The Simple Way To Enhance Vanilla Flavors In Your Next Smoothie

If you're a fan of dessert for breakfast, you're probably well-versed in smoothies that feature flavors like chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla. While the former two may be strong enough to stand out in the drink, vanilla sometimes need a little extra boost to get its moment in the sun.

When you add vanilla extract into your blender, you can get a greater depth of flavor and increase the potency of the other ingredients. But how can you enhance the taste of the vanilla extract itself?

If you're including yogurt in your smoothie, try using a vanilla flavored one to up the intensity. Not only will you get more flavor, thickness, and protein, but you'll be incorporating more sweetness than if you had just used a plain yogurt. In fact, some companies use honey in their yogurt products, so you may even be able to omit the sweetener from your smoothie recipe.

If you're a fan of Greek yogurt, you can find some varieties that carry a vanilla flavor; and if you're dairy-free, trying looking for brands like Silk that carry vanilla plant-based versions.   

Since vanilla is so neutral, this type of yogurt can be used to make almost any fruit smoothie you can think of that features bright flavors. For example, try a few spoonfuls in a strawberry banana oatmeal smoothie or a mango banana smoothie.

As we've covered, vanilla enhances the taste of other ingredients, so there's not much that it won't work well with — although you may want to keep it away from deeper flavors like in this healthy Black Forest smoothie.

If you're a huge fan of vanilla, you can even center a whole drink around it by avoiding anything that would overpower it. Instead, mix your yogurt and extract with ingredients like maple syrup, almond butter, frozen cauliflower, and protein powder. And to make a dessert-like beverage, line your cup with caramel sauce or drizzle it on top.

You can also add in more vanilla-flavored ingredients, either alongside yogurt or as a replacement for it. Try using a flavored protein powder or a vanilla milk such as Silk's Vanilla Soymilk. Just a splash can help everything blend more smoothly if the yogurt is making your drink too thick. Or go straight to the source, and scrape off the seeds from a vanilla bean into your blender — just taste as you go so you don't get too much of a good thing.