Recipe: Healthy Coffee Smoothie
Beverage Recipes, Smoothie Recipes
This coffee smoothie is sweet, flavorful and caffeinated. All of the ingredients are filling enough that this recipe works as a great dessert-for-breakfast type smoothie and will leave you invigorated and satisfied! What’s not to love?
This recipe is also dairy-free, gluten-free, refined-sugar-free and paleo-friendly.
The important thing to remember when building a healthier smoothie is to balance out the natural sugar content with some protein. In this healthy coffee protein smoothie recipe, we bump up the protein by including protein powder and almond butter.
Check out my entire list of healthy smoothie recipes to kickstart your health today!
Ingredients You’ll Need
This healthy coffee smoothie calls for simple and nutrient packed ingredients.
- Almond milk: we like to use unsweetened almond milk in our smoothies since that is what we usually have in the fridge. However, feel free to use your milk of choice (dairy milk, oat milk, coconut milk, soy milk).
- Brewed coffee: use room temperature brewed strong coffee for this smoothie. (Don’t use hot coffee since you don’t want a warm smoothie.) Cold brew coffee or coffee concentrate is also great. If you have an espresso machine, you can use 1 shot of espresso for this smoothie. If you want an extra thick and creamy smoothie, use coffee ice cubes.
- Frozen banana: for a thicker, creamier smoothie, use frozen banana. If you don’t like banana, substitute with 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt.
- Vanilla protein powder: add filling protein to this smoothie by mixing in your favorite protein powder. We like to use a vanilla flavored one since it pairs well with the coffee.
- Almond butter: add creaminess and healthy fats to this coffee breakfast smoothie with a tablespoon of almond butter. Feel free to substitute with your favorite nut butter like peanut butter or cashew butter.
- Cinnamon: we love the combination of cinnamon and coffee together. You can omit the cinnamon if you prefer. If you want to switch it up, pumpkin spice and apple pie spice are also great in this coffee smoothie recipe.
Smoothie Variations
Add some veggies: sneak in a serving of vegetables into your smoothie by adding up to ½ cup of frozen riced cauliflower. We love adding frozen cauliflower to smoothies since you can’t taste it and it doesn’t change the color of the smoothie like spinach or kale does.
Sweeten it up: if you like a sweeter smoothie you may want to add a medjool date or a tablespoon of maple syrup, honey, or agave nectar.
Add chocolate: coffee and chocolate are a classic flavor combo – even better in smoothie form! Add chocolate-y flavor to this smoothie by either: 1) using chocolate protein powder, 2) adding 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder or 3) using 1 tablespoon of chocolate spread like Nutella.
Swap almond butter for peanut butter: if you don’t have almond butter, you can use peanut butter or another nut butter instead.
Healthy Smoothie Add-Ins:
Collagen: add more protein and support healthy skin by adding a scoop of your favorite collagen powder to this smoothie.
Seeds: add protein, heart healthy fats, and fiber to your coffee smoothie by adding 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseeds, hemp seeds, or chia seeds.
Oats: add quick oats or rolled oats to this delicious coffee smoothie recipe (we usually do ¼ cup). It purees into the smoothie so you can’t even tell it’s there but you’ll add a couple extra grams of fiber (which we could all use more of!).
How to Make a Coffee Smoothie
Prep: Add all of your smoothie ingredients (Almond milk, brewed coffee, frozen banana, vanilla protein powder, almond Butter, cinnamon) to a high powered blender. Add oats so they are closest to the blade (so on bottom for a standard blender pitcher or on top for a blender cup).
Blend: Start on low speed and gradually increase speed as the ingredients start to mix. Puree until smooth.
Enjoy: Pour this delicious breakfast coffee smoothie into a glass and enjoy!
Tools for This Recipe
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Tips for Making Better Smoothies
- Use frozen fruits and veggies: We love a thick smoothie with creamy texture. The key to thicker smoothies is frozen fruits and veggies so we keep our freezer stocked with a variety of frozen produce. Here are a few of our frozen produce staples: berries, bananas, mango, pineapple, cauliflower, zucchini, and spinach.
- Adjust liquid as needed. If you like really thick smoothies (or smoothie bowls), use less liquid. For thinner smoothies that can be sipped through a straw, use more liquid. It’s always best to start with a smaller amount of liquid and add as needed.
- Don’t add ice. For the best flavor, use frozen produce to thicken up your smoothie rather than adding ice (which can water it down). If you do like an icy smoothie, you can freeze your brewed coffee in an ice cube tray and use it in this smoothie – gets extra frosty but isn’t water down.
- Taste and adjust. After blending up your smoothie, taste it and feel free to adjust as needed. If you like a sweeter smoothie, add a date or some honey or maple syrup. Maybe add more cinnamon or nut butter – it’s up to you!
More Smoothie Recipes You’ll Love
Get Healthy U offers a variety of amazing high protein, low-calorie smoothie recipes. Here are a few of our favorites:
Total Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 2 serving(s)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- ¼ cup strong brewed coffee (OR 1 shot espresso)
- 1 large frozen banana
- 2 scoops vanilla protein powder
- 1 tablespoon creamy almond butter
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Directions
- Add all of your smoothie ingredients to a blender and puree until smooth.
Nutrition Information Per Serving
Serving Size: 1 smoothie
Calories: 230
Protein: 28 gram(s)
Fat: 7 gram(s)
Carbohydrates: 18 gram(s)
Fiber: 3 gram(s)
Sugar: 10 gram(s)
From the kitchen of: Get Healthy U
Rate this Recipe
(5 votes, average: 4.20 out of 5)
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4 Comments
Joyce DiLonardo on October 23, 2016 at 7:59 AM
What does the grass fed collegen do for you?
Chris Freytag on October 24, 2016 at 3:59 PM
Hi Joyce - collagen is an amazing source of healthy protein vital Collagen is vital our skin, hair, nails, bones and joints! We like vital proteins if you're interested in trying it out: http://www.vitalproteins.com/.
Michelle L on July 3, 2016 at 8:31 AM
Thanks for the recipe! I would love to know how you make homemade almond milk. Do you recommend sprouting the almonds?
Chris Freytag on July 6, 2016 at 8:21 AM
We have a link to our homemade almond milk in the recipe, but here it is too! https://gethealthyu.com/homemade-almond-milk/