Make-Ahead Smoothies, 3 Ways

One of the most frequent questions I get from folks starting off with meal prep is can you make smoothies ahead of time? And to that I say, HECK YES YOU CAN!

Smoothies rock, but they aren't always fast! To save you some hassle, I have three different ways to dramatically reduce your smoothie prep time. These methods let you make ahead smoothies in their entirety, but if you're interested in just prepping part, you can also try my Smoothie Booster Packs, which are a lot more flexible-you can add them to almost any smoothie to boost the nutrition!

The three different methods below all have different tricks, tips, and ingredients you can and can't use-so read through and pick out the one that works the best for your lifestyle and your favorite smoothie recipe. Don't have a favorite smoothie recipe yet? My list of staple smoothies is a great place to start! Let's do some make-ahead smoothies...

What are you looking for?

• If you want the fastest meal prep time and the creamiest smoothie texture --> Go to #1, the In Jars method.
• If you want a grab-and-go option and are okay with some ingredient limitations --> Go to #2, the Make-Ahead Smoothies method
• If you are low on freezer space --> Go to #3, the In Bags method

#1: In Jars

Pros of this method: 

• No waste
• Super fast to make ahead
• No limitations to what ingredients you can use. 

1. Place your fruit, dry ingredients, powders, and greens into freezer-safe glass jars (I use wide-mouth pint Mason jars with plastic caps). Go ahead and fill it up as much as you can.
2. Freeze for up to three months.
3. To make your smoothie, remove the lid and fill up the jar with your liquid of choice (nut milk, juice, water, etc.). Pour it right over the fruit and other ingredients. Fill the jar to the top.
4. Blend the smoothie with an immersion blender right in the jar itself (make sure you use a really good quality one-I like my Cuisinart), or dump the whole thing into a big "regular" blender and blend away, then pour back into the jar for enjoying.

I tend to prefer the dump-into-the-big-blender method just because it's a touch less messy (the immersion blender tends to splash a bit)! If you want to avoid splashing and use the immersion blender, you can also dump the jar mixture into the tall cup that comes with most immersion blenders, and blend that way.

#2: Make-Ahead Smoothies

It doesn't get much easier than this. Let me step you through it.

• Step 1: Make a smoothie.
• Step 2: Put it in a bottle or jar with a lid (we use leftover glass baby bottles from Lifefactory!).
• Step 3: Put it in the fridge until you're ready to drink it.

Yup. You can do that. And depending on your ingredients, you can make your smoothies 2-3 days ahead of time with no real depreciation in tastiness. All you have to do before you drink is give it a hearty shake (just like you do with store-bought smoothies), and enjoy.

There are a couple of caveats with this method:

• Skip thickeners like chia seeds and flax seeds. They'll just keep on thickening and thickening until your smoothie is a gloppy mess after a day or so. Trust me, it's not good eats.
• Skip greens. They'll still taste fine, but they turn a really unappealing gray/brown color after resting in the fridge for just a few hours.
• Your smoothie will be thinner if you use frozen fruit. A lot of folks (me included) use frozen fruit to chill and thicken a smoothie, but after a few hours in the fridge, the frozen fruit is no longer frozen, and you'll have a thinner smoothie. Still delicious, but not the milkshake-like texture of a freshly-made smoothie.

#3: In Bags

Pros of this method:

• Takes up less space in the freezer
• You can wash and reuse the bags to save money and reduce waste.

The method is very similar to the mason jar technique…

1. Place your fruit, dry ingredients, powders, and greens into freezer zip-top bags. It's really important to use the ones marked as "freezer bags" because they are thicker and keep the food fresher for longer.
2. Squeeze out the air, seal, and freeze for up to three months.
3. To make your smoothie, pour the ingredients into a blender carafe, then add your liquid of choice (juice, almond milk, water, etc.). Blend until smooth, and enjoy!

So there you have it! Three ways for you to make ahead smoothies to fit into your life-even if you're crunched for time.

If you're looking for specific smoothie recipes to use, I recommend checking out one of these:

What's the easiest way to prep smoothies for a week?

Place your fruit and dry ingredients into freezer-safe glass jars. When ready to eat, top off the jar with liquid and blend.

Can I make ahead smoothies so they are ready to drink?

Sure can! Skip the greens and thickeners (like chia seeds), and your blended smoothies will be good for 2-3 days.