When we think of cauliflower, savory dishes like cauliflower pizza or cauliflower stir-fry often come to mind. But, surprisingly, cauliflower also works well in a smoothie.
This low-carb yet nutrient-packed smoothie doesn’t contain any fruit, but that doesn’t make it any less delicious! The addition of coconut milk and heavy cream makes it delectably thick and creamy, while the cocoa powder and cacao nibs add some chocolatey goodness.
While cauliflower might seem like an odd flavor profile to introduce in a chocolate-based smoothie, it has a minimal and light taste that isn’t easily detected when included with other ingredients—perfect for any fussy eaters or vegetable-haters you might know!
Cauliflower is also low in calories, with only 25 calories per 100 grams. This makes it an excellent option for adding bulk to a smoothie so that you can feel fuller for longer. While all vegetables pack a nutritional punch, cauliflower is considered a superfood as it’s incredibly high in fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants. The nutrient profile of cauliflower is so strong that it has even been linked to having a protective effect against cancer while enhancing learning and memory. Amazing!
Cacao nibs are small, crushed-up cocoa beans after they have been harvested, dried, and fermented. They’re free from any added sugars or flavoring, so they have an extremely rich, intense, chocolatey flavor. Cacao nibs are one of the least processed cocoa products on the market, making them an excellent alternative for health conscious-chocolate lovers.
While adding cacao nibs is a great way to up the rich flavor in this smoothie, they are also loaded with beneficial nutrients and compounds, including iron, magnesium, and zinc.
This smoothie recipe calls for coconut milk. However, if you’re allergic to coconut or don’t like the taste, feel free to substitute it with unsweetened almond, oat, or plain milk.
Add in some hemp seeds for some crunch and sea salt to bring out the flavors, and you’re good to go!
Yields 1 serving of Keto Cauliflower Chocolate Smoothie
The Preparation
- 3/4 cup unsweetened carton coconut milk
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 85 grams cauliflower rice, frozen
- 1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons hemp seeds
- 1 tablespoon cacao nibs
- sea salt, to taste
The Execution
1. Measure out and prepare all the ingredients.
2. Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until you reach your desired consistency.
3. Sprinkle with extra cacao nibs, if desired. Enjoy!
This makes a total of 1 serving of Keto Cauliflower Chocolate Smoothie. The serving comes out to be 498 calories, 44.4g fats, 9.7g net carbs, and 15.1g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 3/4 cup unsweetened carton coconut milk | 34 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1/4 cup heavy cream | 202 | 21.4 | 1.6 | 0 | 1.6 | 1.7 |
| 85 gram cauliflower rice | 21 | 0.3 | 4.3 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 1.6 |
| 1 1/2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder | 31 | 0.8 | 4.5 | 1.5 | 3 | 1.5 |
| 3 tablespoon hemp seeds | 166 | 14.6 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 9.5 |
| 1 tablespoon cacao nibs | 44 | 4.4 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
| — sea salt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 498 | 44.4 | 15.3 | 5.6 | 9.7 | 15.1 |
Keto Cauliflower Chocolate Smoothie
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsweetened carton coconut milk
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 85 gram cauliflower rice frozen
- 1 ½ tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoon hemp seeds
- 1 tablespoon cacao nibs
- sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Measure out and prepare all the ingredients.
- Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until you reach your desired consistency.
- Sprinkle with extra cacao nibs, if desired. Enjoy!
How could I try this recipe without coconut (if it’s possible to have success with such a modification)? I do not go that fine with it, but above all here in my Country I can’t get any good coconut milk in carton that doesn’t contain a lot of nasty additives and sugars, I only have access to the canned unsweetened coconut milk but often with a metallic aftertaste from the can itself despite being really pricey 🙁
Almond milk (or any other unsweetened low-calorie milk like cashew/flax/hemp milk) would work. The canned coconut milk will be much higher in fat (and some carbs, too), so for this particular shake it’s not worth getting. As long as you have access to some type of low-calorie nut or seed milk (unsweetened), that would work.
Thank you! I’ll try with almond milk… digressing from the original question, about coconut milk -which anyway I have explained I wouldn’t use- I can understand the fact that the different proportion in macros due to higher fat content could affect the texture and the result, but why do tou underline “LOW CALORIE nut/seed milk”? I mean, do your recipes necessairly imply to be thought just for weight loss (please… without misunderstanding, do not follow the reduction to keto to a fad-weight loss plan… since weight loss can be a side-effect (positive in some cases, but also harmful if eccessive or in other conditions), but keto is something more and it would be so frustrating reductive to limit the concept of this diet (intended in the proper sense of the word “diet”, and also in general as a way of life), just to be the more clear possible also with those who are new to the keto-universe, even if I strongly desire to underline that a peculiar thing of your website that I appreciate is the accurate presentation and the wide-sight offered about several points and tags, great for everyone who needs reliable resources and not only recipes… that, to be clear, here are really a great assortment of easy, well exposed and very accurate with detailed macros and other useful datas, very customizable and well sorted: so grateful to you for your constant effort and kindness sharing this hard work made with passion and contagious enthusiasm Last but not least: your kindness to follow your folloers with accurate answers in case of need! 🙂 Apologize my confused English, hoping that the concept are anyway understandable!
Great point, Roberta! Sorry for the confusion.
The reason why Craig emphasized a low-calorie nut/seed milk is because this recipe already provides more than enough fat from hemp seeds and heavy cream. Using full-fat canned coconut milk or any other higher-calorie milk variety would likely be too much in one meal for most people.
I hope this clears up any confusion. If you have any further questions, please let me know 🙂
Totally cleared up, got it! Thank you for your accurate and kind answer 🙂 !