I keep seeing tahini everywhere on Instagram and food blogs. It’s a *trendy* ingredient that I liked before it was trendy, kind of like avocados and poached eggs. I used to put it on pita for sandwiches or in salad dressing. Now, I put it in smoothies.

Tahini is the spread equivalent of a magician. It has a very distinct flavor but it’s more subtle than nut spreads such as peanut butter. It pairs well with sweet and savory food, and just about any kind of nut. It can disappear and then pop back up again, even when it’s mixed with other ingredients.

For this smoothie bowl, I blended tahini with unsweetened cacao powder, banana, cinnamon, and almond milk. I chopped up some dark chocolate, hazelnuts, and coconut, and put it on top for taste and texture. I like to have a lot of texture in a smoothie bowl.

I’m thinking about making another version of this bowl with tahini and dates soon. The slightly smoky taste of the tahini and the sweet dates would go well together.

Here’s a song that I’ve been jamming out to this morning. It’s good mid-week motivation, and it’s gearing me up for my lunchtime excursion to the all-you-can-eat Indian buffet.

Banana Tahini Cacao Smoothie Bowl with Dark Chocolate and Hazelnuts (from me, to you)

Ingredients

1 banana, frozen
2 tbsp tahini
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 tbsp unsweetened cacao powder (I used Guittard)
chopped dark chocolate for topping
chopped hazelnuts, shredded coconut, sliced banana for topping

Directions

Blend the frozen banana, tahini, almond milk, and cacao powder in a blender on high until smooth. Pour into a bowl and top with the dark chocolate, hazelnuts, shredded coconut, and sliced banana. Drizzle some tahini over the bananas. Enjoy!