Blueberry Kefir Smoothie

Name: Blueberry Kefir Smoothie
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1 cup vanilla kefir or plain kefir (I used Lifeway Cultured Whole Milk Vanilla Kefir); 1 medium ripe banana; 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries; 2 teaspoons honey (or to taste; optional, for extra sweetness or if using plain kefir); 1 tablespoon chia seeds or ground flax seeds (optional, for extra nutrition and fiber); a few ice cubes (optional, for an extra icy smoothie or if using fresh berries)

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This simple berry kefir smoothie recipe ticks all the boxes with fresh fruit, healthy natural probiotics and a touch of honey for a little extra sweetness.

Blueberry kefir smoothie topped with fresh blueberries in a tall glass.

I love, love, love using kefir in smoothies. With a slightly different probiotic profile of probiotic strains than yogurt, it's a great way to mix things up and add a little extra probiotic love to your life. If you've never tried kefir before, this recipe is a great intro: it's refreshing, easy and delicious. (Spoiler alert: it's very similar to it's cousin, yogurt, with just a slightly different and perhaps more intense but lovely tang and sourness.)

If you can't get enough blueberries in your life (like me), you can also try this blueberry banana smoothie or these easy blueberry muffins. And if you love all the health benefits of fermented foods like kefir, you should also check out this overnight oats recipe. 🙂

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🌿 Ingredients
📝 Instructions
📋 Substitutions
📖 Variations
🔪 Equipment
🍱 Storage
🎉 Top tip
💭 FAQ
🍳 Recipe

🌿 Ingredients

Just a few ingredients are all you'll need for this smoothie recipe. You should be able to find kefir at any health food store as well as most large grocery stores (look in the yogurt section.) If you can't find it, just substitute vanilla yogurt instead!

See recipe card below for exact quantities.

📝 Instructions

This kefir smoothie does not disappoint when it comes to prep time. You'll be drinking it's deliciousness in 5 minutes flat. 🙂

Simply place all of the ingredients in a blender, kefir first and ice last. Then cover the blender tightly, increase its speed to high and blend for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until everything is smooth and creamy.

Ice, blueberries, kefir and chia seeds placed in a high speed blender. — Tip: Add the ice to the blender last to ensure smooth blending.

You can test it to check sweetness; if's not sweet enough, just blend in a little extra honey. Then pour into two tall glasses and enjoy immediately.

📋 Substitutions

This smoothie is naturally gluten free as written. Here are some other substitutions you can make:

Kefir - if you can't find kefir in your local store, just substitute vanilla yogurt or plain yogurt
Blueberries - use the same amount of strawberries, raspberries or mixed berries (fresh or frozen fruit both work great)
Banana - feel free to substitute fresh or frozen pineapple instead of banana to make up for the sweetness
Honey - feel free to substitute maple syrup or agave syrup; they all work great
Chia seeds - ground flax seeds also work great, or just leave out (totally optional)
Vegan - unfortunately there really aren't any vegan or dairy free kefir products on the market (unless you make your own), but you can definitely swap out the milk kefir in this recipe with any plant based yogurt, and use maple syrup or agave syrup instead of honey to make vegan

📖 Variations

And here are a couple variations you can try:

Strawberry kefir smoothie - just swap the same amount of fresh or frozen strawberries for blueberries
Tropical kefir smoothie - use fresh or frozen mango and/or pineapple instead of berries; it's delicious!
Almond butter - if you want to sneak in a little extra protein and creaminess at the same time, add a tablespoon or so of almond butter or peanut butter
Kid friendly - add a little extra honey (if necessary) for some extra sweetness

🔪 Equipment

Here is the equipment you'll need to make this smoothie recipe:

professional-grade blender or standard blender

A professional-grade blender (if you have one) will create an extra smooth texture, but a standard blender will work just fine too.

🍱 Storage

This smoothie tastes best when consumed immediately, but it will stay fresh for up to 24 hours in the fridge. It does not stand up well to freezing.

🎉 Top tip

If you haven't tried kefir before, this recipe is a great place to start! While it is a little more tart than yogurt, the sweetness of the berries and honey are the perfect complement. And, you'll get all of the beneficial probiotics to boot. 👍

Enjoy!

💭 FAQ

What is kefir?

Kefir is traditionally a cultured milk beverage, whereby the dairy milk is inoculated with healthy probiotic strains which give it a pleasant, sour taste.

What are the benefits of kefir?

Just as yogurt is beneficial to the gut flora by adding beneficial bacteria and improving digestion, kefir does the same thing with slightly different probiotic strains.

Where can you buy kefir?

Most large grocery store chains carry kefir in the dairy and yogurt section, as well as smaller health-food oriented stores.

What are the best kefir brands?

I like Lifeway Organic Kefir which is easy to find at most larger stores, but there are other brands such as Maple Hill Organic and Wallaby Organic which are equally delicious if you can find them.

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