Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie is the gluten and dairy free version of strawberry shortcake! Perfect for a healthy breakfast or snack.
One type of food I can always rely on to supply my kids with a blast of nutrients is smoothies.
I like to stuff the blender full of spinach and chia seeds then sweeten it up with fresh fruit like in my Best Ever Green Smoothie, or pack it with fresh berries and nuts that are high in healthy fats, protein, and iron like in my Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie!
Health reasons aside, we simply love this smoothie because it tastes AMAZING! It’s a spinoff of my Blueberry Muffin Smoothie in that it tastes like dessert, in this case Strawberry Shortcake, but is sweetened with zero added sugar.
In Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie, strawberries are blended with almond milk (or whatever you have in the fridge), bananas, a splash of vanilla extract, a teensy bit of fresh lemon zest (if you’ve had the Blueberry Muffin Smoothie then you know how key this is to making the smoothie taste like a baked good,) and a secret ingredient – cashews!
Why cashews? Well, raw cashews are a creamy and sweeter-tasting nut that takes the place of yogurt in this smoothie, plus it mimics the flavor of shortcake. Some of my kids are allergic to dairy so the cashews help give each sip a creamy, thick consistency, plus they’re loaded with iron which I’m a big fan of.
Just one step to this simple recipe – throw stuff in a blender and push on!
Said “stuff” includes 1/2 cup almond milk (or again, whatever you have in the fridge,) 1 cup sliced strawberries, 1/2 banana, 2 heaping Tablespoons raw cashews, a splash of good vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest. You can skip the zest but it totally makes this smoothie!
Here are the cashews I use. Make sure you’re not using roasted cashews, rather, we want the creamy, sweet raw ones.
Add 1/2 cup ice on top of the other ingredients then blend, blend, blend until ultra smooth.
Pour into a glass then sip! Honestly you’re going to flip your lid for this smoothie. Sweet and decadent tasting yet no extra sugar (nor baking) required. Enjoy!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup milk, any kind
- 1 cup sliced strawberries, ~8 strawberries, fresh or frozen
- 1/2 banana, fresh or frozen
- 2 heaping Tablespoons raw cashews
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/2 cup ice
Directions
- Add ingredients to blender in order listed.
- Blend until smooth.
Notes
- A high powered blender is necessary to get the cashews blended until creamy.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Oh my goodness, my sister just sent that site to me yesterday! I loved the one where he wouldn’t eat it because it was on a green plate! It reminds me of the #whymykidiscrying site! Toddlers are just not rational in any way, shape or form. Too cute! I adore this smoothie – the cashews are an awesome addition for more protein!
I don’t know which I love more – Lincoln’s crazed look in his eye for that smoothie or your “twss” comments! :P
This is perfect! I have been needing a good smoothie recipe! Thanks! :)
Yummy, looks tasty! Need to try this.
OMG I just followed that Instagram account. So funny (but I have little cousins, so I totally get that it’s true and frustrating)! And I love that you added cashews to this smoothie. I’d never have thought of it, but it makes perfect sense. I can’t wait to make this :D
This smoothie looks great. Can’t wait to give it a try! I can’t wait for the weather to finally make up its mind and warm up for good.
Have you ever considered posting calorie count on your recipes?
I “mustache” you where you got Lincoln’s pajamas from.
Hehe! Carters! :)
Yum, this smoothie looks so good and I love the addition of cashews! Cashews are my favorite type of nut, so I think they would be excellent in a smoothie!
I have never thought about adding cashews to a smoothie! I have a huge bag in the pantry so I’ll have to make this tomorrow!
I appreciate your laid back attitude about venturing through the “what will my child eat” experience. I admit I find it annoying when a parent has a kid that will literally eat everything, and they take total credit for it. Every child is a little different, and some kids are just easier in this regard. But for most they go through phases, and for many it gets harder at preschool and higher as many of them become more limited at that time.
Mine is in the middle…. he is somewhat okay about variety, but picky at the same time. I count my blessings that he likes veggies and fruits to some degree, and just keep looking for those bright spots and try very hard to not make food a big deal. My main focus is that he understands moderation when it comes to treats, and that he gets some healthy food in his diet.
Have fun!
Love this! Your green detox smoothie and blueberry muffin smoothie are both favorites of mine, so I can’t wait to give this one a go!
Have you tried giving him things to dunk his veggies in? My now Mr. 7 went through a phase where he wanted to dunk everything, so I used yogurt a lot for dunking ;)