Red Velvet Smoothie

This red velvet smoothie is packed with chocolatey flavor like your favorite cake. Made with simple, nutritious ingredients and ready to sip in 5 minutes.

I love the chocolatey richness of a slice of red velvet cake. It’s so much more fun to eat than regular chocolate cake, because of the pretty color, right? As a Registered Dietitian, I love making healthy recipes inspired by my favorite decadent desserts, so this red velvet smoothie was born!

To make my blends even more nutritious, I love to make smoothies with vegetables. Whether it’s cauliflower or spinach, you can hardly detect any change in flavor when you add a frozen or fresh veggie. In the case of this red velvet smoothie recipe, we’re adding beets for the pretty color they add!

This smoothie recipe is gluten free and can easily be made vegan and dairy free.

Ingredients in red velvet smoothie

You need a handful of ingredients to make this smoothie:

• Frozen strawberries: add natural sweetness and add to the pinky-red hue we want.
• Pre-cooked beet: adds beautiful pink color and just a subtle flavor.
• Greek yogurt: for creaminess and a boost of protein.
• Almond milk: helps the smoothie blend up.
• Medjool dates: add natural sweetness to the smoothie.
• Cocoa powder or cacao powder: for chocolate flavor.
• Chia seeds add filling fiber and healthy fats.

Ingredient and dietary restriction substitution ideas

• Make it dairy free/vegan: Use a coconut or other plant-based yogurt alternative instead of Greek yogurt.
• Add more protein: Boost the protein content of this smoothie by adding a scoop of your favorite chocolate flavored protein powder.
• Swap frozen banana for dates. If you don’t have dates on hand, you can use ~1 cup of frozen banana to add natural sweetness instead.
• Make it beet free. You’ll pick up a very mild, slight beet flavor in this smoothie, so it’s perfectly OK to eliminate the beet from the recipe if you’re not a beet lover. Feel free to add 1/2 – 1 cup of another vegetable, such as frozen cauliflower, instead.

How to make red velvet smoothie

As with any smoothie recipe, just add all your ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Start by adding liquid and soft ingredients to the blender first, and add hard or frozen ingredients last.

This recipe makes two smaller 8 ounce smoothies. I like to sip smoothies with a reusable metal or bamboo straw.

Meal prepping and storing smoothies

Smoothies are best enjoyed right after you blend them, but you can do a few things to prep them ahead of time!

• Prep smoothie packs for the freezer. Add all the frozen and solid smoothie ingredients to a baggie and pop it in the freezer. Then, just dump everything into your blender, along with the liquid ingredients, and blend when you are ready to enjoy it.
• Make smoothie ice cubes. Pour leftover smoothie into an ice cube tray and freeze. When you’re ready for a smoothie, put the smoothie cubes into a blender with enough liquid to get things moving. Blend it up and enjoy!

If you’re taking your smoothie on the go, try sipping it from an insulated bottle or reusable cup to keep it cold and refreshing.

Beets nutrition benefits

Beets, considered a root vegetable, pack a lot of nutrition! One cup of beetroot provides:

• 3.8 grams of dietary fiber
• 2.2 grams of plant-based protein
• Excellent source of folate and manganese
• Good source of potassium

Beets can help lower blood pressure, due to nitrates naturally found in beets. These nitrates may also help improve exercise endurance. In addition, beets are rich in antioxidants which help fight inflammation and fight off cell damage in the body.

Did you know? Beet greens are just as nutritious as other leafy greens, like spinach! If purchasing raw beets, save the greens for salads, stir fries, or blended into smoothies or sauces.

Strawberries nutrition benefits

Berries, including strawberries, are some of the lowest sugar fruits to enjoy. One cup of strawberries provides:

• 3 grams of dietary fiber
• 1 gram of plant-based protein
• Over 100 percent of your daily Vitamin C needs

Strawberries are abundant in several types of antioxidants, which have several health benefits such as reducing inflammation, reduced risk of heart disease, and reduced risk of certain other diseases like cancer.

Chia seeds nutrition benefits

Chia seeds add a ton of nutrition to smoothies, and other meals and snacks. A two tablespoon serving of chia seeds cotains:

• 11 grams of dietary fiber
• 4 grams of plant-based protein
• 5 grams of essential omega-3 fatty acids
• Excellent source of manganese, magnesium, and phosphorus
• Good source of calcium

Chia seeds are one of the best plant-based sources of essential omega-3 fatty acids. It’s important to note the type of omega-3 found in chia seeds, ALA, is not as readily available to the human body as the active forms found in fish, EPA and DHA. The body can convert ALA into EPA, but not DHA, so if you are a vegan, it’s important to take a vegan DHA supplement.

Other nutritious ingredients to add to smoothies

Smoothies are the perfect vehicle to pack in tons of nutritious ingredients besides just fruit and liquid. Here are some of my favorites:

• Greens: spinach, kale
• Frozen vegetables: cauliflower, zucchini
• Nut butter: peanut butter, almond butter
• Fresh or frozen avocado
• Seeds: hemp seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds
• Spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, turmeric
• Canned pumpkin

More healthy smoothie recipes to try

• Birthday Cake Batter Smoothie
• Almond Butter and Jelly Smoothie
• Pina Colada Smoothie
• Pineapple Matcha Green Smoothie

Let me know if you love this recipe by leaving a comment or star rating below, and check out Instagram and Pinterest for more healthy lifestyle inspiration. Thanks for stopping by!

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