What’s your favorite milkshake flavor?
Chocolate? Vanilla? Cookies-n-Cream?
Mine’s always been mint chocolate chip (although last time I drank a real milkshake, it was chocolate). To be honest, the vibrant green color enthralls me more than anything else. It goes back to when I was three years old and loved anything blue. Since our local Baskin Robbins didn’t make blue ice cream at the time (pity), mint chocolate chip was the next best choice.
Yesterday afternoon, feeling nostalgic, I decided to recreate the mcc milkshakes of my childhood… well, if those shakes had been 100% raw and vegan, that is.
This shake is thick, rich, and reminiscent of those other green shakes over at Baskin Robbins.
Gluten-free, soy-free, and sugar-free. But full of deliciousness!
Raw Mint-Chocolate Chip Shake
(Shamrock Shake!)
- 1 frozen large banana, as ripe as possible
- cacao nibs (or chocolate chips)
- 2 drops pure peppermint extract
- 2/3 cup milk of choice (For a super-rich shake, try full-fat canned coconut milk. Also, use more or less, depending on desired thickness.)
- frozen spinach (I used about 1/4 cup) *If you can’t get on board with the greens-in-smoothies thing, you can opt for green food coloring (or just drink a white mint shake).
- If, like me, you prefer smoothies in a bowl, add a pinch of xantham and guar gums to make pudding (or just reduce milk)
- Of course, you can always add cocoa powder too
Blend everything together in your Vita-Mix or blender. (A convenient way to measure extract is to use an eye-dropper. You can buy them at stores like Sally Beauty, or recycle them off the tops of nunatural vanilla stevia drops.
For extra awesomeness: Top with a Healthy “Thin-Mint” Brownie.
Or dip a brownie into the shake! Yeah, that sounds good too…
What’s your dream milkshake flavor?
I think this is my favorite, but I also love my Peanut Butter Cookie Shake.
{ 191 comments… read them below or add one }
Although I hate mint, I must admit the color is pretty
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I’ve tried only the basics – strawberry and chocolate. I haven’t even tried vanilla (shame on me!). But if there was banana and coffee milkshake available, I would drink it pretty often.
Ohmygoodness, I am making this for my post workout snack today, katie!!!! I just LOVE chocolate mint-best flavor of all time!
Oooh, yummy! Love the color!!
I make smoothies with mint extract and spinach too! Only I add chocolate protein powder for a Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookie shake!!
I’m gonna try that!
Wow this looks amazing Katie!! Love the idea of a mint chocolate chip smoothie. Yum!
Just in time for Shamrock Shake season!
Exactly! I felt pressured to get all my Valentine recipes up before the actual day, so I’m starting early this time!
Girl this sounds exactly like my chocolate milkshake recipe, but with mint extract added! Yummy idea, I can’t wait to add peppermint next time!:)
That milkshake looks absolutely amazing! I love using mint extract especially to make chocolate mint porridge.
Dream milkshake flavour = chocolate.
That sounds so good and refreshing.
this looks yum
Funny you should post this I was just complaining how I miss my mint n chip milk shakes from Baskin Robbins. Its been about two years since and I am really excited to try this new recipe. Thank you for bringing a smile to a woman who misses her ice cream store experiences.
Aww, your sweet comment made ME smile.
Mint chocolate chip was always my favorite too!
Ooooh man…milkshakes…I haven’t had one since I became a vegan! Thats a looong time to go without milkshakes! I am BUYING some peppermint extract tomoroow and making this bad boy!!
Genius. Someday you’re gonna get tired of hearing that, but it’s true
This sounds delicous and so good for you!
Photos look GORGEOUS! I want a mint milkshake now, and I don’t even like mint! LOL!
You read my mind! I was just thinking about St. Patricks Day and wondering if I could find a good replacement for those McDonalds shamrock shakes. Thanks Katie!!!
yum!! mint choc chip is one of my favorite flavors, too!!! =D
THAT is my favorite flavor for a milkshake! I am obsessed with mint chocolate chip – and it has to be green
I agree lol. Once, my mom bought Dryers (or Breyers, I forget), and the mint cc is not green. Greedy child that I was, I wouldn’t eat it!
oh my wow. like WOW that looks so dreamy.. I, myself am a HUGE fan of mint- i had my first mint jocolat bar last week and the love story began…
and i TOTALLY go for the xantham gum add in too… thick + creamy > thin + runny
(gotta love my math skills, ey!?)
okay im thinking.. a cookie dough shake.. BUT i have zero clue on how that would work…..
Hmmm… maybe leave out the peppermint and spinach, and add cookie dough fudge babies!
And you’ve done it again. Genius! It’s beautiful, and now I know what I’m having for snack today
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Looks great even though I hate milkshakes :p
Omg! Katie I just made this, and it was AMAZING!! You are a genius! I will have chocolate mint milkshakes for the rest of my life…muahahaha!
Aw no fair! I wanna make another one, but I’m outta ripe bananas at the moment
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hehe…I have like 3 in the freezer now! I would make on and send it to you, but I’m afraid it would spoil by the time it got to you
Guess there’s nothing else for me to do but come to Florida. *Packs bags*
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Ay, what a girl will do for a ripe banana
oh what a tragedy…….But all my bananas might be gone by the time you get here! I guess we can always pick fresh bananas from the palm trees across the street….oh so tragic….
I have so many of your recipes bookmarked, miss Katie. And now you go and throw in another one! Can you please write a cookbook already, so I can have them all in one place?
Oh, and my favorite milkshake is vegan chocolate!
The frozen banana as ice cream stand in is my favorite thing to do!
I like to make pumpkin pie versions with banana, a bit of almond milk (since the pumpkin puree adds liquid!), pumpkin, pie spices and vanilla. Mmmmmmmm.
My favorite milkshake flavor = cookies & cream or chocolate
mmmm cookies n cream. plus 1 to this! and oreos are vegan, so i’m all set! but actually, i’m thinking a trader joe’s mint oreo shake would be da bomb!
LOVE that idea, Abby! Trader Joe Joe’s are a fabulous Oreo variety
Gah! Why must y’all tease me? No Trader Joe’s over here
. TJ’s: come to Texas!!!
the color is gorgeous, though I don´t like mint+chocolate…or orange+chocolate…but the mint in the shake is great, it remids me of lemon buttermilk I used to drink in summer…so how about lemon+mint as a tastier (&vegan) replacement?
I hate orange-chocolate too! I think it might be the only chocolate-fruit combo I don’t like!
Shit Katie, you just TOTALLY out-did yourself! I just drooled all over my desk. I’m re-launching raw Tuesdays on March 8th, and this is soooo on my list.
I found your blog yesterday b/c Loser for Life linked to you for the single lady cupcake she made. I spent like an hour going through your posts–I really LOVE your blog! Although not a vegan myself, I do like to eat vegetarian/vegan for most of my meals and all your ideas are so great! Like this shake! I just bought some coconut milk beverage (80 cals per cup, same as skim, and it has a thicker mouth-feel) for the first time and I love it–I so need to make this with it. I’m sooo glad I came across your blog! I forwarded it to another vegetarian friend.
Oh wow, Veronica, thank you SO much. I am so glad you found me! And I love that coconut milk too! I just tried the Silk one, and it’s delicious!
My husband is going to love this! Thanks!!
I am totally making this soon — I used to love Shamrock Shakes at McD and this looks like it could maybe be a good replacement
This is my milkshake flavor! I’m definitely going to try this… even with the spinach. Worst case I make two smoothies. I might even be able to get my 2 year old to eat his greens with this one. Thanks!
mint chocolate chip was always my favorite milkshake flavor! this looks amazing. i was eating a green smoothie (banana-raspberry
) while reading this, but the next one is definitely going to be mint chocolate chip!
Your flavor sounds delicious too!
Beeeeautiful!
I need to start stocking up on frozen spinach. This is a perfect way to sneak extra greens into my boyfriend’s diet!
Muahahahaha I love being a sneaky girlfriend! Well, I’m single right now, but ex bfs have had tofu, spinach, and all sorts of other fun stuff snuck into their diet! I always tell them later, though
.
It’s so much fun! I made some mac n’ cheese that had tofu in it, but didn’t tell him until after he dropped the, “This is amazing! You need to make this again!” It’s all in the delivery!
This looks so good – it kind of reminds me of a shamrock shake, which now that I said that, I am totally redoing.
OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BEAUTIFUL. SO BEAUTIFUL!
Mmmm, this looks yummy! Good call to use peppermint extract and spinach for the coloring and taste:) My last shake was coincidentally yesterday and was composed of coconut milk, raspberries, avocado, banana and cocoa powder. Did I mention I loved chocolate and coconut?
Oh my. I don’t even like mint chocolate but this looks amazing!
Whitney
Looks tasty! I tried Guar Gum for the first time this morning in a pumpkin-blueberry smoothie. I loved it! Guar makes it much more shake-like.
If you can figure out how to make a “healthy” vanilla shake with those yummy gooey brownie chunks… I would probably build a shrine in your honor.
Can it be a chocolate shrine???
I love those – make them almost every morning with cacao nibs for an extra little crunch!
Okay Katie – Seriously – You must stop this. My list of CCK goodies to make is growing ridiculously long
Yum! We just bought some spinach yesterday and bananas so I will make this before I leave my Grandma’s. Maybe I’ll bottle it up in my thermos for the trip home! My dream milkshake flavor? I never drank a lot of milkshakes before I went vegan, but a GF cookies ‘n’ cream mocha milkshake sounds rad.
VEGirl
Lovely photos! The green is so vibrant. Have you ever made a red velvet shake? I’ve never had one, but it sounds like it would be good.
No! But now I really, reeeeeeally want to! Would it just be like a vanilla shake with red food coloring? Or vanilla blended with cream cheese and then something to make it red? I must google this!
This looks AMAZINGGG – I used to love milkshakes when I was a kid, but would always feel overly stuffed and kind of gross after – I love how healthy this one is – I am for sure going to give it a try!
Is that a really big straw or is it a really tiny glass?! Lol!
lol it’s a HUGE, fat straw, from the Asian market I think. The glass holds a little more than a cup, I think (maybe a cup and a 1/2).
I want one!!
me too! lol
Hm, I think chocolate and PB would be my dream flavor. But that’s no surprise, there… it’s always a winning combination in my book
I just ate lunch but I very much want to make this immediately.
My first date with my boyfriend I had an Andes Mint Milkshake from Jack in the Box (so classy). Fast forward 4+ years…I don’t think I’ve had one since. Time to bring it back!
I can’t stop thinking about a double chocolate almond butter cup shake, even though I’ve never had the cups in a shake, I know it would be amazing! If you make it, I’ll try not to drool on your server! A chocolate coconut cup or peanut butter cup shake would be amazing too. Pretty much anything with chocolate and nut butter!
just my style!
I made one and drank it up in the matter of a MINUTE! Yes, it was that good. And, yes, I missed the chocolate chip mint THAT much! Thank you for the recipe!
I’m so excited you made it!! And even more excited you liked it
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Oreo coffee!!! YUM-O!!!
I love that you made it so green!!! naturally!
Milkshake = DQ Blizzards, Heath Bar flavor. As a kid, I used to eat those all the time. They made me sick. I should have known back then I was dairy intolerant but I love them sooooo much! I would eat them anyway. God they were sooo good. There is just no way to recreate all that rich intense flavor and chocolate and heath bar without using real dairy. I have tried
I thought about adding food coloring at first… but then we didn’t have any. And it turned out to be a good thing, because then I of course thought of spinach
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that looks great
ever since cake batter became popular, i’ve been a fan of that. i also like plain old chocolate and hot fudge flavors
Smoothie sounds just like something we would love – mint and chocolate!
I love mint and chocolate together! This would be good to have on St. Patrick’s Day
I’m thinkin i’ll try this with coconut ice cream instead of a frozen banana cuz my blender doesn’t handle frozen bananas well
Mint chocolate chip used to be my favorite ice cream. I would love this!
There’s a drive-in in my town that lets you mix several milkshake flavors together. Last time I got cherry, mocha, coconut. It was yummy! But too big, I had to put what I couldn’t finish in the freezer.
Yum! Chocolate Mint is the best combo!
That looks DELICIOUS!! Reminds me of the raw mint chocolate sundae at Pure Food and Wine. YUM!
Ah, I have dreamed of that sundae from afar. Too bad there’s no Pure Food and Wine in Texas.
My blender WISHES it was a Vitamix.
I know it’s old-fashioned and lame, but it’s still CHOCOLATE and anything chocolate is good. Which I’m sure you know… 
My favorite shake flavor would have to be chocolate
Hehe agreed.
That looks good, but it seems like a peppermint green monster moreso. I will definitely try it though, probably add some peanut butter! I don’t drink milkshakes that much just because they are not worth it, but I like the McFlurry’s at mcdonalds and you can get a smaller size there than there actual normal so your not drinking all the calories in one day. I’m not obsessed with calories, but shakes can get pretty ridiculous.
though delicious
This looks amazing!
Have you ever had Bruster’s ice cream? I don’t know if they are where you are, but this place has amazing ice cream. I haven’t had any of course because they are definitley not vegan, but their birthday cake BATTER ice cream is amazing. It literally taste like the batter of a cake. I wonder if you can make that? Healthy? Ice cream of milkshake?
I had Brusters once, in Pennsylvania. I remember loving it! They had Mounds Bar ice cream!
O, or cookie dough ice cream/milkshake!
This shake is so beautiful!!
That sounds incredible
I love mint and chocolate together! Do you think this would work using fresh mint leaves instead of the extract??
I’m sure it would taste different, but still delicious! Let me know what you think if you do try it
.
mmm i vote for a peanut butter milk shake!!!
Oh. My. Goodness. This is exactly what I was hoping to concoct sometime soon when I had free time in the kitch.
I was just thinking the other day, “could I make something like the Shamrock Shake that’s vegan, healthy, and won’t be supporting McCruelty?” And, yet again you have read my mind! 
Soooo funny! But, I think the next flavor I want to conquer is… well, actually I have no idea. I feel like it’s kind of easy to make variations off of a vegan milkshake once you get it down, but healthy… that’s another story! I think my favorite flavor milkshake was cotton candy with nerds. 
ahahahahaha (SOOOOOOO healthy, I know! 
)
Aly
Woah, cotton candy milkshake? I’d never even heard of such a thing. lol that sounds way to sugary for me. I always hated cotton candy. Maybe if it had come in a chocolate variety…
I know! It was ridiculously sugary… Like the kind of sugary that gives you a tummy ache… D: I definitely couldn’t get through anything like that now! (thankfully) I think my tastes have changed a ton. I liked cotton candy a lot when I was kid, though I’ve never been a huge sugar eater. Now it’s just like ridiculously sugary (since it is just sugar… ahhahaha and just eww.
Chocolate cotton candy would be really awesome… Mmmmmmm. 
Once again, Katie, you are a genius!! And your last post? Completely mouth watering! I think my eats would be somewhat dull if I didn’t have you to inspire me everyday!
LOVE this! I can’t wait to try it, as I just happen to keep peppermint extract on hand:)
The last milkshake I had was Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, also from Baskin Robbins. Maybe I should add some fudge babies to the mix?
LOL yes do it! I did that today
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Ooooh! Would addng just xanthum gum work?? Because I have some of that, and would love a fluffier smoothie as I too prefer them in a bowl!
I don’t see why not
have you ever had the jocolat hazenult bar? or chocolate jocolate bar? I’ve heard mixed reviews of the jocolat bar line. I was hoping that the hazelnut one tasted like nutella
Also, the sugar is high on larabars- i know natural sugar, but still. do you view it as a suitable food for breakfast? thanks!
So funny you’d ask, because I’m just about to do a HUGE jocalat giveaway next week. The only ones I really like are the chocolate, but I LOVE them. Here’s my favorite trick for them (scroll to bottom of post): http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2010/09/17/larabars-v-katiebars/
And yes, I think they are perfectly suitable for brekkie
.
This is just like a shamrock shake! I’d love to see a banana split flavor. I bet carrot cake would be interesting, though I think I’d have to eat it with a spoon, carrot pieces in my straw doesn’t sound too good..
Oh wow, carrot cake milkshake! Where were you when I was a little girl, stuck to having to drink chocolate and vanilla? Companies need your creative genius
.
This sounds perfectly refreshing and delicious!! I love how it looks just like the green milkshakes of my youth!
this looks/sounds delicious! =) definitely going to be dessert for me tomorrow….
you should try a cake batter milkshake! i am obsessed with cake batter flavors….no questions asked.
- Sharelle
I’ve never had cake batter anything! Well, except for actual cake lol. I wonder what it tastes like…
That is a totally huge and wonderful straw. I can’t wait to try this! Mint and chocolate forever.
I love the color and I love mint chocolate chip, so I don’t think you can go wrong here.
Love this!! I’m in Austin too, where do you get your guar gum?
I’m actually in Dallas. But if you’re in Austin, maybe try Whole Foods?
Brilliant!
waaaoow!! that is so beautiful!! I have to get some peppermint asap. to make that – ….SO PRETTY! thanks for the great idea.
p.s. I am addicted to single lady muffins. I think I make one almost everyday! have been making the some weird ones too .weirdest one yet: cumin-millet/chia muffin http://chilimiriss.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/cumin-millet-muffin/
heheh….
That color is lovely! Very reminiscent of a real mint chocolate chip shake! MCC is my fave icecream flavor ever….in my city its called mint-ting-a-ling! So good though. Chocolate and mint is right up there with chocolate and peanut butter in my book…..such good combos. And I love the idea of adding cacao nibs on top…..gotta get that crunch in there!
I love this! I remember eating Mint Chocolate Ice Cream, and this sounds so much better! I want to make this RIGHT NOW!
I’m not a big fan of mint chocolate chip ice cream, but oddly I do like the flavor of chocolate and mint together! I’m weird!
Hmm, favorite milkshake: cookies and cream from Chik-Fil-A…though their peach one is the runner up! Their bringing out a banana pudding flavor on Monday! Mmm!
I cant beleive i didnt think to try this sooner! Love Love Love mint chocolate chip…and coconut milk. Your website is great, and its where I got the recipe to make my own Lara bars at home…which incidentaly my husband as has named LaLa bars(that’s what my friend’s call me
If you feel like sending one of those Jocalat boxes my way I would be forever grateful!
Thanks for all your hard work!
Oh wow…I need that! I LOVE mint chocolate chip anything!!
I’m going to for sure try this recipe! I love your blog so much. You should make a raw tagalong milkshake, oreo milkshake, or peanut butter cup milkshake!
Oh my word, raw tagalong milkshake! Wow that sounds good! I wonder how I could do an oreo one… cookies n cream needs to be made!
If you health-ify a oreo milkshake, a la Shakeaway, I will love you forever.
I just made this. I am in love with it. Amazing! I never thought I would like spinach in my shake even though I love it as a salad. It reminds me of the McDonalds shamrock shake I used to drink!
LOL can you believe I never had a shamrock shake?! I used to eat at McDonalds at least once a month and I loved green foods… so I don’t know how it escaped me!
Katie, your site is the bomb! And I am sooo having this smoothie for breakfast tomorrow mmmmm….
Awwww times a million for your sweet comment!! And I hope you love it!
Your smoothie looks soooo delicious and sooooo wonderfully green. I really, really like it
Mint Chocolate Chip. Why didn’t I think of that? My favorite flavor in the world. I just ordered a case of So Delicious Mint chocolate chip coconut “ice cream.”
I like my smoothies (shakes) thick as well so I add 1 Tbsp of ground (or not) chia seed. It firms ups really nicely plus you get the benefits of all those minerals.
P.S. Scarborough Faire is running in Waxahachie, grab some friends and watch the knights joust.
Ooh I’ll have to try the chia idea!
Not sure what “raw” entails, and I am by no means a vegan, but I LOVE your recipes! And I love that you include what to substitute if, you’re not a vegan. Saturday menu definitely includes red velvet pancakes and this mint milkshake!
Aw Lindsay, your comment made me so happy!!
This looks amazing, and I’ve been meaning to try it out for a while. I only have fresh spinach, though…can I somehow use that to replace the frozen spinach? Thanks!
Yes! I use frozen b/c it is easier to blend and blends more finely, but fresh is fine… and you can even cook it if you wish. There’s really no wrong way to make it
.
I finally tried making this with fresh spinach! It was absolutely delicious! I used cocoa powder instead of chocolate chips, so I lost a bit of the beautiful green color. I actually made popsicles with half of it, too!! Btw, how do you freeze your bananas? I stuck the entire thing, peel and all, in the freezer, and I must say that it was rather difficult to peel.
Oh no! Definitely peel the banana first
. I usually break it in half too, and store the banana pieces in a plastic bag in the freezer. (They’ll keep for at least a few months.)
I’m so glad you liked the shake!!
I was wondering how many calories are in this. I LOVE mint chocolate chip EVERYTHING and I think I might enjoy this tonight after my lesson!
Sorry, I don’t know the calories for this… but since it’s single-serving, just add up the individual ingredients and that’s your answer. No need to divide or anything
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Hello Katie,
I have never cooked a thing in my life but I heard about this type of shake from a bartender recently. Is there a substitute for banana? It is the only food I am allergic too.
Thanks!
I’ve never tried it with anything but banana… however, I think fresh Thai coconut meat (the meat from the coconut that is white and looks like a triangle, as opposed to the brown coconut) would be awesome! Or maybe even mango or pear? If you do try it, let me know how it goes!
Hey Katie! I JUST started making banana “ice cream” with cocoa powder and cacao nibs and I’m loving it, so when I came across this mint shake idea I am really excited because new flavors would be good to try. I guess one suggestion I’d have is to try making a raw, vegan butterscotch shake! I miss that kind of flavor and when you’re vegan, its not easy to find it. Do you have any suggestions on what to add to the banana to give that sort of flavor?
I really don’t know either
. I actually just tried making healthy/vegan butterfingers… it was an utter failure! They were awful!
I’ve heard there’s such a thing as butterscotch extract and it’s vegan. And apparently they even make vegan butterscotch chips in some places. I’m going to have to keep experimenting!
Hey Katie,
I was at Whole Foods this morning and I noticed that in their “extracts” section, they have a ton of extracts made with Stevia and one of the flavors is English Toffee! They had tons of other flavors like orange, vanilla and strawberry. They were 14.99 though. What brand did you use for the mint extract and where did you get it? By the way, tonight I am making your carrot cake milkshake with almond milk! Thank you so much for these great recipes!! I feel so alone sometimes eating like this but with your website that feeling goes away!
LOL my peppermint extract (peppermint, not mint, is what I use) is McCormick! But it’s the pure one, not the immitation.
And you are so welcome!!!
Tried this. Loved this. I want it in my belly right now.
Another delicious triumph Katie, I just sucked one down as my post-dinner treat and it felt so naughty even though it wasn’t! I also bought my first ever cocoa nibs today and they are a total revelation – Who needs chocolate chips?! My only problem with your drink recipes is that since all our natural disasters down-under this year (floods, hurricanes etc…) bananas are $7-12/kg (!) so when I see them cheaper I grab em and put my husband and kidlet on banana-rations so that I have enough to freeze some for my Katie-shakes, yum!!
I wish I could send you some! They are so cheap here. Can we make a trade? You could send me some Australian beach?
Or maybe a kangaroo or two? When I was little and we played the name game, I always said “kangaroo” because it was one of the only words I could think of that started with K 
.
Ha ha, that’s funny Katie – “kangaroo”!
When you go on a roadtrip here in Oz, one actually has to be careful of Roos in the road – they come out at dusk and if you collide with one, your car is totalled! I just enjoyed a post-workout breakie of scrambled eggs, finished off with one of your raw mint shakes – I found bananas this morning for $5.99 – yay for me!
I had this for breakfast the other day…and i gotta say….it was fab!! ive never tried experimenting with vegetables in my smoothies untill now…no need to stick with only fruits and berries anymore! thanks for sharing!
Hi Katie! I’ve been coveting this recipe for almost a year and just today made it for breakfast! (I recently bought a high speed blender… finally) It is now my absolute favorite green smoothie. LOVE IT. Mint chocolate chip is my fave flavor ever. I added a bit of spirulina powder and some chia seeds. Could not stop sipping! GREAT recipe. Thank you so much for sharing it.
Just wanted to add that this is incredibly craveable!! Four days later I’m trying to figure out when I can get to the store to get more spinach because I want to make another one of these so badly!!
Chocolate and mint my favorite. This is so yum I didn’t have spinach so I left it out. Who knew a frozen banana could taste so good. Made a wonderful breakfast!
Oh yum! Just had this for breakfast with the coconut milk. I stuck the banana in the freezer before dropping the kids of at their various schools. Came home and made myself the shake using coconut milk. It was so yummy. Drank it so fast I had a brain freeze:-) Great website!
Hi Katie, I just discovered your website, and will be making icing shots asap. Chocolate mint shakes were my favorite shakes as a kid, as were mint chocolate chip and rocky road sundaes, with chocolate mint sauce. I recreate vegan versions of those sundaes now, and your shake looks wonderful, except I am allergic to bananas. I have created many recipes, written a vegan cookbook for my friends and family, and am always looking for new ideas. I am curious if you can think of a good substitute for the wonderful creaminess and texture that a banana gives to a vegan smoothie and shake. My latest smoothie delight is to stir in chia seed gel to an already prepared smoothie. It freezes a bit, and adds a fun crunchy tapioca like texture. I look forward to trying out some of your recipes.
Depending on the recipe, what about frozen cherries or mango or pear?
Or Thai coconut meat is amazing in smoothies!!
Thanks Katie,
I use tons of frozen fruit in my smoothies, all which I love, but didn’t think those would work for the mint shake. But coconut meat is a great idea, and might work with the mint flavor. Thanks for taking the time to write!
I stumbled across your blog about a week ago and I’m hooked! You’re so clever! I’ve only tried your shakes so far but they’ve been INCREDIBLE! I had this one this morning. DELISH!!! I was thinking about trying a Parkin (type of gingerbread from yorkshire) flavoured one. Can’t wait to try your recipe for Snickerdoodle Blondies. Thanks for your recipes!
Chia seeds will thicken up that milkshake! You might also like Chia Seed pudding (think tapioca).
3 Tbsp Chia seeds
1 Cup Mylk (whatever kind you use)
1 tsp Vanilla
Stevia or other sweetener to taste
Combine & give it a stir with a whisk every 10 minutes for 30 minutes (chia seeds are notorious for clumping together and sinking to the bottom. Stirring just distributes them better.)
There are white Chia seeds and they are much more appealing for the pudding than the black ones. The black are less expensive so we use those. Tastes wonderful!
I just tried one of these as my pre-post run drink (half before and half after) with the following changes:
Didn’t have a banana, added 1 tbs of artisana and 1 tbs of soy protein to make up for thickness (plus 1/4 tsp of xanthan)
Added in about 1-2 tbs of Xylitol to make up for sweetness
Didn’t have any spinach so I replaced it with… 1 heaping tbs of wheatgrass powder! (I know its against the CCK Diet Philosophy but you should try it this way- banana’s usually do a super good job of over powering wheatgrass, and with the peppermint added you probably wouldn’t be able to taste it)
And I doubled the peppermint drops.
It was so good, couldn’t taste the wheatgrass at all, and thanks to the wheatgrass gave me a huge energy boost…I swear it was like healthy vegan speed! And about as addictive… yum!
I love mint chocolate chip ice cream… it’s my favorite, too! Though, I’ve never been a fan of the GREEN mint chocolate chip. Just the white. I can only eat the white. Green freaks me out.
Hi there! I featured this recipe on my St. Patty’s Day recipe roundup! Thank you for such a lovely green recipe!
http://www.againstallgrain.com/2012/03/14/st-pattys-day-recipe-roundup/
I want to make this milkshake. Did you use fresh spinach that you froze or did you use the frozen blocks of spinach? Thank You for the help, I love anything mint!!!!!!!
I bought the frozen block one.
Okay, so I was a little skeptical, but thought I’d try it. I used fresh organic spinach and almond milk. I had peppermint stevia on hand so uses that in place of the extract. Oh. My. Gosh. It tasted so naughty!! And I won’t hate myself in the morning! Thanks for a great recipe
Sounds delicious! Although I think I will have a hard time if my husband sees spinach going into this thing! I can’t wait to try it tho – and I love the idea about peppermint stevia – never seen that before!
So, I decided to make this to trick my son into drinking his veggies. It worked like a charm!! He he thought that the milkshake was “Mmm…very yummy, Mom!!”
So glad that I can trick my son into eating his beans (deep-dish cookie pie…), greens (this smoothie/shake) and protein (chocolate bar pie which I converted into little tarts) in the best, yummiest ways possible!!
Thanks Katie! I love trying out your delish recipes!!
P.S. I have your recipes page as a bookmark on my iPad, my phone and my laptop!! Ha ha!!
Aw
Dream flavor? Dark chocolate almond roca (with something crunchy mixed in).
Hi Katie,
I was wondering if there is much difference between guar gum and xantham gum, regarding taste and texture? Do you prefer one over the other?
I just made this shake for dessert and LOVED it! So did the Big Kid but the wee ones didn’t go for it, must’ve been the mint. It’s a do-again!
Just made it – and LOVE it!! Love your site. I have been ‘prowling’ for some time (made one of your spread a while back – yum!) and now this one. My goal is to make more of your (and the like) deserts. My goal is to eliminate/reduce refined sugar, wheat and dairy…and you are the ticket to satisfy my love for (regular) deserts!
I always used to make banana/milk/ice shakes…but never thought of adding peppermint to this.
Made green pancakes for my son (added spinach) and he loved them! Better alternative than food coloring!
Have a great St. Patrick’s Day!
Yvonne
Aw Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Yvonne!
Really good! I’ll admit I used food coloring because I didn’t have spinach (and because I’m a chicken, lol), but I’m really amazed at how thick the shake was even with just the banana and almond milk! So happy I finally remembered peppermint extract at the store.
Happy St. Patty’s Day, everyone!
Another hit, Katie! The boys downed these; they were perfect with the “rainbow fruit salad” we had with our St. Patty’s Day dinner!
Hey Katie! I’m having this for breakfast now. Pure deliciousness. Thank you.
This is probably the fourth recipe from your blog I’ve tried and it also didn’t disappoint! We didn’t have cocoa powder or cacao nibs in the house (gasp! I know!) but we did have some raw chocolate so I shaved that up and added it in. I think that my desire for McD’s Shamrock Shakes are just based on my childhood memories of that ‘special treat’…before I *knew* better. Thanks for the blog!
I JUST made this and it’s now in my belly. SOOOOO yummy! I think next time I won’t blend the cocoa nibs in with the milkshake/smoothie, they turned it a funky colour (probably because I added TONS…heheheee, why wouldn’t I? It IS chocolate
) and it was a tad gritty. Again, probably too many nibs. Still though, outside of colour and texture (my booboo) it was SUPER delicious. I also used fresh spinach, and scaled the almond milk back to 1/2 c (I’m out of coconut milk 
) I foresee another one for a snack later today 
Thanks for the great recipe. YUM!
I made this again this morning with a couple of additions which made is SUPER awesome. (I commented right above this yesterday). I added a Tbsp of Chia seeds, which thickened it up really well, but didn’t turn it all jelly-ish and I still scaled back the milk to 1/2 cup, BUT I also added a HEAPING tbsp of Coconut Butter. Holy crap, that made it so rich and soooo yummy!!
Thanks again for all your awesome recipes!!!! I love this smoothie/shake/milkshake. It’s a really nice change from my standard fruit smoothies. And LOVE LOVE LOVE that there’s spinach in it too. I LOVE green smoothies.
Haha coconut butter makes EVERYthing taste better! I think I go through a jar a week. I love your chia idea, too!!
Katie,
I realize you have wayyy too many comments to look over, but I had to say I just had this shake and it was perfect. It sure did hit the spot on this rainy afternoon in upstate South Carolina. For those who are skeptical, you can’t taste the spinach (I used fresh) one bit. I really don’t think there is anything more to say. The only thing I did add was a little agave but I’m sure it could have done without.
Do you have any other shakes in the works? I look forward to trying more of your delicious recipes. I’m a dessert kinda gal and like something sweet after supper. It’s nice to have healthy and quick alternatives. Thank you for sharing.
Lauren~
Aw thank you for such a sweet comment.
I have a list of drinks: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/chocolate-covered-recipes/milkshakes/
And obviously there will be more in the future!
Long time reader, first time commenter!
I have to say, this is a great idea! It just might be the thing to get my picky 3 year old to ingest a vegetable. Do you think using some frozen plain greek yogurt would make it a bit thicker/creamier? I’d want to get it more on the milkshakey side than the smoothie side.
I guess it could work… I never know how a recipe will turn out until I try, but edible experiments are always fun!
Yes, I use greek yogurt (Fage brand) only not frozen – then I add ice and sometimes refreeze to thicken it. I omit the banana though.
These are a standard in my smoothie recipe’s. My 4 year old thinks they are a very special treat.
I make my mint shakes with an avocado instead of banana. Makes it super rich, creamy, and beautifully minty green.
This Shamrock Shake is SUPER YUMMY!!! I added about 5 drops of stevia to sweeten it a bit and shared it with my 2 1/2 year old daughter. She LOVED it (and the green color)!!! GREAT way to sneak spinach into her diet. Thanks!
For those who own a Vita-Mix: you can make any smoothie or shake super creamy without milk or cream (cow, coconut, or otherwise) by adding about 1/4 cup raw almonds to your recipe.
Hey Katie
I have made your shakes before but I didn’t have guar gum or xanthan gum. I just ordered both of them off of vita cost and was wondering do I just need to use a pinch of one or the other… or both at the same time? Don’t they have the same purpose? Im just confused cuz I have never worked with these thickeners before. Thanks xoxo
Sorry, I really don’t know much about either. The few times I’ve used them, I just did a tiny pinch of each because that’s what others were using in the recipes I saw. I haven’t used either in over a year, though. Sorry I can’t be more helpful!
I have a variation of this I do…instead of a frozen banana I use plain greek yogurt. I think the banana changes the taste a little. I also use fresh Spinach instead of frozen –
2 handfuls fresh spinach
mint extract
dark choco chips
1/3 C greek yogurt (Fage)
1.5 T of coco powder
Truvia
xylitol brown sugar
Ice
(this makes two mugs full)
Sometimes I refreeze to make more solid and add cool whip and eat as icecream! Yum!
I have been secretly stalking your site for a few weeks now. I just made this yummy shake. I didn’t have any mint extract, but I did have a chocolate mint plant in my backyard…so I threw in a handful of leaves with raw spinach, 1% cow milk, a banana, and ice…oh and mini choc chips…mmmmm. Hits the spot.
I am not a vegan but, I want you to know I have now used three of your recipes and I don’t care what anyone says eating healthy is still GOOD! I made this last night, yes I did use the spinach, and my kids loved it! They didn’t even know they had been tricked into something healthy! Thank you now on to the next recipe!
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