Make Your Smoothies Even Creamier With One Canned Addition

Evaporated milk is a criminally underrated ingredient. It can last for up to a year past the date on the can if left unopened, and is useful in a plethora of unexpected ways. It's the secret ingredient to include in a creamier mac and cheese and can even be used to tenderize your meat. In fact, we've written about 19 different ways to use evaporated milk. And if you're searching for an easy way to creamily thicken up the consistency of your smoothie, a can of evaporated milk can help you out here too.

Evaporated milk is simply concentrated milk, which is made from regular milk that's been warmed up and sterilized so that some of the water evaporates. As a result, it's thick and creamy, while still retaining the original milky flavor. However, unlike condensed milk, it isn't sweetened. When you add evaporated milk to smoothies, you'll get a richer drink without really altering the taste. Plus, unlike other typical smoothie liquids (like orange juice), it'll pair well with just about any type of smoothie, from fruity options to more dessert-like ones with chocolate or pumpkin.

If you're just making one smoothie, you can use about a quarter of a can of evaporated milk — and luckily, the opened can will last up to four days in the fridge, so you'll be able to dip into it again throughout the week. While using this ingredient will thicken your smoothie, you'll generally also want to add another element to create a drinkable final product. This can be yogurt, but it can also be water or juice, depending on the flavor of your beverage. In general, go for a half cup of your chosen liquid for every can of evaporated milk, and you can play with the ratio based on how many drinks you're making.

However, you can also start small, as even a little evaporated milk will make your smoothie smoother and creamier. If you want to err on the lighter side, go with two tablespoons for every cup of liquid. There are some smoothies that work better with evaporated milk than others. For example, it may not be the best addition to refreshing green vegetable smoothies, but it will work fabulously in our healthy black forest smoothie, as well as an orange cream smoothie or a spiced ginger cinnamon pear smoothie. It would also be a welcome addition to this frozen funky monkey banana mocha smoothie-style drink. However, if you want more sweetness beyond what you'll get from the fruit in your drink, throw in some honey, agave, or date syrup.

Evaporated milk is available in all grocery stores, with Carnation being the most recognized brand. However, you can also pick up an organic Whole Foods Market evaporated milk online, via Amazon.