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Building the Beet Cocoa Smoothie, Step by Step
The smoothie broken down the way a prep list would be: which cocoa to buy, how to cook the beet ahead, why the banana goes in frozen, and where a home blender gets it wrong.
By Wes Hadley · · Updated
This is the companion to the Beet Cocoa Smoothie recipe. The recipe tells you what goes in the glass. This page is how I actually run it. On the line, nothing got made from scratch at the moment of the order. Every dish was a prep list worked the day before, so the pickup took a minute. A smoothie works the same way. If the beet is cooked and the banana is frozen, the morning part is five minutes and one rinse of the blender jar.
The prep list
- Cooked beet. Roasted at home or vacuum-packed from the store. The packaged ones are fine and I use them often.
- Baby spinach or arugula. Spinach disappears into the drink. Arugula leaves a little pepper behind.
- 100% pomegranate juice. Read the front of the bottle. Skip anything labeled "cocktail" or "juice drink," which is mostly sugar and other juices.
- Natural unsweetened cocoa powder. Not Dutch-processed, and not hot cocoa mix.
- Frozen banana. Ripe, peeled, and cut into pieces before freezing.
- Ice. A small handful, added last.
Step by step
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Buy natural cocoa powder, not Dutch-processed: the label says natural and the ingredient list has no alkali.
Dutch-processed cocoa, sometimes listed as "cocoa processed with alkali" or "alkalized," is treated to make it darker and milder. That process also strips out much of the flavanols. Natural cocoa is lighter in color and sharper in taste, and it stands up to the earthiness of the beet. If the ingredient list says anything other than cocoa, put it back.
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Roast the beet ahead wrapped in foil, or use vacuum-packed cooked beets, and keep it peeled in the fridge for up to five days.
For a small beet, wrap it in foil and roast at 400°F for about 45 to 60 minutes, until a knife slides in with no push. Let it cool in the foil. The skins slip off under your thumbs. I roast three or four at a time on Sunday, peel them, and keep them in a covered container. That is the whole prep for the week.
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Freeze a ripe banana in pieces the night before so the smoothie comes out cold without much ice.
The frozen banana does the job ice usually does, but it adds body instead of water. A smoothie chilled with a lot of ice tastes thin by the second glass. Freeze the pieces on a plate first so they do not weld into one block, then move them to a bag.
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Load the liquids first, then the beet and greens, then the cocoa and banana, and blend for 60 to 90 seconds.
Liquid at the bottom lets the blades catch right away. If the heavy, frozen pieces go in first, they sit on the blades, an air pocket forms, and the motor spins with nothing to pull down. Cocoa goes in on top of the greens so it does not cake on the sides of the jar. Give it the full time. Most home blenders need longer than you think to break down beet and leaves.
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Pulse in the ice at the end and pour right away, before the cocoa settles.
A few short pulses are enough to crush the ice without warming the drink. Pour into two glasses as soon as the blender stops. Cocoa starts to drift to the bottom within a few minutes.
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Gritty, with specks of spinach | Blended too short, or greens loaded on top | Greens go in right after the beet, and blend the full 60 to 90 seconds |
| Too thin | Too much ice or a banana that was not frozen | Use a fully frozen banana and cut the ice back |
| Bitter or flat cocoa taste | Dutch-processed cocoa, or cocoa mix with sugar and milk powder | Switch to natural unsweetened cocoa; a riper banana softens the edge |
| Separates in the glass | It sat too long before pouring | Pour as soon as the ice is pulsed in, or stir before drinking |
Notes
Scaling. For one, halve everything and use a small blender cup if you have one; a full-size jar struggles with a single serving. For four, double it, but blend in two batches unless your blender is large. An overfilled jar never pulls everything down.
Keeping it. It holds for a day in a sealed jar in the fridge. It will thicken and the cocoa will settle, so shake it hard before you pour.
Correction. On Oct. 2, 2026, I updated this page and the recipe to specify natural cocoa powder and 100% pomegranate juice. The earlier version just said "cocoa" and "pomegranate juice," which left room for the wrong products. Details are on the corrections page.