This lush, delicious smoothie is the perfect combination of fruity, sweet, and creamy. Cashew butter and cocoa come together to give this recipe a richness, while frozen cherries and berries offer a light, sweet taste that will make this drink the perfect warm weather refreshment.

Why These Ingredients?

There’s a number of ingredients I’ve included in this recipe not just because they taste good (and trust me, they do!) but because they have nutrients that fuel you and feed your skin’s health.

You’ll find cocoa in this recipe to give this smoothie its chocolatey taste, but cocoa is also an antioxidant powerhouse. Cinnamon adds a delicately spiced layer of flavour to the drink, but is also excellent for blood sugar management–which is great to pair with fruits, since they’re healthy sources of natural sugars. I’ve added banana to this smoothie recipe as well, since they are great for texture, thickening and smoothing out the final product (it helps put the smooth in smoothie!) Not to mention, bananas are rich in potassium. And of course, frozen cherries are fantastic in smoothies–they have that amazing combination of great flavour and great texture. Cherries also have anti-inflammatory properties and can promote improved sleep.

The dream team: antioxidant-rich cocoa + anti-inflammatory cherries

All the ingredients in this smoothie come together to create a decadent treat that fuels you and makes your tastebuds happy with every sip. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Graydon’s Tips and Tricks

I think smoothies are one of the most customizable kinds of recipes. There is so much you can choose to add, swap, or leave out. Here are some of my tips and tricks when it comes to customizing this chocolate cherry smoothie so it perfectly suits you.

• Creaminess: This smoothie lists milk as one of its ingredients, but there are tons of milk alternatives that will give the smoothie its same creaminess (I often use oat milk myself). In fact, I’m such a big fan of milk alternatives I’ve shared my recipes for hemp milk, oat milk, and hazelnut milk.
• Richness: I prefer adding cashew butter as my nut butter of choice because it's rich and creamy without an overpowering taste, but you can substitute this part of the recipe with other nut butters like almond, sunflower, peanut, or hemp, depending on your preference. 
• Sweetness: I sometimes like to up the sweetness of my smoothies by adding either agave or maple syrup. I usually wait until everything is fully blended up, sample the results, and then go back and add in my sweetener until I’m happy with the taste.
• Saltiness: The salt you use (not just in this recipe, but for every recipe!) makes a huge difference. My suggestion is to ditch your table salt. Instead, try going for maldon, pink Himalayan salt, or sea salt.
• More on salt: Don’t skip it in sweet recipes like this one! Salt helps to balance the acidity of the fruit and promote mineral rich hydration.

Rich + Refreshing Cherry Chocolate Smoothie

Prep time: 5 mins | Total time: 5 mins | Servings: 1

Ingredients

• ¾ cup milk (or your favourite milk alternative)
•  ½ frozen banana
• 1 tablespoon cashew butter
• 1 scoop protein powder of your choice (optional)
• 1 rounded tsp cocoa powder
• 1 pinch of ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon good quality (ie not table) salt
• ¼ cup fresh blueberries, raspberries, or fruit of your choice
• ⅔ cup frozen sweet cherries
• Handful of ice

Instructions

1. Add ingredients to your blender and blend on high until completely smooth
2. Sweeten to taste
3. Serve and enjoy!

Or if you want the layered look shown in these photos:

1. blend your salt, cinnamon, cocoa, protein powder, and milk together.
2. Then, separately, blend your berries, milk, cashew butter, and ice together.
3. Now you have both a chocolatey smoothie and a fruity smoothie you can layer and combine however you like!

Watch it All Come Together 🍒

Want to see how this delicious smoothie all comes together? Check out the recipe video!