Vibrant, creamy, and thick enough to deserve a spoon – skip the bananas and blend up these frosty fruity lower-sugar smoothie bowls instead!
As I’ve mentioned, I’m sorta taking things slow with fruit these days. I’ve been sticking to berries and citrus in small amounts because that’s what keeps my stomach happy. And let me tell you, I appreciate grapefruit on a whole new level now. The days of multi-banana, blender-filled-to-the-brim smoothies are a many months ago memory for me at this point, and I wasn’t even missing them. But then the weather turned warm. And then hot. And then I remembered why frozen fruit-based beverages are so good.
So I flipped on my Vitamix and my recipe imagination, and started experimenting with banana-free smoothies that derive their creamy consistency from less fruit-heavy ingredients.
There is one kind of fruit I cannot get enough of right now and that is BERRIES! My stomach is cool with them too, we talked it out. Berries have pretty much staked claim to the left half of the largest shelf in my fridge because I can never pick just one variety, so I’ve had a smattering stocked at all times for the past few weeks for snacking and topping and there may have even been some jam making.
That’s why two of these three smoothies are berry flavored – because some fruit is necessary for natural sweetness and frozen but ice-free thickness, and I find berries to be the best option for me personally. For the third smoothie I used frozen pineapple because it is wonderfully sweet, although frozen mango would work just as well. Besides the fruit though, each smoothie has a different creamy boost along with a spoonful of chia seeds so you will not miss those bananas one bit. And these smoothies don’t turn brown before your eyes from oxidation either, so that’s a lovely little perk.
I almost called the this post 3 Banana-Free Smoothies, but then I realized not everyone interprets the word smoothie to mean thick enough to warrant a bowl + spoon and support a hefty load of toppings without letting even a single hemp seed drown. You can always add more liquid to the mix if you prefer a sippable consistency, but personally the closer to the froyo end of the spectrum the better in my opinion.
Each of these smoothies is a template – a combo of ingredients that texturally works. Because for me, a smoothie has to be frosty AND creamy.
Too many frozen ingredients → it’s like drinking a snow cone.
Too many creamy ingredients → it’s not reminiscent enough of ice cream.
So each blend has a perfect balance of both, but with 3 different unseen base ingredients so you have plenty of options.
Purple. Forget saving the best for last, this one is my favorite! Without a doubt. But I knew it would be because I packed in lots of favorite ingredients. Cashew butter for creaminess along with the chia seeds. Vanilla bean powder because it adds a dessert/cake undertone to anything. And frozen wild blueberries for purpleness….and flavor too of course.
Pink. Since frozen raspberries tend to be a little tart, the creamy base add-in for this flavor has some sweetness of it’s own. Not to mention the word sweet right in the title. Frozen sweet potato! Bake, cube, and freeze an orange or white sweet potato, and the next day you will have perfect little cubes of creaminess to toss into the blender. I used about 1/2 of a medium sweet potato for one smoothie, but the cubes will last in the freezer for a while.
The sweet potato flavor is very subtle, you will still mostly taste the tart bold berries, which pair perfectly with chocolate chips or cacao nibs on top. And this one definitely wins on texture, did you see that luscious (almost too thick to) pour shot in the video?
Green. Green smoothies used to be my daily jam. Because why not sneak in veg under the guise of fruity almost-froyo? This one has not just leafy greens but fruity greens too in the form avocado. It adds great creamy texture and you can’t taste it underneath pineapple. Next time around I would probably cube and freeze the avocado just like the sweet potato, since my goal is as ice-cream-like as possible after all. But fresh works too. I used 1/4 of an avocado in this smoothie plus a big handful of spinach.
Non-dairy milk. All of these smoothies can be made with any kind of milk you like. To match the theme of the ingredients in each (and test out all kinds), I used…
Cashew milk for the purple.
Almond milk for the pink.
Light coconut milk for the green.
And since then I have made the blueberry one with walnut and hemp milk too. Yes my fridge is just as full of cartons and cans and jars as you are imagining.
I’m so happy to have found a way to smoothie that keeps my gut happy, and I hope they work for you too. Mix and match or sub and swap as you wish, but happy banana-free blending!
Blueberry Vanilla Cashew Smoothie
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 person 1x
- Category: breakfast
- Method: blender
- Cuisine: american
Description
A banana-free smoothie made with lots of juicy blueberries, sweet vanilla bean, and creamy cashew butter. Purple and perfectly delicious!
Ingredients
- ¾ cup milk of choice ((I used cashew))
- 1–2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tbsp cashew butter ((or any nut/seed butter))
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- ½ tsp vanilla bean powder
Instructions
- Combine the milk, chia seeds, cashew butter, and vanilla bean powder in a blender.
- Blend on high until the chia seeds are fully broken down and the mixture begins to thicken.
- Add the frozen blueberries. Blend until thick and ice cream like. Add more milk/frozen blueberries to desired consistency.
- Top with blueberries and hemp seeds. Enjoy!
Keywords: breakfast, snack, healthy, no banana, vegan
Raspberry Sweet Potato Smoothie
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 person 1x
Description
A banana-free smoothie made with tangy tart raspberries and chunks of frozen sweet potato for a thick creamy texture. Perfect for pairing with chocolate toppings!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup milk of choice ((I used unsweetened almond))
- 1–2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/2 cup frozen sweet potato chunks ((*see notes))
- 1 cup frozen raspberries
- Optional: 2-3 medjool dates or 1 tbsp maple syrup to sweeten
Instructions
- Combine the milk, chia seeds, and frozen sweet potato, in a blender.
- Blend on high until the chia seeds are fully broken down and the mixture begins to thicken.
- Add the frozen raspberries. Blend until thick and ice cream like. Add more milk/frozen raspberries to desired consistency.
- Top with fresh raspberries and cacao nibs or chocolate chips. Enjoy!
Notes
*For the frozen sweet potato chunks, bake any kind of sweet potato, cube it, and freeze overnight. Then break apart and add to your smoothie. I used about 1/2 of a small-medium sweet potato per smoothie.
Pineapple Coconut Green Smoothie
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 person 1x
Description
A banana-free green smoothie with the sweet tropical flavors of pineapple and coconut plus a dose of good-for-you leafy greens!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup light coconut milk
- 1–2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/4 of an avocado ((cube and freeze overnight first for a thicker smoothie))
- Large handful spinach
- 1 cup frozen pineapple ((or frozen mango works too!))
Instructions
- Combine the milk, chia seeds, avocado, and spinach in a blender.
- Blend on high until the chia seeds are fully broken down and the mixture begins to thicken.
- Add the frozen pineapple. Blend until thick and ice cream like. Add more milk/frozen pineapple to desired consistency.
- Top with pineapple chunks and toasted coconut flakes. Enjoy!
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