Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie
Sweet, creamy, and fruity, this Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie makes a tasty and healthy snack. Or have it for breakfast or dessert.
Is there anything quite like a nice fruit smoothie? Tasty and refreshing, it’s even healthy. Yes, pretty much an ideal beverage.
Of course, smoothies run the gambit from light fruit drink to intense protein powder cocktails. But my favorite is probably in the middle, a nice fruit and yogurt smoothie. Like this Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie!
Now like many Americans, I struggle to get enough calcium and fruit! And I’m in good company. According to the CDC, “In 2019, fruit and vegetable intake among U.S. adults remained low, with only approximately one in 10 adults meeting either recommendation.” And we don’t fare well on calcium either.
So how nice is it to have a recipe that’s this much fun–and also helps improve your diet!
Why You’ll Love This!
Tasty. The creamy, fruitiness of this drink makes a flavorful, satisfying and refreshing beverage!
Healthy. This is loaded with calcium and fruit—need I say more?
Natural, On-the-Go, Breakfast or Snack. How many on-the-go breakfasts or snacks are healthy, much less natural!
What You’ll Need
Ingredient Notes
- Plain yogurt. This provides the creaminess and nutrition. I strongly recommend plain because commercial flavored yogurts have a lot of sugar. You can use flavored in a pinch, but in that case, reduce or omit the sweetener. Greek or regular is fine.
- Strawberries. This provides the strawberry flavor and thickens the smoothie. Frozen is best, but fresh can be used too, with or without a few ice cubes. You can use other fruit as well (in which case the sweetener may also need to be adjusted.)
- Ground flax seed (optional). This will sneak in some real nutrition and fiber with minimal impact on the final product.
- Sweetener (optional). This adds sweetness and can actually enhance the flavor. You can use your favorite sweetener such as maple syrup, honey, sugar, allulose, or a few drops of stevia. I personally like this best with sweetener added, usually stevia.
- Lemon zest (optional). This brightens the flavor. I use zest rather than juice since it’s packed with flavor but doesn’t add liquid.
Special Tools
- A good blender is needed, especially if you add frozen berries
Step by Step Directions
If using whole frozen berries let them thaw for a couple minutes until just soft enough to cut. Then divide them into quarters so they’ll blend up more smoothly.
Add ingredients to blender then process until smooth. Pulse if needed.
Taste and adjust sweetener if needed. Grate in a little lemon zest if desired and pulse a couple times.
Pour and serve!
How to Serve
A Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie is perfect for breakfast, snack, or dessert. And while you might associate it with warmer weather, I’ll have these all year round.
For an attractive presentation you can garnish with a whole strawberry or a sprig of mint. A straw is also fun but optional.
What is the best yogurt for smoothies?
I recommend using plain yogurt in smoothies. I feel that commercial yogurts add a lot more sugar than needed for sweetness. Even if you still decide to add sugar (which I do), you’re likely to add a whole lot less.
Making your strawberry smoothie with Greek yogurt is especially nice if you use fresh berries since the drink will benefit from the extra thickness. But you may take a calcium hit since some of the calcium can drain off with the whey.
Otherwise you have a lot of flexibility in terms of milkfat levels and style. My homemade yogurt is usually made with lowfat milk (with extra dry milk powder added to achieve thickness without draining) and it works perfectly for this.
Variations and Special Diets
Feel free to change up the fruit in this or go with a combination of fruits. For sweeter fruits, I’d start without any sweetener, then adjust to taste. Very tart fruits might require slightly more sweetening.
Special Diets
This recipe is vegetarian as it is. To make it vegan or dairy free you could substitute a plant-based yogurt.
Keto or low carb dieters might consider using a higher fat commercial yogurt or even making homemade yogurt using half and half. And using sweetener rather than sugar will dramatically drop the carbs.
Or make it half sized and add crushed ice. In the end, it’s a carb splurge, but still doable.
Leftovers
This is a food that you’re going to want to make fresh. But if something should happen, and you are suddenly called away, you could probably pop your drink into the freezer (in a freezer safe container), then later thaw partially and blend it up with additional liquid.
Tips & FAQs
What is the best way to zest a lemon? I use a microplane whenever I zest lemons or any citrus fruit. A good micro plane will remove just the bright yellow outside layer, resulting in a less bitter and more flavorful zest. I used to think I didn’t like citrus zest, but then I realized that I don’t like the bitter white pith. Now I’m a convert and use zest all the time.
Do I need to use frozen berries? Frozen berries will make the thickest smoothie but it will still be thick made with fresh. You can add a little ice to make it colder and thicker if you’d like.
Do I need to add the flax seed? The flax seed is optional but adds a lot of nutrition. According to Healthline “One serving of flaxseed provides a good amount of protein, fiber, and omega 3 fatty acids. It may help lower the risk of some cancers, help maintain a healthy weight, and reduce cholesterol and blood pressure.”
I keep a bag of whole flax seeds in my freezer and a small jar of ground flax seeds in my refrigerator that I refresh every week or so. This makes it super easy to add to yogurt, soups, smoothies or soups.
Can I add banana? Yes, you can. While I tend not too because they’re pretty high in sugar and calories, they’re delicious. So if you’re not watching these, take a look at this Strawberry Banana Yogurt Smoothie.
Spectacular Smoothies
- Blueberry Banana Smoothie from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Chikoo Smoothie (Sapote) from Palatable Pastime
- Melon Dragonfruit Berry Smoothie from Magical Ingredients
- Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie from Art of Natural Living
- Watermelon Mint Smoothie from That Recipe
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Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup reduced fat plain Greek or regular yogurt
- 1 cup strawberries ideally frozen
- 1 T ground flax seed optional
- 0-1 T sweetener e.g. maple syrup, honey, sugar, allulose, a few drops of stevia
- 1 t lemon zest optional
Instructions
- If using whole frozen berries let thaw for a couple minutes until just soft enough to cut. Then divide them into quarters so they’ll blend up more smoothly.
- Add ingredients to blender then process until smooth. Pulse if needed.
- Taste and adjust sweetener if needed. Grate in a little lemon zest if desired and stir or pulse a couple times.
- Pour and serve immediately!
Notes
Nutrition
I completely agree with you, fruit smoothies are an absolute delight! They’re not only tasty and refreshing but also a healthy choice. Your Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie recipe sounds fantastic and strikes a perfect balance between flavor and nutrition.
I generally have all these ingredients at any given moment so that keeps this as a simple go-to. Thanks.
This is pretty much similar to our traditional lassi and strawberry one is my favorite. I love the addition of chia seeds.
We have never been much into smoothies for breakfast until we visited Mark’s brother in North Carolina. He and his wife would make smoothies for us every morning and it’s a really lovely way to start the day. I love this recipe, and look forward to giving it a try!
Strawberry smoothies sound delicious and I love the addition of flax seed and yogurt!