A delicious and healthy twist on Wendy’s classic chocolate frosty recipe made dairy free and refined sugar free!
This post has been made in partnership with iHerb
The Healthy Chocolate Protein Frosty
It’s been ages since I visited this recipe on the blog and I’m finally giving this popular frozen treat the love it deserves! I originally created this “frosty” recipe in 2013 when Justin and I joined a 12-week fitness challenge (do any of you remember that??). This recipe was a go-to snack option for us to enjoy post workout or in the evenings as a healthy protein-packed dessert. While I haven’t done any fitness challenges like that since (it was super intense and restrictive!) I do still make protein smoothies all the time. This Chocolate Protein Frosty recipe is a long time favorite and has evolved over the years so I’m excited to be sharing my final revamped version of it on the blog today with the help of iHerb!
For those of you who are wondering where the name comes from, it’s a twist on a fast-food classic. Wendy’s, a well known fast-food chain restaurant makes a “frosty” which is a creamy, chocolatey, ice-cream dessert loaded with sugar and milk. I haven’t eaten once since my early 20’s before I knew I had a dairy allergy. Nowadays, there’s no way I could eat one without feeling sick and it’s always my aim to create my own “healthified” versions of my favorite indulgent treats so this Chocolate Protein Frosty recipe is a perfect substitute!
A Creamy Frosty, Without the Cream!
The key to making this delicious chocolate protein frosty so creamy and rich like the original is the frozen banana. Bananas, when frozen and blended, turn into a delicious concoction that tastes, looks, and feels like soft-serve ice cream. It’s pretty amazing actually. Along with the banana, frozen peaches add more of a “frosty” texture but don’t overpower in flavour. Considering the most dominant flavour in this recipe is chocolate, you’d never actually know there’s frozen peaches in it…sneaky, sneaky!
iHerb was the perfect source for the additional superfood ingredients that bring in healthy fats, fibre, and protein to this chocolate protein frosty. iHerb is an online retailer I have partnered with a lot in the past and absolutely love. I am always very happy with the product selection they have as well as the fast and affordable shipping they provide (duties included so no surprises at delivery!). iHerb carries more than 30,000 brand name natural products and offers a triple guarantee: value, quality, and delivery. In Edmonton, where I live, there are so many brand names I just can’t find at local stores or even online with Canadian retailers so iHerb is my go-to option because there’s so much more available at my fingertips.
From iHerb I used bovine collagen peptides which brings the protein into this chocolate frosty, Nutiva chia seeds which create even more of a creamy consistency and add healthy fats and fibre (iHerb also carries these California Gold Nutrition chia seeds!), California Gold Nutrition cocao powder for that perfect rich chocolate taste, and for an extra special touch, Hana Beverages Cocao & Coconut Latte (a powdered non-coffee superfood beverage) which makes this frosty even more creamy, naturally sweet, and rich.
The Protein Powder in the Chocolate Protein ‘Frosty
For the protein addition to this chocolate frosty I used bovine collagen peptides as I prefer the neutral flavour of collagen powder and like that it does not affect the texture of the frosty. You can also use marine collagen peptides which are simply made from marine sources rather than bovine, here’s a great one from California Gold Nutrition to try! You can also definitely use a plant-based or whey chocolate protein powder instead. While collagen peptides do not contain all the amino acids you’d find in a complete protein powder, they do still contain an ample amount of protein and benefit gut, hair, skin, and nail health.
Let’s Chat Hana Beverages!
To my frosty I also chose to add a couple tablespoons of Hana Beverages Cocao & Coconut Latte powder but it’s not essential to the recipe, instead you could use additional cocoa powder, either way the frosty will still taste delicious! Hana Beverages also makes several other superfood latte powders including a Beet Latte, Turmeric & Ginger Latte, and Matcha Latte which are all perfect to add to smoothies or, as the name suggests, make superfood latte’s with! As a non-coffee drinker I’m super excited to have these delicious powders for warm superfood drinks when fall rolls around and the weather cools off.
Let’s not talk about the cold weather anymore...back to this super chill, delicious chocolate protein frosty, perfect for hot summer days! If you’ve had the classic Wendy’s frosty before I challenge you to make my healthy version and see which one you like best! Maybe you’re like me and can’t have them due to a dairy allergy or a general desire to avoid copious amounts of refined sugar in one sitting. Maybe you haven’t had a Wendy’s frosty before and that’s just fine, this recipe will give you all the flavour and texture without the sugar overload and gut-ache!
Are you a Frosty fan? Have you ever made your own healthy version at home? Tell me about it in the comments and be sure to pin the photo below to save this recipe for later!
- ½ large banana (frozen, for best consistency)
- ¾ cup frozen peaches
- 5 ice cubes
- ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 tablespoons bovine or marine collagen peptides or chocolate protein powder of choice (plant-based or whey)
- 1 heaping tablespoon cocao powder
- 2 tablespoons cocao & coconut latte (or 1 additional tablespoon cocao powder)
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- Add chia seeds and almond milk to a high-speed blender and let sit for 3 minutes.
- Add in the remaining ingredients and blend until completely smooth (the consistency should be very thick and scoopable with a spoon, you will likely need to use a tamper with your blender).
- Enjoy immediately!
Pin me!
Have a great Sunday,
Finally made this! I didn’t have the collagen peptides or cocoa and latte so I did what the recipe said for substitutions. (Orgain protein powder) And I only had fresh peaches.
Worked out so well! You can’t taste the banana or peach flavour. It does have a Frosty taste – not exactly but it’s good! I’d make it again.
Thanks so much for the review Tiffany!
This was tasty. Next time I’ll add some cacao powder because this wasn’t chocolatey enough for me. But it definitely looks like a Frosty.
I love that I can print a recipe on one sheet of paper, instead of four or five from other sites. I will be bookmarking your site for sure. Looking forward to your future recipes. Have`nt tried any recipes yet, but i`m sure they will all be five stars.
Thanks Jeanne!
Thanks Christal I’ll give that a try! 🙂
Looks amazing! OK, so since my hubby is allergic to pineapple what would be a good substitute? And if I’m not using protein powder can I just throw in a tablespoon of cocoa powder and ground chia seeds for the same effect?
Yes! You could try using another other frozen fruit instead of the pineapple, but the great thing about this Frosty is that it’s full of protein! So, if you weren’t going to use protein powder, you could use some cocoa powder about 1 tbsp and 1/4 cup Greek Yogurt (to get at least some protein in there!) 🙂
Yee-um! Hehe, this sounds great! I had thought of creating a ‘frosty’ as well…the name just sounds so good!
It just seemed so fitting! 🙂