A chocolate cauliflower smoothie made malty with maca powder! The frozen cauliflower makes the smoothie thick and creamy without any added sugar or fruit.
Meet your new favorite smoothie ingredient — frozen veggies.
Most of the smoothie recipes on EBF use frozen banana as the base because it gives smoothies that perfect thick and creamy texture. I still use bananas for smoothies occasionally, but lately I’ve been experimenting with using frozen veggies like zucchini and cauliflower instead.
Zucchini works great, but I feel like frozen cauliflower is the new banana when it comes to making smoothies super thick and creamy. Literally cauliflower makes the texture so smooth it’s almost velvety. And it does this without making your whole smoothie taste like cauliflower or adding a a ton of sugar. It’s pretty awesome!
Just FYI — one banana has around 15 grams of sugar where as one cup of frozen cauliflower has about 2 grams. Obviously, if you’re watching your sugar intake or trying to keep your blood sugar balanced, cauliflower is the better choice.
In general I’ve found that frozen riced cauliflower works better than frozen florets for smoothies because it blends up easily and quickly. Some stores, like Trader Joe’s, carry riced cauliflower in the freezer section but you can easily make your own too. Either buy a package of fresh riced cauliflower and freeze it or buy a whole head, pulse it into rice using your food processor, place in freezer bags and freeze.
For this particular cauliflower smoothie I wanted to make it like a malted shake so I used a vegan chocolate protein powder and maca powder. If you’re new to maca powder, it’s a Peruvian superfood made from the maca root. I’ve heard some people describe the flavor as malty or similar to butterscotch. Personally, I think it has a unique flavor that is slightly bitter sweet. It definitely took some getting used to, but I’ve come to love it, especially knowing all of its amazing health benefits.
Maca is rich in essential minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and iron. It’s best known for its ability to enhance libido and stimulate fertility, but it also helps increase energy, stamina and endurance, support the immune system, reduce chronic fatigue and regulate and support endocrine system. I just went back and read this post that I wrote about maca back in 2008 and it’s pretty comical. Definitely check it out if you want a good laugh.
Maca powder is readily available in most natural grocery stores now, but you can also buy it on Amazon. If you don’t have maca powder or don’t love the flavor, no worries at all. This chocolate cauliflower smoothie is worth trying because it will still taste delicious without the maca.
In addition to the maca powder we added some cacao nibs in this smoothie to give it an extra boost of antioxidants, as well as, a little crunch. So if you’re looking for a low-sugar smoothie that can help boost your energy AND your libido… this is going to be your jam. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Malted Chocolate Cauliflower Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 scoop chocolate protein powder (I like Sunwarrior)
- 3/4-1 cup almond milk
- 1/4 cup frozen riced cauliflower
- 1/3 cup ice
- 1 Tablespoon maca powder
- 1 Tablespoon cacao nibs
Instructions
- Add all ingredients into a high powered blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Sprinkle a few extra cacao nibs on top and serve.
Get the ingredients:
Have you tried frozen cauliflower in smoothies? What did you think?
Ok I HAVE to try this whole frozen cauliflower thing! I’m so curious now!
YUM! this sounds so good!!! i’ve recently started adding cauliflower to my smoothies too, but i’m still using half a frozen banana because i could taste the cauliflower i bit too much. i bet the flavor from the cacao and maca in this help quite a bit too! i’ll have to try. thanks for sharing 🙂
I love this idea, great way to get some extra veggies in and keep your sugar and calories a little lower. Thanks!
I’ve been hearing all the hype on riced cauli in smoothies but have never been convinced to try it until now! This smoothie looks so chocolatey and thick! Noms!
I’m loving that more people are jumping on the veggies-in-smoothies train! I’ve been putting frozen zucchini and squash in my smoothies for ages and I love how it makes the smoothies creamy and a little less sugary!
I have tried cauliflower in my smoothies and love it! Now to try maca…
This has totally convinced me to try a cauliflower based smoothie, looks insanely creamy and yummy! So glad its healthy too! Thanks Brittany!
This is perfect, so on trend with maca and the cauliflower rice! We’re actually the exclusive distributors of Sunwarrior across the pond in the UK and will definitely share this recipe across social media as a creative example of including more plant-based protein in your diet.
xx
Making a smoothie with the cauliflower is very new to me.
It makes me give a try on this smoothie. Do you think, the kids love the taste of this smoothie?
Definitely give it a try, Rocy. You can definitely sneak the frozen cauliflower into your kids smoothie without them noticing. I’m not sure about the maca though! 🙂
Yeah, you are right. Adding the cauliflower into this smoothie without them knowing would be a good idea. 🙂
If I make shakes in the morning but dont eat them til later in the afternoon would frozen cauliflower work? or would it water it down by the time i got around to eating it? I normally dont put in ice but it stays refrigerated
Hmmm… I’m not so sure because I haven’t tried it. I say try it once and see how it works/tastes! 🙂