Avocado Chai Latte Smoothie

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A super creamy drink (no cream needed), delicious both served cold or hot

Let me introduce you to one of the recipes I’m most proud of: avocado chai latte smoothie.

This creamy chai smoothie is a deliciously decadent treat without refined sugar nor cream.
So, look no further for your next comfort beverage!
This tasty drink also works well served either warm or chilled and is super easy to make too.

Avocado with chai spice

Who doesn’t like the richness of a good old chai latte?

Well, this chai-latte smoothie tastes even better than a normal chai latte because the avocado makes it so creamy. Plus, you’ll be getting a bunch of nutrients from it.
Avocado matches so great in this recipe for another reason- it doesn’t matter if the avocado gets browner because the chai latte color covers that. This also means you can use slightly overripe or frozen avocados.
To top off this nutritious beverage, you won’t need to add any refined sugar because some vanilla extract, cinnamon and dates makes this smoothie sweet enough. A naturally sweet smoothie that isn’t a banana smoothie! (I do love banana in smoothies, but sometimes it’s a good thing to have alternatives).

Nutrients you’ll get with this smoothie

This healthy beverage is a great choice to start your morning or to replace other not-so-good-for-you treats. While it is quite calorie rich, it’s very satisfying and packs in nutrition:

• Avocado is a nutrient-dense food that provides potassium, magnesium (19.5 mg), vitamin A, C, E, K1, folate, vitamin B-6, niacin, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, choline, lutein/zeaxanthin, phytosterols, healthy fats, lots of fiber and very little sugar. Some studies suggest that eating avocado helps support cardiovascular health and healthy aging.

• Dates are great sweeteners as they contain nutrients and a significant amount of fiber. Dates may also be good for blood sugar control, brain health, and your bones.

• Chai spices may help improve digestion, regulate blood sugar levels and reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels. This blend of spices is usually warming.

• Black tea is an excellent source of antioxidants that may protect against chronic diseases, may help prevent cancer cell survival, and improve your gut and overall health. Also, black tea contains caffeine, that may improve alertness and L-theanine, which increases alpha activity in the brain, making you feel more relaxed and focused.

• Milk or plant-based alternative: this avocado chai smoothie tastes great both with cow’s milk or plant based drinks like unsweetened almond milk. Depending on your milk of choice, you can make this drink richer in calcium or proteins.

Can I drink this avocado smoothie warm?

Oh yes!
Actually, I struggled to think of a name for this drink, since it didn’t feel like a smoothie, but rather a very creamy chai latte.
In the end, I chose “smoothie” because there is blended fruit in it (dates and avocado).
But you can also warm up the blended avocado chai in the microwave; it’s as good as served cool!

How to make a perfect avocado chai smoothie

Making this drink is quite simple, but it gets to a whole new level if you take care of some small details:

• Don’t oversleep the tea; on this recipe, the tea taste is quite decent. If you’d like a more strong tea flavor, add one more bag, rather than steeping for longer (that won’t make your drink more intense, but bitter)

• Don’t squeeze the tea bags then removing them; that would release these tannins and make your drink bitter and astringent.

• You can blend the dates as they are, but I recommend letting them soak in the hot tea for at least 30 minutes: this makes it easier to blend them.
  And you’ll get a creamier texture!

• This smoothie tastes great when served iced, warm or cold.
  However, I would avoid using ice since that would dilute the creaminess of this drink.

• I personally prefer using regular black tea and then add chai spices to it, but if you have some chai teabags you love, you can use them instead (and then skip the chai spices).
  I’ve listed the spices separately so you can make this chai from scratch, but feel free to substitute them with a premade chai mix or homemade chai spice.

• Try using a ripe avocado: it will be easier to cut the avocado in a clean way and blend it.
  Since you won’t eat it as a whole, a slightly overripe one will also work.
  If you have never cut an avocado before, this video will show how to do so quickly and easily:

Ingredient swaps

• Want to make this recipe caffeine-free? No problem!
  That’s the beauty in not using chai teabags: just swap the black tea for decaf black tea or for rooibos tea.
• Avocado gives a special touch to this recipe, but if you really don’t have any or don’t want to use it, you can swap it for unsweetened nut butter, like almond or peanut butter. You’ll need around 2 tablespoons per serving.

How did you like this chai-latte smoothie? Try this great drink to replace any other comfort food, while making you stay full for hours and providing you lots of healthy nutrients!

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