Recipes and Cooking Breakfast and Brunch Recipes Breakfast Smoothies How to Make Smoothies from Your Favorite Fresh Ingredients Make these fresh, customizable smoothies at home and skip the pricey juice bar or supermarket bottled versions. By Karla Walsh Updated on October 6, 2022 Fact checked by Marcus Reeves Fact checked by Marcus Reeves Marcus Reeves is an experienced writer, publisher, and fact-checker. He began his writing career reporting for The Source magazine. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Playboy, The Washington Post, and Rolling Stone, among other publications. His book Somebody Scream: Rap Music's Rise to Prominence in the Aftershock of Black Power was nominated for a Zora Neale Hurston Award. He is an adjunct instructor at New York University, where he teaches writing and communications. Marcus received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Learn about BHG's Fact Checking Process Share Tweet Pin Email A breakfast staple for many, smoothies can fit into your meal plan as a snack, dessert, or an entire meal depending on what you add. A simple smoothie recipe is one of the easiest, quickest, and most picky-eater-pleasing way to add a serving (or several) of produce to your diet. Plus, adding anti-inflammatory smoothie ingredients could make those at-home smoothies an even bigger boost to your overall health. If you're one who doesn't like to drink your food, get your spoon ready and try making a smoothie bowl for a longer-lasting eating experience. Whichever route you prefer, break out your blender and prepare to design your perfect recipe. BHG / Michela Buttignol How to Make a Smoothie Step-by-Step Calling all creative types! There are very few rules when it comes to DIY smoothies. Just about any fruit works, so choose based on your favorite flavors, seasonality, and any food intolerances or preferences. Just remember this simple formula: Fruit + Juice + Dairy/Dairy Substitute + Ice = Easy Smoothie Recipe Win. Follow our Test Kitchen pro tips below to design your own smoothie recipe, then learn how to transform it into a smoothie bowl and how to give it an über-rich and creamy consistency. Sweet! Step One: Choose the Fruit Obviously, picking the fruit is an essential part of how to make a fruit smoothie. For two servings of your custom smoothie recipe, measure 2 cups peeled and sliced fruit into your blender. Feel free to mix fruit flavors or stick to just one favorite. (By the way, learn which fruits to store in the fridge and which to leave on the counter as you stock up on produce for your smoothies at home.) Related: Healthy Smoothie Recipes So what do you put in a smoothie for the fruit component? Our culinary pros are sweet on: Berries, such as strawberries (hulled and halved), blueberries, blackberries, and raspberriesChunks of peeled mango, papaya, pineapple, and melonPitted cherries, peaches, and nectarinesRipe banana coinsPeeled kiwifruit slicesMandarin orange sections How to Make a Smoothie with Frozen Fruit: When fruits are ripe, ready, and in season, freeze them (unwashed, sliced, and pitted if necessary) in 2-cup portions in freezer bags to use when they are not so plentiful. Fruit can be frozen for up to a year. Alternatively, you can purchase frozen fruit at the supermarket to use in your smoothies at home. Replace fresh fruit with frozen in equal quantities. Related: How to Choose, Store, and Freeze Your Berry Bounty Step Two: Add the Liquid and Dairy For the liquid in your smoothie recipe, use 1 cup of: Fruit juiceJuice blendCoconut waterWater Then add 1 cup of: Milk or dairy-free milk substitute (plain or flavored) Yogurt (plain or flavored) Kefir Buttermilk How to Make a Smoothie Without Yogurt or Dairy: Omit the dairy element and increase the fruit and juice by ½ cup each. Related: Easy Smoothie Recipes with Veggies, Too! Step Three: Optional Add-Ins to Make a Smoothie Thicker Just like at the smoothie shops, you can add bonus bulk-ups to make the consistency of your smoothie more luxurious and offer additional satisfying protein and fiber. Try these: ¼ cup protein powder or another powdered supplement 1 to 2 teaspoons wheat germ or flaxseed ¼ cup silken tofu ¼ cup cooked white beans or chickpeas 2 tablespoons nut butter (check out this Protein-Packed Smoothie recipe for inspiration) Step Four: Add Ice and Blend The amount of ice you use depends on how thick you want your smoothie recipe to be. Start with about 1 cup crushed ice for a fairly thick smoothie that is still drinkable with a straw. Omit the ice if using frozen fruit or if you want the smoothie to be thinner and less cold. Cover and blend until nearly smooth. Pour into a cup or thermal to-go drink container and slurp up every last drop. Andy Lyons How to Make a Smoothie Bowl Smoothie bowls are a big food trend on Instagram—and for good reason. They're as beautiful as they are delicious. Who could resist an edible artist's canvas? Here's how to make a smoothie bowl that will earn oodles of "likes": Blend the easy smoothie recipe as directed above, following the thicker smoothie instructions. Pour into a bowl instead of a glass.Decorate the top of the bowl as desired with sliced fruit, nuts, granola, seeds, coconut flakes, fresh herbs, and/or dark chocolate shavings. Now that you're well-versed on how to make a smoothie at home, you can BYOB (build your own blend) for a new healthy snack or meal replacement any day of the week. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit Sources Better Homes & Gardens is committed to using high-quality, reputable sources—including peer-reviewed studies—to support the facts in our articles. Read about our editorial policies and standards to learn more about how we fact check our content for accuracy. Majdan, Magdalena, and Barbara Bobrowska-Korczak. “Active Compounds in Fruits and Inflammation in the Body.” Nutrients, vol. 14, no. 12, 2022, MDPI, doi:10.3390/nu14122496