When I was in college, I often started my day with a weight loss shake. I’m not gonna name names, but they rhymed with GrimFast. They were pretty disgusting (and kind of tasted like the can they came in–because really, who doesn’t like a gritty metallic chocolate flavored shake first thing in the morning?), but they were quick and I was trying to lose weight, so I’d chug them as quickly as I could and then washed them down with a big glass of water. Inevitably, a few hours later, I’d start obsessing about lunch, so much so that I had trouble concentrating in class. Guess what? Those dinky little shakes aren’t very sustaining.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become a little more conscientious about the foods I eat. Shakes like that just aren’t going to cut it anymore–even if they did taste good (and they don’t–I mentioned that, right?), I try to eat natural and whole foods now. But I do miss their convenience–a breakfast in drink form is easy to take with you or, as is often the case with me, drink while you work.
![Mexican Chocolate Breakfast Shake [Close]](http://ohmyveggies.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mexican_chocolate_breakfast_shake_close.jpg "Mexican Chocolate Breakfast Shake [Close]")
A good smoothie works in most cases, but sometimes all that fruitiness is just a little too virtuous for me. I wanted something that tasted like an indulgent treat, while still being healthy. It needed to be creamy and rich and obviously, it needed to be chocolatey. Since chocolate breakfast shakes have been done a million times, I thought I’d try making this a Mexican chocolate breakfast shake. The first time I tried it, I added a little bit of cayenne, but I settled on adding some of cinnamon alone instead when I made it again–it still gave the breakfast shake that Mexican chocolate flavor, without the weird hot pepper kick. I mean, hot pepper kicks are great and all, but maybe not so early in the morning.
This Mexican Chocolate Breakfast Shake is delicious, healthy, and unlike those sad weight loss shakes, it will keep you satisfied until lunchtime. And hello, it’s Mexican chocolate!
An easy, healthy (and Mexican chocolatey!) alternative to the typical breakfast shake.
Ingredients
- 1/2 c. old-fashioned oats
- 1 c. almond, soy, or coconut milk (I really like using the new Blue Diamond almond/coconut milk blend)
- 1 tbsp. cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- agave nectar, honey, maple syrup or other sweetener to taste (I use a tablespoon)
- 1 small banana, cut into pieces and frozen overnight in a freezer bag
Instructions
- Combine oats, milk, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and sweetener in a resealable bowl. Stir together and refrigerate overnight.
- Add banana and oat mixture to food processor or blender and process until smooth and well-combined. If shake is too thick, add more milk for a thinner consistency.
Notes
Making the oatmeal mixture ahead of time and refrigerating it overnight softens the oats and gives the shake a smoother texture. If you're feeling impatient (or don't mind little bits of oatmeal in your shake), you can make this without that step--put the oats in the food processor or blender first, process until it becomes a fine powder, and then add the rest of the ingredients.
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Oooo! This looks terrific! Love the idea of allowing the oatmeal and milk to sit overnight, so the shake is much smoother the next day. I will definitely be making this this week. Thank you for the great idea!
I hope you like it! I’m slightly addicted to them.
I was a little skeptical about how good an oatmeal chocolate shake could taste good, but I tried this this morning and I’m a believer! It not only tastes good, but kept me satiated until lunch time, and the biggest feat ever for any breakfast shake… I was actually able to finish it. Typically with shakes/smoothies the first couple of sips are good, then I can’t stand it enough to finish it. But with this one I slurped the whole thing down in 10 min. on my way to work. Thank you for a great fast, easy, on-the-go breakfast alternative!
This totally made my day–thanks so much! It’s always awesome to hear that someone a) actually made one of my recipes and b) really enjoyed it.
Very rarely does a drink/smoothie/shake make me feel full, and I agree, this one actually does!
You were so right – this is a hit!! And I can see why – I want one for breakfast, or maybe just a snack, like right now!
Because of this post, I had the biggest day of traffic ever on Friday, the biggest week of traffic ever last week and I’m on track for the biggest month ever too. I wish I could come up with a recipe like this for every day of the week!
That sounds incredible and I image the addition of oats makes it so that you really do stay full. I am trying this tomorrow.
I hope you like it! It really does keep you full for a long time, which is good for me because I’m usually hungry for lunch by 10!
Sometimes I make banana/milk/oat/honey smoothies, but I like your inclusion of chocolate here! Will have to try it your way to mix it up when the mood strikes next.
This is the first time I’ve made a smoothie like this, but now I’m trying to come up with other flavors too. They are so good!
Will definitely try this, although I don’t have any cocoa powder, so I might do a cinnamon/cardamom/ginger version. Also, it might be interesting to add some extra-dark chocolate at the end and blend just enough to turn it into little straw-friendly bits.
I think that would work out well too! You could also add a little bit of vanilla.
I wonder how I could get more protein in this and still have it taste delish? May have to experiment! Trying to get 100g of protein in per day, no easy feat!
Try adding some protein powder (maybe chocolate instead of the cocoa powder?) or a handful of almonds! The almonds would definitely change the texture, but I think if you ground them in the food processor first it would still be sippable.
I was also trying to see how to get more protein in, what I will try is soaking the oats in vanilla greek yogurt and then adding a scoop of chocolate protein powder and a little almond milk.
I am excited to try this, it looks so good!
If you add yogurt, you might want to use either more milk or half a banana–otherwise, it might be really, really thick! Let me know how it turns out.
I am mexican and I have never heard of it before!! But I did it and it was delicious! Thanks for sharing (: I added some protein powder and blend it together. It was soo goood!
So glad you liked it! Yeah, the shake isn’t Mexican, but the combination of chocolate and cinnamon is. Or at least, I think it is?
This is fabulous! Think I’ll make it today instead of my raspberry smoothie. Can’t beat a chance to enjoy chocolate and not feel guilty about it!
Well, raspberry smoothies sound pretty good too!
But yes, sometimes you need a little chocolate to wake you up in the morning. I hope you like it if you make it!
I absolutely cannot wait to try this! Anything with oats and chocolate, and I’m in!
You know, I’ve tried making chocolate oatmeal several times and I never like it. But for some reason, I love the combination in this shake.
Kiersten, I was wondering if you could possibly add a couple of Tbl spoons of pumpkin or applesauce. I have mine in the fridge tonight getting ready for in the morning. It looks just yummy. Thanks so much!
I think the flavors of both pumpkin and applesauce are mild enough that you could do it. I’d maybe start with a tablespoon, taste it, and add more from there. Hope you like it!
Could you use regular milk instead? or would it take a lot of the sweetness away?
Regular milk would work fine!
You can always blend everything, taste it, and see if it needs a little additional sweetener. But I don’t think it will.
I really don’t like bananas. Is there something I should/can substitute?
Hmm. Well, it’s the bananas that make the shake really creamy, so I’m not sure. Another reader was going to try using pumpkin puree, so that might be something to use instead of bananas. You could try yogurt too. Let me know if you make it without bananas and how it turns out!
Instead of using the banana, I added in some vanilla Whole Soy yogurt (dairy does not love me back). I opted for that instead of soft tofu in the event I didn’t like it and would be stuck with a block of soft tofu. It was tasty and filling, but I think next time I’m going to try almond milk.
If you like coconut milk, you could also try freezing some in an ice cube tray and use that instead. I think that might do the trick with giving it a milkshake-like texture…
I have added tofu to my smoothies to get more protein. This is good, if you do not like protein powder. It also adss a little more creaminess. Great recipe..thanks!
Ooh, that’s a really good idea! I make tofu mousse all the time and I can see how that would work well. Thanks for the tip!
I decided to pour it into popsicle molds and freeze it. I am guessing it will be a big hit!
Let me know how it turns out! Because if it’s good, I’m definitely going to try that too.
They were a hit!!
Woo hoo! Okay, I’m totally trying that too. Thank you for the idea!
Can you please tell me what the calories count is for this shake?
I’m sorry, I don’t calculate calories for my recipes–you’ll have to enter the ingredients into a calorie counter.
Hey Cathy, this shake has about 370 calories in it.
I found this website via a friend on Facebook and I must say, I am in love! This recipe sounds amazing and I can’t wait to try it out! You rock.
Yay, thank you! I have made this at least a dozen times (if not more) and I never get tired of it–I hope you like it too.
The shake is around 400 calories, give or take:
Oatmeal 150
Soy milk 100
Cocoa powder 10
Agave nectar 60
Banana 70
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for this wonderful shake recipe! Tastes like a chocolate milkshake and is such a fun way to start the day
I’m so glad you like it! Chocolate milkshakes are always a good way to start the day, right?
During the work week I drink shakes for breakfast. I tried this recipe this morning and I loved it! It’s filling and the chocolate makes it feel like a treat. It’s will be a great addition to the rotation. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for letting me know–I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I have unsweetened cocoa powder or hot cocoa mix….which should i use? I’m thinking the unsweetened powder and add a little sugar??
The unsweetened kind. The banana and honey or agave add enough sweetness without needing any additional sugar, but of course if you want to, you could add a little.
I actually made this shake a couple of weeks ago but I have to say I cannot get it out of my head. I recently started drinking shakes for breakfast and this was the first shake I made. If it had not been so awesome, I might have never had a shake for breakfast again. However, it is now the shake I measure the rest by. If my daily shake is not at least a little bit as awesome as this one, the recipe gets tossed!
Thank you for this great(!) recipe!
Ha! I feel the same way about this one–it’s the first breakfast shake I made and it’s still my favorite. I’m glad you enjoy it too!
I LOVE this! I’ve made it twice now. Once where I did soak the oats over night and once where I did not (just now, I couldn’t wait). Either way it works and is delicious. The first time I made it though it wasn’t quite sweet enough for me even with the honey, so this time I experimented a bit with things I could add to sweeten it up. I added a tsp of Vanilla and a Tbs of Hazelnut syrup and that did the trick, and the hazelnut flavor on top of the chocolate/banana is heavenly! Yum!
Yay, thanks for letting me know! The sweetness kind of depends on the ripeness of the banana you use–I’ve found that sometimes I need to add a bit more sweetener too. Hazelnut syrup sounds like a great addition! Flavored syrup makes everything better, right?
I just made this shake and it was delicious! I added a scoop chocolate whey protein powder and skim milk in lieu of soy milk (it was all I had). Also, I used a frozen banana to make the shake colder. It turned out great! I’m going to start drinking this in the morning for breakfast and maybe after my workouts. Thanks for the recipe
I’m so glad you liked it! Personally, I can’t stand protein powder (it’s so bitter to me!), but I know a lot of people use it in this.
just saw this recipe yesterday and had it with my usually large Sunday breakfast this morning. Loved it! I added a bit of Krema yogurt for richness and I used the Earth’s Own almond/coconut blend. I honestly thought it didn’t need any additionally sweetening as the almond blend tastes quite sweet to me already and the banana was pretty ripe. I might try adding some pre-soaked dates for days when I’m craving something extra sweet
Thanks for letting me know–I’m glad you liked it! I’ve heard from quite a few people who have added yogurt to it, so that seems to work well. I wouldn’t know because I have an aversion to yogurt.