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Berries disappear quickly in my house, so I have to freeze them fast for this blackberry smoothie. Slightly sweet, super creamy & delicious.
One of my favorite memories with my kids is picking blackberries along Spring Lake Highway in Central Florida. A handmade sign scrawled “Blackberries” called to us and we immediately pulled in. Todd Blackberry gave us a tour and buckets then we got to work.
The large, juicy berries were calling to us and we did our best to avoid the thorns. I had no clue that blackberries grew on thorny bushes until I picked them that day.
We definitely ate more than we took home that day! I still think of our blackberry picking day whenever I eat these beautiful summer berries.
How to Make a Blackberry Smoothie
I’m keepin’ it simple with this smoothie recipe. Only 4 ingredients to a super creamy and delicious creation. If you want a refreshingly cold smoothie, then either the blackberries or the bananas should be frozen.
To boost the protein and turn your blackberry smoothie into a filling breakfast, add in a scoop of plant based protein powder like homemade protein powder. This adds in 10 grams of protein as well as 4 grams of healthy fat which will help your body break down the natural sugar + fiber.
How to Pick the Right Coconut Milk for Smoothies
Did you know there are a few different kinds of coconut milk AND they all can be used in different ways? Let’s break them down:
- Canned coconut milk: comes in full fat and low fat versions that usually have the least amount of additives.
- Shelf stable coconut milk: these typically have the most amount of additives, yet are super convenient.
- Refrigerated coconut milk: The newest player in the world of coconut milk, also may contain a lot of additives and sweeteners to be wary of. Just make sure to read the labels and pick an option that doesn’t have added sugars or a bunch of strange ingredients.
No matter what option you go with for this blackberry smoothie, you’ll be okay. Don’t stress out about messing up — the fact that you’re giving this a shot is a great step! If you want a new challenge, then try making your own coconut milk! It would be a delicious addition to this blackberry smoothie.
Fresh vs Frozen Blackberries
I like using fresh blackberries in smoothies. Since they have seeds and can be a little gritty, they do seem to blend better when fresh. It’s also pretty hard to find frozen blackberries!
You can always freeze them yourself to make sure your smoothie will be cold when blended. To freeze your own berries, start by picking them at the peak of their growing season. Then flash freeze on a cookie sheet lined with parchment. Once frozen, toss the berries in a freezer safe bag until you’re ready to blend a blackberry smoothie.
Low Sugar Smoothie Recipes
If you’re looking for more low sugar smoothie options like this blackberry smoothie recipe, then I’ve got you covered:
- Apple celery smoothie
- Banana peach smoothie
- Pumpkin fertility smoothie
- Healthy cherry smoothie
- Banana oatmeal smoothie
- Berry smoothie
- Melon smoothie
- Raspberry smoothie
Please let me know how this blackberry smoothie recipe turns out for you, in the comments. I love hearing from you, and hope this smoothie becomes one of your new favorites.
FAQs
Yes! Berry smoothies are a great low sugar smoothie ingredient. Just make sure you use whole foods and real ingredients in your smoothies. Fruit can naturally sweeten + cream and thicken smoothies without any extras needed.
If you’ve got a high powered blender like a Vitamix, then just blend away. Still have seeds? Then you probably need to blend a bit longer. If you’re blending this smoothie in a non high powered blender, then you might not get all the seeds, yet blending in stages like the recipe below helps more of your ingredients blend smoothly.
Avoid added sugar, as fruit is sweet enough on its own! Also avoid ‘smoothie packs’ with additives, thickeners, etc as these are not 100% whole foods. Stick to fruits, veggies, and leafy greens and you’re smoothie will be great.
Creamy Blackberry Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 cup blackberries
- ½ banana
- 1 serving homemade protein powder optional
Instructions
- Add the spinach and coconut milk to blender and blend until smooth.
- Add remaining ingredients and blend again.
Equipment
Notes
- Use frozen blackberries or banana to chill the smoothie down.
- Swap spinach with the leafy green of your choice.
- For a thicker smoothie use canned coconut milk. For a thinner smoothie use carton coconut milk.
I used full-fat canned coconut milk which added a lovely creaminess to this smoothie. The coconut flavor was a bit too strong for my liking (not a huge fan of coconut – but I like to try the recipes as written before I start to tweak to my liking). I still found it very drinkable. Won’t be a go-to recipe for me, but I’d still make it again if I have blackberries to use up and would maybe cut back on the amount of coconut milk and sub in water or unsweetened almond milk.
This one doesnt taste as sweet. I added to much ice to cool it down since I used all fresh, nothing frozen. I will definately make this again using all frozen ingredients. I like my smoothies cold!
This recipe is amazing. Fantastic fruit flavor and super creamy.
Mine tasted slightly bitter, maybe next time try frozen blackberries? Maybe fresh wasn’t sweet? Thanks
You’ve got the right idea Cristina! Fresh blackberries that aren’t as sweet can def affect the taste of a smoothie. Frozen is always a great option and helps to make your smoothie colder. Win win!
Too much banana in this one for me. I added some cinnamon to disguise banana taste.
one word-delicious 🙂
Yum! Yum! Yum! I had leftover blackberries & this made the most delicious summer Drink! Thanks!
Loves the blackberries in this smoothie, they are also my husbands favorite so his went down really fast.
So yummy!
I forgot how good blackberries are. Was so creamy and tasty! It works!
I used frozen berries and it was a little bland so I added ginger to spice it up!
I added protein powder and coconut oil to this one and used it as a meal replacement. It was delicious and filling!
This was SOOOO creamy! What a dream smoothie – I will be making this one A LOT! I used frozen berries, but look forward to trying this one with fresh berries this summer!
The blackberries and the coconut are so delicious! This smoothie reminded me of a milkshake. Yum!
I didn’t have coconut milk so I substituted for almond coconut milk. I am not a fan of milk-based smoothies, so I may opt to try making it with water or coconut water next time. My husband did like it and said it had a milkshake texture.
Smoothie failure #2. Not sure what I am doing wrong but my version did not look any thing like the picture. It was almost black in color. There was very little flavor and the berries left a “grainy” texture. I even made the SGS homemade coconut milk for this smoothie using 2-1/2 cups water instead of the 3 cups for a smoother finish. Back to the drawing board; can’t give up now!
Don’t give up, Dee-Ann! My smoothie was also very dark and the flavor was a little lacking. Not sure if you used fresh or frozen berries but I used fresh and I don’t think they were at the peak of ripeness. I might try again and use frozen berries that I thaw overnight to see if that amps up the flavor. As far as the color, don’t worry! It’s going to look a little strange because of the greens mixed with the dark color of the berries. 🙂