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Today I’m sharing one of my all-time favorite beverages that also works as a breakfast or snack. It’s the very cherry smoothie. It can be made with or without dark leafy greens for an extra boost of nutrients. Vegan & gluten-free.
I am a savory breakfast person through and through.
I’ll easily take a breakfast burrito or vegan eggs and toast over maple syrup drenched pancakes most days. I want my breakfast to come with a side of avocado or salsa, not topped with powdered sugar.
However, there are some days in the summer months when it’s hot and muggy. At those times, a fruit smoothie is the perfect way to start the day.
It’s filling without being heavy, easy to take on the road, or sip while I check my email.
The smoothie I’ve been obsessed with lately is this Very Cherry Smoothie. It packs a wallop of cherry flavor from ½ cup of dark cherries and a dash of almond extract.
Almond extract is one of my favorite secret ingredients for increasing the yum factor in a smoothie. That extra roundness of cherry flavor makes it that much more delicious.
This Very Cherry Smoothie includes frozen chunks of banana, which whip into an ice cream-like texture, and chia seeds.
Chia is known for its omega 3 properties, along with being a source of fiber, protein, and calcium. It also gives the smoothie a thicker viscosity.
I usually add something green to my smoothies. And nutrient-dense dark leafy greens like kale and collard greens are my favorite.
If those are too bitter for you, spinach is a good choice as well. Or if you prefer your smoothie on the sweet side, simply leave out the optional greens.
(I left the greens out for these pictures, because they have a way of turning a red smoothie brown. The taste is still great, but the look is less vibrant.)
This very cherry smoothie is teeming with flavor and is sure to quench your thirst on a hot day. It’s also thick enough, it would be great for a smoothie bowl with all of your favorite toppings!
How to make this smoothie
Peel a ripe banana. Break it into chunks, and pop it into a freezer-proof container. Cover & freeze it until you’re ready to use it.
Once it’s smoothie time, put chia seeds, vanilla soy milk or almond milk, frozen cherries, frozen banana, and almond extract into a high-speed blender.
Blend until smooth.
For an icier, thicker smoothie, add ice cubes to the blender. Then blend until thoroughly combined. Pour into a glass and serve.
If you don’t have a high speed blender, you may want to grind the chia seeds in a clean coffee grinder before putting them into the blender, so that you don’t have any whole seeds in the smoothie.
To add even more nutrients to your smoothie, add one or two kale or collard leaves. Just remember to remove the leaves from the hard center rib first.
If you don’t have a high speed blender, I recommend blending the non-dairy milk and kale or collard leaves alone in the blender first before adding the remaining ingredients. Dark leafy greens are thick and fibrous. They break down better if you blend them completely before adding more ingredients to the blender jar.
If you have a high speed blender, it’s not an issue, though. You can blend everything at once.
Very cherry smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon chia seeds*
- 1/2 cup vanilla soy milk or other non-dairy milk
- 1-2 kale leaves or collard leaves, ribs removed (optional)**
- 1/2 cup frozen dark sweet cherries
- 1 banana frozen in chunks
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 4 ice cubes optional
Instructions
- Add the chia seeds, vanilla soy milk, kale or collard leaves (if using), cherries, banana, and almond extract to a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth. For an icier, thicker smoothie, add ice cubes to blender and blend until thoroughly combined. Pour into glass and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally posted August 2015. Content & photos updated July 2019.
Nicole {VeganShowOff.com} says
I’m a total savory breakfast girl as well and I love almond extract! This smoothie looks so good and that’s definitely the coolest spoon I’ve ever seen : )
Cadry says
Thank you! When I saw the spoon while on vacation in Florida earlier this year, I had no choice but to buy it. Yes, it’s made of pewter and hand wash only (which means I don’t use it very often), but it was too fun to pass up.
bitt says
I love cherry smoothies! Funny I am the opposite about breakfast, I can’t handle anything savory at all.
How do collards taste in this? It is like kale or stronger?
Cadry says
That’s interesting that you’re much more on the sweet side of breakfast! The collards are stronger tasting than kale. To taste the cherries unencumbered, I’d say go without. But if you’re already a green smoothie fan, give it a shot.
Shell says
This smoothie looks amazing! I’ve never tried almond extract in a smoothie before. I’m going to add frozen cherries to my shopping list so I can give this a try!
Cadry says
Thanks, Shell! Let me know what you think!
Shell says
I made this smoothie over the weekend and LOVED it! It was so different from what I usually make. I loved the flavor and consistency. I will definitely be making it again soon.
Cadry says
Excellent! I’m so glad to hear that!
Caitlin says
ahh this sounds so delicious. i hardly ever eat cherries because they are so expensive and i don’t know what to do with them, but this smoothie is perfect. i’ve heard of cherries in the frozen section before- will definitely be checking them out this week.
Cadry says
I splurge on fresh cherries in the summer, because they are available for such a short window of time. They are up there with figs as my favorite fruit. Sometimes frozen cherries go on sale, though, and those are just right for this smoothie. Let me know what you think if you try it, Caitlin! 🙂
Bianca says
Yum!! I’ve pinned this for future use. I’m with you on preferring savory breakfasts BUT I LOVE SMOOTHIES!! Mostly because they’re the only way I truly enjoy eating fruit and they’re excellent for getting in my post-run protein powder. Plus, my tummy never feels weird after a smoothie. It’s just right!
Cadry says
I hope you enjoy it, Bianca!
Isabetta says
I just tried this using vanilla oat milk and subbed spinach for collards and thought it came out very thick and rich.I loved it.Best smoothie I’ve tasted in a while!
Cadry says
Wow, that’s a fast turnaround! I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed it!
Susan says
I am wondering if almond extract in Australia is more potent than almond extract in the US. I often see it added into cupcake or cookie recipes to ’round out’ the flavour, however I never add it as when I do it seems to make everything taste like marzipan. And I like marzipan, but not when I am eating something non-marzipan. Perhaps I need to do a side by side comparison one day.
Cadry says
That’s an interesting question. I don’t know if the Australian version is more potent or not. I think bottled liquid smoke varies in potency. Lots of times I’ll see recipes that call for 1-2 Tablespoons, and my concentrated liquid smoke would ruin a dish in those amounts. Just 1/2 teaspoon is plenty! Perhaps almond extract is the same way. I can’t speak to how much it does or doesn’t taste like marzipan. I’ve actually never eaten marzipan. Let me know if you ever do a side by side comparison. I’d be interested to hear the results!
Susan says
If only I could just pop round with a bottle of Australian almond extract (and some marzipan) and we could compare and contrast together!
Certainly chili powder is a different beast here compared to there. Chili powder here is just 100% ground hot chilies… I thought Americans were super hardcore chili people for the longest time. I killed myself once following a recipe and added all the chili powder!
I know what you mean about liquid smokes. I recently bought a new liquid smoke and I think it must be way stronger than my last one. And I have made two recipes in the last two weeks that needed 1tbs of liquid smoke and they really just tasted like charred wood. I will be decreasing the amount called for in future!
KZ says
Yum I love the sound of this recipe! I like the Cherry/Kale smoothie from the Abundance Diet so I’m sure I’ll like this one. I agree to savory breakfasts. I can eat maybe one bite of pancakes, but I don’t really need more than that. I’m all about the scramble, potatoes, avocado, etc..
Cadry says
I haven’t looked at Somer’s cherry/kale smoothie recipe. I’ll have to check it out!
That’s interesting that you’re the same way with savory versus sweet breakfasts. Maybe once a year I’ll order pancakes at a restaurant, but then I always have to at least get a tofu scramble on the side. Like you, usually one bite of David’s plate of pancakes is enough.
Caitlin says
Yum! I love cherries and almond paired together. 🙂 They’re such a perfect combo!
Cadry says
Absolutely! Almond amps up the cherry flavor in a most delicious way.
Jerilyn says
I made this Saturday morning – simple but oh so yummy and refreshing! I loved the almond extract with it. So good! ❤️
Cadry says
That’s so nice to hear, Jerilyn! Thank you for the great feedback. I’m happy you enjoyed the recipe!
David says
Just made this again this morning – delicious!!
Cadry says
So glad you’re still enjoying it!