This chocolate banana nut-butter shake is thick, cold, and creamy enough to feel like a frozen dessert, but it is built from one ripe frozen banana, homemade coconut milk or coconut water, pure cocoa, cinnamon, and properly prepared nut butter. Three ice cubes give it the frosty texture without turning the drink into a glass of crushed ice.
Frozen bananas are one of the easiest ways to keep a later-Full-GAPS dessert option ready for a busy family. Slice and freeze the spotted banana ahead, then the shake comes together in one BN801 cup when someone wants a cold chocolate treat rather than another full baking project.
What This Chocolate Banana Shake Is Like
The finished shake is medium cocoa brown, cold, and thick enough to mound softly at the top of the glass. It should pour in a slow, heavy ribbon rather than splash like chocolate milk. The banana supplies most of the sweetness, while the nut butter makes the texture fuller and the cinnamon rounds out the cocoa.
This is not a dairy milkshake or a bowl of ice cream. It remains drinkable, with a smooth frosty body and tiny natural cocoa flecks. The optional raw egg yolk makes it richer. The optional prepared chopped nuts are stirred in after blending so they remain distinct instead of disappearing into the base.
Where This Shake Fits On GAPS
This shake fits occasional later Full GAPS after digestive symptoms are gone and the person already tolerates pure organic cocoa, fully ripe raw banana, properly prepared nut butter, and the chosen coconut liquid. It is not an Introduction Diet drink.
Use pure organic unsweetened cocoa powder rather than sweetened cocoa mix, ordinary chocolate, carob, or commercial chocolate syrup. The vanilla is the linked homemade GAPS version made without added sugar or non-GAPS ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 fully ripe brown-spotted banana, sliced into small pieces and frozen
- 1/2 cup homemade noncanned coconut milk or coconut water
- 1 heaping tablespoon pure organic unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon homemade GAPS vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 level tablespoons properly prepared nut butter
- 3 ice cubes, about 1/2 cup when crushed
- 1 fresh raw egg yolk, optional
- 1 small handful prepared chopped macadamia nuts, pecans, or walnuts, optional
Measure both the cocoa and nut butter the way the formula states. The cocoa tablespoon is heaping. The two nut-butter tablespoons are level. Keeping those shapes straight prevents the shake from becoming unexpectedly bitter or heavy.
Coconut Milk Or Coconut Water
Homemade coconut milk makes the shake creamier and gives the cocoa a softer finish. Coconut water makes a lighter, thinner drink and lets the frozen banana flavor come through more clearly. Both use the same measured one-half cup.
Do not replace the homemade coconut milk with canned coconut milk in this version. If you need the milk first, make the linked Hot-Water Homemade Coconut Milk and chill the measured amount before blending.
Recommended Equipment
- Small knife and cutting board for preparing the banana before freezing
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Ninja Professional Plus Kitchen System BN801 with the single-serve cup and compatible blade assembly
- Small silicone spatula
- Clear serving glass
The exact BN801 single-serve cup keeps this one-banana batch close to the blades. Load everything below the printed MAX LIQUID line, secure the compatible blade assembly, and return the cup upright before opening it. There is no separate metal blending cup in this method.
How To Make The Chocolate Banana Shake
Freeze A Fully Ripe Banana
Choose a banana with plenty of brown spots so it is fully ripe and naturally sweet. Peel it, slice it into small pieces with a sharp knife, and freeze the pieces in a single layer until solid. Frozen banana is what gives this shake its ice-cream-like body.
Load The BN801 Cup
Pour one-half cup homemade coconut milk or coconut water into the single-serve cup. Add the frozen banana pieces, the heaping tablespoon cocoa, homemade vanilla, cinnamon, two level tablespoons nut butter, and three ice cubes. Add the optional raw egg yolk now if you are using it.
Keep the optional chopped nuts out of the cup for now. They are added after the shake is smooth so their texture remains noticeable.
Blend Until Thick And Smooth
Secure the compatible blade assembly, invert the cup, and lock it onto the BN801 base. Begin with short pulses so the frozen banana and ice settle toward the blades, then blend until no banana pieces or nut-butter streaks remain.
Stop when the shake is evenly cocoa brown and moves as one thick mixture. Return the cup upright before removing the blade. The cup walls and blade should be coated with the shake after blending; a pristine blade would not match this finished step.
Add Optional Prepared Nuts
If you want a little crunch, stir in one small handful of prepared chopped macadamia nuts, pecans, or walnuts after blending. The prepared macadamia nut method gives one ready option. Fold the nuts through with a spatula instead of blending them smooth.
Pour And Serve Immediately
Pour the shake into one large glass. It should fall slowly and settle with a soft mound at the top. Serve it right away while the banana and three ice cubes still give it a cold, thick texture.
Chocolate Banana Nut-Butter Shake for Later Full GAPS
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Peel a fully ripe brown-spotted banana, slice it into small pieces, and freeze the pieces in one layer until solid.
- Pour 1/2 cup homemade coconut milk or coconut water into the BN801 single-serve cup. Add the frozen banana, heaping tablespoon cocoa, homemade vanilla, cinnamon, two level tablespoons nut butter, three ice cubes, and optional raw egg yolk. Keep the optional chopped nuts out for now.
- Secure the blade assembly, invert and lock the cup onto the base, and begin with short pulses. Blend until evenly cocoa brown, thick, and smooth with no banana pieces, dry cocoa, ice chunks, or nut-butter streaks.
- Return the cup upright before removing the used blade. The cup walls and blade should be coated with the shake.
- If using prepared chopped nuts, fold in one small handful with a spatula after blending.
- Pour into one large glass and serve immediately while thick and frosty.
Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!How To Read The Texture
At first the blades may move the coconut liquid while the frozen banana stays above them. Short pulses help the pieces drop. Once the banana begins moving, the sound becomes steadier and the mixture starts climbing the cup walls in a smooth cocoa-brown sheet.
The endpoint has no pale nut-butter ribbons, dry cocoa pockets, large ice pieces, or banana chunks. A spoon dragged through the shake should leave a line that closes slowly. If it pours as quickly as milk, check whether the banana was completely frozen and whether more than the measured liquid was added.
Look at the surface inside the cup before you pour. The shake should be thick enough to hold soft ridges from the blades, while small bubbles and natural cocoa flecks remain visible. It should smell first of ripe banana and cocoa, then cinnamon and nut butter. A strong coconut aroma is more noticeable with homemade milk than with coconut water, but neither branch should have a dry cocoa smell or a separate oily layer.
The Optional Raw Egg Yolk
Add one fresh raw egg yolk with the other base ingredients when you want a richer shake. It blends completely into the cocoa-banana mixture, deepens the body, and does not change the liquid measurement.
Leave it out when you want the egg-free branch. Keep every other ingredient and measurement the same so the result remains the same distinct chocolate banana nut-butter shake.
Serving And Make-Ahead Notes
This shake is best served immediately. As the ice and banana thaw, it becomes thinner and the frosty surface settles. Make the components ahead by slicing and freezing ripe bananas, chilling the coconut milk, and keeping prepared nut butter ready.
For a faster morning or dessert, portion the banana pieces into freezer containers one banana at a time. The rest of the recipe is measured directly into the BN801 cup. Blend only the number of shakes you plan to serve instead of storing the finished drink.
Keep the one-half-cup liquid portion chilled beside the frozen banana so the cup starts cold. If several people want shakes, make one measured batch at a time rather than overfilling the single-serve cup. This keeps each batch below the MAX LIQUID line and preserves the banana-to-liquid ratio. Rinse the used cup and coated blade between batches so the next set of ingredients reaches the blades without dried shake around the threads.
Troubleshooting
The Blades Spin But The Banana Does Not Move
Stop the machine, return the cup upright, and let the ingredients settle toward the blade. Secure the assembly again and use short pulses before switching to a longer blend. Do not add extra liquid before trying this.
The Shake Is Too Thin
Use a banana that was frozen solid and keep the liquid at exactly one-half cup. Three ice cubes are part of the measured texture. Extra coconut milk, extra coconut water, or a partly thawed banana will make the shake looser.
The Cocoa Tastes Too Strong
Use one heaping tablespoon rather than an unmeasured mound, and choose a fully ripe brown-spotted banana. Do not add commercial chocolate or sweetened cocoa mix to cover the bitterness.
The Shake Has Nut-Butter Streaks
Scrape the cup so the nut butter reaches the liquid and blend again. The finished color should be even from the center of the cup to the walls.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Use Coconut Water Instead Of Coconut Milk?
Yes. Use the same one-half-cup measurement. Coconut water makes a lighter shake; homemade coconut milk makes a creamier one.
Can I Use A Fresh Banana?
The banana needs to be frozen for the intended thick, ice-cream-like texture. A fresh banana produces a thinner smoothie even with the same three ice cubes.
Can I Use Commercial Chocolate Or Collagen Powder?
No. Keep this formula to pure organic cocoa. Commercial unsweetened chocolate and commercial collagen powder are excluded from this GAPS version.
Can I Make It Egg-Free?
Yes. The raw egg yolk is optional. Omit it and keep the banana, liquid, cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon, nut butter, and ice unchanged.
How Is This Different From The Peanut Butter Milkshake?
The GAPS Peanut Butter Milkshake has its own coconut-cream, fermented-peanut-butter, raw-honey formula. This recipe is the frozen-banana and cocoa version, with coconut milk or coconut water and no added honey.
More Homemade GAPS Drinks
The planned WFLI Drinks Cookbook brings together homemade milks, shakes, smoothies, warm drinks, mineral drinks, and other family beverages with the preparation each one needs. Find current and upcoming resources in the shop.
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