Thick, creamy vanilla chai breakfast shakes…
Have you ever tried chai tea?
My college roommate got me hooked on chai sophomore year, and the spicy beverage helped me through many a winter’s bike ride to class. I invested in a stainless-steel travel mug, which I’d fill with hot tea and stuff into the side pocket of my backpack. Today’s recipe is a milkshake version of that comforting chai.
(P.S. To anyone who currently attends SMU: buy a cheap bike. In the years I was there, two of my bicycles were stolen—locks and all!)
A thick, creamy, and secretly healthy milkshake with sweet chai spices.
Perfect for a post-workout drink or a late-night snack…
Or even for breakfast!
Vanilla Chai Breakfast Shakes
Vanilla Chai Breakfast Shakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk of choice, or less for a thicker shake
- 1 very ripe frozen banana (Banana-Free Version Here)
- 1/2 tsp each cinnamon and powdered ginger
- Tiny dash each: pepper, cardamom, ground cloves, and nutmeg (You can omit any or all if desired. Or omit all the spices and simply brew your milk with a chai tea bag, then chill before blending)
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
- optional sweetener if desired
Instructions
Crazy-simple directions: Combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. Serve cold, or gently heat if a hot drink is desired instead. (Side note: I bet if you make a bigger serving and tweak the recipe a bit, it could make a good ice cream. I might have to work on that!)
Link Of The Day:
I just made a variant of your shake here and it is AMAZING! Being on a protein shake diet can get dull fast – I so appreciate your creativity with the adding of chai spices. I never would have thought about doing that! Thank you Katie, as usual, for making healthy eating decadent.
Katie –
Does the banana have to be frozen? I’ve always wondered if there is a difference in smoothie/shake if you use a fresh banana vs. frozen. Thanks!
I like my smoothies cold, but if you dont care that it’s not super-cold it doesn’t have to be frozen!
Just made your shake after my long run. Amazing!!!!
OMG! just made this shake, it was sooo good! I’m not a big fan of chai tea plain but I love the combo of spices in general, like chai lattes with espresso <3
I would recommend taking some of your gluten-free chocolate cookies since gluten-free is such a big thing right now, but anything would be good!
I also just discovered that you live in Dallas… I live in Dallas! So random lol
Awesome! And I definitely listened to your gf suggestion :).
I hope you got a chance to hit up the bake sale… it was so much fun! (That probably goes without saying, though. When is anything involving chocolate NOT fun? ;))
Take the secret peanut butter cookies; I’m still addicted to them, especially with White Chocolate Wonderful or cashew butter 🙂
This looks SO GOOD. (drool)
This isn’t really related to this post, but I have two questions. Kinda random. But anyway.
1. What kind of cocoa powder do you use in your chocolate recipes? I know it probably doesn’t matter, but I was wondering if there’s a specific kind.
2. Did you have pets as a kid, or just later in life?
Thanksss 🙂
Oh and by the way, for the bake sale, I’d say go with raw cookie dough balls or fudge babies… nom nom nom haha 🙂
I used to use Hershey’s, because it was cheapest… But recently I’ve been learning more and more about slave labor and the fact that Hershey’s isn’t a fair-trade company. So I’ve been trying to use Dagoba all the time now… It’s much more expensive, but I rationalize that Hershey’s can be cheaper because it’s using slave labor. I’d rather pay the extra cost and not be a part of that :(.
Oh, and I’ve always had pets :).
When I lived in Japan, my dog stayed at my grandma’s house in the US… but we still had fish. They were evil, and mine ate my sister’s!
This looks AMAZING! I love anything with chia and banana, so I know I’ll love this! <3
I made this for breakfast this morning and threw in some raw oatmeal as I was eating it. It was delicious! Thanks for another great and easy recipe!
You should make something with sprinkles. Everyone loves fun-looking baked goods! 🙂
For the bake sale – anything that easily stays together between two fingers and can be eaten in just a few bites – sans napkin, sans gooey get-fingers-dirty factor. You have lots to choose from!
Just made this and holy yum! My son and I devoured it.
Mmm, the shake sounds delish! And lol it’s true! Whatever you make will be a great hit. If I was there I would love some sugar cookies!
Yum! This sounds awesome! Also, right after I read this post my brother randomly posted this on FitFluential Food’s FB wall:
“Anyone have a lead on a low or no calorie Chai powder that I can add to a protein shake? If there isn’t one out there I will make my own. Thoughts?”
How crazy is that?!? Clearly, I lead him straight here 😉
LOL too weird!
Yum! I just tried this but added some spirulina-based vanilla smoothie mix to give it a protein boost–fantastic!
@Amber with Slim Pickin’s Kitchen: You can find sugar-free Chai syrup online–sold with other coffee flavoring syrups. Don’t know what the ingredients are though–you’d want to check them. Not a powder, and not as good as this recipe, but very easy to add to your shakes.
Another thought would be to brew up some really strong, milky chai tea and freeze it in ice cube trays, then add a few of cubes to your shakes when you blend them.
I have a distinct feeling these are about to become my salvation for the rest of exams — especially since I’ve got a big bunch of ripe bananas just waiting to be frozen sitting on my counter. Watch out, Bankruptcy Code… I have CHAI MILKSHAKES!
Have you ever added protein powder to these for added nutrition? Just wondered if it would make it too thick and icky. Sounds so yummy for breakfast but love high protein.
Answered on pinterest 😉