Level up your smoothie experience with this delicious cherry and chocolate granola smoothie. This cherry smoothie has the perfect amount of sweetness and the crunchy granola adds a beautiful texture that brings the whole thing together.
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This granola smoothie recipe combines the simplest cherry smoothie with an incredible crunchy chocolate and oat topping. You'll love the combination of the cherry smoothie paired with the chocolate granola on top.
Since this smoothie has a tasty granola topping, it's best to grab a spoon along with a straw before digging in.
Make this cherry granola smoothie as a quick weekday breakfast. Be sure to check out a ton of other great breakfast recipes that you can pair with this or try on their own.
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What You'll Learn In This Recipe
- How to make the easiest chocolate granola for smoothies at home.
- A unique way to enjoy a smoothie.
- Multiple easy and tasty ingredient substitutes.
If you love this smoothie recipe and want to learn more ways to improve your cooking experience at home, check out my free 5-day process to becoming a better home cook.
Ingredients You Need
Make your own delicious chocolate granola to go on top of the tastiest cherry smoothie with these simple ingredients.
Frozen cherries: The star ingredient in this smoothie, frozen cherries, are the easiest way to get delicious cherry flavor into the smoothie while still keeping it nice and cold. Be sure that the bag of frozen cherries is labeled as ‘pitted’.
If you want to use fresh cherries for this recipe, make sure to remove their pits. You will also have to add some ice cubes to the smoothie to ensure you still have a great texture.
Frozen bananas: Bananas are a great addition to any smoothie. The creamy and sweet flavor helps to balance out the tartness of the cherries.
Milk: To help make this smoothie a little less thick, milk is used. The type of milk does not matter. Feel free to use whole milk, skim milk, oat milk, almond milk, or whatever milk your heart desires.
Honey: Honey and oats go incredibly well together. Honey helps add a layer of natural sweetness that brings the smoothie together wonderfully.
Vanilla extract: Just a little bit of vanilla extract is all you need to elevate the flavor of the granola.
Salt: Be sure to use fine sea salt for this recipe. The salt not only enhances the other flavors involved with the granola, but it also helps cut through the sweetness.
Oats: Old fashioned oats turn into the tastiest homemade granola. This granola provides that extra layer of crunch that pairs perfectly with the soft texture of the smoothie. You can also use quick-cooking oats, just not steel-cut oats.
If you are looking for a gluten-free option, substitute old fashioned oats for your favorite brand of gluten-free oats.
Cocoa powder: Cocoa powder takes the granola from boring and plain to rich and chocolatey. The chocolate flavor of the granola helps cut through the sweet and tart fruit flavor of the cherry smoothie.
You can also use Dutch-processed cocoa powder. If you do, the chocolate flavor will be more intense.
Coconut Oil: Coconut oil is great for making sweet snacks and desserts. With a neutral-to-sweet flavor profile, it is exactly the type of oil you want to be incorporated into the chocolate granola.
How To Make This Recipe
A healthy breakfast has never tasted as good as this 7-step chocolate granola smoothie.
Chocolate Granola
1. Start by preheating your oven to 300ºF (150ºC). While the oven heats up, combine the oats, cocoa powder, and fine sea salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
2. Heat the honey and coconut oil in the microwave at full power for 15 - 30 seconds. You want them to be completely liquified.
3. Add the melted honey and coconut oil mixture along with the vanilla extract to the dry ingredients. Mix everything together until well combined.
4. Line a sheet tray with parchment paper. Dump the oat mixture onto the baking sheet and spread it into a thin layer.
5. Bake the oats for 20 minutes. Halfway through, stir the oats around to ensure an even cook.
After 20 minutes, the granola will still feel a bit moist, but it should be fully cooked. As the granola cools down and dries out, the granola will harden into that delicious crunchy consistency. Let the granola cool for 30 minutes until it's no longer hot.
Cherry Smoothie
6. Grab your favorite high-powered blender or food processor and add in the cherries, bananas, and milk.
7. Cover with the lid and blend for roughly 45 - 60 seconds or until the fruit has fully blended.
If you need to, stop the blender and scrape down the sides to ensure that everything is blended smoothly.
Now, you’re ready to enjoy! Pour your smoothie into a serving glass or a bowl and top with as much or as little granola as your heart desires.
Expert Tips
- You can store any leftover granola in an airtight container at room temperature. This will stay fresh for up to 2 weeks.
- If you have a very small blender, combine ½ of the smoothie ingredients in the blender at a time. Then, combine everything in your glass or bowl.
- When using fresh fruit instead of frozen fruit, add a handful of ice cubes to the blender to provide yourself with a nice cold smoothie that has the correct texture.
- If you're lactose intolerant, this recipe is great for substituting with any lactose free milk substitute.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, just be sure to remove the pits. You may also want to freeze them overnight before making the smoothie or add some ice to the smoothie to ensure you get a nice texture.
Yes! You can eat this granola smoothie in any form you please. Add the tasty ingredients to a bowl and enjoy as is or throw in some additional tasty toppings.
Yes, just pay attention when baking as certain gluten-free oats may take more or less time to bake.
Yes. Put this chocolate granola in other smoothies of your choice. It pairs great with berry smoothies and peanut butter smoothies.
More Breakfast Recipes
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Cherry Granola Smoothie
Equipment
- sheet tray
Ingredients
Chocolate Granola
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 tablespoon natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Cherry Smoothie
- 2 cups frozen and pitted dark sweet cherries
- 1 medium frozen bananas
- ¾ cup milk of choice
Instructions
Chocolate Granola
- Heat oven to 300°F (150°C).
- Mix oats, cocoa powder, and fine sea salt in a medium sized mixing bowl.
- Heat honey and coconut oil in the microwave on 100 percent power (high) for 15 - 30 seconds until completely liquid.
- Mix melted honey, coconut oil, and vanilla extract with the dry ingredients.
- Line a sheet tray with parchment paper then spread a thin layer of granola on top with a silicone spatula.
- Bake for 20 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the mixture has toasted. The granola will still feel a little wet coming out of the oven but it will dry as it cools. Allow granola to cool completely for 30 minutes.
Cherry Smoothie
- Place cherries, bananas, and milk in the container of a high-powered blender or food processor. Cover and blend about 45 - 60 seconds, or until all the fruit has fully blended. Stop blender as needed to scrape sides.
- Pour smoothie into a serving glass and top with desired amount of cooled granola.
Laura
Just made this for breakfast yesterday and it was SO good! Light and refreshing! I love that this recipe uses frozen cherries so I can make this all year round.