Mixed Berry Smoothie

By Molly Watson

Updated 11/04/18

The Spruce
Ratings (56)
  • Total: 5 mins
  • Prep: 3 mins
  • Cook: 2 mins
  • Yield: 1 Smoothie (serves 1)
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
168 Calories
1g Fat
41g Carbs
2g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1 Smoothie (serves 1)
Amount per serving
Calories 168
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1g 1%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 3mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 41g 15%
Dietary Fiber 4g 14%
Protein 2g
Calcium 29mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Smoothies are the favored way to enjoy berries, be they fresh or frozen. Whether it's berry season and fresh blackberries and blueberries, raspberries and strawberries are coming out everyone's ears or berry season is long gone, but freezers are full of efforts to make it last (to freeze your own, see How to Freeze Berries).

This recipe makes a single smoothie, but it easily doubles or triples or more—the batch limit depends only on the size of your blender. Importantly, this "recipe" is as much a template as anything. Despite the name "mixed berry smoothie," you should feel free to use just one type of berry if that's what you like or what you have on hand. 

Ingredients

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Mixed berry smoothie ingredients
    The Spruce

  2. Put all of the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. This may take 2 minutes, which will seem like a long time to leave something in a blender, but the smooth texture at the end is totally worth it.

    Blending a smoothie
     The Spruce

  3. If you're not using frozen berries and want to add a couple of ice cubes to thicken things up, get the greatest thickening effect by adding them one at a time, with the blender running, and processing each one until it's fully incorporated. It takes a bit of extra time, but the true "smoothie" texture that results is worth it.

  4. Pour into a tall glass and serve immediately.

    Mixed berry smoothie
    The Spruce

  5. Enjoy!

Tips

  • Frozen berries will create a naturally thickened smoothie. For the same chilly effect with fresh berries, just toss in 2 or 3 ice cubes.
  • Use whatever kind of yogurt you prefer, but the berry flavor will shine through best if the yogurt doesn't have other flavorings in it. Nonfat and low-fat yogurt are fine, but a whole milk yogurt will lead to the creamiest, most satisfying smoothie.
  • If you prefer to avoid seeds in your smoothie, stay away from seed-rich berries such as strawberries and blackberries and stick with blueberries and raspberries.

Recipe Variations

  • For a creamier, less fruity smoothie, use milk, soy milk, almond milk, or rice milk instead of the orange juice.
  • To make this a vegan smoothie, use a whole, peeled banana in place of the yogurt to thicken things up. Other tropical fruits can play this role too, including mangos and papayas. Plus, papaya adds a frothy element when you whip it up in a blender.
  • Adding a couple of fresh mint leaves to berry smoothies.
  • Add a tablespoon or two of almond butter for a thicker smoothie with some extra protein in it, along with a lovely nutty flavor. You can also add 2 to 4 ounces of soft tofu. It adds body and plenty of protein to the smoothie and hardly affects the flavor at all.
  • If you want to work some more greens into your diet, a handful of spinach is barely detectable amid all the berry flavor, although it will dull the color of the smoothie quite a bit.