How to Make Creamy Smoothies (with Recipe)

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Making creamy smoothies is a great way to enjoy a delicious and healthy snack or meal. But making them can be tricky- it’s all too easy to end up with a smoothie that’s too thick or too thin.

In this article, we’ll give you some tips on how to make creamy smoothies that are just right every time. Plus, we’ll provide some our favorite recipe for a delicious and nutritious smoothie that you can try out yourself!

Ingredients for a Creamy Smoothie

Choosing the right ingredients for a creamy smoothie is the most important factor for texture. For a thicker smoothie, you’ll want to use frozen fruits and vegetables, as well as yogurt or milk. For a thinner smoothie, use fresh fruits and vegetables, and add water or juice instead of yogurt or milk.

Here are some of the best ingredients for a creamy smoothie:

Frozen Fruit

Frozen fruit will give amazing texture to your smoothie without adding any extra calories or fat. Plus, it gives a way better creaminess than adding ice, so reach for the convenience of frozen fruit when you want a creamy smoothie. A frozen banana really goes a long way to changing the texture of a smoothie.

Frozen bananas, strawberries, raspberries, mangoes, and peaches are all great choices.

Soft or Silken Tofu

Tofu is a great way to add creaminess and protein to your smoothie. It’s also very versatile- you can use it in sweet or savory recipes. For this guide, we’ll focus on using tofu in sweet smoothies.

While any type of tofu will work, soft or silken tofu has the best texture for a smoothie. You’ll want to avoid using firm tofu or extra-firm tofu, as they can make your smoothie grainy.

Yogurt

Yogurt is another great way to add creaminess and protein to your smoothie. It also has the benefit of being very easy to find and use. Just about any grocery store carries yogurt, and it’s a common ingredient in many kitchens.

Greek yogurt is a great choice for smoothies, as it’s very thick and creamy. However, any type of yogurt will work, including plant based.

Extra Creamy Milk (Dairy or Plant Based)

Milk is another classic smoothie ingredient that can be used to add creaminess. Just like with yogurt, any type of milk will work, but some are better than others.

For the creamiest smoothies, use full-fat milk. This includes cow’s milk, as well as goat’s milk and sheep’s milk. You can even use heavy cream.

If you’re looking for a non-dairy alternative, canned coconut milk is a great choice. It has a rich and creamy texture that’s perfect for smoothies. We also like to use the Extra Creamy Plain varieties of Chobani Oat Milk and Planet Oat Milk.

Avocado

Avocado is a great choice for making creamy smoothies. It has a rich and creamy texture that’s perfect for adding creaminess. Plus, it’s a good source of healthy fats.

When using avocado in a smoothie, make sure to use ripe avocados. You can tell if an avocado is ripe if it’s soft to the touch and has a dark green or black skin. If it’s hard to the touch or has a light green skin, it’s not ripe yet.

Nut Butter

Nut butter is another great way to add creaminess and healthy fat to your smoothie. It’s also a good source of protein.

When using nut butter in a smoothie, make sure to choose one that’s made with 100% nuts and salt and doesn’t have any added sugar. We like to use almond butter, cashew butter or peanut butter, but any type of nut butter will work.

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is a great choice for making creamy smoothies. It has a rich and creamy texture that’s perfect for adding creaminess. Plus, it’s a good source of healthy fats.

When using coconut oil in a smoothie, make sure to choose an unrefined, virgin or extra-virgin coconut oil. These types of coconut oil have the best flavor and texture for smoothies.

Frozen Cauliflower

Frozen cauliflower is a great choice for making creamy smoothies. It has a mild flavor that won’t overwhelm the other ingredients in your smoothie. Plus, it’s a good source of fiber and nutrients.

When using frozen cauliflower in a smoothie, make sure to choose one that’s been packaged in bags or containers. I like to buy frozen riced cauliflower because it blends very easily and hides well.

Beans

Beans are a great choice for making creamy smoothies. They have a rich and creamy texture that’s perfect for adding creaminess. Plus, they’re a good source of protein, fiber and nutrients.

When using beans in a smoothie, make sure to choose ones that are soft and easy to blend. We like to use white beans, black beans or kidney beans. You can also use chickpeas, but they will make your smoothie more dense and filling.

See our guide to using beans in smoothies here

Cottage Cheese or Cream Cheese

Cottage cheese and cream cheese are both great choices for making creamy smoothies. They have a rich and creamy texture that’s perfect for adding creaminess. Plus, they’re good sources of protein and calcium.

When using cottage cheese or cream cheese in a smoothie, make sure to choose ones that are low in fat. You can also use non-fat or Greek yogurt in place of cottage cheese or cream cheese.

Cream cheese is a great addition for a cheesecake smoothie… yum!

Chia Seeds

Chia seeds are a great choice for making creamy smoothies. They have a gel-like texture that’s perfect for adding creaminess. Plus, they’re a good source of fiber and nutrients.

When using chia seeds in a smoothie, make sure to soak them in water for at least 10 minutes before adding them to your smoothie. This will help them blend better and prevent them from clumping together.

You can also add chia seeds to your smoothie without soaking them first, but they may not blend as well and could end up clumping together, plus they can be a little crunchy unless you let the smoothie sit first.

Personally I’m too lazy to soak my seeds and I don’t mind a little crunch, but for the creamiest smoothie it’s best to let them soak.

Coconut Flesh

Coconut flesh is a great choice for making creamy smoothies. It has a rich and creamy texture that’s perfect for adding creaminess. Plus, it’s a good source of healthy fats and fiber.

When using coconut flesh in a smoothie, make sure to use fresh or frozen coconut.

You can also buy coconut butter, which is a spread made from coconut flesh. Coconut butter has a richer and creamier texture than coconut flesh, so it’s perfect for adding creaminess to smoothies.

Coconut Cubes

Coconut cubes are a great choice for making creamy smoothies. They have a rich and creamy texture that’s perfect for adding creaminess. Plus, they’re a good source of healthy fats and fiber.

To make coconut cubes, simply freeze coconut milk in ice cube trays. I like to use full fat, canned coconut milk for this, and you can also find recipes that use other ingredients with their cubes, such as cashews and MCT oil.

These really do make for a great, creamy smoothie.

Sweet Potato or Pumpkin Puree

It might sound strange to think of using a vegetable puree in your smoothie, but let me tell you, a smoothie made with one of these starchy vegetable purees is super creamy!

Plus, if you like a smoothie that tastes like pumpkin pie filling, then try a smoothie made with pumpkin puree (sweet potato puree is super close) and you’ll wonder why you never tried them before.

I like to make an extra sweet potato or two when we have them for dinner, then I scoop out the flesh and save it in the fridge for a smoothie. It’s best to use it within two days, but I will plan to have a sweet potato smoothie or two in the next days after our meal.

For pumpkin puree I like to use canned because the one time we made pumpkin puree from scratch it was very labor intensive to drain all the excess liquid so we just buy it in a can now. You can get organic pumpkin puree if you prefer.

Coconut Flour

Coconut flour is a great choice for making creamy smoothies. It has a rich and creamy texture that’s perfect for adding creaminess. Plus, it’s a good source of fiber and nutrients.

When using coconut flour in a smoothie, make sure to add enough liquid so the flour can absorb it and prevent your smoothie from being too thick. I like to add no more than 1/4 cup of coconut flour to my smoothies as it absorbs a ton of liquid so more wouldn’t work well. Sometimes even 1/4 a cup is too much.

See our guide to using coconut flour in smoothies here

Oats

Oats are a great choice for making creamy smoothies. They have a rich and creamy texture that’s perfect for adding creaminess. Plus, they’re a good source of fiber and nutrients.

When using oats for a creamy smoothie, it’s actually better to use oatmeal that has been cooked and cooled. Raw oats will thicken smoothies, but they won’t help much with creaminess. So, whip up a batch of plain oatmeal and keep it in the fridge for your smoothies (or just do this with leftovers).

How to Make a Creamy Smoothie

Now that you know what ingredients to use, let’s talk about how to make a creamy smoothie. The key to making a creamy smoothie is to use a high-powered blender. This will help to create a smooth and creamy texture.

If you don’t have a high-powered blender, you can still make a creamy smoothie, but it might not be as smooth and might require more effort on your part.

Another key to making a creamy smoothie is to use at least one frozen ingredient, which we mentioned above. This will help to create a thick and creamy smoothie. If you don’t have any frozen fruit, you can use fresh fruit, but you might want to add some ice to help thicken it up (although ice itself doesn’t make a smoothie creamier).

And finally, the last key to making a creamy smoothie is to use a liquid that will help create a smooth and creamy texture. This might be milk, nut milk, yogurt, or even water.

A creamy smoothie also makes a wonderful thick smoothie bowl recipe. In many cases, you won’t have to do any modifications to the recipes for creamy smoothies to make smoothie bowls, but thinner smoothie recipes will benefit from reducing the amount of liquid called for in the recipe.

Now that you know the keys to making a creamy smoothie, let’s put it all together and make one!

You can also add peanut butter to this oat milk smoothie recipe for a peanut butter banana smoothie!

Final Thoughts on How to Make Creamy Smoothies

Creamy smoothies are a great way to get your daily dose of fruits and vegetables, as well as a boost of protein, fiber, and nutrients. The key to making a creamy smoothie is to use a high-powered blender and to include at least one frozen ingredient, or one of the other ingredients listed above such as avocado, nut butter, etc.

And finally, make sure to use a liquid that will help create a smooth and creamy texture, such as milk, nut milk or yogurt. Now that you know how to make a creamy smoothie, put these tips to use and enjoy a delicious and nutritious smoothie any time of day!

Happy Blending!
Amanda