Coffee Smoothie with Dates, Banana, and Cacao
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A trend I’ve observed among the spring 2019 cookbooks is wellness and plant-based eating. Of the many, Well + Good is perhaps the most overtly focused in these areas, with recipes to improve skin, sleep, mood, digestion, energy, focus, and sex (…watch out! Alexandra’s Kitchen is getting ris-que!!).
The book, written by journalists Alexia Brue and Melisse Gelula, who launched the website Well + Good a decade ago, includes recipes from experts and authorities in the health and wellness sphere, including Mark Hyman, Venus Williams, Misty Copeland, and Bobbi Brown.
Also: Marcus Antebi, founder of the juice chain Juice Press, who, while training as a competitive boxer, altered his diet to consist primarily of cold-pressed juices, smoothies, and salads. His “competitive coffee smoothie” recipe caught my attention for a number of reasons:
- It called for 3/4 cup of brewed coffee, which would solve my dumping-the-rest-of-the-coffee-pot-down-the-drain problem.
- It called for cauliflower, which I immediately dismissed as weird, but which apparently is good for mental clarity, and which I could get down with as long as the smoothie didn’t taste too cauliflower-y.
- With banana, almond milk, almond butter, and dates, it sounded delicious.
I gave it a whirl, cauliflower and all, and couldn’t have been happier with the result: It tastes like a coffee milkshake. You would never know a blast of vegetables is in the mix — cauliflower disappears the way spinach does in smoothies — and how nice to get a little cruciferous boost in your mid-morning (or afternoon) pick-me-up?
I have made one of these coffee smoothies every day since discovering it, and I find myself looking forward to it until I do — it’s such a treat! What’s more, I have reduced my coffee waste to zero. Score!
Let me know if you give it a go.
Competitive Coffee Smoothie with Dates & Banana
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving
Description
Adapted from the Well + Good cookbook.
Tailor this recipe to your liking. For instance: the original recipe calls for half a banana, but I use a whole; the original recipe calls for 2 tablespoons almond butter, but I use 1; the original recipe calls for melted almond butter on top, but I omit.
And before you poo-poo the cauliflower, know that you don’t taste it. It disappears the way spinach does in smoothies. For ease of preparation, I purée half a head of cauliflower in the food processor, and I store it in a quart container in the fridge.
Also: I’ve been pouring leftover coffee into a Mason jar and stashing that in the fridge, so I always have cold coffee on hand to make this.
Also: I slice up a banana and stick it in the freezer first thing every morning so it’s nice and cold when I’m ready to make my smoothie.
Ingredients
- 1 banana, sliced and frozen
- 3/4 cup leftover coffee
- 1/4 cup almond milk or other nondairy milk
- 1 tablespoon almond butter
- a handful of ice cubes
- 2 Medjool dates, pitted
- 1/4 cup cauliflower, see notes above
- pinch sea salt, such as Maldon
- cacao nibs for sprinkling, optional
Instructions
Place all ingredients in a blender, and purée until smooth. Pour into a glass, and top with cacao nibs if you wish.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Blender
- Cuisine: American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
24 Comments on “Coffee Smoothie with Dates, Banana, and Cacao”
Hi, I’m wondering if there’s any almond butter in the recipe? I noticed it was mentioned in the description but not in the recipe itself. Thanks! It looks so delicious!
Kelly, thank you for catching this! I just added it to the ingredient list. I use 1 tablespoon.
I learned the cauliflower trick from gwyneths most recent cookbook. She suggests using it in lieu of banana for lower sugar (I don’t care as much about that but wanted to see if it’s as creamy as she says it is. I too have liked the result. Plus the children don’t notice it either. I buy it frozen from the grocery store and throw it in. Can’t wait to try this version. I also have been drinking matcha in the morning and on days when I want a change I add the matcha into the smoothie instead. Tasty!
Smart Bates! I can’t believe I’ve never thought to buy it frozen … this is so much easier. Also: I love the idea of making a matcha smoothie. I have been making green smoothies with spinach and love them. Matcha would be so good in there too. xo
This is absolutely delicious, my husband and I are addicted. I throw in 15 roasted unsalted almonds instead of the almond butter. Sort of afraid to ask, but any idea on the calories?
So happy to hear this, Susan! I really don’t think this is too caloric. This is my rough guess:
1 banana: 100 calories
1/4 cup cauliflower: 6 calories
2 dates: 130 calories
1 tablespoon almond butter: 95 calories
1/4 cup almond milk: 9 calories
Total: 340 calories
I don’t count the cacao nibs … just a sprinkling 🙂 🙂 🙂
Gosh, this is so good! Thank you yet again, Alexandra! I’m not a big smoothie fan but the great use of leftover coffee won me over (love the idea of storing in a jar). This is so tasty and refreshing, and not sweet, which I prefer (the cauliflower is genius!). More than any other food blog, I make the most from yours!!
Oh Hina, Yay! I am so happy to hear this. I absolutely love this one, too … I make one almost every day and find it to be so satisfying. Thank you for the kind words. xoxo
I use frozen cauliflower in my smoothies to up my fiber and getting a bit of veg in. Very filling. And it makes me proud of myself when I can get more than one veg in at breakfast. Very proud. 🙂 I pat myself on the back. hehehe
Doesn’t feel so good getting that extra blast of veg? Love it 🙂
This tastes absolutely amazing. I’m trying to adjust to non dairy milks and be more conscious of my diet and health. This is the first drink I’ve made that tasted indulgent and delicious. And you really can’t taste the cauliflower at all! I was skeptical but even my husband who can sniff out any ingredient was blown away by it. 5* recipe, love it.
Yay!! So happy to hear this, Bee … I look forward to this every single afternoon … such a treat! So glad you and the husband approve 🙂
Hi. Do you use raw or cooked cauliflower? Really want to make this just not sure on the cauliflower.
Raw 🎉🎉🎉
Finally bought myself a blender to have during this pandemic and this recipe was amazing! I’d love some more recipes for the summer 🙂
Yay! So happy to hear this! I could use some more smoothie recipes as well. This one along with this green one are the two I make most often.
I will keep you posted on the new smoothie front!
I haven’t tried this yet but I will here soon. You can freeze your leftover coffee into ice cube trays if you want less water into the smoothie 🙂
Yes, that’s brilliant!!
I have never bought or chosen to eat cauliflower in my life before shopping for this recipe:) I love this smoothie, it’s so good. I’ve made it with peanut butter, almond butter, 15 almonds – all worked. Still have not used dates, but used a bit more chocolate than just a sprinkling.
Yum! Sounds amazing … great to know you can just use almonds if you don’t have any nut butter on hand. Thanks for writing!
Yum! Turns out cauliflower in smoothies is pretty dang delish. I cut the amount of banana in half as I typically get a stomach ache from too much sugar in my smoothies.
Wonderful to hear this, Brittney!
So glad to have found this recipe on your site. I’m just beginning to eat a plant-based diet and this will fit in perfectly! You’re the first place I turn to when looking for inspiration on what to cook. Thanks again!
Great to hear Candace! Thanks so much for writing. I love this one so much 🙂