Just finished up a tough workout and looking to refuel? Try this post-workout smoothie! This banana peanut butter chocolate smoothie is easy to make with just six ingredients. It packs carbs and protein into an easy-to-drink shake, perfect after a heavy strength session or a long-distance run. The full recipe contains 39 grams of high-quality protein (or you can split the recipe with a pal for a smaller portion if you don’t need a full-size shake).
Note: This post was originally published in 2015. The post and recipe have been updated in 2025.
Ingredients and Instructions
You only need six ingredients to make this smoothie:
- Banana – Make sure to freeze it in advance! I like to cut it in slices and freeze it to make it easier to blend.
- Fairlife Chocolate Milk – This is ultrafiltered chocolate milk, meaning it’s a bit higher in protein per cup compared to standard chocolate milk. It also has less sugar per cup. However, you can easily substitute with regular chocolate milk.
- Spinach – If I could some up my nutrition philosophy, it’d probably be “throw some spinach in it” – haha! I’m all about finding easy ways to increase veggie intake. You can easily pack a cup of raw spinach into this smoothie.
- Yogurt – I recommend using Oikos Pro for this recipe, as it has 20 grams of protein per 5.3 ounce container. That’s the highest I’ve currently seen on the market. (I also use Oikos Pro and Fairlife in my Kodiak protein muffins recipe). However, you can sub any container of vanilla Greek yogurt that you’d like. Just note it may slightly change the nutrition facts.
- Peanut butter – I use regular peanut butter, but peanut butter powder also works well in this. If you use peanut butter powder, I’d add two full tablespoons (rather than the one tablespoon of regular peanut butter used as written).
- Chocolate chips – These are optional but help make it extra chocolatey!
Once you’ve got all the ingredients, toss ‘em into a large blender cup or blender.
Blend those up until smooth, then enjoy! Easy peasy.
Recipe FAQ
Here are some common questions that may come up as you’re preparing this recipe:
It’s best to make a smoothie right before you plan to drink it for the best texture.
Frozen bananas help give smoothies their creamy texture. If all you have is a fresh banana, add a handful of ice cubes to the recipe alongside it. It won’t be the same texture but will help come close.
Nutrition Benefits
As a dietitian, I love this recipe for post-workout fueling or for athletes looking to put on muscle mass. It packs a lot of nutrition into one drink, using only minimal ingredients. Some highlights:
- Easy to make after a workout – just toss the ingredients in the blender and drink.
- High in carbs to replenish glycogen stores (aka the energy stored in your muscles). This is most important for athletes doing two-a-day workouts or those who require peak competition status the next day.
- High in protein to support muscle repair and recovery.
- Excellent source of calcium and Vitamin D, which is important for bone health for runners.
- Excellent source of potassium, an electrolyte we lose in sweat that we should make sure to replenish.
- Also an excellent source of Vitamin B12, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Magnesium, Zinc, and more!
More Smoothie Recipes
If you’re looking for more post workout smoothie recipes, be sure to give one of these a try:
- Strawberry watermelon smoothie
- Blueberry smoothie bowl
- Turmeric banana smoothie
- Mocha banana smoothie
I hope you enjoy this banana smoothie recipe! If you get a chance to try it, feel free to leave a recipe rating or comment below.
Post-Workout Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 medium banana, frozen in chunks
- 1 cup Fairlife chocolate milk (or regular chocolate milk)
- 1 cup raw spinach, packed
- 5.3 oz container Oikos Pro Vanilla Greek Yogurt (or another vanilla Greek yogurt)
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tbsp dark chocolate chips (optional but adds additional chocolate flavor)
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a large blender cup or blender. Blend until smooth. Enjoy!
Notes
- This recipe makes 1 large smoothie or 2 smaller smoothies. The proper portion size will depend on your training regimen, calorie needs, and hunger level.
- The nutrition facts below are based on using Fairlife chocolate milk and Oikos Pro Greek yogurt. You can certainly use variations on those ingredients, however note that the total nutrition facts may vary based on what you use.
- This recipe was updated in 2025. The original 2015 recipe used plain milk rather than chocolate milk and did not include spinach or yogurt. The other ingredients were as written. I’m only including this note in case you previously saved this and were looking for the original recipe.
Nutrition
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