Cherry Smoothies

Enjoy summertime fruit with the best Cherry Smoothies! These are bright and tasty and should definitely be made on the regular. Cheers to a 5 minute smoothie!

Fruit smoothies are so refreshing on hot days. In addition to these, we love these Berry Peanut Butter Smoothies, Pineapple Banana Smoothies and a layered version – Blueberry Mango Chia Smoothies! Rather have a smoothie bowl? Make these Peach Smoothie Bowls!

Frozen Cherry Smoothies

We are all about the cold drinks during the summer or after workouts anytime of year. We usually keep it pretty simple with smoothies, and I love that you can get cooled off and enjoy something healthy at the same time. While I normally use milk in smoothies, I occasionally add some sort of juice instead. It changes the flavor profile but we enjoy it both ways.

Reasons to LOVE this recipe

1. Delicious. Cold, crisp, and refreshing. Just like a fruit smoothie should be, right?
2. Convenient. Using frozen cherries allows you to make these 365 days out of the year, which is super nice. I always keep several bags of frozen fruit handy in my freezer.
3. Simple. Just six simple ingredients that you may keep on hand. We do!
4. Kid and adult friendly. These are alcohol free, and I can see these being great for kid parties and an option for adults as well.

Ingredients Used

I love keeping these ingredients on hand for a cherry smoothie on a whim. SO nice to make for your kiddos too. They will love them!

• Banana – Use one over-ripe banana. You could also use a frozen banana but you may need to add more liquid to the smoothies.
• Greek Yogurt – I use one single serving container of vanilla Greek yogurt. Feel free to use a fruit flavored yogurt as well.
• Fruit Juice – You could use any light colored fruit juice like apple juice or peach juice. If you can find cherry juice, that would work well too.
• Vanilla Extract – A couple of teaspoons adds a nice flavor, but you could leave it out too.
• Frozen Cherries – Frozen cherries are so easy to use and readily available in the grocery store. If you get super ambitious, you could also use fresh pitted cherries.
• Fresh Cherries – I love using a garnish in my drinks, so adding a couple of fresh ones adds that nice pop of color!

How to make Cherry Smoothies

1. Combine ingredients in a blender. To a blender, add all ingredients – the banana, Greek yogurt, fruit juice, vanilla, and frozen cherries.
2. Blend. Blend ingredients until smooth. We like ours a little thicker so we can sip it slowly and it doesn’t get too thin.
3. Serve. Serve smoothies in some nice glasses with a couple of fresh cherries on top.

How to Fix a Smoothie (that’s too thick or too thin)

• If the smoothie mixture is too thick, use some cold water to thin. You could also use additional fruit juice (or milk if that is an ingredient in the smoothie).
• If the smoothies are too thin, use some ice cubes to get it to your desired consistency.

Expert Tips

• Use a high powered blender. Using a good blender is key for this recipe that involves frozen fruit and possibly some ice. I’ve got the one I use linked below.
• Improvise if needed. If you don’t have fruit juice, use milk. It will change the flavor but it’s still tasty! You could also use different flavors of yogurt as well as use fresh cherries (and some added ice).
• Leftovers are great. You can store any leftover smoothie mixture in the freezer in an airtight container. Simply remove it from the freezer and let it sit for awhile. Then add it to a blender, add a little bit more liquid, and blend again.
• Don’t forget to garnish. I love adding garnishes to any kind of drinks. We eat with our eyes first!

Do Cherries have health benefits?

YES! Cherries are low in calories and full of fiber, vitamins, minerals, nutrients, etc. You’ll enjoy vitamins C,A, and K in this fruit, as well as antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. They help relieve muscle pain and insomnia and have other benefits as well.

What types of cherries exist?

• Sour Cherries – like Early Richmond, English Morello, and Meteor Cherries.
• Sweet Cherries – like Bing, Maraschino, Van, Sweetheart, and Rainier.

I recommend using sweet frozen cherries in these smoothies, or if using fresh, try Bing or Rainier.

Kitchen Tools Used: (affiliate links)

• Vitamix Blender
• Glass Drinking Straws

Please let me know if you try this recipe. Be sure to comment and leave a review on the blog so I can see what you think. You can also like my Facebook Page, follow me on Pinterest, and catch me on Instagram.

xoxo ~Sue