This Blackberry Strawberry Banana Smoothie is packed with nutrients and bursting with fresh berry flavors. It's the perfect start to a busy day or a satisfying afternoon snack. You'll only need a few minutes to make this recipe, plus you can save leftovers in the freezer and enjoy it all week long.
Smoothies are one of the best ways to get a healthy and delicious breakfast on the go. Simply add fruit to a blender along with a liquid of your choice and any add-ins (like flax seeds, hemp seeds, yogurt, nuts, etc.), then give it all a blend. That's it! Your breakfast is ready. This recipe features blackberries, strawberries and bananas, with almonds, yogurt and milk. It's fruity, delicious and surprisingly filling.
Video: How to make Blackberry Strawberry Banana Smoothie
Ingredients that Matter
This recipe is super versatile, so feel free to adjust as you'd like, but here's how we like to make it:
- Strawberries. You'll need just 1 cup of chopped strawberries for this recipe. You can use either fresh strawberries or frozen (if using frozen, don't thaw before blending).
- Blackberries. We use half the amount of blackberries compared to strawberries. Again, use fresh or frozen. Note that the seeds from blackberries tend to stay behind after blending, so either strain the smoothie, or drink up those seeds.
- Banana. One banana is all you need, and again, use fresh or frozen. We almost always have frozen bananas on hand, so that's what we use.
- Maple Syrup. This ingredient could be optional, but we almost always prefer a touch of sweetness in our smoothies, unless the strawberries and blackberries are exceptionally sweet. You could also use honey or two pitted dates.
- Almonds. Just a couple tablespoons of slivered almonds go a long way. The almonds add more nutrients, a bit of protein and some body to the smoothie. We prefer almonds without their skins (like slivered) as skins tend to be bitter.
- Yogurt. Here you can use whatever type of yogurt you typically buy at the grocery store, like Greek strained, full or low fat, or dairy-free yogurts. Just be sure you reach for plain yogurt to avoid added sugars.
- Milk. Like the yogurt, use whatever milk or milk alternative you have on hand.
- Hemp Seeds. Adding a couple tablespoons of hemp seeds really packs in the nutrients, but they are optional. Consider using flax seeds instead if that's what you have.
Why You Should drink smoothies
There are a lot of health benefits to drinking smoothies. The biggest, and perhaps most obvious, is you'll get a breakfast packed with fruit (some smoothies even have full servings of vegetables). And all that fruit (and vegetables) often comes with loads of dietary fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. And with this recipe we give you suggestions for ways to add even more nutrients.
Aside from the health benefits, smoothies are super convenient. We've gone through stages in life of keeping ingredients for smoothies in our office refrigerators and blending up a smoothie for a late morning snack.
How to make a Blackberry Strawberry Banana Smoothie
If you are starting with frozen fruit, simply add the ingredients to the blender and get blending. But, if you are using fresh fruit, be sure to rinse them well and trim off the green stems of the strawberries.
Add in order, the almonds, banana, blackberries and strawberries and hemp seeds (if using). Adding these ingredients first will help them breakdown easier.
Now add the maple syrup, yogurt and milk. Then blend on low until the nuts and fruit are broken down. Increase the blender to high and continue blending until smooth.
Garnish with more fruit, nuts and hemp seeds, if desired.
Tips and Tricks
This recipe makes about 2 ½ cups of smoothie. That should be enough for two servings. You can easily double the recipe for four servings, or even cut the recipe in half for a single serving. Either way, if you have leftovers we recommend pouring the smoothie into an ice cube tray and freezing overnight. Then remove the frozen smoothie cubes to a freezer-safe zip-top bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
How to make this smoothie without yogurt: If you don't want to use yogurt, simply up the milk from ½ cup to 1 cup. You may want to add a couple tablespoons of nut butter (or up the almonds from 2 tablespoons to ¼ cup) to add more body to the smoothie.
How to make this smoothie dairy-free: This is pretty simple! All you need to do is use dairy-free milk and yogurt and the recipe is dairy free and vegan.
How to add vegetables to this smoothie: If you want to add some vegetables to this recipe, we recommend starting with 1 cup of lightly packed spinach or baby kale or ½ cup of chopped celery. You may also want to add a touch more maple syrup.
Using frozen verses fresh fruit: The biggest difference between using fresh verses frozen fruit is the texture or body of the smoothie. Fresh fruit tends to make juicier, thinner smoothies while frozen fruit makes for dense, frostier smoothies.
More Breakfast Recipes
Looking for more breakfast or brunch recipes? Try these out:
Recipe
Blackberry Strawberry Banana Smoothie
- Total Time: 5 min.
- Yield: 2 ½ cups 1x
Description
This Blackberry Strawberry Banana Smoothie is packed with nutrients and bursting with fresh berry flavors. It's the perfect start to a busy day or a satisfying afternoon snack. You'll only need a few minutes to make this recipe, plus you can save leftovers in the freezer and enjoy it all week long.
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped strawberries, fresh or frozen, plus more for serving
- ½ cup blackberries, fresh or frozen, plus more for serving
- 1 ripe (peeled) banana, fresh or frozen
- 2 Tbsp. slivered almonds, plus more for serving
- 1 Tbsp. hemp seeds (optional), plus more for serving
- 2 Tbsp. maple syrup (optional, but recommended)
- ½ cup plain yogurt
- ½ cup milk
Instructions
- Wash and trim the berries. Add to a blender along with banana, almonds, hemp seeds (if using), maple syrup, yogurt and milk. Blend on low until the almonds and fruit are broken up, about 15 seconds. Increase speed to high and blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Makes enough for 2 servings (see note). Garnish with more fruit, almonds and hemp seeds, if desired.
Notes
- Pour leftover smoothie into an ice cube tray and freeze overnight. Then remove frozen smoothie cubes and transfer to a freezer-safe zip-top bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Blend again into a smoothie (adding more milk, if needed), or enjoy frozen as a snack.
- Prep Time: 5 min.
- Cook Time: 0 min.
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Blender
- Cuisine: American
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