This cacao smoothie is such a yummy but healthy smoothie to make. The cacao gives this smoothie a natural chocolate flavor, there is creaminess from the avocado and a delightful hint of fruit flavor from the cherries. This is a great smoothie to add to your weekly smoothie recipes. It’s different than your average fruit smoothie!

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What is Cacao?

Let’s start with the question of, What is Cacao? Not cocoa, but cacao.

Cacao is actually from the same tree as cocoa, but is the raw version, unlike cocoa. It comes from the seeds the trees grow. Cacao powder is not as sweet as cocoa, hence why it is the unprocessed version. But even though it is not as sweet as cocoa, it has an incredible natural sweetness and contributes many health benefits. Learn more about the differences between cacao and cocoa here.

Cacao is considered a superfood due to amount of antioxidants it contains. It also serves as an incredible anti inflammatory, protecting us from diseases and chronic illnesses. WebMD says cacao powder helps boost our memory, serves as protection from heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

Cacao Discovery

Cacao was put on my radar a couple years ago when I started getting into making smoothies. I was looking at add ins for my smoothies, like chia seeds, flax seeds, etc. I came across cacao powder being used in smoothies to mimic chocolate flavor. I decided to try it with simple smoothie ingredients and I fell in love with the natural chocolate flavor it brings to a smoothie. And after getting all the ingredients and ratios right with this cacao smoothie, my husband and I became obsessed.

We all know chocolate and cherries are such a wonderful marriage, and so are cacao and cherries. The cacao and cherries gives this smoothie a rich and sweet flavor, which I love! However, the avocado in this smoothie is what makes it so creamy. You can’t taste the avocado in it, but it adds to the lush texture of this smoothie as well as many more health benefits.

How to make:

You will need ice, frozen cherries, avocado, cacao powder and milk. I get my frozen cherries from Costco, they are organic dark sweet cherries. But you can use whatever frozen cherries you want! The cacao powder I use is Viva Naturals Organic Cacao Powder. You can purchase it from Walmart :). For this recipe I also use oat milk because I have an obsession with oat milk but you can use any kind of milk you have or like!

First, add in the ice and then throw in the frozen cherries next.

Next, scoop in the avocado on top of the cherries. Then you can add your cacao powder.

Last step is to add your milk and then blend!

Here is a quick video of me making the smoothie on my instagram:

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Tips:

I start with about a cup of milk, and then add more 1/4 cup at a time as needed while blending. Depending on how ripe your avocado is, the more or less milk you will need. However, it is better start with less milk and then add more as you go. As you blend, stop the blender and assess if it needs more milk or not and then continue blending. I prefer this smoothie to be a bit thicker and less runny. When it is thicker, it has a creamier texture and more robust taste.

I prefer to use an avocado that is ripe as opposed to one that is not. An unripe avocado won’t produce the right texture you want for this smoothie!

Make sure your ice and frozen cherries come out of the freezer right as you start to blend! This smoothie is best really cold. 🙂