Paleo Tahini Chocolate Shake Recipe
Here's a secret: tahini, dates, and cocoa powder are a match made in smoothie heaven. Why? Because they're the perfect combo of healthy fats, subtle sweetness, and warm chocolatey flavor. When blended with a frozen banana (or cauliflower) and creamy almond or cashew milk, these ingredients become a nutty chocolate milkshake—one that won't give you a sugar crash an hour later like your favorite diner one would. This is one paleo recipe that's truly for the books, because it's so delicious that even your kids will love it, but so healthy that you won't mind serving it to them for breakfast a few times a week. It can even double as a light afternoon dessert that no one will ever object to.
Tahini is a wonder ingredient when it comes to healthy, plant-based, minimally-processed sources of fat. It is basically a smooth oily paste derived from toasted and blended sesame seeds, and it's used in a lot of paleo and keto recipes for salad dressings and baking because of its high fat yet pure qualities. You can attempt to make it at home (the only two ingredients you need are sesame seeds and extra-virgin olive oil), or you can go for a store-bought version. How do you decide whether you've gotten good tahini? It'll be extremely creamy and fragrant.
It is very important you don't skip the pinch of salt in this recipe. It may seem like such a tiny addition, but adding just a bit of salt is an important seasoning step when it comes to keeping this smoothie from tasting flat or too sweet. I like to top my chocolate-tahini smoothies with a pinch of flaky sea salt as well for a bit of extra flair.
Makes 1 serving
Ingredients
1/2 frozen banana, sliced, or 4 florets frozen cauliflower
2 Tbsp tahini
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 medjool date, pitted
1/2 cup almond or cashew milk
Pinch kosher salt
Ice
How to Make It
- Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Blend in ice until desired consistency is reached.
