How to make a smoothie without milk
on Sep 14, 2018, Updated May 27, 2024
Learn how to make a smoothie without milk in this guide for making delicious smoothies!
how to make a smoothie without milk
It might surprise you when I say that more often than not, I make my smoothies without milk.
Sure, sometimes I make fruit based smoothies with milk and yogurt, but oftentimes I do not use milk at all in my smoothies, and sometimes no liquid either!
This guide will help you find out which flavors work best in a smoothie so that you can make delicious smoothies without milk at home!
Do you need milk to make a smoothie?
The answer is no!
You absolutely do not need milk to make a smoothie.
In fact, some of the most delicious smoothies I have ever made do not have any milk in them at all.
Sometimes milk is a great way to help build your smoothies, but it also can easily water down the flavor depending on the type of smoothie you are making.
Green smoothies especially should never be made with milk in them.
I discovered a long time ago that the very best green smoothie I have ever tasted is made with water, citrus fruits, and ice.
Some green smoothies may taste good with milk, but I prefer the ones without it much better.
You have to learn which flavors play well together and which ones clash.
Otherwise you might find yourself hating smoothies and giving up on them all together.
That was me for awhile and I had just about given up making smoothies taste good.
Now that I know how to make delicious smoothies at home, I make them all of the time!
Can you make a smoothie with water instead of milk?
Yes! Water is a great way to add a little bit of liquid to your smoothies without the use of milk.
A great example of this is our Ginger Peach Detox Smoothie.
This smoothie uses just a cup of water in addition to high liquid fruits and vegetables including lemon, orange, apple, and cucumber.
It’s important to note that you do not want to use a large amount of water in your smoothies or they can easily become too watery and lose flavor.
The best way that I have found is to combine high liquid fruits and vegetables with just enough water to blend.
This way you get a super thick and creamy smoothie without being watery.
It is also important to note here that you will need to use a high speed blender such as a vitamix or blendtec for best results and creamy smoothies.
How do you make a smoothie without milk or yogurt?
As you have read above, the best way is to use high liquid fruits and vegetables along with water, as necessary.
So what are the best high liquid fruits and veggies to use?
High water content fruits and vegetables
Below are some of my favorite high water content fruits and vegetables to add to smoothies.
- pineapple
- lemons
- oranges
- watermelon
- strawberries
- cantaloupe
- cucumber
- peaches
- apples
My personal favorites to add are cucumber (you can’t taste it), apples (add a great sweetness), and citrus fruits.
Pineapple, peaches, oranges, and lemons are all bursting with juiciness and great for replacing the liquid in smoothies.
Here are the steps that I take when making a smoothie without milk or yogurt:
Add liquid or liquid fruits and vegetables to the blender FIRST.
(optional step) blend until smooth.
Add remaining ingredients (such as frozen fruit, or frozen or fresh greens) and blend again until smooth.
Depending on the strength of your blender, you can skip step 2 and just mix all of the ingredients at once.
However, sometimes I find it helpful to blend the liquid parts first in order for the blender to handle the frozen fruit well.
Can you make a smoothie without liquid?
You might now be wondering if you can make a smoothie without liquid at all.
Once again, the answer is YES!
Just follow the same steps as above, but leaving out the water all together.
I went through a phase for awhile where I ONLY made my smoothies without liquid.
I just loved how thick and flavorful they were and I most often went with a super tropical theme!
My pineapple detox smoothie has no liquid at all and tasted like a tropical frosty!
Fresh pineapple, cucumber, and lemon were the “water” components, which I added to the blender first.
After that, I added in my frozen fruit, ice, and remaining ingredients and blended until thick and creamy!
How do you make a smoothie thicker?
One last thing to address in this post is how to make a smoothie thicker.
Smoothies in my opinion are all about texture.
I absolutely do not like runny, gritty smoothies.
I prefer my smoothies to be super thick and creamy, almost to ice cream texture.
This way it feels like a treat when I am drinking it!
how to make smoothies thicker
- Use less liquid or more high water content fruits and vegetables
- Add frozen fruit
- Add ice to desired consistency
What I usually do is add my liquid and liquid fruits and vegetables, then blend to smooth.
Add in frozen fruit and blend again.
If my smoothie is not super thick (again, I like them VERY thick), I will add in a cup or two of ice, blend, and serve immediately.
Once you go to ice cream thick smoothies you’ll never go back!
I hope you found this post helpful!
If nothing else, I hope it inspires you to try more smoothies at home.
I went years without knowing how to make a delicious smoothie and I only wish I had had these tips and tricks!
Smoothies are really just a matter of science, and once you master the combination the possibilities are endless!
Smoothies are a great way to get tons of nutrient packed goodness into your body, and they are a big part of my healthy lifestyle.
So you do use Liquids in your smoothies toy xant say smoothie without Liquids if you say they are used as water that’s Still putting Liquids in them
Yes, but a lot of people think that you have to make a smoothie with milk and you do not.
HEY jOY,
Started seriouly making smoothies almost daily, after gifting close to 100 new baked recipes during this time! i wanted them to be as healthy as possible, with only 2 fruits, and cause i cant eat dark green things, only recently began adding romaine,cucumber and avocado to them! my all time favorite was an apple,banana smoothie with yogurt,water, cinnamin,vanilla, and peanut butter, until i recently tasted my 1st sweet potato smoothie, so it’s a close race! thx for your various tips:): kelli
Im very sensitive to dairy and have a hard time eating in the mornings. Its like if i eat because my stomach “wakes up” it doesn’t recognize that I’ve eaten anything and I’m forced to eat again. I feel like this will be a much better option. Do you have any suggestions for travel blenders like the blendjet?
I personally use a nutri bullet or a blendtec for smoothies that have bulky ingredients to get smooth. I’m not sure about a portable blender
@Amanda, so am I. I’ve tried soy, almond, silk and nothing works. I’ve been searching the web and their are some protein powders that doesn’t contain milk like iso-100. Maybe u can add a little in your smoothie to give it that smoothness instead of that just fruits kinda watery or thick taste. I actually found that item off a YouTube video today lol so I’m going to Walmart later to pick it up. I hope you find something that works for you. If not, just use your fav fruits and juice and have that. It’s still healthy!
@Amanda, as for the blenders, I use a ninja blender. But there are lots of smaller ones at walmart to choose from. Keep it simple
What are some good combinations of veggies and fruits to put in your smoothie? I’m on a diet and I am limited to the amount of fruit and veggies I can have. Here’s what I can have; Fruits= apples, oranges, strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries Veggies= cucumber, zucchini, tomatoes, lettuce, celery, bell peppers, broccoli, and asparagus.
I’m not allowed to have milk or yogurt either. Could you help me out?
Oh I forgot to say that I can have lime and lemons too! And kale for that matter.
I find that citrus fruits pair well with greens! Search “smoothies” on my blog and you can look for some ideas! I would suggest maybe an apple orange lemon kale smoothie with ice to start with! Water as the liquid.
Joy your smoothie suggestions are the best I’ve found! I like the way you explained it simple and easy to understand. I’m new to smoothie making and wanted to find some that were made without any milk or dairy. I’ve found giving them dairy in the afternoon after school sometimes curbs their appetite for dinner. I think a smoothie will pair great with an after schoool snack. The big plus is it’s healthy with fruit and veggies in there as well. Thank you so much for your ideas I will be checking out some of your other post.
I am so glad you found the post helpful! Smoothies sound like a great after school snack!