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I hope you are not getting sick of my green smoothie recipes because me love me some green smoothies. My latest – super simple yet totally delicious recipe – has dark sweet cherries. Yum!
I thought to use cherries when I came across a bag of frozen cherries as I was purchasing some frozen tropical fruit for my tropical green smoothie recipe. I almost always use frozen fruit in my smoothie recipes. It makes for a cold smoothie – without using ice – and always gives it a real nice consistency. However, there are limited fruits that are sold frozen so my options are usually limited. So when I saw the cherries I grabbed them and immediately thought cherry vanilla green smoothie.
I combined the cherries with a little pure vanilla extract, banana, coconut milk, some ground flax seed, and a cup or so of kale. As always you can use any liquid or green you like.
This smoothie was delicious. My husband says it is easily in his top 3 favorite green smoothie recipe. His first one is the tropical green smoothie and second is the blueberry kale green smoothie.
Like my blueberry kale green smoothie the cherries give it a dark color so it does not turn as green as in the other smoothies. Also, the cherries are naturally sweet. So combined with the banana and vanilla you barely (if at all) taste the kale. This is a great smoothie for kids or someone who is just starting out with green smoothies.
Cherries are low in calories, high in fiber, and have some awesome health benefits. They help ease arthritis pain, fight cancer, lower blood pressure, and are known to help you sleep. Combined with the other ingredients and this green smoothie packs quite the nutritional punch.
I will say that finding frozen cherries is not easy. The only place I have found them is Wegmans. However, cherry season is coming up so pick a bunch and freeze to keep on hand for cherry vanilla smoothies. You will be glad you did.
- 2 cups frozen dark sweet cherries
- 1 medium banana
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seed
- 2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 cup kale
- water for consistency
- Place all ingredients in a blender and blend. Add water - if needed - for consistency.
Smoothie ingredients can be made into a smoothie freezer kit ahead of time. Or you can completely make ahead of time and store for 1-2 days in the refrigerator. Consistency will change but flavor will still be tasty.
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Michelle @ Crunchyinthesuburbs says
May 23, 2014 at 2:15 pmSo glad I ran across this recipe today! I was just taking inventory of my freezer, trying to figure out what I needed to use to make space for summer goodies to come, and had 3 bags of frozen tart cherries. Because they were tart cherries, I sweetened this smoothie up a bit with a Tbsp. of coconut sugar. Seriously though, this is an awesome smoothie, and I don’t love cherries, but now I know how my other two bags of cherries are going to be used!
Katherine Croom says
June 2, 2014 at 11:12 amI shop at Target for groceries and they seem to always have frozen cherries.
I was just about to start looking for the green smoothie recipes so awesome timing! Thanks for all of the great posts this weekend about getting back on track. It was just what I needed.
Meegan says
August 13, 2014 at 8:56 amHow do fruits with skins work in smoothies? Like blueberries, cherries, apples, etc. Do you have to peel them first? Do they make the smoothie fibrous or “chunky”?
Tammy Kresge says
August 14, 2014 at 6:32 amIn my experience they blend right in. I always leave skins on.
Teresa says
November 14, 2014 at 12:54 pmJust made this and its really yummy! It’s my first smoothie with kale and I can’t taste it all. I was surprised it was sweet without extra sweetener. The only down side is the cost of the cherries. I paid $4 for a small bag. Regardless, now I feel brave and will try the other Kale smoothie recipes on here.
Katie says
February 6, 2016 at 11:04 pmCould I use chia seeds instead of flax seeds?
Tammy Kresge says
December 12, 2016 at 2:35 pmyes you can
Corrina Ramsay says
February 23, 2019 at 4:56 pmLove it! I had sour cherries from our tree, so added a touch of maple syrup; thought I should, incase it was too tart, but I think it would of been fine without it. Definitely will make again. The coconut flavor really comes through, so I’m sure you could sub with almond milk, etc and still be great, if you don’t want the coconut flavor.
Corrina Ramsay says
February 23, 2019 at 5:35 pmLove it! I had sour cherries from our tree, so added a touch of maple syrup; thought I should, incase it was too tart, but I think it would of been fine without it. Definitely will make again. The coconut flavor really comes through, so I’m sure you could sub with almond milk, etc and still be great, if you don’t want the coconut flavor. Sorry…should of been 5 star review. Missed that part.