Looking to get a little more protein in your diet but in the most delicious way possible? Reach for the cocoa — everyone’s favourite superstar ingredient.

Chocolate isn’t the most conventional protein shake ingredient, but it can transform your enjoyment of this ‘functional’ drink. If you love your cocoa-rich milkshakes but want the nutritional benefits of a protein shake, then read on. In this article, we’ll be explaining how to make a chocolate protein shake.

We’ve based our recipes around our hot chocolate and latte single-serve sachets, as these are compatible with our Velvetiser — our specialist shake-perfecting machine.

Ingredients

To make the base of your chocolate protein shake, you’ll need:

• One cup of frozen blueberries
• One frozen banana
• 210ml of unsweetened almond milk (or your favourite type of milk)
• ¼ cup of Greek yoghurt (or a dairy free equivalent)
• Two tablespoons of cashew, peanut, or almond butter
• ½ tablespoon of ground flaxseed

Then, to bring some chocolate to the picture add:

• One of our Classic 70% Dark Hot Chocolate Sachets
• ¼ cup of chocolate protein powder

As you might have noticed, this recipe ensures that you’re not completely relying on the protein powder for your protein. With yoghurt, nut butter, and flaxseed all in the mix, you’ll benefit from a few different protein sources — which ensures your shake really packs a nutritious punch!

We think the banana and blueberries bring the perfect amount of natural sweetness, while the yoghurt and almond milk add an unbeatable creamy texture. Plus, though we’re fans of nut butter for its protein power, whether you choose cashew, peanut, or almond, you’ll notice it adds a nutty, cookie-dough texture to your shake. We can’t get enough of it.

Steps

Now onto the blending. You could pop all your ingredients into a high powered blender and call it a day. However, we have a secret weapon for making our shakes as velvety smooth as possible.

Though we originally designed our Velvetiser to help us make the most irresistible, rich, creamy hot chocolates on the planet, we’ve since discovered that it also makes heavenly smoothies and shakes.

We think texture can make or break a protein shake, and influence whether you make a recipe ever again. Trust us. Get your shake to a gorgeously velvety consistency and see why homemade is always better than shop-bought!

While you can’t place all your shake ingredients in the Velvetiser, you can use it to make a silky-smooth base for your drink. To do this, pour 110ml of milk (not the whole 210ml listed) into the Velvetiser, so that it just covers the whisk, and add the contents of our 70% chocolate single serve sachet. Switch it on and watch the magic happen. Pour the mixture into a glass.

You can then prepare the rest of your shake. For this, you’ll need a blender (the Velvetiser can’t be used for blending frozen fruit). Simply put the rest of your ingredients, including the remaining 100ml of milk and protein powder, into the blender and whizz until smooth.

Pour this mix over your velvetised milk and gently stir to blend the two mixtures together. We don’t recommend adding your velvetised milk to the blender, as this can ruin the smooth texture.

As your blended fruit mixture contains frozen fruit, you’ll have a chilled shake. Enjoy!

See our Velvetiser FAQs for all the information you need to get started with your Velvetiser.

Make it hot or cold

If you’re looking for a drink that’s a little more ‘protein’, and a little less ‘fruit’, we have another recipe for you. As our Velvetiser makes fantastic hot chocolates and lattes, it’s great for making hot protein shakes.

As these are more akin to lattes than smoothies, you don’t need a blender to make them and you can skip the fruit.

To make a hot chocolate protein shake, you’ll need:

• Milk of your choice
• One of our Chocolate Latte Sachets
• ¼ cup of your favourite protein powder
• ½ tablespoon of flaxseed

Simply add your milk and chocolate latte sachet to your Velvetiser and create a silky smooth chocolate latte. Pour the mixture into a cup and add your protein powder and flaxseed. Give your drink a gentle stir to mix in the powders. 

The end result will be a wonderfully creamy half mocha, half protein shake. You’ll experience the taste of a barista style latte, with an added protein boost.

Plus, as there is caffeine in this drink, it’s a great pre-workout beverage or alternative to your morning coffee.

If you want to make your chocolate protein latte vegan, you can use our 45% Nutmilk Chocolate Sachets instead of the ones listed. Though there isn’t caffeine in these, their subtly nutty flavour and dreamy consistency certainly make up for it.

Sweeten your chocolate protein shake

Whether you choose to make our classic chocolate protein shake or our chocolate latte protein drink, you can add a few extras to your beverage to suit your personal taste.

If you’re using one of our single-serve chocolate sachets to make your drink, you’ll enjoy a rich, nuanced chocolate experience with less sugar and more depth of flavour. Still, if you have a sweet tooth, you can add maple syrup, honey, or agave syrup to your drink to give it a kick. We think a drizzle or squeeze of your chosen sweetener is plenty to add some sweetness, yet retain the cocoa-rich taste.

If you want to go all out and add toppings to your drink, you can always grate some of your favourite chocolate on top. The more chocolate the merrier we say!

And if you fancy experimenting with some flavours other than plain chocolate, try our other chocolate sachets. From Caramel Latte, and rich Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate Sachets to Orange Supermilk and Ginger Hot Chocolate Sachets and more, there’s something to suit every taste.

Whether you fancy making your shake with a latte sachet or a hot chocolate sachet, all our single serves are compatible (and perfectly portioned) for use with our Velvetiser.

Good luck with making your protein shake. We reckon you’ll fall head over heels for our Velvetiser, so why not try our luxury chocolate milkshake recipe next?