15 Vegetables You Should Add To Your Smoothie, According To A Plant-Based Chef

If you're trying to get your health back on track you've likely resolved to eat more whole foods, including fruits and vegetables. Our mother's voices ring clear in our heads from childhood: "Eat your fruits and veggies!" And she really knew what she was talking about. Per the CDC, only about 10-12% of American adults are reaching their recommended vegetable intake on a daily basis. Even if veggie burgers, guacamole, and baked potatoes aren't your thing, there are other ways to sneak those veggies into your daily diet. Blending them into your smoothies is a quick and painless method. Now, I would not recommend adding a cup of steamed broccoli or grilled asparagus to your vanilla and banana shake. Gross. There are sneaky ways to add vegetables to your smoothies in a way that actually tastes good. I'm here to be your guide.

Being a plant-based Chef and Recipe Designer has given me the chance to approach standard recipes from a new perspective. I often play off of established classics and curate adaptations from a whole-food perspective. Part of this is understanding that each fruit and vegetable can have many forms, textures, and flavors depending on how it is processed. A cashew, for instance, can be a toasted nutty crunchy topping or blended raw into a silky cream. After receiving my certification in Plant-Based Nutrition from Cornell, I focused even more so on adding nutrients without making a dish taste like it's there for health instead of pleasure. Adding vegetables to smoothies can be painless if executed properly. Grab your blenders and let's take a step in the direction of a healthier lifestyle.

Did you know that much of the United States makes sugar from beets, not sugar cane? Beets are incredibly sweet, which is why they are often paired with meats and umami-rich savory foods to create balance. Root vegetables are known for their sugars, so if you seek a sweet vegetable, loaded with fiber and vitamin C, then beets are your guy. Depending on the abilities of your blender, there are several ways you can prep them for smoothies. You can certainly scrub them, peel them, and add them raw. Just be extra careful to blend the smoothie until it's very smooth. However, cooking them helps to release some of those sugars and intensify the flavor. So, if you enjoy beets and don't think they taste like dirt (some palates detect this) then steam, or boil them first. Let them cool, or even freeze them in small chunks before adding beets to your smoothie.

I like to add beetroots to chocolate or dark berry smoothies. This is because they have a deep red or purple appearance, so if your hope is to disguise the vegetable then deep browns and reds will do the trick. However, you could lean into beets' vibrant coloring and add beetroot to smoothies with strawberry or raspberry for a colorful enhancement. Beets are mild in flavor so you can use up to half a cup of diced beetroot per two servings of smoothie.

Most of us love avocados. Guacamole is heavenly and the fatty rich texture can make anything from a grain bowl to a salad sing. It's creamy, mellow, and loaded with nutrients like monounsaturated fats and fiber galore. Fiber is what your good gut bacteria feed on, so if you're not getting enough of it, like 95% of Americans, then it's time to start adding this wonder vegetable (that's actually classified as a fruit) to your morning smoothies.

We aren't trying to mask avocado in our smoothies because it can be the star of the show. In fact, I would recommend allowing it to shine by adding other mellow ingredients like coconut milk, ripe frozen bananas, and vanilla extract. If avocados aren't your jam, then just include ¼ cup of avocado per two servings, and blend with dark berries and ripe banana. This avocado blueberry smoothie recipe is to die for, and you'd never even know it's harboring a green vegetable. 

The easiest and cheapest way to add avocado to your smoothies is by buying it frozen. No more squeezing avocados and masking disappointment when you open them to find little brown stringy spots. Consider using frozen banana and avocado and omitting any ice, so you don't end up with the fat separating from the liquid as it melts. Enjoy a rich and creamy smoothie, without all of the cholesterol.

Some folks add ice and water to their smoothies. I am adamantly against this. Water and ice are a missed opportunity for flavor and texture. Pre-frozen fruits and vegetables will give your smoothie that unforgettable frosty chill, and water-dense fruits and vegetables will help keep that blender engine moving. Cucumber is one of the vegetables that you can substitute for liquid in your smoothies. The second it hits the blender, boom, it's as good as water. Well, actually better because it's filled with nutrients and flavor.

Cucumbers have a fresh, sweet, and slightly floral flavor which is reminiscent of watermelon. The flesh is soft, so I would recommend peeling it before adding it to the blender. You can use fresh or frozen peeled cucumber in just about any fruit smoothie. Cucumber holds up well in smoothies with tropical fruits, as well as those with dark berries. Vanilla and chocolate smoothies aren't as receptive to the refreshing flavor of cucumber, so it's best to stick with a fruit-based smoothie.

Zucchini might not be winning any popularity contests aside from the invention of zoodles, but I think it's a crying shame. This vegetable (although technically a fruit) is sweet, tender, mild, and versatile. And it's not like it hasn't found its way into sweet treats in the past (eh-hem, looking at you, zucchini bread). This green summer squash makes for a fantastic smoothie addition because of its texture, water retention, and mellow flavor.

The key is to use uncooked zucchini. This can be freshly chopped or pulled from your freezer. I like adding zucchini to smoothies because there is zero peeling required here, just wash it and cut off the ends. Smaller zucchinis tend to be sweeter so spring for the little, fresh veggies when possible. Cooked zucchini can work as long as it hasn't been cooked in oil or with any seasoning, it will just have a stronger flavor. It's a wonderful ingredient to make your smoothie more refreshing while adding all of those desirable veggie nutrients like potassium and folate.

When it comes to adding vegetables to smoothies, spinach has been around the block a few times. It's a safe bet because leafy greens are extra nutrient-dense, it's virtually flavorless until cooked, and those tender leaves are easily obliterated in the blender. If you hate spinach in your smoothie there is likely one of two things happening. The first is that you haven't blended the smoothie long enough. There should be zero detectable parts of the leaf left, and you should not be chewing your drink. The second is that the color green is offputting for you. Luckily, this can be solved.

Try leaning into the green, or masking it. To mask it make a healthy black forest smoothie with ingredients like chocolate and dark berries. To lean into it give a cool and refreshing summer green smoothie a try that has other green ingredients that don't trigger an aversion. Ingredients like fresh mint help your brain to recognize the green as associated with the herb instead of the vegetable.

Like most root vegetables, carrots are incredibly sweet. There are about 3 grams of sugar per medium carrot. No wonder frozen carrots are the best-kept secret to sweeter smoothies. From a health perspective, carrots are jam-packed with the antioxidant beta-carotene, from which carrots get their vibrant coloring. As we know, antioxidants can help with inflammation which causes chronic non-communicable diseases. So essentially, by adding carrots to your daily routine you are reinforcing your body with disease-fighting properties. Sounds worth it to me!

Frozen carrots are an easy way to sneak those sweet veggies into smoothies. They come pre-peeled and can help keep that drink frosty. If you're adding fresh carrots be sure to peel them first and cut off the stem. Baby carrots are a no-prep way to do this, but you can also save carrot scraps in the freezer for such an occasion. Pair your carrot smoothie with apples, citrus fruits, ginger, and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. I like to use almond milk for creamy smoothies, and oranges for juice-based smoothies with carrots. Try making a carrot cake smoothie with ripe frozen bananas, oats, carrots, cinnamon, almond milk, vanilla, and maple syrup.

Celery has gotten a bad reputation as rabbit food. However, it's an ingredient in plenty of our favorite hearty recipes like Thanksgiving stuffing, corn chowder, and a classic Italian marinara sauce. There are plenty of creative ways to eat celery beyond the classics, like blending it into a smoothie. Celery juice is famous for boosting kidney function and can work wonders on the digestive tract. The vegetable is about 95% water, so it's a whole food ingredient that can be used in place of water or juice in your blender.

Because celery has such a mild flavor it can be mixed into just about any smoothie. It's slightly sweet, bitter, and grassy but is relatively undetectable. Because of its water content, I would recommend blending it into a juice or fruit-based smoothie that isn't made with milk or yogurt. Use frozen or fresh celery, and be extra careful to blend it enough to get rid of all those fibrous strings. I love adding celery to smoothies that have pineapple or citrus fruits, green smoothies, and strawberry basil smoothies.

It's in the name, sweet potatoes are ... sweet! This root veggie can be made into pies, custard, and you guessed it, smoothies. It reads quite a bit like pumpkin, which also makes for a great smoothie because it has both a creamy and dense texture. The starchiness of the vegetable can add bulk to the smoothie, and create a nice mouthfeel while the sugars dance on your taste buds. You can certainly use raw sweet potato with a powerful blender, but I recommend cooking and freezing it.

Cooked sweet potato has that dreamy pillowy texture, and the sugars are more pronounced. Lean into it as a main ingredient by making a sweet potato pie smoothie with maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, frozen bananas, almond butter, and almond milk. Top with whipped cream and granola. Or, use it as a supplementary ingredient in one of your banana-based or peanut butter-based smoothies. Lost? Follow a sweet potato smoothie recipe, or add frozen sweet potatoes to your favorite smoothies.

Although peas often end up as a side dish to a fairly basic meat and potatoes dinner, I think they have great potential. They are tantalizingly sweet little pearls of grassy greatness and the perfect ingredient to add a protein boost to your smoothies. There are different types of peas, but you'll want to use shelling peas, which are ultra sweet and the variety most commonly frozen at the grocery store.

Peas have the potential to be flavorful when cooked properly, but when frozen they taste like little sweet starchy ice balls. Pour them into virtually any smoothie to enjoy the benefits of peas which range from nutrients like folate to potassium. My favorite pairing between a fruit and vegetable — whether in a salad or smoothie — is the union of strawberries and peas. Something about the mellow sweetness of both, and the contrast of texture with the added grassiness of the peas creates a refreshing and balanced mouthfeel.

Kale is another classic leafy green that you'll often find in smoothies. However, I find that kale smoothies tend to be a bit chunky, or are overly blended and too liquidy. This is because kale doesn't break down as easily as, let's say, spinach. You can defeat this by blending the kale with your liquid first until it's silky smooth, and only then do you add your frozen ingredients. This will prevent over-blending or flecks of green chunks that stick to your teeth.

Use fresh or frozen kale, and note that your drink will turn dark green depending on how much you use. If you're making a lighter-colored smoothie with red tones (like strawberries or raspberries), take note that the combination of green and red will turn your beverage brown. Sometimes it's best to use dark berries if you're going for an aesthetic appeal. Mask the bitter kale flavor of homemade smoothies by using ultra-sweet frozen fruit like ripe bananas or mangos.

While most of these vegetables to add to your smoothies seem to make at least some sense, radishes may seem a little more out of left field. They aren't typically classified as sweet, but their appeal instead comes from a slight fresh spiciness similar to the spiciness of ginger or horseradish. Some varieties are spicier than others, and for that reason, I would suggest using daikon radishes in your smoothies.

Use just one or two raw, small radishes per two servings of smoothie, and be sure it's blended thoroughly. Use with fresh and tangy vegetables like apples, oranges, and ginger root. The slight peppery flavor isn't for everyone, and if you'd like to tone it down add some pitted, soaked dates to bring some caramel-like sweetness for balance. If you've never cooked with radishes before grab a couple at the grocery store, slice off a thin layer, and give it a try before adding it to your smoothie.

Come winter in New England, everything has pumpkin in it. The pasta, the soup, the salads, even the drinks. Pumpkin doesn't stand alone here, as butternut squash, buttercup squash, acorn squash, and Hubbard are just as popular. They've dabbled in the dessert scene because of their high sugar content and creamy-dreamy mouthfeel, so it's no wonder they make for a delicious addition to your smoothies.

You'll want to use cooked winter squash, preferably frozen (or at least not hot). An easy route to take is to freeze canned pumpkin puree for your smoothie. You can do this by using an ice cube tray, or even a muffin tin. You can easily find frozen diced butternut squash at the grocery store. I'm always looking for ways to use up frozen vegetables because if you live alone it's tough to eat a whole large squash by yourself. Smoothies are a great way to do this, just be sure you don't roast them with savory spices or too much salt.

Cauliflower is already famous for its versatility. It's wings, it's rice, it's steak, it's even pizza crust. And now, it's entered the world of beverages. The reason cauliflower is able to masquerade as many different types of food is because it's incredibly mellow. It has a sweet undertone and a slight cruciferous pungency that is exacerbated when cooked. This is why I recommend using raw, frozen cauliflower in your smoothies.

Frozen cauliflower is a fantastic way to add bulk to smoothies, giving it an almost bready mouth feel. Try using it in a cinnamon banana walnut smoothie or a pumpkin pie smoothie recipe. Just a few florets per two servings should do the trick. If you're not a fan of vegetables, this one is a nice veggie addition to your smoothies to start with. I enjoy cauliflower in my milk and yogurt-based smoothies (alongside frozen bananas), but it's a welcome ingredient just about anywhere.

While spinach and kale have been dominating the leafy green smoothie scene, I prefer to use my colorful friend, Swiss chard. Although it's more bitter and fibrous than spinach, the health benefits are unparalleled and there is a detectable sweetness that I enjoy. The vitamin K content is off the charts at about 477% of your daily value per cup, which is great for your liver, blood, and bones.

Swiss chard does have a stronger flavor, notably a bitterness, not present in spinach which makes it a little more difficult to work with. However, as long as you don't overpower your smoothie with the leafy green, and you're sure it's been blended properly you shouldn't have an issue. Be sure to add a frozen banana for balanced sweetness and use strong-flavored fruits like dark cherries or pineapple to overpower the flavor. 

Most people won't argue about the sugar content in corn. Frozen and canned corn can be turned into an easy dessert. It's famously sweet and can be the star of your smoothie (although it might be a little off the beaten path). The biggest hurdle is going to be grinding it into a smooth texture absent of the kernel skins. Use a high-powered blender and frozen sweet corn for the best results.

I like to blend frozen sweet corn with canned coconut milk, a sweetener like honey or maple syrup, and cinnamon. Other sweet fruits like frozen banana or pineapple are welcome, and a little bit of yogurt or coconut yogurt can only enhance it. The corn becomes rather creamy when blended, creating a thick and desirable texture. This simple smoothie is filled to the brim with one of the most popular vegetables out there but doesn't taste like it.