A smoothie is a quick and easy way to have healthy fruits and vegetables, but sometimes they are watery and thin. Therefore the main question is, how to make smoothies thicker.
Fortunately, there are many possibilities and methods you can use to thicken your smoothies. In this blog post, you'll learn about various ways to do it, so you can choose the ones that best suit your taste.
Put Less Liquids Into Your Smoothie
The easiest way to make smoothies thicker is to add less or no liquids into the blender with your fruits and vegetables. If you put in very little fluid, the blender will not be able to mix up all of your fruits and vegetables properly. The resulting smoothie will turn out thick and creamy without added thickeners, probably much dense than you were aiming for.
But this is easy to change. Put a little water step by step and check your smoothie's consistency. If it meets your expectation, it's ready to drink.
Use Frozen Fruits
Frozen berries are a perfect way to make your smoothies thicker. They are already pre-frozen, so you don't have to worry about watering down your drink if you use fruits with higher water content.
Add Frozen Liquids
Freezing liquids like juice or water is a great way to thicken your smoothie. The ice cubes will not water down the drink. You can add them gradually until the consistency meets your satisfaction.
Use Creamy Fruits With Low Water Content
Banana is the go-to fruit to thicken and sweeten smoothies. And it works as a natural thickener as well. If you like your smoothie very thick, add half of a banana to the blender and check if it meets your expectation. Start adding more bananas if necessary until you reach the consistency you want.
Some people prefer bananas less and therefore don't want to use them in their smoothies. If you don't like bananas: try avocado instead. Using avocado, which contains oil, can help thicken the drink by reducing the water content and giving it a pleasant taste.
This method will work with many high-oil-content fruits, such as peaches, pears, and prunes.
Use Creamy Yogurt For A Thicker Smoothie Base
Creamy yogurts are another option for a base of your smoothie. Add 1 cup of creamy yogurt to your blender and add some water, ice cubes, and your sweetener of choice. Then blend well before adding more if necessary.
Frozen yogurt is another way to make your smoothie very thick. The best thing about it is that you can buy frozen yogurt, so there is no need for ice cubes or freezer space.
Add plant-based milk like soy or almond milk instead of water to make the base creamy and get a better consistency.
Add Coconut Cream To Your Smoothie
Coconut cream can give you a very creamy smoothie. Add about 2 tablespoons of coconut cream to your smoothie and blend well before adding more if necessary. This method works best with liquids like dairy, soy, or almond milk to make the smoothie.
When you buy the cream, look at the package or can label and choose the cream with a high amount of coconut cream and high-fat content.
Are Seeds Helpful To Thicken A Smoothie?
Chia, flax, or pumpkin seeds are an excellent way to thicken your smoothies. Just add 1-2 tablespoons into the blender with your other ingredients and blend well for about 5 minutes until they grind up nicely in texture. Chia seeds would be my first choice here because they only alter a little in taste.
You can also use ground seeds, which will change your smoothie's color. However, ground flax or chia seeds dissolve in the drink very well without changing color.
The downside would be that you may have to remove this ground substance from the drink after blending so it can stay manageable and thick. If that's the case, you can also add a suitable liquid to make it thinner again. That's easier instead of removing the ground substance.
Psyllium seeds are an excellent alternative. They can soak a lot of liquid and make your smoothie thicker. Many people use psyllium seeds to lose some weight. Consuming the seeds with a lot of water increases their volume significantly. This makes you feel fuller and eat less.
Can I Thicken Smoothies With Oats?
Oats or oatmeal soak water and reduce its amount, making your drink thicker. Add 1/2 cup of oats to the blender and your smoothie ingredients. Blend well before adding more if necessary.
Use Nuts To Make A Smoothie Thicker
Nuts are another way to thicken your smoothie. Add 1-2 tablespoons of nuts into the blender with your other ingredients and blend it to a creamy consistency. If not creamy enough, just put more nuts into your blender.
The best for this would be cashews, almonds, or macadamia nuts.
You can also use ground nuts, but that will sometimes change the color of your smoothie. However, the important thing is the taste and not the color if it is only for you or your family.
Use Purees From Pumpkins Or Sweet Potatoes
Pumpkins or sweet potatoes can be used to thicken your smoothie. You can either use the canned pumpkin you already have in your kitchen or cut a fresh piece into cubes and freeze it for 1 hour. Then blend the pumpkin with 1 cup of water until it is a creamy puree.
The best thing about using pumpkins is that you get the skin off before blending it, so there is no need to clean them first, as you will do with other fruits or vegetables.
Sweet potatoes are another option if you prefer something other than pumpkins. Just steam-cook them well before blending them with almond milk or soy milk, for example, until they get a very creamy consistency. The texture will resemble the same as bananas if you want to make your smoothie thicker.
Can Xanthan Gum Help To Thicken A Smoothie?
Xanthan gum is a plant-based thickening agent that can make smoothies thicker and creamy. Add 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum with your other ingredients and blend well before adding more if necessary.
It should work within a few minutes, but sometimes you must use more because different fruits reduce the effect.
Mix Guar Gum Into Your Smoothie
Like xanthan gum, guar gum is plant-based and can thicken your smoothie. Add 1/2-1 teaspoon of guar gum with your other ingredients and blend it well before adding more if necessary.
I love this option because it does not affect taste or color.
How To Make Smoothies Thicker With Tapioca Pearls Or Flour?
Tapioca pearl or tapioca flour is technically made out of cassava root. This plant-based starch also thickens your smoothies. Soak 1 tablespoon of the pearls in juice or water for about half an hour. It would help if you pureed this mixture in advance until creamy and then pour in the other ingredients into your blender.
Then you can mix the tapioca puree with your other ingredients and blend it well to make your drink nice and creamy.
Add Nut Butters
Nut butter is ground peanuts or other nuts, so they blend well with your other ingredients and liquids and make it really creamy. You can also use almond butter which works the same way as peanut butter.
If you're not fussy about the calorie content of nut butter, then it's an excellent choice to use it to make smoothies thicker.
Use High Fiber Vegetables
High-fiber vegetables like peas, broccoli, or tomato puree can make your smoothies creamy because they are high in carbs. To do this, blend 1/4-1/2 cups of these veggies with some water until it gets creamy before adding the rest of the ingredients into your blender.
If you like a creamy smoothie, we hope that these tips about making smoothies thicker will help you create a delicious and healthy drink that meets your needs. Be sure to experiment with different combinations of fruits and vegetables and with the mentioned ingredients to find the perfect texture and taste for you. And remember to enjoy your new favorite smoothie mixtures.