Who says you can’t enjoy chocolate as part of a healthy balanced breakfast? With great smoothie recipes like the one I’ll be sharing today, you absolutely can. This zoom zoom chocolate breakfast smoothie is perfect for waking up and having a quick and easy chocolate breakfast ready to go. It will definitely leave you feeling energized and ready to take on the day ahead. Every ingredient used in this recipe is a great choice for making a good breakfast smoothie — but with the addition of chocolate flavoring, this smoothie takes things to the next level. If you’ve been looking for a delicious and nutritious breakfast smoothie recipe, then look no further — you’ve found your winner.

Chocolate for Breakfast? Yes Please!

The chocolate flavoring in this breakfast smoothie is thanks to two great sources that work perfectly for making healthy smoothies — raw cacao powder and cacao nibs. These two ingredients aren’t just fantastic for adding a chocolate taste to recipes — cacao is packed full of fantastic health benefits as well. The antioxidant flavonoids found in cacao and cocoa products are known to provide a wide range of cognitive benefits, such as improved memory, moods, lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease, and improved cerebral blood flow which helps to lower your risk of stroke. (1)

In addition to the great taste provided by the cacao, you’ll also be adding in a bit of pumpkin puree when making this recipe. It helps to add a delightfully spicy pumpkin flavor to the whole thing that you’ll definitely appreciate. More importantly, pumpkin is an incredibly nutritious functional food as well. It offers several great health benefits in the form of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, along with helping to reduce your risk of developing certain types of cancers. (2) Your smoothie will also be getting a bit of natural sweetness thanks to the addition of one or two fresh dates as well.

Usually when I make my breakfast smoothie recipes, I like to add in some rolled oats as a highly nutritious carb source. This recipe is no exception as it includes ⅓ cup of oats to add yet another great source of antioxidants, dietary fiber, and a moderate amount of protein to your smoothie. Beyond that, research has indicated that oats are beneficial when it comes to lowering LDL cholesterol levels, and they may even have some potential in helping to prevent cancer. (3)

Speaking of cholesterol lowering effects, this recipe also includes one of my personal favorite snacking options — two tablespoons of raw almonds. They’re a great source of heart healthy essential fatty acids. In fact, daily almond consumption has been proven to help lower your risk of developing cardiometabolic conditions, by lowering the bad type of LDL cholesterol while maintaining the good kind of HDL cholesterol. (4) While this recipe calls for adding one cup of milk for the liquid base, you can definitely feel free to swap it out for some unsweetened almond milk instead if you want to double down on the great benefits provided by almonds. Both options work perfectly well with this recipe!