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.
I thought you had posted that Lincoln was allergic to cashews. Did I imagine that?
This sounds amazing! I have been looking for new breakfast ideas. I just worry about the calorie count of smoothies. Do you have any idea how many calories this has in it?
This looks so refreshing! And my son would drink it! Win-win! Can I use lemon extract in lieu of the lemon zest? And if so, how much?
Hey Kristin! Hmmm, I’m not 100% sure since I haven’t tested it but I’d start with maybe 1/8th teaspoon?
Jack loves peas and will even eat them as a snack. On the other hand, he is super finicky about all forms of meat. Yep, toddlers keep it interesting!
MMM, strawberries… delicious!
sounds like a perfect thing to eat/drink while falling out of bed in the morning :-O
One of my absolute favorites.
This shake looks fabulous!! Cashews is one of my favorite nuts. I am a daycare provider (for 16 years) and I have had to feed picky eaters. But one surprising discovery that I have made is that the majority of the kids LOVE broccoli! Who knew?
Can’t tell you how much I love that this recipe makes one serving. So many smoothie recipes make 3-4 servings and they don’t seem to come out quite right when you adjust them. This also looks SOOOO yummy!!
I will definitely make this, but add some greek yogurt.
Cashews, brilliant! Looking forward to trying this recipe.
In terms of tricks to veggies, we like to freeze our peas. The kiddos think they are a frozen little treat, especially in the summer.
the tricky ‘twss’ made me LOL at work – to the point my coworkers asked me what was so funny. sneaky and hilarious – this is why I have you bookmarked. :)
The tag line on the bag of cashews “love the curves” totally made me giggle. I love cashews and their ability to adapt to a smoothie ingredient! Can I just say your Lincoln (that’s my son’s name too although he mostly goes by L.J) has the cutest dag-on smile ev-a!!