Try this thick and creamy avocado smoothie recipe for breakfast or a healthy snack!
5 ingredient avocado smoothie
Adding avocado to a smoothie might sound unusual, but the results are surprisingly delicious.
This secretly healthy avocado shake is so unbelievably smooth, it honestly tastes like drinking an actual vanilla milkshake.
I do not know how that is even possible, but it really does remind me of a classic vanilla shake, both in taste and texture.
Make one for yourself, and see if you agree!
With only five ingredients and less than a minute of prep time, the recipe is absolutely worth a try at least once, because it might just become your new go to smoothie recipe.
You may also like these Avocado Brownies
Ingredients to make the avocado drink
You will need a ripe avocado, milk of choice, pure vanilla extract, a pinch of salt, and sugar or your favorite granular or liquid sweetener.
Avocado – You can tell if the fruit is ripe by squeezing it very gently at the grocery store. It is ripe if it yields slightly to the pressure and feels just a little bit soft but not mushy.
If you buy an avocado that is still hard as a rock, just wait a few days for it to soften. Or place it unpeeled in a brown paper bag for a day or two with another fruit (such as apple, banana, or kiwi) to speed up the ripening process.
Milk – Use any milk in your refrigerator, including oat milk, soy milk, or skim milk.
For a plant based and vegan avocado smoothie, go with your favorite dairy free milk. I like canned coconut milk, almond milk, pistachio milk, or cashew milk.
Sweetener of choice – This can be classic white sugar, brown sugar, unrefined sugar (like coconut or date sugar), honey or pure maple syrup.
Avocados are naturally low in carbs. If you are looking for an added sugar free and keto avocado smoothie, simply use stevia or your favorite sugar alternative to taste. Be sure to choose a keto friendly milk without sugar as well.
Optional add ins – Turn it into a chocolate avocado smoothie by adding a spoonful of cocoa powder. I recommend Dutch cocoa for a rich brownie flavor. Increase the sugar to taste, to counter the bitterness of the cocoa powder.
Or if you want a healthy avocado protein shake, blend in a scoop of your favorite flavored or unsweetened protein powder. Try vanilla, chai, cookies and cream, or pumpkin pie spice protein powder.
Looking for a caffeine boost or love the coffee vanilla flavor profile? Blend in a fourth teaspoon of instant coffee powder for a refreshing post workout pick-me-up.
Feeling adventurous? Make Chickpea Cookie Dough Dip
Healthy avocado smoothie recipe video
Above, watch the step by step recipe video
Frequently asked questions
Avocado adds unbelievable thickness and creaminess, without any noticeable flavor whatsoever for most people.
If you have super tastebuds, you might be able to tell it is in there. But even then, the flavor is only slight and will not detract from the overall tastiness of the shake.
Frozen or fresh avocado will both work here.
Just be sure to peel the avocados first. If you have a high speed blender like a Vitamix, try freezing your milk of choice in an ice cube tray and using that for the avocado drink instead of refrigerated milk.
This is especially good with canned coconut milk or whole milk, because it tastes like an actual avocado milkshake.
You may add fresh or frozen blueberries, cherries, strawberries, apple, cucumber, banana, or pineapple. Play around with different foods that pair well with avocado.
I love adding a ripe frozen banana, which gives even more thickness to the recipe.
I do not recommend adding ice, because this will dilute the flavor at the ice melts into water.
However, you can blend in a few tablespoons of Greek yogurt or a handful of homemade coconut milk ice cubes for a super thick and ice-cream-like shake if desired.
To make your own coconut ice cubes, just freeze canned coconut milk in an ice cube tray. It is that simple.
Avocado smoothie health benefits
Besides the delicious creamy texture, you can also get so many added health benefits from avocados.
Packed with vitamins. The superfood fruit is cholesterol free and contains nearly 20 vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, including potassium, folate, and B vitamins.
High fiber, low sugar. Just one serving of avocado provides eight percent of the daily value for fiber, and they have the least amount of sugar of any fruit.
Healthy fat. Over 75% of the fat in avocados is the unsaturated heart-healthy kind (good fats). For the general population, replacing some of the saturated fat in one’s diet with avocado can possibly help to reduce cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, and inflammation.
Of course if you are on a doctor ordered nutrition or weight loss plan, it is always recommended to consult your doctor.
Customizable to fit different lifestyles. Depending on the specific ingredients you use, this smoothie can be low calorie, low in saturated fat, high protein, nondairy, high in calcium, vegan, and gluten free, with no sugar required.
How to make an avocado shake
- Be sure to start with a ripe avocado.
- Peel the fruit, and discard both the pit and peel. Slice the avocado into large pieces.
- Add the sliced avocado, milk of choice, pure vanilla extract, salt, sweetener, and any optional ingredients to a small blender.
- Blend on high until thick and completely smooth, then serve cold.
This healthy blender drink yields a large, single serving shake or two small servings. Feel free to double the recipe!
More healthy avocado recipes
Avocado Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 small avocado (100g flesh)
- 1 1/2 cups milk of choice (360g)
- 3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract (4g)
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup or sweetener of choice to taste (30g)
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 scoop protein powder (optional)
Instructions
- 1. Begin with a ripe avocado. Discard the pit and peel, and chop into large pieces.
- 2. Add all ingredients to a small blender, and process until thick and creamy.
- 3. Pour into a tall glass or two smaller glasses, and serve cold.
Video
Notes
Easy Blender Recipes
What does this taste like? Avocado has such a mild taste. Does the vanilla flavor take over? It’s hard to imagine sweet avocado!
The great thing about avocado that I’ve found, is that it actually has quite a neutral flavor–it’s mostly just fat & will take on flavors around it. I’ve had it in a raw chocolate pudding & served it to guests & no one even suspected the “secret” ingredient 🙂
So there’s hope for my husband! He hates cilantro (& chickpeas, cabbage, mushrooms, eggplant, chard) & I want to put it in everything.
I’ve never been really picky, although I wasn’t a huge fan of mushrooms until I went vegan. Now I want to add them to everything savory.
I used to hate avocados! Then I spent a summer in LA… and I ate so many that… well, let’s just say that green passes through. LOL!
When I have a avocado, I usually end up freezing half. It keeps it fresh and I can use it in smoothies! Love adding some orange for a creamy (green) orange smoothie!
I love avocado too! I’m only 25, but a couple of years ago I changed my eating habits, and now I love all kinds of food I used to dislike greatly!
Weird, I went through the same thing, only at 26! Do you crave pears by any chance? Apparently pears and avocados are extremely beneficial for the female hormone system. I craved both like crazy during a weird health time in my life when my hormones were a bit out of whack. Most interesting part of it is that both foods look a little like the body parts they support most!
OMG same here! I turned 25 and suddenly just started LOVING avocados– HATED them before. The funny thing is my husband and I had bonded always shared our love for avocados, and now that I love them, I get so annoyed at him for hating them because it means I can’t put them in everything.
Pretty much your entire list and then some: mushrooms, onions, salad, leafy greens, oranges, avocados, mango (WHAT), anything I couldn’t recognize. I was the world’s pickiest eater… and then I went vegan. And now I eat everything.
Number one would have to be broccoli. I also hated all beans…crazy because I eat them everyday now!!
What a shame that avocados are so expensive here 🙁
But still, this smoothie looks delicious and I will try it!
Until about two years ago I didn’t like bell pepper and tomatoes, but now I love both 🙂
Hi Katie,
I think it is normal for tastes to change as you age, sometimes for the better as has been happening to you, and sometimes for the worse as has happened to me. As I’ve gotten older I’ve gotten to where raw onions – except sweet – and garlic leave an awful taste in my mouth that hangs around forever (seemingly). But there are other things I’ve come to really enjoy, like cilantro. I think the key to that was having it first in a lightly cooked form where it perfected the flavor profile of the dish. Since I got there, I love it anywhere and anyhow. Isn’t it nice to know you are normal? 🙂
The same thing happened to me with pretty much all vegetables. When I was young I absolutely refused to eat anything green, and now I can’t get enough! I, too am obsessed with avocado (pretty sure I wouldn’t touch those when I was younger, either). This smoothies sounds so wonderful!
I really want to like coriander (cilantro) too! I adore indian and thai cookery which tends to involve a lot of the stuff. Adore avo’s though 🙂
I loath avocado too! I’m so glad to hear that you hated it as well and that there may be hope for me. I know that avocado is packed full of nutrtional goodness, but can’t seem to get myself to try it again. Maybe in smoothie form it might be better. On this note of loathing avocado, do you have any advice for substitutions in recipes using avocado?
maybe try adding a frozen banana with some spinach? The banana will contribute the creaminess (and some sweetness) and the spinach will keep it green!
I also hated avocado as a kid! And now I can’t get enough. I also never liked cheese much, but it’s slowly growing on me. SLOWLY.
I used to hate vegetables and fruit. Now I have to make it up of 15 years not eating them haha .. (I’m 16 )
This is a very popular drink in Vietnam. Usually we use condensed milk in avocado smoothie.
I love avocado chocolate pudding! And just plain avocado with salt and hot sauce. I used to HATE onions as a kid but love them now. Still hate anise and arugala. Hoping that will change one day.
Hello, Katie. The chocolate cheesecake I have done turned out delicious. I am not sure if it is suppose to be soft, but it is when left in the fridge. What I did is freeze it the whole time to maintain its shape. My daughter said it taste like almond joy. BTW I posted the Healthy Oreos I made. It was a hit in my house, that I am making it again today.