By now we’ve all seen and likely enjoyed that that tasty chocolate mousse or pudding, that is actually just avocado, cocoa and a little sweetener. (You can find my recipe for it, terrible photo and all, way back in the TY archives.) That very idea also sparked the creation of these delicious Creamy Chocolate Fudgesicles.
This past week, as I continued to collect the many avocados still available in abundance from the tree in our yard, I was dreaming up creative uses for all the avocados we have. I can never get enough guacamole and my homemade avocado salad dressing is always a favorite, but I was also craving something sweet. I am not sure how or why, but I was instantly inspired to create a creamy, luscious chocolate shake.
I have never been a fan of milkshakes!! Gasp… I know right? There is just something about that much dairy getting sucked through a straw, laced with a year’s worth of sugar that ALWAYS spell disaster for my gut, as it should.
Velvety smooth, rich and sinfully delicious, this Chocolate Shake get it’s creaminess from avocado, rather than ice cream and it’s sweetened only by a few dates (or other sweetener of your choice) and a little melted dark chocolate (your choice of how dark). It brings you some healthy fats from both the avocado and the coconut milk and a load of antioxidants from the raw cacao (read more about the benefits of dark chocolate). Also, shhhh, there’s no dairy in there, so it’s great for all, paleo, vegans, it’s even safe for our nut-free pals. Basically in all it’s delicious glory, it’s like a nutrient-dense chocolate shake, that you can indulge in, without worrying about crappy ice cream or loads of sugar! I promise, it will be love at first sip.
Chocolate Avocado Shake
Ingredients
- 1 avocado, halved and pitted
- 1 cup full-fat organic coconut milk*
- ½ - 1 cup coconut water*
- ¼ cup raw cacao, or regular cocoa powder
- 4 dates, pitted or 1 tablespoon honey or other sweetener of your choice, to taste, a few drops of stevia or monkfruit are great
- 2 tablespoons melted super dark chocolate or chocolate sauce
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon vanilla powder
- pinch sea salt
Optional:
- collagen peptides or protein powder, optional
- whipped coconut cream or whipped cream, for serving
- cacao nibs, chocolate chips or shavings, for serving
- almond butter for swirling, if that's your thing
- 1 cup ice cubes, or more as necessary
Instructions
- Scoop the flesh of the avocado from the skin and add all of the ingredients, except the ice, to the pitcher of your high speed blender, starting with 1 cup total liquid. Begin blending and add more coconut water (or other non-dairy milk), as needed, to create the perfect consistency. Add the ice at the end and blend until thick, creamy and frosty.
- Divide between 2 medium glasses or serve 1, large overflowing glass. Serve topped with whipped coconut cream and cacao nibs. Enjoy!
- Note: you can skip the coconut milk and water and opt for almond milk or any other non-dairy milk of your choice to reduce the fat grams, you can also opt for water in place of the coconut water to lower sugar / carbs. Most of the creaminess comes from the avocado.
18 Responses
Love love love love love love LOVE!
This looks great! I love putting avocado in my smoothies. Actually I’m posting an avocado fudge bowl on my page this week!
Your own avocado trees? Ahhh…I’m in the Northeast…not happening here, unfortunately. This shake looks so creamy and chocolatey. LOVE that you use dates for sweetness!
Well said! Couldn’t agree more, Beth!
You have an avocado tree? I am insanely jealous right now! Can I camp in your backyard for a bit (… and nab all your avocados…)?
Also, this 100% looks guilt-free to me, avocado and coconut milk are two of the healthiest fat sources on the planet and I love the choice of using high-fibre dates as the sweetener. Not sure why these ingredients are ‘buzzy’ either – it’s all just real food and I would eat this milkshake as a treat over a processed and cane sugar laden one any day! Keep up the awesome work, love your recipes 🙂
Hi, Beth – just to make sure I get the right stuff next time I go shopping, what kind of coconut milk? The fluid kind or the canned stuff? This looks fab and I can’t wait to try it. Thanks!
I would suggest the canned kind, for maximum creaminess and to avoid preservatives and other weird stuff. That said, the fluid kind in carton would work, just fine. I prefer the richness of the canned stuff, is all.
I am always looking for more nutrient dense desserts so I am going to have to try this out soon, thanks for sharing!
I am always so happy to find you in my inbox Beth. Many of your recipes have become the foundation of many of my favorite meals. I can’t wait for your e-book to come out. One of the biggest obstacles that I’ve been working my way around as an middle aged woman, is all the ways I starved myself as a teenager, believing that “fat-free” was the way to be thin, not healthy, but thin. How grateful I am to be learning that real, whole foods nourish our bodies and provide us with such good nutrients. It makes cooking and eating such a joy and you really add to this relearning. Thank you for this delicious treat, I can’t wait to make one!
Thanks, Elyse, I do agree with you: I often miss the info on nutritional value.
I made an overnight oatmeal breakfast creation last summer, with canned coconut (I guess half a can). I felt terrible after eating so much coconut fat for breakfast! That was the last time I made anything with it actually. And recently I found that half an avocado in breakfast smoothies don’t agree with me as well. Might be because of the fat which is great during a day, but not in the morning (for me, that is). Would certainly have helped me if the blogger made a remark about how fat it was or gave advice (“make sure to take a small portion” fe)!
Thanks for reading 🙂
I know this may be your first time to my blog, but this is NOT a diet blog and I 100% don’t count calories. I encourage people to eat intuitively and the way that works for them. We are all bio-individuals. That said, I drink full fat coconut milk all the time, without issue and continue to lose weight. I also eat an entire avocado almost every single day. It’s about quality when it comes to fats and quantity to a degree, if you tend to go overboard. If you are unable to tolerate it in more than small amounts, that is unique to you and you may want to consider liver and gallbladder support and yes, for you, possibly consider fats in smaller amounts. Giving this detailed information within a blog post wouldn’t be doing any one any favors, as we are all different in what we can and choose to eat. This is a treat you guys. Not something I suggest starting every day with and in comparison to most average chocolate shakes it’s incredibly healthful. I highly doubt any person will drink the entire thing. It’s HUGE. If they do, guess what, they won’t die. I promise. If you are looking for nutrition facts from bloggers, please keep in mind that you can always plug the ingredients into any online calculators yourself and configure the results and make decisions for yourself based on that. I share these recipes with my readers for free, I don’t count calories so I don’t think I have any sort of “responsibility” to share anything beyond what is part of my personal mission.
I just found you via The Detoxinista on FB. This shake is EXACTLY what I need right now. Was craving something sweet, and I have all the ingredients handy. Look forward to navigating around your website!
You are correct if you drank the entire thing, you would be getting some sugar (from dates and a little from the dark chocolate, highly dependent on what chocolate you choose) and yup some fat too (from the coconut and avocado)! Yes. No one is denying that. I think the point is that this shake is filled with much better ingredients than the typical ice cream, chocolate sauce, tons of refined sugar, garbage nutrient-deficient milk, etc. This isn’t a meal replacement smoothie, guys! While I make a joke about being “a shake monster” I am not actually saying everyone should sit down and consume all of this at once, ALL the time, it would actually be quite hard to do. But guess what, even if you did, it wouldn’t kill you. I think you are missing the point that this is a treat. A once-in-a-while, much more healthful and nutrient-dense alternative to the sugary messes most people would get from a fast food joint if the craving arose for a shake. I am glad you were able to configure the nutritional facts for yourself. That’s great. For those of you that do count calories, you are all capable of running the nutrition facts on any free recipes on the internet at ANY time and then you can make any dietary decisions for yourself, that you see fit. This isn’t a diet blog nor personal nutrition advice. Everyone is bio-individual and you all approach your food and eating in a unique way and I respect and support that, just as I would hope the same from all of you. In the meantime, if you decide you want a much better than the usual milkshake, this is the one for you. Serving size is debatable 😉
WOW this looks delicious!!! **drools** Do you know the macros for this recipe?
I love your site, your recipes are dope and I love that you encourage exploring flavors. I look forward to making this as opposed to eating chocolate gelato. Your nut milk recipes are the first onses that I used to make my own cashew milk and inspired me to explore new flavors and they are delish!
Haters gonna hate, keep on fighting the good fight!
xoxo
Hi all! Is it really one whole tablespoon of vanilla extract?! I just made it but I seem to taste the extract a lot! Thanks 🙂
I do use 1 whole tablespoon yes. I would suggest just taking it down to 1-2 teaspoons next time, to your taste.
Milkshake looks delicious & so yummy..