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Today I’m sharing the secret sauce, er… liquid, that is dairy-free smoothies. Your smoothie doesn’t need dairy to be creamy, delicious, smooth or drinkable. Don’t believe me? Give one of these dairy-free smoothie recipes a blend n’ sip, then try to tell me I’m wrong!
I’m prepared to shock you with creamy Caramel Protein Shakes and thick Cinnamon Date Smoothies with no dairy in sight.
While this recipe list includes smoothies already made without dairy, I’m also giving you all the swaps to turn any smoothie into a dairy-free one with just an ingredient or two. You might even find a new favorite option!
And I threw in a mix of healthy protein shakes, green smoothies and fruit smoothies so you can blend exactly what you want.
Table of Contents
What’s Wrong with Dairy?
Nothing, if you’re one of the 30% of the world’s population that doesn’t have a dairy intolerance. If you’re like me, dairy often gives you issues with digestion. Instead of suffering through the painful side effects of consuming dairy, I started searching for non-dairy options.
Discover the incredible world of plant-based milk and dairy-free smoothies along with me!
The Best Dairy-Free Smoothie Recipes
These recipes are all delicious, whole-food options that can be blended in minutes and enjoyed as a snack, meal or dessert. They are so easy to make and enjoy. Let’s get blending!
A quick note: Just because a smoothie is dairy-free doesn’t make it vegan. Make sure you read the ingredient list to ensure these don’t use honey, collagen powder or another ingredient that’s not what you’re looking for.
What Can You Use Instead of Milk in a Smoothie?
So. Many. Things. I’m not kidding. Once you start exploring the world of dairy-free smoothies, you’ll find a vast amount of liquid bases. A smoothie with dairy milk no longer sounds appetizing to me (or my stomach). I’d much rather reach for lighter nut milk or coconut water.
Nut Milk Options
With the explosion of non-dairy milk brands on the market, it’s no surprise that nut milk is a popular base for dairy-free smoothies. Almond milk, cashew milk, coconut milk, pecan milk, walnut milk, macadamia milk and more can all be used in smoothies.
Use store-bought or learn how to make your own almond milk (or any other milk) for a creamy texture and to know exactly what ingredients are in it.
Nut-Free, Dairy-Free Milk Bases
If nut milk isn’t an option for you, no sweat. Check out oat milk, hemp milk, flax milk, rice milk or soy milk. The possibilities are endless.
I tend to choose my dairy-free smoothie recipes based on what my body needs that day. If I’m looking for a fiber and healthy fat boost, I’ll make some hemp or flax milk. Rice milk is super thin and great for a tasteless option so that the other smoothie ingredients can shine.
Tea
This unique liquid base totally takes that smoothie to the next level. Choose a caffeinated tea like green tea for a natural energy boost as well as a metabolism mover. Herbal teas work great to soothe the stomach and calm the body. Try a smoothie like my Green Tea Smoothie for a boost of energy without the crash.
Use tea to your advantage by incorporating the one that will help you the most. I believe ingredients should work for us instead of against us, so I typically gauge what my body needs before deciding on the right liquid base for my smoothie.
If using matcha powder, then combine it with water or cashew milk for smoothies. Matcha typically comes in powder form instead of in a tea bag, so I view it more as a supplement instead of a true liquid base. It creates a creamy, light base for smoothies.
Water or Coconut Water
The number one, Best Green Smoothie in the whole wide world uses *gasp* WATER. It’s 100% dairy-free and proud to be and people can’t get enough of it. I know a lot of you hesitate to use water in a smoothie, but trust me, when you’ve got the right formula, water is a great smoothie base.
Coconut water is a unique beverage that has been touted as nature’s Gatorade. It’s loaded with electrolytes and is a must in workout recovery. It can be an acquired taste, so if you’re new to coconut water, try doing half coconut water and half regular water in your first Coconut Water Smoothie, then increase your ratio as you fall in love.
More Dairy-Free Liquids
While the above liquids are more popular, I like to get creative with my liquid bases. Here are a few more super fun and delicious options.
Kombucha– I’m not kidding! This is a great probiotic option, and the sky’s the limit on flavors. My Probiotic Smoothie is equal parts delicious and unique.
Fresh squeezed juice– While 100% juice has natural sugar, it is still a higher sugar option. Remember that when adding it to your smoothie. My Pineapple Smoothie uses both whole pineapple and pineapple juice for the best flavor.
Coffee– This base works great in smoothies including cocoa or cacao, nut butter, vanilla, you name it. I love blending my Coffee Smoothie to combine my morning beverage with my morning breakfast of choice. Need a caffeine-free option? Just use strongly brewed decaf coffee to enjoy the flavor without the buzz.
As you can see, dairy milk is far from the only liquid base for smoothies. Don’t be afraid to get creative. Mix and match any of these bases until you find your favorite.
How to Thicken a Smoothie
A lot of people use dairy milk or yogurt because it naturally thickens whatever beverage is in your blender. You can make an epically thick smoothie with a super creamy texture without the dairy. Here are my go-to thickeners:
- Vegan yogurt: There are several dairy-free yogurts that produce the same level of creaminess as regular, yet without dairy.
- Frozen fruit: This not only chills your smoothie, but it can also help thicken it more than fresh fruit.
- Hemp seeds, chia seeds or flaxseed: These superfoods are great additions to smoothies for extra omega-3s, protein, fiber and can be used to thicken a smoothie that’s on the thinner side.
- Nut butter: Peanut butter, almond butter and more can be used to thicken your drink. Plus, they taste delicious!
- Protein powder: I love turning smoothies into meals using my homemade protein powder. It can be added to any smoothie you make and helps to thicken as well as provide extra protein.
Dairy-Free Smoothies FAQs
Dairy is often used to make beverages creamy, yet it’s not necessary for a smoothie. If I’m looking for an extra creamy base that’s dairy-free, then cashew milk, oat milk, or full-fat coconut milk are all great options. Avocado, coconut cream, banana and dairy-free yogurt as well as hemp hearts and chia seeds are also great smoothie thickeners.
My go-to milk option is currently cashew. It is virtually tasteless, yet adds protein, healthy fat and a creamy texture to smoothies. Although, as you can see from the list above, you can use any dairy-free milk you want!
Honestly, it depends on the smoothie. I like water better in green smoothies and milk better in protein shakes. Everyone’s preferences are different, so there’s no right or wrong answer. Just get in that daily smoothie!
So, which one of the above dairy-free smoothies are you ready to make? Drop a comment and let me know your fav!
HI. I love coconut water as liquid-base for my smoothies, but am using in can coconut water purchased from grocery stores, is this OK?
Hi Marielle,
Don’t worry too much about the container. When reaching for a liquid base we suggest reaching for organic, sugar-free options, free of any yucky additives or preservatives. So take a quick peek at the ingredients before purchasing.
Thanks for the valuable info you are providing to us.
I’ve been using yogurt for the smoothie liquid base.
Is it okay? 🙂
Hi Jane,
You definitely can! Especially adding greek yogurt to your green smoothie adds a great boost of protein to any green smoothie recipe. Personally, we reach for coconut milk yogurt, over dairy, as dairy can be pretty tough on your digestion. It’s also the #1 undiagnosed food allergy, so for that reason we leave it out of our diet for ourselves and our family. But it’s all about finding what’s best for you + your body!
Cheers!
Is it possible to use other types of tea, e.g. ginger, lemon or peppermint? 🙂
Hi Amy,
Of course!! We love switching up our liquid base options!
Thanks for the valuable info you are providing to us.
just a question,is okay if i make my green smoothies with same fruits every day? say watermelon, apple, pineapple & mango plus baby spinach). What can i add to make it more filling?
Hi Esther,
Thanks for blendin’ with us! While you definitely can blend the same fruits each day, we do suggest changing it up a little bit to fuel your body with a wide variety of nutrients. Also, it’s important to rotate your greens to help prevent oxalate build-up in your body. Learn more here…
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/leafy-greens
Looking to make your smoothie more filling? When using your smoothie as a meal replacement we suggest adding protein + healthy fats to ensure you’re fueling your body with a complete meal. Learn more about our favorite meal replacement booster combos here…
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/meal-replacement-smoothie
I make water kefir and have a ton of it right now. I want to add it to my smoothies (and get back on the smoothie bandwagon because I have seemed to fall off). I was going to use it in place of water or juice, but I’m having a hard time locating recipes with those bases. Most of the recipes I see have almond milk, coconut milk or coconut water. I like to stick with a tried and true recipe because I’ve made some pretty nasty smoothies in the past.
Hi Shannon,
Our recipes are here to inspire you, so please don’t feel like you need to follow them to a T. Feel free to swap in any liquid base you enjoy!
Cheers 🙂
Def want to add kiefer milk to this!!
Great probiotic
Hi Spee,
We love reaching for dairy free options. Do you love Kiefer Milk? Then go for it! We’re all about making green smoothies work for you + your body!
Hi!!
So I just recently discovered the power of the smoothie and bought a Vitamix as smoothies cost so much at the juiceries :(. I’m trying to cut back on the sugar in one that I particularly like, it calls for Kale, Spinach, a banana, 1 C frozen mango, a bit of lemon juice and enough apple cider to balance it out. The apple cider adds close to 50g of sugar alone…. Any thought on what I could replace it with for this recipe? I don’t think almond milk or coconut water will be very good here.
Thank you so much! Awesome new favorite site!!
Hi Jason!
Thanks for reaching out! We always say you can’t go wrong with good, old-fashioned filtered water :). If you want a little extra sweetness, you could always replace 1/2 of the normal amount of apple cider with filtered water. It may take a little experimenting to find what tastes best to you personally :).
Cheers!
I have found your site very helpful during my challenge. I have made several of the smoothies with no problems but when I made the coco-Cherry smoothie it did not settle well with me. I believe it was the coconut milk because that was the first time I had used it in my smoothies. i think I will exclude this and try another liquid base when coconut milk is in the receipe
Hi Amber!
Thanks for reaching out! We’re all about making green smoothies work for you. We definitely encourage our community members to play mini-chef with their blenders to find what tastes/sits best with them :).
Thanks so much for blendin’ with us! Cheers!
Also do you think the green smoothie in place of breakfast, lunch, dinner.
If you’d like, feel free to replace up to two meals with a green smoothie (although it’s absolutely not required!). When using your smoothie as a meal, we recommend adding some healthy fat + protein to help your body thrive + keep you satiated. Here are some of our favorite combos!
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/meal-replacement-smoothie
I just made my first green smoothie. I LOVE IT.
I added water to it. How do you add tea to the green smoothie?
I have a lot of different tea: lavender, green tea, mint, sleepy time, and detox tea.
Thanks
Hi!
Thanks so much for reaching out! We’re so happy to have you as part of our community!
Feel free to swap out the 2 cups water in your smoothie for 2 cups brewed and cooled tea :). Herbal teas are always great, and green tea is wonderful if you need a little boost of energy!
Cheers!
Hi, I just found yalls site from today’s email of 100daysofrealfood.com I can say I’m very impressed, as well interested in your recipes. I just have a couple of question? If I don’t have fresh spinach for in the morning since one I want on can I use frozen? If so how do you calculate that? What brands of Coconut water do y’all like the best? Do you prefer the canned coconut milk vs. the refrigerator kind? I can’t wait to explore your site!
Hi Julie!
Thanks so much for reaching out! We’re so happy to have you as part of our community :).
You can definitely use frozen spinach in your smoothie (1.5 cups frozen greens = 2 cups fresh), however, we’ve found that the frozen spinach you buy at the grocery store doesn’t have the best flavor in green smoothies. We personally like to buy big containers of greens and freeze them ourselves!
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/how-to-freeze-spinach
As for coconut water, my personal favorite is Zico (it’s what they carry at my local Trader Joe’s!). But we like any brand where the only ingredient is coconut water (no added sugar). For coconut milk, most of our community members use refrigerated coconut milk for our recipes (the canned version is much more rich!), but we like to make our own!
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/how-to-make-coconut-milk
Hope that helps! Cheers + Happy Blendin’!
Do I have to strain the juice
Hi Paula!
If your blender still leaves your smoothie a little chunky, you can absolutely strain it if you wish :). It’s all about making it work for you!
I’ve been using milk in my kale and spinach/banana smoothies for years. I almost never drink juice unless I make it myself, so I’ve never considered it as a practical substitute.
I desperately wanted a smoothie today but didn’t want to add the milk calories as I’m on a calorie count for this month. Thank goodness I found your site!
That green tea base has got to be the most amazing smoothie base ever! I didn’t use cold green tea, but just brewed a fresh serving and drank it warm (another omg… amazing moment).
Thank you very much for your tips. I will be trying other types of tea as liquid bases for my smoothies (like hojicha, jasmine, and scented green and black teas)
Raw coconut water is a bit pricey, and I only treat myself to it occasionally, but I will also try that one of these days as well.
Again, thank you for this post and I look forward to exploring more of your website–bookmarking it now : )
Hi Ochiba,
YAY! We’re so excited you found our site in this busy internet world + love hearing how you’ve introduced tea into your green smoothies!
Cheers to health, happiness + leafy greens!
I just learned of your site last weekend while listening to Pat Flynn’s SPI podcast with Jadah. I am in love with your passion, mission and everything about Simple Green Smoothies. My question is that I have been drinking a green smoothie most everyday for a couple of years, and the recipe is basically the “Beginners Luck”. Well almost, the one I make I use kale, but can substitute spinach if I want and I put celery and avocado in mine. The other ingredient which I thought was essential to smoothies is the protein powder. I’ve looked at several of your recipes and is doesn’t look like any of them have a protein powder, whether it be soy or whey or otherwise. Do I need a protein powder or does that just add useless calories and what about the protein?
Thanks again! I love SGS so far and I’ve only just begun!
Hi Patty,
YAY! We’re so excited to hear you found us in this busy digital world! Adding protein is all about knowing your body, and knowing how you want to use your green smoothie.
When using your green smoothie as a meal replacement we definitely suggest adding protein + healthy fats to ensure you’re fueling your body with a complete meal. Check out our favorite meal replacement booster combos here…
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/meal-replacement-smoothie
Finding yourself extra active or in need of a protein boost? We love reaching for plant-based options. Learn more about our favorites here…
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/plant-based-protein-powder
Hope this helps answer your question!
Cheers!
I have been using organic Apple juice, is there any nutritional value for using this instead of water?
Hi Sandra,
We love reaching for juices when blending our favorite green smoothies! Not only do they add great flavor, but additional nutrients! The thing to keep in mind about fruit juices is their high sugar content. When using fruit juice as a liquid-base, be sure to use plenty of raw leafy greens and low glycemic fruits (berries, peaches, apples) to balance out the sugar content.
Hope this helps!
I have been using vanilla soy milk in my smoothies lately. Is this good or bad?
Hi Miranda,
It’s all about finding what works for you + your body. Personally, we avoid large quantities of highly-processed unfermented soy products like soy milk, as it can interfere with nutrient absorption and leach nutrients from your body. Two great alternatives are unsweetened almond + coconut milk. We love them both!
Thank you! I’m going to start using coconut water and/or green tea this week instead of soy milk.
Rawesome! Both are great options!