A vegan Mocha Tahini Shake is a refreshing drink for a hot day. This healthy smoothie recipe is made with just five ingredients, and it whips up in a matter of seconds. It’s dairy-free and gluten-free.
Vegan Mocha Tahini Shake
A few months ago Fran Costigan shared a recipe for a mocha-flavored tahini shake. It’s no secret that I love tahini, and I know that it pairs really well with chocolate, so I thought I’d try it. Rather than follow Fran’s recipe, I used it as inspiration and created my own drink. It’s become a favorite afternoon snack, and it’s perfect for hot summer days.
What Is Tahini?
Tahini is a paste that’s made from ground sesame seeds. It can be bitter straight of out the jar, but when mixed with other ingredients, it magically transforms into a lush and creamy paste. I use it regularly to make salad dressing, but it can be used in many different ways.
In most grocery stores, tahini can be found near the peanut butter. Some grocery stores also keep it in the ethnic food area. Seed and Mill is one of my favorites.
Health Benefits of Tahini
In addition to being delicious, tahini is really nutritious!
- It's loaded with minerals, including phosphorus and manganese.
- It's high in thiamine and vitamin B6.
- Tahini contains lignans, which help prevent free-radical damage and prevent disease.
- The antioxidants found in tahini are known to have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.
- The compounds in tahini may help improve brain health.
Herbal Coffee
Caffeine and I don’t get along, but I do like the taste of coffee, so I like to drink herbal coffee. My favorite is Teeccino, which is made with ingredients like dandelion root and chicory. It comes in a lot of different flavors, the amaretto variety being my favorite.
If you do drink coffee, go ahead and use it in this recipe. If not, give Teecchino a try. You’ll need two cups of either one.
Medjool Dates
Because they’re softer than other varieties and they blend well, I use medjool dates a lot. They have a nice, caramel-like flavor, too, lending themselves nicely to desserts and drinks.
Medjool dates are usually pretty soft, but if yours are a little hard, soak them in water for about 15 minutes before using them in this shake. If you can’t find medjool dates, you can use deglet noor dates, but you’ll need 5 or 6, and you’ll need to soak them for about half an hour. Make sure you remove the pit your dates before using them!
Making a Mocha Tahini Shake is Easy
This recipe is as easy as throwing a few ingredients in your blender and hitting the blend button!
Different brands of tahini can be thinner than others. If yours is on the thinner side, you may want to add a tablespoon or so more, or you can use less liquid. If your shake seems a little thin, just pop it in the fridge for an hour or so before you drink it. Tahini will thicken when chilled.
Mocha Tahini Shake
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 2 cups brewed coffee or herbal coffee
- 1 frozen banana
- 6 tablespoons tahini
- 4 medjool dates pitted
- 3 tablespoons cacao or cocao powder
- 2 or 3 ice cubes
Instructions
- Mix all of the ingredients together in a blender until smooth and creamy. Enjoy!
Other drink recipes you might enjoy include:
Cadry
David adds coffee to his smoothies a lot, but we never include tahini. But we're both enormous tahini fans! I know we'd love this.
Dianne
I bet you would like it!
Keira Geary
Hi Dianne!
This is Keira, the Marketing Manager from Teeccino. Thank you so much for featuring us in this delicious recipe! We'd LOVE to add you to our influential team in which you can opt in to receiving free monthly goodies. We also have a great affiliate program in which you could obtain a custom URL for posts like this to earn commission. 🙂 Let me know if you're interested and BIG thank you again!
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Dianne
Thanks so much, Keira!