6 of The Best and Healthiest Nutribullet Smoothie Recipes

When you’re looking to lose weight, you’ll probably encounter the advice that there are only two ways to do it: cut out some of the calories you take in, and burn more calories you have stored away. Sooner or later, it all comes back to that idea.

Meal replacement plans like my Smoothie Diet work on the first half of this equation. A smoothie is only a hundred calories or so, depending on what you put in it. It replaces a much larger breakfast or lunch, as well as snacking throughout the morning, and helps you lose weight through a combination of cutting calories and giving your body more effective and filling nutrients to prevent snacking and cravings.

There’s just one problem: it’s really easy to go overboard. The number of ingredients you put in a smoothie slowly goes up, the size of the smoothie increases, maybe you have a second cup, and before you know it, you’re already back up to the same level of calories you were eating previously.

The Nutribullet is a blender that helps solve this issue. Many blenders are designed to have large pitchers to make multiple batches of a smoothie or soup at once. The Nutribullet – at least many models of Nutribullet, though not all of them – is designed as a small, single-serving blender. It’s one of the reasons why it’s on my top list of recommended blenders.

The small size is a benefit for portion control, but it does mean you run into one issue: many smoothie recipes are just too big! They might have too many ingredients or too bulky ingredients that fill up the blender cup and don’t give it room to blend. Either you have to blend each ingredient one at a time to make room for the next, or you make smaller smoothies. Most Nutribullet recipes go for the latter, which is what I’m doing here too.

Note: there are two quirks of the Nutribullet that you might want to know ahead of time.

The first is that they have a “fill line” for adding liquids to a smoothie. Generally, you will add your ingredients, then add whatever liquid you want until it reaches the fill line. So, with my liquids in the recipes below, I won’t be saying “half a cup of almond milk”; I’ll say something like “almond milk to fill.” 

The second quirk is that when blending ice – or a frozen berry or other tough frozen items – you need a liquid. While the Nutribullet is tough enough to crush ice, it does need a liquid to facilitate it. 

As with most smoothies, the instructions are just “blend until the right texture.” Some people prefer a slightly chunky smoothie, while others want it to be creamy through and through. The difference is often a matter of just a handful of seconds of blending time, so blend until you’re satisfied. 

Nutribullet has a few handy tips for using their blenders, since they’re a little different than standard blenders. From their blog:

• Never fill the cup more than 25% full with ice. I would assume this goes for frozen fruit like banana chunks or berries, too. Basically, it needs enough room to circulate and blend the harder chunks, and so they don’t get wedged and break a blade or motor.
• Always add the liquid last. This way, you can fill to an appropriate point and won’t over-fill your smoothie cups.
• Don’t over-fill your cup. Cups have a “max fill” line; over-filling can cause the blender to leak or fail to fully blend everything. This is another way a Nutribullet helps keep your smoothies smaller.
• It’s not a problem for smoothies, but don’t add anything hot to your blender. Blending hot liquids builds up pressure and can make your seals pop or even break your blender.

Generally, a smoothie will take around 30-60 seconds to blend up, depending on what you’ve put in it and how smooth you want it. You’ll get a feel for it if you don’t already have it.

Recipe #1: Greenberry Smoothie

First up, we have a green-and-berry smoothie full of antioxidants and nutrients. I’ve modified this one a bit from the original source, so you can consider it my own creation. The best part of the smoothie, for many, is that while it has a hefty handful of greens in it, you generally won’t even taste them. That includes the more potent greens like kale, which many people tend not to like.

Here’s the recipe:

• 1 Whole Banana
• 3 Whole Strawberries, Hulled
• 1 Handful Greens
• 1 Tbsp Honey
• 2 Ice Cubes
• Plant Milk to Fill

Fill it up by adding the greens first, then the ice, then the other ingredients, with the plant milk last. Then blend until you’re satisfied with the texture, and enjoy.

A few ingredient suggestions:

• For your filler plant milk, I prefer unsweetened almond milk. The slight nut flavor is a tasty addition, and it’s one of the healthiest milk alternatives. You’re free to use anything you like, though, including soy, rice, cashew, or pea milk. 
• Strawberries are great, but you can change up the smoothie by adding blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, or any other berry you want. Mix and match for a slightly different experience every day.
• The original source of this recipe recommended kale. I know plenty of you don’t care for kale, so I just put “greens” in the recipe. Feel free to choose your own. I like spinach, arugula, collards, and even bok choy as greens to rotate through from day to day. Keep two or three on hand, swap them out from time to time, and find the ones you like the most.
• Honey can be replaced with dates, maple syrup, or even left out entirely if you don’t mind a tangier, less sweet smoothie.

It’s a simple, easy recipe for a berry smoothie with the super nutritional power of greens behind it. What’s not to love?

Recipe #2: Tropical Orange Powerhouse

This smoothie is a tropical powerhouse of flavor and has a ton of beta-carotene and other nutrients you might not normally get in your smoothies. The secret ingredient? Carrots! You might be surprised to find carrots in a smoothie, but they’re actually a perfect veggie to blend up in the right flavor mixture. Try it; you might be surprised.

For this tropical powerhouse, you’ll need:

• 1 Whole Peach, Pit Removed
• 1 Cup Baby Carrots
• 1 Frozen Banana, Chunked
• 2 Tbsp Greek Yogurt
• Coconut Water to Fill

Depending on the size of your peaches, you may want more or less. Frozen peach can work too, though I might recommend leaving the banana unfrozen if you do, so you don’t overload your blender with frozen foods. You can also add a little honey if you want it sweeter, though good peaches are plenty sweet enough. 

If you’re not a fan of coconut, you can use a milk alternative instead for a more peaches-and-cream kind of flavor profile, or just use water to smooth it out without the flavor. 

You might be surprised that I haven’t added greens to this recipe. You can feel free to add a handful if you want – leave out a few carrots if you need more space – but it might clash a little with the peach. Peaches vary a lot depending on when they were picked and how ripe they are, so the flavor can be very different from smoothie to smoothie. 

Recipe #3: Pure Green Immune Booster

Green smoothies are a bit odd if you’ve never had one before. Usually, people use fruit or chocolate to mask the taste of greens in their smoothies. With a green smoothie, you instead lean into the vegetal flavors and accentuate them. It’s weird if you’ve never had one before, but you might come to like it. And, of course, those of you who are already green smoothie fans will love this one.

Here’s what you’ll need to make this delicious green smoothie:

• 1 Handful Greens
• ½ Cucumber
• ½ Celery Stalk
• 1 Tsp Fresh Grated Ginger
• 1 Tsp Parsley
• 2 Tsp Lemon Juice
• 5 Fresh Mint Leaves
• 1 Cup Ice
• Water to Fill

With this recipe, the flavor of your chosen greens (I like spinach, arugula, or chard here) takes front and center. Fresh ginger is an excellent, almost fruity spice, but if you want something a little bolder and pepperier, you can use ground ginger instead. The lemon adds a hint of tang, but it’s mostly there to help keep the vegetables from oxidizing and turning a gross brown. 

As usual, you can use any liquid you prefer. Water is a fine filler for this recipe, but a neutral soy milk can work just as well. I wouldn’t use a dairy milk for several reasons, including the addition of lemon risking curdling a bit of it, though. 

Recipe #4: The Perfect Pair Choco-PB Smoothie

What goes together better than peanut butter and chocolate? This smoothie is so delicious and sweet you’ll think you’re drinking a milkshake, but it’s infinitely healthier than ice cream would be. It’s also an excellent introduction to smoothies; if you haven’t sold yourself on switching to smoothies for breakfast, giving yourself something this decadent can be a great incentive.

For this perfect pair smoothie, you’ll need:

• 1 Banana, Frozen and Chunked
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 2 Tbsp Peanut Butter
• 2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
• Almond Milk to Fill

The banana gives it creaminess and some sweetness. The peanut butter is a core to a PB/chocolate flavor profile, but you can swap it for a cashew butter, almond butter, or another nut butter if you prefer. Cocoa powder is a rich chocolate addition, without the unhealthy parts of real chocolate (the sugar and cocoa butter parts, that is.) The vanilla extract adds a richness you won’t get otherwise, but be careful not to overdo it.

This is another recipe where you can easily add a handful of greens, and they’ll be completely masked by the flavor of the nut butter and chocolate. Give it a try!

Recipe #5: Black Forest Protein Bomb

This smoothie is another one that feels like a dessert at first, but can leave you sated for way longer than you might expect. The secret ingredient is some form of protein and fiber to keep you feeling full.

For this protein-rich smoothie, you’ll need:

• 1 Cup Frozen Cherries, Pits Removed
• 2 Dates
• ¼ Cup Rolled Oats
• 1 Tbsp Chia Seeds
• 2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
• 1 Handful Greens
• Plant Milk to Fill

The core of a black forest smoothie is chocolate and cherries. Everything else is there to be filling and nutritious (the greens, chia seeds, and oats), or for sweetness (the dates). Feel free to leave off a date if you want it less sweet.

For this smoothie, the only real source of “ice” is the frozen cherries. If you want to use fresh cherries, leave out some of them and add a bit of ice, or mix up half and half frozen and fresh cherries. 

Recipe #6: Apple Crumble Smoothie

A fall classic treat is a good apple crisp or apple crumble. A nice tart apple, some sugar and cinnamon, and you have a wonderful dessert. Well, a smoothie with the same flavors won’t be quite the same – it’s cold, for one thing – but it will be quite delicious either way.

To make this tasty treat, you’ll need:

• 1 Handful Greens
• 1 Apple, Core Removed
• 1 Tsp Cinnamon
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• ½ Tsp Nutmeg
• 1 Handful Almonds
• Coconut Water or Almond Milk to Fill

Your choice of liquids here; both of them work well, and you can even mix them half and half. You can peel the apple too if you want, but the peel has some good nutrition in it, so I recommend keeping it on, just washing it first. And, as always, your choice of greens.

So, what do you think? Have you tried out any of these recipes? If not, are you interested in trying out any of them now? Which one sticks out to you the most? Do you have another favorite I didn’t add? If so, please feel free to let me know! I’d love to hear all your thoughts!