push everything down on the lower blades. I use a rubber spatula to do this.

You may have to do this more than once. It depends on how hard the bananas are and how much liquid you use. A quarter cup of liquid is just enough to move the blender along.

The more liquid you use, the easier it will blend, but it will result in a thinner smoothie. The less liquid you use, the thicker the end result, but the more often you might have to stop the blender to do some scraping and smushing.

It might seem annoying, but trust me: it’s worth it.

After pouring the smoothie into a bowl (I like to use the same rubber spatula to get it out from the blender), top it with anything you like.

For this post, I used unsweetened shredded coconut, sliced almonds, and – because I can’t get enough of them – sliced banana.

This honestly tasted like a bowl of chocolate soft serve ice cream with a bit of crunch from the the shredded coconut and almonds.

TIPS

• Use overripe bananas. No green bananas. Brown spots are great; the more, the better. If the banana hasn’t fully ripened, the smoothie will have a slightly sour taste.
• If you don’t have cacao powder, you can use cocoa powder. What the heck’s the difference, you ask? And why are they practically spelled the same but have reversed vowels? Here is a good explanation as to the difference between the two. In short, cacao is made from fermented beans that have not been roasted, and cocoa is made from beans that have. Cacao is also more bitter and has a higher nutritional value than cocoa. (For smoothies, I prefer cacao.)
• Use whatever milk you want. I used oat milk for my recipe. Know that whenever I say “milk” on this blog, this is your milk of choice. I used to be a black coffee kind of gal, but lately, I’ve been enjoying a splash of oat milk in my morning coffee. Oat milk is also great in baked goods!
• Substitute water if you want. You don’t have to use milk in this smoothie. If you use water, it will still turn out great. Milk adds a slight flavor and richness, but it’s not necessary.

COST BREAKDOWN

I’m not including the cost of the toppings pictured here, which were a 1/2 tablespoon of shredded unsweetened coconut, a 1/2 tablespoon of sliced almonds, and about half a banana. This small amount probably added less than one dollar to the final dish. But it’s just a suggestion, and of course you can add whatever you want.

• bananas: $0.30
• cacao powder: $0.13
• oat milk: $0.16

Total cost (without toppings): $0.59

Wow, fifty-nine cents for a big bowl of what is essentially vegan chocolate soft-serve? In this economy?

For the record, I am calculating this with bananas sold at Whole Foods ($0.49/lb.), Navitas organic cacao powder ($19.49 for a 16 oz. bag at Whole Foods), and Whole Foods 365 brand’s oat milk ($2.49 for 32 oz.).

I promise this is not sponsored by Whole Foods – I’ve just been buying their 365 brand products, as they are typically inexpensive, and I already had the cacao powder.

Trader Joe’s is generally even cheaper, but their lines here in NYC are usually around the block lately and I’ve been either too busy or too lazy to wait on them.

My point is, this smoothie bowl can be even cheaper depending on where you shop! Especially if you use homemade plant-based milk, which I have yet to attempt.

Either way, it’s probably going to be under a dollar. And that’s hard to beat.

If you make this recipe, please let me know in the comments! And let me know your favorite toppings!