Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

Michael Eisenwasser

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A chocolate peanut butter smoothie using Monash serve sizes: 2 heaping teaspoons of cocoa, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, a firm-yellow banana, and lactose-free or almond milk. It tastes like a milkshake but isn't too heavy.

Prep 5 min

Cook 1 min

Serves 1

Gluten-freeVegan-option

Ingredients

• 1 firm-yellow banana (about 100 g), still slightly green at the stem
• 2 tablespoons (about 32 g) smooth peanut butter, no honey or added fiber
• 2 heaping teaspoons (about 8 g) unsweetened cocoa or cacao powder
• 1 cup (250 ml) lactose-free cow's milk or unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 cup ice
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional)
• 1 to 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup (optional)
• Pinch of salt (optional, brings out the chocolate)

Instructions

Blend

1. Add the milk first, then the banana, peanut butter, cocoa powder, ice, vanilla, maple syrup, and salt.
2. Blend on high for 45 to 60 seconds, until the cocoa and peanut butter are fully broken up and the drink looks uniformly chocolate-brown with no streaks.
3. Pour into a tall glass and drink right away. It thickens for a minute or two, then thins as the ice melts.

Tips & Substitutions

• Measure the cocoa. Monash lists 2 heaping teaspoons (about 8 g) of unsweetened cocoa or cacao powder as the low-FODMAP serve. One rounded tablespoon is roughly the same. Above that, cocoa can tip into moderate-FODMAP, so don't free-pour.
• Use unsweetened cocoa, not drinking chocolate. Dutch-process and natural unsweetened cocoa powders are fine. Skip pre-sweetened "hot chocolate" mixes — most contain milk powder, inulin, or high-fructose sweeteners. Raw cacao powder works the same as cocoa at the 8 g serve.
• Pick the right banana. Firm-yellow, still slightly green at the stem, is the low-FODMAP serve at 1 whole banana (about 100 g). Once a banana is spotty-ripe, Monash drops the serve to 1/3 of a banana (about 35 g). Use a firm one, or freeze firm-yellow slices so it's ready to use.
• Check the peanut butter label. You want plain peanuts and salt. Skip jars with honey, agave, inulin, chicory root fiber, or "prebiotic fiber." A 2 tablespoon (about 32 g) scoop is the low-FODMAP serve.
• Pick a low-FODMAP milk. Lactose-free cow, unsweetened almond (up to 1 cup / 250 ml), macadamia, hemp, or rice milk (up to 3/4 cup / 187 ml) all work. Canned light coconut milk is low at 1/2 cup. Oat milk is brand- and serve-dependent; use a Monash-certified carton or skip it. Avoid any milk with inulin, chicory root fiber, or added "prebiotic fiber."
• Make it a protein smoothie. Add 1 scoop of whey isolate, rice protein, or egg-white protein powder. Skip plant-protein blends like Orgain, Vega, and Garden of Life. Many contain inulin or chicory root fiber, which is high-FODMAP. A chocolate-flavored whey isolate works well in this smoothie — just check for added inulin.
• Freeze the banana. Peel a firm-yellow banana, slice it, and freeze on a tray. Frozen banana plus ice makes a thicker, colder smoothie, more like a frozen chocolate shake.
• Sweeten with maple syrup only. Honey and agave are high-fructose and not low-FODMAP. Cocoa is bitter without a little sweetness, so 1 to 2 teaspoons of pure maple syrup usually lands it. Skip sugar-free "keto" sweeteners with polyols like xylitol, sorbitol, or erythritol blends.

Why This Works

Cocoa serve is small, but enough. Monash lists unsweetened cocoa powder as low-FODMAP at 2 heaping teaspoons, about 8 g. Above that, it starts adding up on FODMAPs. Eight grams is plenty to make a glass taste genuinely chocolate, especially with peanut butter adding a lot of the flavor — you don't need to push past the serve.

Banana ripeness matters more than size. Monash rates 1 whole unripe banana (about 100 g) as low-FODMAP, but ripe (spotty) banana drops to a 1/3 banana serve, about 35 g. That's the difference between a full glass that sits well and one that might not. Firm-yellow, slightly green at the stem, is the target.

Peanut butter serve. Peanuts are a true low-FODMAP nut, and 2 tablespoons (about 32 g) of plain peanut butter fits cleanly at the low serve. The catch is added ingredients — honey, agave, inulin, and chicory root fiber all turn up in "natural" and "gut-health" jars. Read the ingredient list and stick to jars that list peanuts and salt.

Milk choice. Lactose is the FODMAP issue in regular cow's milk. Lactose-free dairy and most unsweetened nut milks are low at 1 cup, which is why this recipe pours a full glass without splitting the volume. Chocolate hides a watery milk, so pick one you'd actually drink on its own.

Sweetener rule. Cocoa is naturally bitter, so this recipe needs a little more sweetness than the plain peanut butter banana version. Pure maple syrup is low-FODMAP at 2 tablespoons, so 1 to 2 teaspoons is well inside the safe range. Honey and agave are high-fructose and don't belong in this glass. Polyol "keto" sweeteners can trigger symptoms of their own.

Storage

Blend and drink right away. If you need to hold one, cap it in a sealed container and refrigerate for up to 24 hours at 40°F (4°C) or below. Shake or re-blend before drinking; cocoa and peanut butter both settle as they sit. To prep ahead, freeze sliced firm-yellow banana in a zip bag and add milk, peanut butter, cocoa, and ice at blend time.

Not sure about an ingredient? FODMAP Tracker includes a database of 1,000+ foods with FODMAP ratings to help you cook with confidence.