How to Freeze Fruit and Make Better Smoothies

Freezing fruit can provide an easy way to make delicious and nutritious smoothies. Learn how to properly freeze fruit and create better smoothies with these tips and tricks.

One thing that I’ve really been working hard on this year is having a healthier breakfast. I was always a die hard cereal girl which is totally fine, but I was missing out on a lot of nutrients that could help me have a better, more energized day.

So, I started drinking green smoothies with a little protein or doing breakfast parfaits with granola (or oatmeal but summer is generally more about the smoothies.), but I quickly realized three things which is why we are doing a post on how to freeze fruit and make better smoothies.

Smoothie Musts

So if I’m going to be having fruit smoothies for breakfast, I have some thoughts…

1. I need a little fruit in my smoothies to love them, otherwise it is too bland or bitter for me. Plus everyone needs a little fruit in their lives.
2. Making smoothies is expensive. I know a lot of people that eat the whole foods diet or are big on fresh produce swear it’s not bad, but it is expensive. So my solution was to start buying things on sale and freezing them because it allowed me to still incorporate fresh fruits into the smoothies, saved us money!
3. I like my smoothies thick like a shake and not thin like a juice, so using frozen fruit thickened up the texture of my shake without adding ice cubes.

I’ve compiled a list of fruits that freeze well, but the how-to is quite easy. The most important part about this, other than actually freezing is to buy fresh fruit when it’s on sale at the grocery store, and buy a lot. That way you can freeze fruit at it’s cheapest and overall save money versus buying frozen or fresh fruit that’s not on sale.

Is It Cheaper to Freeze Your Own Fruit for Smoothies?

Yes! I’m looking at a bag of frozen sliced bananas right now at Smith’s. It costs $2.99 for a 16 oz bag (or 1 lb). In comparison, fresh bananas cost $0.25/lb, so let’s say you buy 2 lbs of bananas since you will need to remove the peel. That will only be $0.50 for bananas and little bit of work peeling, slicing and properly freezing them.

Here’s another example for strawberries. A 10oz bag of frozen strawberries costs $2.99. You can get a 1 lb (or 16oz) carton of fresh strawberries for the same price, so you get almost 1/2 lb more of strawberries for the same price. You can get fresh strawberries for even cheaper than that when they are in season or on sale.

How to Freeze Fruit for Smoothies

Peel (if needed), remove stems, and rinse the fruit well, chop into small chunks or slices and dry with paper towels. Next, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and lay the fruit out flat in a single layer, trying to keep a little space between each piece. Now place the tray in the freezer for 3 hours or up to 1 day. Remove the fruit and place in ziploc freezer bags, pressing out all the air and sealing shut. Now the fruit will keep for 6-9 months.

Smoothie Ice Cream is what happens when strawberries, blueberries, and bananas are blended into a frozen concoction so thick you can eat it with a spoon. 

Ice Cream Smoothie

This ice cream smoothie was an accidental result of my not paying a lot of attention as I threw some of our favorite smoothie ingredients into the blender. Banana berry smoothies are always a win with my kids, so I expected thumbs up when they tasted this.

Their response was off the charts though. The kids LOVED this and declared it the following: “awesome,” “favorite breakfast food ever,” “better than regular ice cream,” and “just make this for our next dessert.” I was laughing so hard by the time the kids polished off their “ice cream breakfast.”

While I did not share their extreme level of enthusiasm or the inclination to call this mixed berry smoothie, “more delicious than ice cream,” it really is a delicious frozen treat. And I was especially happy to see the kids so excited over a healthy treat.

I made these smoothies twice more that month before sharing the recipe with you, just to make sure that the “ice cream” wasn’t a fluke and could be recreated easily. Side note here: I have a very powerful blender. If you do not have a very powerful blender, I recommend using a food processor to make this ice cream.

I have

Bursting with the sweet, juicy flavors of pineapple and coconut, this Pina Colada Smoothie brings a bit of vacation sunshine, no matter the weather.

Pina Colada Smoothie

Years ago, when I first put this recipe on the blog, I had just made this piña colada smoothie and churned it into ice cream. I can still remember how my little boys jumped up and down with excitement.

They loved the sweetness of this refreshing ice cream treat during the heat of a Phoenix summer. I loved that it had no refined sugars.

I had been on a bit of a smoothie kick, back then. But, I’d never tried freezing a smoothie recipe before that. The result is a creamy texture that is more like soft-serve ice cream.

The twist of lime in this Pina Colada Smoothie gives it a unique taste that is more complex than the simple combination of coconut and pineapple. And, the tiny pinch of sea salt likewise enhances all of the flavors.

Be aware that different manufacturers produce their coconut milks at varying levels of creaminess and thickness. My favorite is the canned coconut milk from Thai kitchen.

I typically use store-bought frozen pineapple chunks for smoothies, but you can also freeze fresh pineapple chunks with the banana. Also, the honey could be swapped out for another natural sweet

This dairy-free Pineapple Banana Smoothie is light and refreshing, perfect with breakfast or as a snack any time throughout the day.

If the gray skies of January have you dreaming of warm summer days, mix up a batch of smoothies this morning and your mood is sure to improve!

Banana Pineapple Smoothie

The sweetness of the fruit is balanced nicely with the slightly tart pineapple in this drink. Without adding more than a hint of coconut flavor, coconut water creates a much lighter smoothie than the alternative dairy-based smoothies.

I like to add frozen bananas to our smoothies, but if you don’t happen to have a frozen banana on hand, a regular one will still serve to thicken the smoothie nicely. (I keep a bag of ripe peeled bananas in the freezer at all times for this reason.)

My family is laughably passionate in their love of smoothies. (That might have something to do with the reason why there are over 50 smoothie recipes on this website!) On almost any given day, you’re likely to find our blender on the counter making smoothies in almost every color of the rainbow.

Pineapple Orange Smoothie

The orange juice in this smoothie ser

As tasty as it is nutritious, this Mango Banana Spinach Smoothie highlights the tropical sweetness of mango and the creaminess of bananas.

Mango Spinach Smoothie

I was skeptical the first time I tried spinach in a smoothie. All it takes is a wheatgrass shot at Jamba Juice, and you’d be suspicious of blended greens, too. But, spinach is one of the most frequently used ingredients in our smoothies, now.

It might seem like an unlikely partner in this dance of flavors, but when blended it becomes a wonderful, earthy undertone. It adds complexity and depth to the fruit flavors in a mango spinach smoothie.

Mango Banana Spinach Smoothie

I have always struggled to get my kids to eat their leafy greens. And, if I’m honest, I came pretty late to the salad game as an adult. Smoothies became a surefire way to get them to eat an entire serving of greens in one sitting when they were little.

This spinach mango smoothie is a dream for getting ahead in the vegetable game. If you’re struggling to meet your fiber goals or to get enough spinach or kale into your diet, I strongly recommend it.

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