Don't let that delicious smoothie you just made go to waste! There are plenty of easy ways to store your leftover smoothie. Here are my best tips and tricks.
After I had my third son, I had a smoothie every single day as an easy but filling snack!
I would often make a full recipe (like my favorite green apple smoothie) and keep half for later. So, I learned the best ways to store a leftover smoothie so that it was still just as delicious to enjoy as when it was freshly blended.
Homemade smoothies are also great for meal prep. Smoothies are already a quick breakfast, but making a big batch of smoothies ahead of time and freezing it can speed up your mornings even more.
And if you accidentally make too much smoothie (impossible!), these storage tips will keep you from letting it go to waste.
Quick Smoothie Tips
Here's some of tips to make your grab-n-go smoothie really great before you store it.
I love my Vitamix blender but any high-speed blender should do the trick and really break down all the ingredients well.
To make sure you are maxing out your blender's capabilities and to yield a smoothie with a great and delicious consistency, always load up your blender pitcher in the following order:
- liquids first
- then soft fruits or vegetables
- then greens
- then frozen fruits and ice
- any powders on top
Make sure you always use a clean blender! Read up on the best way to clean a blender so residual flavors and odors don't make their way into your fresh smoothie.
Storing Leftover Smoothie in the Fridge
If you just need to store your smoothie for a few hours or the very next day, you can pop it in the fridge!
Store it in mason jars, or another airtight container. When you're ready to drink your smoothie, just give a good shake and enjoy.
If the ingredients settle too much, just pop it back in the blender for a few minutes. You can also add some extra fruit or a few ice cubes to get it back to the desired texture.
This is the most simple way to store a smoothie, but I only recommend using it to store leftovers for 1-2 days.
How to Store Smoothie in the Freezer
There are a few different ways to store smoothies in the freezer, but these two are my favorite. They don't require an airtight container and are a time and space saver.
Smoothie Cubes
Make your favorite smoothie, like a strawberry kiwi smoothie, and pour it into a silicone ice cube tray. Be sure to fill each cube evenly and clean up any spills so that you can easily remove the smoothie cube once its frozen.
Carefully place the filled ice trays in the freezer and freeze for up to 3 months. This is an excellent way to meal prep green smoothies and fruit smoothies.
To eat, place a few frozen cubes in a cup and let it thaw until it is a drinkable consistency. Or, place smoothie cubes in a blender with extra milk and blend to enjoy immediately.
Hot Tip: You can use a popsicle mold to make smoothie "cubes" too! Or enjoy them as popsicles, if you like.
Ziptop Bags
If you don't have silicone ice cube trays, you can store leftover smoothie in ziplock bags. Be sure to use freezer bags to protect your smoothies from freezer burn.
Fill each bag with the desired amount of smoothie. Seal it most of the way and make sure to get as much air out as possible.
Then lay it flat to freeze. Laying the freezer bag flat will save space on your freezer shelves and help your smoothie thaw quickly and evenly. This strawberry banana smoothie freezes really well.
Thaw the smoothie in the fridge for about an hour or overnight. In the morning, you can shake it up and pour it right into your cup or blend it with some more fresh fruit, juice, yogurt or milk.
You can also pop it frozen into the blender with juice or your choice of milk to enjoy it sooner, but it might be trickier to blend if it's super thick and frozen.
Freezing Smoothie Ingredients for Meal Prep
If you prefer to drink a fresh smoothie, there are some ways to store your fresh ingredients to save time on a busy morning!
Divide up your fruit you've chosen for your smoothie and place it in separate ziptop bags, a mason jar or even a silicone ice cube tray. You can make single serving portions or freeze fruit in larger batches for an entire recipe.
Then just pop it all into the blender with your dairy products, or dairy alternatives, and voila!
You can buy fruit that's already frozen and divide it into the necessary portions, or you can freeze fresh fruit!
Freezing leftover fruit that's about to spoil is a great way to stock up on smoothie ingredients. Make sure you freeze fruit properly.
Check out our tips and tricks on how to freeze bananas. It's a main ingredient in a lot of smoothies, so freezing it in bulk could be beneficial in the long run.
Frozen fruit helps smoothies have a thick and creamy consistency. So, prepping your fruit ahead of time and freezing it is a great way to ensure you have a quick, fresh and creamy smoothie.
How to make the Best Smoothies
To make your smoothies creamy, use milk or a dairy alternative. There are plenty of delicious options to choose from! You can try using almond milk, coconut milk, oat milk, or dairy milk.
To add extra protein to your healthy smoothies, add a scoop or two of your favorite protein powder or collagen.
Chia seeds and flax seeds can be a great addition to your smoothie and will increase the amount of fiber.
Thicken your smoothie by adding Greek yogurt or dairy-free yogurt. If you'd like some other ideas on how to thicken your smoothie (or thin it if it isn't quite a drinkable consistency), check out my top tips on how to make a smoothie thicker or thinner.
Smoothie Recipes You'll Love
From smoothies loaded with fruit to ones with leafy greens, there's so many amazing recipes to try. Here are a few of my favorite smoothie recipes:
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