Photos by Emily Caruso
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 wash 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.
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.
Mexican Chocolate Breakfast Shake
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! That little bit of cinnamon makes chocolate taste even better.
This December, we’re republishing updated recipes from Oh My Veggies’ first year. This post was originally published on May 10, 2012.
PrintMexican Chocolate Breakfast Shake

An easy, healthy (and Mexican chocolatey!) alternative to the typical breakfast shake.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 shake 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup almond, soy or coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Agave nectar, honey, maple syrup or other sweetener, to taste (optional)
- 1 small banana, cut into pieces and frozen overnight in a freezer bag
Instructions
- Combine the oats, milk, cocoa powder, cinnamon and sweetener in a resealable bowl. Stir together, cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Add the banana and oat mixture to a blender and blend until completely smooth. If the shake is too thick, add more milk for a thinner consistency; if it’s not sweet enough, add more sweetener.
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 and blend until smooth.
218 Comments
Green Press
February 13, 2017 at 12:49 amAwesome breakfast shake you have here. It looks delicious! Thanks for sharing such a delicious shake!
Izzy Bruning
May 10, 2017 at 4:51 pmLooks so delicious!
Izzy | Pinch of delight
Vivian
June 3, 2017 at 12:33 amThis looks so delicious and is easy to make. I will give it a try. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Loene Trubkin
August 21, 2017 at 7:00 pmAs a type 1 diabetic, I’m unable to try recipes that have no nutrition info, especially grams of carbs and proteins. Could you provide these for the Mexican shake? Thanks so much.
Alissa
August 22, 2017 at 7:23 amWe don’t provide nutrition info at this time, but this is a really great tool if you’d like to take a crack at it yourself: https://www.verywell.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4129594
Ishka
August 25, 2017 at 7:20 amWow, chocolate is my fav! Happy to see that I can include it into breakfast too!
Toma
February 12, 2018 at 9:56 amMexican Chocolate is really excellent juice recipe, thank you very much for sharing this awesome juice recipe.
★★★★★
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Sarah
July 9, 2020 at 8:14 pmYummers!
I’ll have to double the recipe next time. My 2 year old kept stealing sips!
★★★★★