A surprising (healthy!) ingredient gives these Secret Ingredient Smoothies their creamy consistency and protein-packed twist.
When I tell you what the secret ingredient is in these healthy fruit smoothies, you may cringe, or cry, or yell, or worst of all, you may never come back here again. So, the secret ingredient is … cream cheese. Kidding! But remember how crazily awesome cream cheese is in my secret ingredient chocolate chip cookies recipe?
It’s not cream cheese. It’s not flaxseed. It’s not turmeric. It’s basically nothing you’d ever imagine tossing into a blender and whipping into a creamy frenzy of healthy fruit-filled fabulousness. It is none other than … cottage cheese. Seriously. But wait! Stick with me here, cottage cheese haters.
Here’s the deal: The curd’s the word. Cottage cheese rocks, and for so many reasons:
- It’s packed with protein. And I mean packed.
- It has a relatively neutral taste when paired with the right complementary ingredients.
- It makes one heck of a creamy smoothie, no additional yogurt or milk required.
Are you sold? Trust me on this one. I’ve suggested some pretty weird culinary combinations in the past (hello, chocolate and brie panini!), and I’ve lived to see another blog post. So do me a huge favor. Put all those pre-conceived cottage cheese notions behind you (But, oh! The texture!) and give these recipes a whirl. You can even take your pick from three flavor-packed options: Mixed Berry, Green Machine and Mango-Peach.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup raspberries
- 1 cup strawberries
- 1/2 cup blueberries
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese
- 1 handful of ice cubes (See Kelly’s Notes)
- 2 teaspoons honey or agave nectar
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to the blender in the order in which they are listed. Blend until smooth and pourable. Taste and adjust the sweetness by adding more honey or agave nectar as desired.
Kelly’s Notes:
- Start with a medium size handful of ice cubes and add more to adjust the consistency of your smoothie. Adding more ice will both thicken and chill your smoothie.
- This recipe is merely a guideline for proportions, so feel free to customize your smoothies with your favorite fruits and veggies.
- I prefer to use water as the liquid in my smoothies because it thins the mixture without adding the loads of extra sugar found in most fruit juices.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Nutrition
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Ingredients
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup kale leaves
- 1 cup spinach leaves
- 1 cup diced pineapple
- 1/2 of a banana
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese
- 1 handful of ice cubes (See Kelly's Notes)
- 2 teaspoons honey or agave nectar
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to the blender in the order in which they are listed. Blend until smooth and pourable. Taste and adjust the sweetness by adding more honey or agave nectar as desired.
Kelly's Notes:
- Start with a medium size handful of ice cubes and add more to adjust the consistency of your smoothie. Adding more ice will both thicken and chill your smoothie.
- This recipe is merely a guideline for proportions, so feel free to customize your smoothies with your favorite fruits and veggies.
- I prefer to use water as the liquid in my smoothies because it thins the mixture without adding the loads of extra sugar found in most fruit juices.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below!
Nutrition
Shoutout
Did you try this recipe?
Share it with the world! Mention @justataste or tag #justatasterecipes!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 cups diced mango
- 1 cup diced peaches
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese
- 1 handful of ice cubes (See Kelly's Notes)
- 2 teaspoons honey or agave nectar
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to the blender in the order in which they are listed. Blend until smooth and pourable. Taste and adjust the sweetness by adding more honey or agave nectar as desired.
Kelly's Notes:
- Start with a medium size handful of ice cubes and add more to adjust the consistency of your smoothie. Adding more ice will both thicken and chill your smoothie.
- This recipe is merely a guideline for proportions, so feel free to customize your smoothies with your favorite fruits and veggies.
- I prefer to use water as the liquid in my smoothies because it thins the mixture without adding the loads of extra sugar found in most fruit juices.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below!
Nutrition
Shoutout
Did you try this recipe?
Share it with the world! Mention @justataste or tag #justatasterecipes!
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Recipes by Kelly Senyei of Just a Taste. Please do not reprint these recipes without my permission. If you'd like to feature these recipes on your site, please rewrite the method of preparation and link to this post as the original source.
I’ve been trying to get my family to eat more fruits and veggies. My husband wanted “just a little taste.” Now, he wants a glass left in the refrigerator before I leave for work. That is the highest compliment I know!
Amazing! I’m so thrilled your family has been enjoying the recipe, Toya!
Love the Mixed Berry Smoothie. The cottage cheese makes it so creamy. I can’t wait to try the others. Do you have any Chocolate Smoothie recipes?
Thanks, Georganne
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Georganne! I don’t currently have a chocolate smoothie recipe but I’ll add it to my recipe development list!
Would like the nutritional data, is it listed here? Perhaps I just missed it….
Hi Jane – Thanks so much for your comment! I took a look at the estimated nutritional information and realized it was calculating incorrectly for this recipe. I just updated the info to more accurately calculate the nutritional value for one smoothie. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Hiiii! I’ve recently discovered your website and this is the first recipe I’ve tried. In an effort to give my 2 year old more veggies I tested out the Green Machine and he looooooooooves it. We didn’t have kale so I used double the spinach. His dad was so disturbed by the cottage cheese but it’s a winner in our book, lol. Thanks so much! xoxo
P.S. Let’s hope he likes it tomorrow. We all know how shady toddlers can be! Lol
Love hearing this, Chanel! I’m SO thrilled your little one enjoyed the smoothie!
im praying for a juicer or a Vitamix for my anniversary in February, cant wait to try these out!
Long time reader, first time commenter…ha! I make up 4-5 smoothies at a time & then freeze some. They come out great! And Kelly, thank you for ALL your great recipes. Healthy eating needs to also be delicious & you are helping us in our journey!
Yes! I LOVE hearing this, Jill! I’m so thrilled you’re enjoying the recipes. :)
So yummy! So many ways to sneak veggies in :)
Better yet you can omit the ice, use frozen fruit and add just a spash of coconut water instead of regular water.
Is there anywhere on your website that list the calories, protein, sugar ect
In each of the smoothies ?
Thanks, Karen
Hi Karen! I am not a nutritionist so I am unable to provide nutritional info for my recipes, as I’d have to way to guarantee it’s 110% accurate (which is super important to me!).
hi
these look very good how long in advance can you make the smoothies or do you have to drink right away keep in the fridge or freezer for awhile?
thank you
derek
Hi Derek! Smoothies are best enjoyed right after they’re blended, but you could always pop these in the fridge overnight then stir them up before enjoying them the next morning.
How much calories are in the mix berry smoothie
Hi Teresa! I’m not a nutritionist so I do not provide calorie counts for any of my recipes, as I wouldn’t be able to guarantee they’re 100% accurate.
Super excited to try out my next smoothie with cottage cheese! I’m a cottage cheese lover so it’s an easy sell but still sounds a lil strange. Can’t wait to test it out, thanks for the secret!
Awesome! I hope you enjoy the recipe!
On the green smoothie, what other kind of fruit can i replace the pineapple with? I’m allergic to pineapples..
Lovely pictures and amazing recipe :)
Thanks so much!
I am a lover of cottage cheese, however being diagnosed last year with a dairy allergy this is now off limits, is there a “cottage cheese” dairy free alternative that you are aware of it? I miss it tremendously, and would love to have it in the delicious smoothies.
Hi Kim! Thanks so much for your comment. Unfortunately I have never tried any dairy-free versions of cottage cheese so I am unable to provide a recommendation.
I love the green machine smoothie recipe! It is a top favorite for me! I do add coconut oil and chia seeds and use coconut water instead of regular. Delicious! Thank you for posting these! I make fruit and veggie smoothies everyday and I never considered cottage cheese before. Now I use it as a regular add-in! Yum!
Awesome! So glad you’re enjoying the recipes, Amber!
I would not consider myself a cottage cheese person at all. It’s the lumpiness, I think. But those smoothies look so good. I love the vibrant colours. I will have to give this smoothie trick a try!!
Pretty brilliant I must say with the cottage cheese. . personally, I love cottage cheese. . I’ve got to try this!
Made the fruit smoothies this morning. A big hit with sons and husband. (I neglected to mention they had cottage cheese in them!!) They were delicious!
I’m all about adding cottage cheese to my smoothies. Love the vibrant colors of your smoothies!
YUM – what a great idea ! I usually add plain seltzer to my smoothies ( instead of water) for a little sizzle.
Susan
Wow-just look at those vibrant colors! LOVE! Even though I’m not the biggest cottage cheese lover, I’m definitely going to have to try this!
While I don’t really care for the taste of cottage cheese, my big issue with it is the texture. Does blending it smooth out all of those little curdy chunks? To me it sounds like the equivalent of having orange juice with pulp (which I despise) but even worse.
You can’t taste it at all, and the curds get completely blended so it’s a super-silky consistency :) There are no chunks involved!
These colors are drop dead gorgeous! I wasn’t even thirsty until now! They look seriously refreshing.
You think frozen fruits would work just as well? I like to pack little bags and freeze them so just pop in the fruit, add the liquid, blend and bam.
Absolutely, Telleen! You just might have to add a touch more water to thin it out, and I’d skip the ice. Enjoy!
Why didn’t I think of that?! Love this idea!
all the smoothies are with wow combinations.love the ingredients used for smoothies and love the vibrant color there
wow the colours! love a good smoothie in the morning, definitely will be giving each recipe a trial in my kitchen!
Such a great idea for added protein!
Say whaaaaaa? I gotta try these!
I love how colorful these are!! I’m currently on a smoothie kick and these recipes have me intrigued!
I’m not a big cottage cheese fan, but these are too pretty not to try
I’m a fan of cottage cheese and had no idea I could use it to vamp up my smoothies!! Love these Kelly :)
Beautiful photos! Can’t wait to try this!
Yes!!! Apparently it’s addicting!! (I wouldn’t know though!) Haha :)
If anyone else posted this I don’t know if I would trust them- but I always trust you and your recipes so I will try it! Either way Craig will be happy so he can dip fritos in the leftover cottage cheese. Glad you shared this recipe!
Haha! Oh my gosh… Fritos and cottage cheese?! I NEED DETAILS!
Whoa! I was not expecting that as the secret ingredient. I am one of the haters- I’ve never even tried cottage cheese before because I’m so creeped out by it! But you have me intrigued! I make a green smoothie every morning and I am always trying to add protein….I need to try this!
I know it sounds crazy, Gina, but trust me, you can’t even taste it! I was skeptical at first (as was Julio), but now he has one of these three smoothies every morning for breakfast!
I love these smoothies and their secret ingredients! So much flavor and texture! :)
Though I like cottage cheese, I would be hesitate to put it into a smoothie. The finished product, I have to admit, does look good; so I’ll have to give it a try!
I was hesitant, too, Matea! But you can’t even taste it, and it makes for the most wonderful texture (not to mention the added protein) :)
I’m a huge cottage cheese fan! As a kid I thought it looked gross (and let’s face it, curd just isn’t a very appealing word!) but now I think it’s awesome. It seems to be tough to find organic/hormone-free cottage cheese here in my little part of south western Ontario, but I did come across a brand called Western Creamery that makes a pressed cottage cheese that is far lower in sodium and sugar than conventional brands, but with just as high protein content. Love the bright colours in your smoothies!
Thanks so much, Angela! So glad you found a brand of cottage cheese you like :)