This delicious blackcurrant smoothie is an easy way to enjoy the health benefits of seasonal blackcurrants. Serve this healthy fruit-based drink as part of a nutritious breakfast or as an energising snack.
What you'll love about the recipe
- A quick and easy recipe to use raw blackcurrants, fresh or frozen
- A healthy, energising snack or breakfast with no added sugar. It's also easy to make a dairy-free, vegan version of the recipe
- Blackcurrants are super nutritious. They contain 3 times as much vitamin C as oranges and are rich in antioxidants. Blackcurrants are also a good source of fibre
- Including milk in this blackcurrant smoothie makes it a good source of protein. It'll help to fill you up and stabilise the natural sugars in the fruit
If you've got a glut of homegrown blackcurrants, you might also like this quick homemade blackcurrant sauce, low sugar blackcurrant curd or healthy blackcurrant fool recipe.
Ingredients
Blackcurrants. You can use either fresh or frozen blackcurrants to make this smoothie. There's no need to defrost frozen currants.
Most varieties of blackcurrants are in season in the summer in July and early August in the UK. It can be difficult to find them in supermarkets, but they are often found in farmers markets.
Frozen blackcurrants are more widely available.
As my blackcurrants were homegrown, I had to pinch off the little tails on the blackcurrants but it can be a bit fiddly.
A small ripe banana sweetens the smoothie and balances the tart flavour of the blackcurrants.
If you have some frozen bananas, you can also use them. Once bananas have been frozen they go extra creamy when processed, which is ideal in a smoothie.
Milk. You can use skimmed or whole milk, dairy or non dairy. I like to include milk in a smoothie as it adds extra protein.
How to make blackcurrant smoothie
You can either use an immersion blender and a jug, or a blender or food processor.
Pop the prepared fruit and milk in the blender and blend until smooth. I could still see little flecks of blackcurrant skin in my smoothie, but they weren't noticeable when I drank it.
Variations
If you want to make blackcurrant smoothie without banana, use 100g of another sweet fruit such as strawberries or peaches. I've also used melon before which sounds quite an odd combination, but the acidity of the blackcurrants worked well with the sweetness of melon.
If you want your blackcurrant smoothie to be higher in protein, add 100g of Greek yogurt. You can also make a smoothie with cottage cheese.
If you enjoy a smoothie at breakfast, why not turn it into a blackcurrant smoothie bowl with a couple of tablespoons of chia seeds? They are very nutritious and add extra fibre and protein.
Serving and storage
It's best to enjoy this blackcurrant smoothie immediately after you've made it. Blended fruit will start to oxidise and lose some of its vitamins. However, if you've got some smoothie left, just pop it in the fridge and drink it up within 24 hours.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, blackcurrants can be eaten raw. They have a tart, aromatic flavour, but fully ripe fruit will be a little sweeter. Combine blackcurrants with sweeter fruits such as bananas or strawberries, or add a natural sweetener such as honey.
Yes, blackcurrants are a very healthy fruit. Like other deep purple fruits and veg, they are a good source of anthocyanins which have antioxidant properties. They also contain omega oils, fibre, plus several important vitamins and minerals. The seeds in blackcurrants are the source of much of the fibre and omega oils, so it's best to not sieve them out!
Other healthy blackcurrant recipes
You can also include blackcurrants in these other healthy recipes
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Recipe
Blackcurrant Smoothie
Equipment
- Immersion blender, blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 100 g blackcurrants stems and stalks removed
- 1 small banana very ripe, peeled and sliced
- 200 ml milk
Instructions
- Add the milk, blackcurrants and sliced banana to the blender.
- Blitz until smooth.
Notes
- Use skimmed, full fat, dairy or non dairy milk.
- If you want to make blackcurrant smoothie without banana, use 100g of another sweet fruit such as strawberries or peaches.
- For a higher protein smoothie, add 100g Greek yogurt or cottage cheese.
- Make a smoothie bowl by adding 2 tablespoons of chia seed.
Nutrition
Please note nutritional information is per serving and is provided for guidance only.
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