How to Make a Thick Vegan Smoothie Bowl

I have a secret trick to making the best thick smoothie bowl! Easy to make make vegan, super customizable and the perfect healthy breakfast.

Smoothies and smoothie bowls are different things, and no one wants a smoothie bowl that has a soupy texture. My fool proof method will get you a nice thick bowl every time!

Ingredients

The base of a smoothie bowl can be easily customizable with fruit flavors to meet what overall flavor you prefer. But the basic equation of getting this super thick smoothie bowl needs the following:

• Frozen fruit
• Milk
• Nut butter (optional but recommended for ultimate creamy flavor, I love almond butter best)

Smoothie Bowl Toppings

The second part of making the best smoothie bowl is the toppings. There are so many options but here are some of our most favorite things:

• Chopped nuts - almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc
• Seeds - like pumpkin, sunflower, chia, hemp and flax
• Fresh fruit chopped or sliced
• Dried fruit
• Frozen fruit
• Nut butter
• Shredded coconut
• Chocolate chips
• Cacao nibs
• Granola
• Honey (not vegan)
• Homemade vegan caramel
• Vegan chocolate syrup

How To Make a Smoothie Bowl

There is a secret trick to getting your smoothie bowl nice and thick. It takes some patience but the end result is incredible!

1. Add the frozen fruit to the blender.
2. Pulse the fruit until you get small pieces.
3. Add the liquid and nut butter and blend until thick and smooth stopping and stirring along the way.
4. Top with your fave things and devour!

How to Make a Smoothie Bowl Thicker

Now it's time to dish the secrets I've been keeping! Jk, upon some searching, my trick is actually not as novel as I thought. But still a great way to get the best most thick vegan smoothie bowl!

So it all started when I was mid cocktail making. I had been crushing ice in my blender all morning to use in my fun poolside drinks and realized, crap we're out of ice! So I looked in my freezer and found some frozen fruit.

I started pulsing the fruit into little pieces. I realized that the little fruit shards weren't going to be the best ice replacements, so I poured the booze into the blender and decided to just make frosty drinks.

What I realized was the by pulsing the fruit first, the blender didn't have to work as hard to blend once the liquid was in, so it didn't let off as much heat so that led to a super thick yummy result!

So for the best most thick vegan smoothie bowl ever:

• Pulse the frozen fruit first.
• Keep the blender on low for less heat!

You can also add in any of the following for an even more thick smoothie bowl:

• More frozen fruit
• Frozen avocado
• Protein powder
• Chia seeds
• Oats

Flavor ideas

There are an unlimited amount of ways you can combine ingredients to make absolutely delicious smoothie bowl! Here are some of our favorites:

• Green: freeze avocado, banana, fresh spinach/kale as your base.
• Mango: mango would be a base but adding bananas and pineapple is also delicious and matches well.
• Citrus: frozen oranges and pineapple.
• Pina colada: this is best with frozen pineapple as a base.
• Acai bowl: this traditional base is amazing and packed with nutrients
• Spring theme: frozen peaches and strawberries.
• Peanut butter banana: frozen bananas are the base and adding peanut butter with your dairy free milk of choice.
• Chocolate lovers: frozen bananas as a base with cocoa powder or even chocolate chips.
• Chocolate peanut butter: same as a chocolate lovers but add peanut butter with the milk.
• Pitaya bowl: another traditional base sold at stores. Gives the hot pink fun look you see at smoothie bars.

You can also check out my full list of smoothie bowl recipes!

How to Prep Ahead of Time

While you can't necessarily make a smoothie bowl ahead of time because, well, it melts. You can still be prepped and ready to make it go fast! Here are a few things I like to do to be prepared:

• Have the frozen fruit measured out and stored in bags or containers per servings.
• Have all my toppings ready to go.
• Pre-measure the liquid I am using and store in a jar in the fridge.

That way the morning of, all I have to do is dump and blend! Then top with what I prepped. For more quick prep breakfasts check out this freezer-friendly list!

What is a Smoothie Bowl?

It's basically what it says, a smoothie so thick you eat it in a bowl! Because of how thick it is (or at least how thick it's supposed to be), you need to eat it with a spoon.

Smoothie bowls are loaded with yummy toppings too to give them even more yumminess and nutrition.

But, what's the point of a smoothie bowl anyway?

While drinking all the nutrients that a smoothie packs in is great, sometimes you want to feel like you're eating something substantial. Not that a smoothie can't be substantial, but there's a different when you eat something.

So you make it super thick, load on the toppings and dig in with a spoon. It's almost the same feeling as a bowl of loaded oatmeal but super cold!

What is the difference between a smoothie and a smoothie bowl?

To make it easier to see the difference, check out the chart I made:

Are smoothie bowls healthy?

Heck yes! With the right whole food nutrient rich ingredients that is. Frozen fruit, greens, nut butters, etc are all amazing for you.

More Vegan Smoothie Recipes

Wanna slurp instead of spoon? Try any of these easy plant based recipes:

• Healthy Protein Coffee Smoothie
• Vegan Carrot Cake Smoothie
• PB&J Smoothie
• Healthy Chocolate Covered Strawberry Smoothie