Smoothie cubes are a great way to prepare a smoothie ahead of time, and store it. Just add the cubes to a glass, let them thaw or blend, and drink your grab and go smoothie.
Smoothie cubes are an easy meal-prep method to make smoothies ahead of time. The idea is simple. Just blend up one of the smoothie recipes below, pour it into ice cube trays, and freeze. To make a grab-and-go smoothie, merely add a few cubes to a glass and refrigerate the night before. Your morning smoothie will be waiting for you.
And the fruit smoothie recipes are made with simple ingredients and are delicious, but any smoothie can be made into smoothie cubes, including my favorites, my strawberry smoothie, my chocolate peanut butter smoothie, and my delicious chocolate smoothie.
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You'll Love Smoothie Cubes
Incredibly Convenient. Make your smoothies for the week on Sunday, the each night add a few cubes to a glass so your breakfast is thawed by the next day.
Bursting with nutrition. The six smoothie cube recipes as is are full of fiber and protein and nutrients that you probably wouldn't eat today otherwise. And I also provide you with a list of add-ins to increase protein or fiber or gut healthy, whatever your need. All ingredients are plant-based and dairy-free.
Step by Step Instructions
For more detail, visit the complete recipe at the bottom of this post, but here are general steps.
Prep: Make sure at least some of your ingredients are frozen because it's easier to get the right proportions. Also be sure to use organic for zucchini and berries which tend to absorb more pesticides.
Step 1: Blend. Choose one of the six recipes and add the ingredients to a blender and blend for one minute. Add a few tablespoons of water or milk if your blender needs it to blend. Or just stop the blender and stir it up a bit with a spoon and try again. It's okay if the texture is slushy because you are just refreezing.
Step 2: Pour the mixture into two ice cube trays. Each flavor should produce 2 cups of smoothie mixture. Add a touch more of the recipe's liquid if you need to to bring the mixture up to 2 cups - it will vary slightly depending on the fruit and veggies size and moisture levels. Ice cube trays tend to hold about 1 cup so I usually make two ice cube trays per flavor.
Step 3: Freeze the cubes at least 4 hours or overnight, and then transfer the cubes into bags or freezer containers for storage in the freezer. They keep for three months without losing nutritional value.
Making Smoothies With Smoothie Cubes
Step 1: Make a grab-and-go smoothie by adding 4-6 smoothie cubes to a glass the prior night, refrigerate it overnight.
Step 2: The next day, stir up the thawed smoothie with up to ½ glass of water or milk or coconut water. Your grab-and-go smoothie is ready to go!
Pro-tip: For a larger or more concentrated smoothie, thaw more cubes. You'll get to know how many makes a good smoothie for you by making them.
Recipe Tips
When to make your cubes. Regard making the cubes as weekly meal prep, and make enough on Sunday to give you smoothies every day of the week.
Dietary needs. The six recipes I provide below are easy to customize and adjust. As they stand, they are vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free.
When to buy organic. Remember to use organic fruits and veggies based on the "Clean Dirty" lists by the EWG.com. For instance, berries, zucchini and apples are all test high in pesticide absorption so should be bought organic or peeled. For more detail on the finer points of smoothie making, check out my post "how to make a healthy smoothie" for other tips.
Smoothie Additions
To thicken your smoothie. Add chopped raw zucchini or a small banana or ½ an avocado, chia seeds or a handful of rolled oats.
To increase your protein. Add almonds, cashews and raw or cooked quinoa, or buckwheat groats.
Other additions to consider:
- Nut butter
- Pea Protein Powder
- Coconut Butter
- Goji Berries
- Flax seeds
- Matcha Tea
FAQS
Smoothie cubes are an easy meal-prep method to make smoothies ahead of time. They are concentrated cubes of frozen smoothie mixture.
Ice cubes temporarily make smoothies thicker, but they soon melt and render your smoothie watery. It's best to use frozen fruit instead.
Mix up your favorite smoothie and reduce the liquid. Freeze the mixture in ice cube trays, then thaw as needed in a refrigerated glass the prior night, add liquid, stir or shake and enjoy.
More Smoothie Recipes
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
📖 Recipe
Smoothie Cubes (6 Easy Recipes)
Equipment
- Covered Ice Cube Tray this one holds 1 cup per tray, and the cover stops spills
Ingredients
PINK Pitaya Berry Smoothie
- ½ cup strawberries
- 1 cup pink dragon fruit or 2 packets frozen found in Whole Foods or ½ cup freeze dried pitaya found here
- ½ cup dairy-free milk
- 1 teaspoon baobab powder
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
YELLOW Mango Cream Smoothie
- 1 cup mango
- 1 banana or 2 pears (not peeled), or 1 peeled organic zucchini
- ½ cup dairy-free milk
- 1 teaspoon baobab powder
PURPLE Acai Blackberry Smoothie
- 1 cup blackberries
- 1 banana or 2 pears (not peeled), or 1 peeled organic zucchini
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon acai powder
BLUE Spirulina Protein Smoothie
- 1 cup dairy-free yogurt
- ½ cup water
- 3 tablespoon coconut butter
- 1 teaspoon blue spirulina
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup or 2 pears (not peeled)
ORANGE Carrot Citrus Smoothie
- 1 cup carrots
- 1 medium zucchini, peeled and chopped
- ½ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup coconut water
GREEN Sweet Leafy Smoothie
- 1 cup spinach
- ½ cup chopped apple
- ½ cup white grapes
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
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Instructions
To Make Cubes
- Blend up the ingredients for the flavor of your choices.
- Each flavor should produce 2 cups of mixture. Add a touch more of the recipe's liquid if you need to to bring the mixture up to 2 cups - it will vary slightly depending on the fruit and veggies size and moisture levels.
- Pour that flavor into two (1-cup) ice cube trays, either mine or your own choice.
- Freeze them overnight
- Store in the freezer for three months.
To Use Cubes to Make a Smoothie
- The night before, put 4 cubes in a glass. Refrigerate it overnight.
- The next morning, add a liquid, stir and drink your grab and go smoothie.
- Liquids to choose to add:--coconut water will sweeten it, --plain water will dilute it perfectly (remember, the cubes are concentrated)--milk will make it more creamy.
Storage Time
- Smoothie cubes will retain nutritional value frozen for at least three months.
Brittany
I randomly thought of this idea while making a smoothie and was hoping there was a recipe out there for it. Thank you 🙂
Dee Dine
Thanks Brittany!
Ruthanne
I haven't made these yet but I was looking for something just like this! I found out about the trick of using frozen smoothie cubes the other day, but I wanted to learn more - such as how many cubes and how much liquid to add later.
Thanks so much! I can't wait to try it out!
Dee Dine
Thank you for such a kind comment! They really are so convenient!
Miranda
These look SO yum!
Dee Dine
Thank you!
Neha
Is this (nutrition) the amount the total for all 6 recipes?
Dee Dine
Thanks for asking Neha. The nutrition is for the first recipe only. To find the others, use this calculator.
Neha
Thanks so much! I'm in the process of making these now. I can't wait to try them.
Dee Dine
Great news!
Ela
Such an amazing idea Dee! I need to try this!! 🙂
Dee
Thank you Ela!
Janine
Hi Dee, thank you for this wonderful idea. I will check my kitchen and try them out later.
Dee
Thanks Janine!