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Home Eat Drinks Smoothies

How To Make A Smoothie (The Ultimate Guide!)

4.94 from 15 votes
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By: Sarah BondUpdated: Jan 17, 2023 25 Comments

This post contains affiliate links.

Different smoothies arranged in rainbow on white background
Different smoothies arranged in rainbow on white background
Different smoothies arranged in rainbow on white background
Different smoothies arranged in rainbow on white background

The ultimate guide for how to make a smoothie (using any ingredient you have on hand in your kitchen!)

Different smoothies arranged in rainbow on white background

My ideal day starts with a smoothie. Well, coffee. Then smoothie.

But where I’ll happily follow a recipe for dinners and lunches, I don’t like to be sifting through recipes when I first wake up.

So if you’re anything like me, you’ll love this smoothie guide. We’re walking through the basics of how to make a healthy smoothie from scratch so you can understand how to blitz up a tasty breakfast with whatever you have on hand in your kitchen! Let’s blend.

Different smoothies arranged in rainbow on white background

Basic smoothie ingredients

The basic ingredients for making any smoothie involve just three things: a fruit, something creamy, and a liquid.

Fruit: While fresh fruit works well, I love using frozen fruit in smoothies to give them that frosty texture. Virtually any berry, stone fruit, tropical fruit, or citrus will work well.

Creamy Base: Adding something creamy to the smoothie improves the texture and mouthfeel. While flavored or plain Greek yogurt work well, you can also use a banana for a vegan option. Feeling adventurous? Cottage cheese, kefir, and avocado also add a creamy element to smoothies.

Liquid: The options are endless when if comes to their liquid for a smoothie. Milk (cow or plant-based) is great, but to make a smoothie without milk you can use juice (orange, cranberry, pomegranate), or coconut water.

Assorted fruits and veggies on a white background

Smoothie Extras

Smoothies are flexible and adaptable to whatever you want to throw in! Once you have your base smoothie, you can add a whole number of delicious, nutritious extras.

Vegetables: Leafy greens – like spinach, kale, chard, and romaine – blend well into smoothies. But you can add a whole variety of vegetables, such as cooked sweet potato, cooked or raw beet, carrot, avocado, zucchini, cauliflower, pureed pumpkin, cooked butternut squash, and cucumber.

Oats: To pack a punch of filling fiber, add a spoonful of oats! They help to thicken the smoothie while making it more satiating.

Protein Powder: Another easy addition to boost the nutrition profile of your smoothie. Most flavors work well in smoothies (just be sure to pick a flavor that goes with the ingredients that you’re using).

Seeds: Chia, flax, hemp, and sunflower seeds (just to name a few) make great additions to smoothies. They don’t bring much flavor, so they can be blended into most smoothies to add a dose of healthy fats and protein.

Nut Butter: Similarly to seeds, adding a spoonful of nut butter brings a healthy fats and protein to your smoothie. Peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower butter (or even Nutella for a little indulgence!)

Sweeteners: Depending on the sweetness of the fruit you use, you may like to add sweeteners to your smoothie. A touch of honey, agave, sugar, or a pitted medjool date are all great!

Spices and Flavorings: Kick it up a flavorful notch by adding ingredients like fresh or ground ginger and turmeric, cinnamon, cloves, or nutmeg. You could also add extracts, like a touch of vanilla, almond, or orange.

Different smoothies arranged in rainbow on white background

How to blend the perfect smoothie

Depending on the strength of your blender (I love my Vitamix!), the order you put your ingredients in the blender could influence the overall texture. Here’s how we like to layer ingredients into the blender:

  1. Liquids go first to make blending easier on the blades.
  2. Greens go in next, which will help them to pulverize smoothly.
  3. Soft ingredients, like fresh fruit and soft veggies, go next to help the blades start blending.
  4. Hard ingredients, like frozen fruit and firm veggies, go last.

Start the blender off slowly, then gradually increase the speed. Blend for 30 to 60 seconds until the smoothie is as smooth as possible.

Smoothie Combinations

Here are a few of our favorite easy smoothie recipes (find even more smoothie inspiration here).

  • Oranges + Banana + Yogurt + Coconut Water + Vanilla
    (Recipe: Orange Dreamsicle Smoothie)
  • Banana + Milk + Coffee + Oats
    (Recipe: Wake Me Up Coffee Smoothie)
  • Key Lime Juice + Banana + Yogurt + Honey + Vanilla
    (Recipe: Key Lime Pie Smoothie)
  • Banana + Milk + Spinach + Nutella
    (Recipe: Spinach Nutella Smoothie)
  • Strawberries + Banana + Milk
    (Recipe: Strawberry Banana Smoothie)
  • Pineapple + Banana + Orange Juice + Kale(Recipe: Tropikale Green Smoothie)
  • Strawberries + Banana + Yogurt + Beet + Honey
    (Recipe: Pink Power Beet Smoothie)
  • Strawberries + Banana + Milk + Cauliflower
    (Recipe: Hidden Cauliflower Smoothie)
  • Banana + Avocado + Milk + Cocoa Powder + Brown Sugar
    (Recipe: Chocolate Avocado Smoothie)
  • Apple + Banana + Kale + OJ
    (Recipe: Apple Kale Smoothie)
  • Cabbage + Berries + OJ + Cinnamon
    (Recipe: Berry Cabbage Smoothie)
Ingredients for green smoothie in a blender

Should you use ice?

I prefer using frozen fruit to give smoothies a frosty texture while keeping them full of flavor. Ice, on the other hand, tends to water smoothies down. But if you don’t have frozen fruit on hand, by all means, use ice to thicken and chill your smoothie!

Are smoothies healthy?

As with all things, smoothies should be enjoyed in moderation! They are a great way to load your diet up with leafy greens and fresh fruit, (especially if you don’t typically eat spinach for breakfast 😛). With that said, studies have found that when you drink your calories you may be more likely to consume more calories throughout the day (i.e. chewing is better than drinking when it comes to feeling full).

Different smoothies arranged in rainbow on white background
Different smoothies arranged in rainbow on white background

How To Make A Smoothie (The Ultimate Guide!)

4.94 from 15 votes
Prep: 5 minutes
Total: 5 minutes
Author: Sarah Bond
Calories:
Servings: 1 smoothie
Print Rate
The ultimate guide for how to make a smoothie (using any ingredient you have on hand in your kitchen!)

Ingredients

Fruit (pick 1)*

  • 1 piece fruit apple, pear, mango, etc.
  • 1 cup fruit chopped pineapple, berries, diced mango, etc.

Creamy Base (pick 1)*

  • ½ cup yogurt, kefir, or cottage cheese
  • 1 banana
  • 1 avocado

Liquid

  • ½ to 1 cup milk, juice, or coconut water

Extras (choose your adventure)

  • 1 to 2 cups leafy greens spinach, kale, chard, romaine
  • ¼ cup oats rolled or instant
  • 1 to 2 Tbsp protein powder
  • 1 to 2 Tbsp seeds chia, flax, hemp, sunflower
  • 1 to 2 Tbsp nut butter peanut, almond, sunflower
  • 1 to 2 tsp sweetener honey, agave, maple syrup, medjool date
  • ¼ to ½ tsp spices and flavorings fresh or ground ginger and turmeric, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, vanilla extract, almond extract, or orange extract.

Instructions 

  • Assemble: Add desired liquid the the blender, followed by leafy greens, then soft ingredients (like fresh fruit), then firm ingredients (like frozen fruit).
  • Blend: Turn the blender on low speed, the gradually increase speed to high. Continue blending for 30 to 60 seconds, or until completely smooth. Serve immediately.

Tips & Tricks

  • *For a frosty cold smoothie, make sure at least one ingredient is frozen before hand (either the fruit or the banana).
  • To make smoothies in advance, place all ingredients except the liquid into a freezer-safe baggie or container. Store in the freezer. When ready to make your smoothie, empty the contents into a blender, add the liquid, and blend until smooth. 
Did You Make This?

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  1. martina says

    Posted on 9/8 at 1:00 am

    nce to get such a clear explnation on how to make smoothties, thank you5 stars

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      Posted on 9/8 at 4:58 pm

      You’re very welcome – enjoy! 😀

  2. Anna Kimberly says

    Posted on 1/13 at 1:13 pm

    Good Tips and Recipe Ideas5 stars

    Reply
    • Dunny says

      Posted on 3/4 at 3:11 am

      Search for smoothies near me and get the smoothie menu from the leading health store.

  3. nonica rabe says

    Posted on 5/17 at 4:40 pm

    My question is the pomegranate
    smoothie do I need to put direct with seed?

    Second question:
    Cauliflower can I use a raw ?

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      Posted on 5/22 at 6:46 pm

      Yep, you can put the pomegranate in seeds and all! As for the cauliflower that can be thrown in raw.

  4. Louise Omotoyo says

    Posted on 5/26 at 10:45 pm

    Thanks

    Reply
  5. Piusking says

    Posted on 6/25 at 3:51 pm

    You’re so loved, I’ve searched the internet for ways to prepare a perfect smoothie for my pupils in a school that I teach, but I found none until I came across this platform which explained in details what I need to know about making perfect smoothies. Thank you.

    Reply
  6. Marinalee Baran says

    Posted on 7/11 at 4:26 pm

    What a wonderful receipt is.
    Love different favors of smoothies.

    Reply
  7. Martha McDaniel says

    Posted on 8/14 at 3:27 pm

    Can you refrigerate leftovers of smoothies

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      Posted on 8/16 at 11:07 am

      Absolutely! 😀

  8. Pretty precious says

    Posted on 10/14 at 10:08 am

    Very nice recipe thanks for sharing5 stars

    Reply
    • Oge says

      Posted on 1/12 at 8:12 am

      Thank you for sharing.for how long can one refrigerate it5 stars

    • Sarah Bond says

      Posted on 1/12 at 9:07 am

      About 2 to 3 days!

  9. HET says

    Posted on 12/31 at 2:26 pm

    Thank you so much for such clear and simple instructions.5 stars

    Reply
  10. RaeLee Almanza says

    Posted on 1/4 at 7:58 pm

    I like the recipe but I can’t afford the diet plans.

    Reply
  11. Adrian says

    Posted on 1/8 at 7:38 am

    Excellent tips. Easy to follow recipes. Look forward to trying them all.

    Reply
  12. Liz says

    Posted on 1/10 at 2:08 am

    Very interesting web site and thank you for all the ideas and information.
    I don’t very much like food so I could possibly have a smoothie instead of food on a plate. Plenty of ideas and nutritional information.

    Reply
  13. Tracey says

    Posted on 4/1 at 2:25 pm

    How much frozen fruit do you use and how much fresh fruit do you use? Can you just use fresh fruit and freeze the yogurt?
    I’m a very plain eater and not a breakfast person so this might be what I need.
    Thank you Tracey.

    Reply
    • Sarah Bond says

      Posted on 4/1 at 6:00 pm

      Usually half fresh, half frozen! And yes, you could freeze the yogurt instead. Having something frozen just helps to give it that cold, frosty texture 😀

  14. Viola Stirling says

    Posted on 4/19 at 6:52 am

    I love this recipe! I’ve been looking for a “how to make your own smoothie” recipe with measurements. My favorite recipe includes frozen blueberries, one banana, milk, chia seeds, vanilla, and cocoa powder. Thank you!5 stars

    Reply
  15. Rosalyn says

    Posted on 6/7 at 7:46 am

    This will be my first attempt to make a smoothie from scratch. I let you know how it goes soon! I’m going to try Almond milk, pineapple, banana and Kale.

    Reply
    • Sarah Bond says

      Posted on 6/7 at 10:35 am

      Sounds like a delicious combo! 😀

  16. Shirley Gibson says

    Posted on 7/23 at 2:05 pm

    When I made a smoothie earlier it was really thick

    Reply
  17. Fon Loveline says

    Posted on 12/30 at 3:21 am

    Great article

    Reply

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A flavor-loving nutritionist and sensory science specialist showing you how to make easy vegetarian recipes, one ingredient at a time.

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