A tropical creamy smoothie that gives your body everything it needs!
Most people in the Western world associate avocado with something savory, but on its own the fatty fruit (yes, it’s a fruit!) does not have too much flavor, to begin with. This makes it the perfect base to take on additional flavors from other ingredients. The creaminess of the avocado gives this smoothie a richness that you would usually only get from fatty dairy. Vegans, however, have known for a long time that avocado can be used in so many different ways to replace cream, butter or thick yogurt in many dishes.
In my book Flavor Math, I have put together some other interesting dish ideas for avocado by combining it with vanilla and chocolate. Ever thought of making cake frosting out of avocado with vanilla, sugar and lemon juice? What about chocolate truffles made from avocado, cocoa and almond flour? If you dare to step-up your food pairing game check out the book here. The book is available digitally (PDF) as well!
Back to the smoothie though! The avocado will make the smoothie rich, thick and creamy. The pineapple, banana, and lime give it a delicious exotic tropical flavor, while the apple juice makes sure it’s easily drinkable. Don’t you hate those smoothies where you suck on your straw and it collapses because your smoothie is so thick that you rather should use a spoon? Add a splash of good quality apple juice – problem solved!
Pouring the apple- and lemon juice on top of the avocado cubes will stop it from browning, while you are preparing your banana. Always think about the steps you need to do in your recipe and try to find efficiencies!
Your end result: A tropical creamy smoothie! Delicious, filled to the brim with vitamins, good fats to make sure your body can absorb all the nutrients more easily and on-top vegan!
Ready to make a killer liquid breakfast?
(for 3 delicious vitamin-filled glasses – the recipe is for about 700ml in total)
Ingredients
- Half a pineapple
- 1 avocado
- 250ml apple juice
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 banana
- Optional: A little bit of vanilla extract or vanilla sugar
Chop it and blend it!
Cut the pineapple lengthwise in half, take one half, remove the top and bottom, remove the peel and the hard core. Discard the core and peel. Cut flesh into cubes and add to a blender. Reserve the other half of the pineapple for another occasion.
Cut the avocado in half, remove the seed and scoop the flesh into the blender. Pour in the apple- as well as the lemon juice.
Peel the banana, break up into pieces and add to the blender. Blend until smooth.
If the smoothie is too thick for your liking, add a bit more apple juice.
Taste the smoothie and adjust with a bit more lemon juice if you think it needs a bit more kick.
Divide smoothie among 3 glasses and garnish with thin pineapple slices!
Have you used avocado in a sweet dish or a drink before? Ever considered using avocado as a replacement for butter or dairy? If you have any comments or other delicious vegan applications for avocado, let us know in the comments below!
If you want to learn more about flavors and how to combine them, check out my second book “Flavor Math” which is available digitally (PDF)!
PS: This recipe is inspired by the idea that avocado shares chemical flavor compounds with apple, banana, and pineapple. That’s why they work so well together. Check out James Briscione’s book The Flavor Matrix on food pairing if you are interested in digging deeper into this!
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