This easy and refreshing Blue Smoothie Bowl is the perfect breakfast for warm weather. All you need is a few minutes, a few ingredients, and whatever toppings you like and you’ve got a gorgeous breakfast or snack.
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Hey Internet, I love smoothie bowls and nice cream for one reason and one reason only: dessert for breakfast! Haha, no, there’s plenty of other reasons I love them.
For Earth Day this year, I posted an earth-inspired blue & green swirled nice cream on my Instagram and it gave me the idea to make a blue smoothie bowl.
The fun color and option to top it how they like is perfect for kids. Check out my list of vegan kid-friendly recipes or my list of 50+ vegan snacks for kids!
What’s the difference between a smoothie bowl and nice cream? A smoothie bowl is usually a little more soft and liquidy than nice cream.
Okay, then what’s the difference between a smoothie and a smoothie bowl? Usually a smoothie is so liquidy you can drink it with a straw, and a smoothie bowl is a bit thicker and needs to be eaten with a spoon. It’s also served in a bowl so you can top it with tons of toppings like fruit, granola, and other goodies.
So, let’s talk about this blue smoothie bowl. It only has a few ingredients, but I can tell you that there are tons of ways to customize it (see further down in this article).
It’s also very quick and easy to make. Just throw the ingredients in your blender and blend it up! A food processor will also work.
A smoothie bowl can be a delicious and filling breakfast. Try adding something crunchy like granola or something fatty like tahini or a nut butter to satiate you. Otherwise it’s pretty low calorie and low fat.
This smoothie bowl is also only sweetened using fruit, and I think it’s plenty sweet. Of course you are welcome to add agave or your sweetener of choice.
If you’d rather make it into a smoothie, add a little more non-dairy milk or coconut water.
What You’ll Need
- Blue spirulina powder or butterfly pea flower powder: Let’s start with what makes it blue since this is a recipe for a blue smoothie bowl. Either blue spirulina powder or butterfly pea flower powder will make your smoothie blue. I went with the blue spirulina powder as it is a bold blue, but the butterfly pea flower powder would also be a great choice. And you only need a teensy tiny bit of these powders--and they last a while. You can also use food coloring if you prefer, but not all are vegan so be aware of that when shopping. Unfortunately, these are the only options to making a truly blue color, as blueberries will make it purple. Beautiful still, but not blue.
- Bananas: Ripe bananas are what make this bowl so creamy and sweet. I like to freeze mine for a nice thick smoothie bowl. If you don’t like bananas, try substituting a mixture of frozen cauliflower and another light colored fruit like peaches or pineapple. You won’t taste the cauliflower and it will add that needed creaminess.
- Non-dairy milk: Any non-dairy milk will work here. I used unsweetened oat milk -- I LOVE the flavor and creaminess of oat milk, but I didn’t want it to be overly sweet since the bananas were pretty sweet. This was the best compromise. However, any non-dairy milk will be perfect here. Watching your calories? Use a low-fat unsweetened soy or almond milk. Want a higher calorie, more satiating breakfast? Use canned coconut milk.
- Other fruit: If you’d like to include other fruit, I’d reduce the amount of bananas and use another frozen fruit like mango, pineapple, or peaches. If you want to add berries you can, but keep in mind they’ll change the color. I opted just to put fresh berries on top.
- Any toppings your heart desires: I used blueberries, raspberries, mango, hemp seeds, and raw pumpkin seeds but you could go with anything from nut butter to chocolate chips to coconut, the sky's the limit! It would even be good with a little granola on top, like my homemade coconut cacao granola.
How to Make a Blue Smoothie Bowl
Note about equipment: You don’t NEED a Vitamix to make a smoothie bowl (though I have to say I love mine). A few tips if you don’t have a powerful blender: try a food processor, try a bullet blender, try letting your frozen fruit defrost for a few minutes before blending, or chop up the fruit into very small pieces before blending, add liquid only a little at a time, and stir it in, and stop every so often and scrape down the sides of the container.
Start by adding the non-dairy milk to the container of your blender. Then add the blue spirulina or butterfly pea flower powder, then add the frozen bananas and any other fruit you might be using.
Blend, starting on low, and ramp up to the highest speed. If your blender came with a tamper, use that now to encourage the thick mixture to blend. If not, stop every so often and stir or scrape down the sides, adding extra liquid if necessary.
Once smooth, pour the contents into a bowl, decorate with desired toppings and enjoy! I used blueberries, raspberries, mango, hemp seeds, and raw pumpkin seeds.
This recipe makes enough for one large serving or two small servings. The leftovers melt pretty quickly, so if you want to store them, I recommend freezing them in a freezer safe container. To revive, you can defrost and eat or defrost a little and blend with a little liquid like non-dairy milk or coconut water to make a new smoothie or smoothie bowl.
More Fun Breakfasts
This is a pretty fun type of breakfast, don’t you think? I have a few others along these lines.
- Mango Nice Cream
- Toasted Coconut Nice Cream
- Vegan French Toast Sticks
- Coconut Cacao Granola
- Plant Based Pancakes
Anything Else?
As always, I hope you love this recipe–I know I do, and Mr. Zardyplants does too.
This blue smoothie bowl is:
- Refreshing
- Sweet
- Light
- Satisfying
- Pretty (!)
- Quick and easy to make
- And great for breakfast, a snack, or dessert on a hot day… or any day, really. I’ve been known to sit in front of the heater in sweats, eating a smoothie bowl…
Let me know in the comments below if you make this recipe or tag me @Zardyplants on Instagram so I can see your beautiful recreations! If you tag me on IG, I will share your post in my stories :)
Also, one quick request: if you love how this recipe looks or tastes, please leave me a 5-star rating and a nice comment–ratings help more people find my recipes which helps me keep providing them! Thank you!
<3 Liz
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Blue Smoothie Bowl
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This easy and refreshing Blue Smoothie Bowl is the perfect breakfast for warm weather. All you need is a few minutes and a few ingredients.
Ingredients
- 2-3 frozen ripe bananas, cut into chunks
- ½ cup oat milk (or any non-dairy milk)
- 1-2 teaspoon blue spirulina or butterfly pea flower powder
Toppings, optional, you pick
- Berries
- Mango
- Raw pumpkin seeds
- Hemp seeds
Instructions
- Note about equipment: You don’t NEED a Vitamix to make a smoothie bowl (though I have to say I love mine). A few tips if you don’t have a powerful blender: try a food processor, try a bullet blender, try letting your frozen fruit defrost for a few minutes before blending, or chop up the fruit into very small pieces before blending, add liquid only a little at a time, and stir it in, and stop every so often and scrape down the sides of the container.
- Add ingredients to your blender: Start by adding the non-dairy milk to the container of your blender. Then add the blue spirulina or butterfly pea flower powder, then add the frozen bananas and any other fruit you might be using.
- Blend it up: Blend, starting on low, and ramp up to the highest speed. If your blender came with a tamper, use that now to encourage the thick mixture to blend. If not, stop every so often and stir or scrape down the sides, adding extra liquid if necessary.
- Serve: Once smooth, pour the contents into a bowl, decorate with desired toppings and enjoy! I used blueberries, raspberries, mango, hemp seeds, and raw pumpkin seeds.
- Store: This recipe makes enough for one large serving or two small servings. The leftovers melt pretty quickly, so if you want to store them, I recommend freezing them in a freezer safe container. To revive, you can defrost and eat or defrost a little and blend with a little liquid like non-dairy milk or coconut water to make a new smoothie or smoothie bowl.
Notes
- Note 1: Ripe bananas are what make this bowl so creamy and sweet. I like to freeze mine for a nice thick smoothie bowl. If you don’t like bananas, try substituting a mixture of frozen cauliflower and another light colored fruit like peaches or pineapple. You won’t taste the cauliflower and it will add that needed creaminess.
- Note 2: Either blue spirulina powder or butterfly pea flower powder will make your smoothie blue. I went with the blue spirulina powder as it is a bold blue, but the butterfly pea flower powder would also be a great choice. And you only need a teensy tiny bit of these powders--and they last a while. You can also use food coloring if you prefer, but not all are vegan so be aware of that when shopping. Unfortunately, these are the only options to making a truly blue color, as blueberries will make it purple. Beautiful still, but not blue.
- Note 3: If you’d like to include other fruit, I’d reduce the amount of bananas and use another frozen fruit like mango, pineapple, or peaches. If you want to add berries you can, but keep in mind they’ll change the color. I opted just to put fresh berries on top.
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Breakfast, snack
- Method: Blender
- Cuisine: American
Bob
amazing