Can you make a smoothie with water?
Is water wet? Are blenders awesome kitchen appliances? All these questions will receive the same simple answer: yes.
However, currently we’re only interested in answering this important question: if we use water to make a smoothie, will it taste good?
Obviously, it’s not enough to know that we can totally make a smoothie with water whenever we don’t have other liquids or we don’t want to use any other liquids. It’s extremely important to know how the resulting smoothie will taste and what we should expect.
In my opinion, the only thing you should keep in mind is this: don’t use too much water because it dilutes the flavors. Otherwise, it’s totally fine.
In principle, you can use water to substitute whatever other liquid a smoothie recipe calls for.
There are also recipes that call for coconut water. That lets you know that you can use plain water to make smoothies. Coconut water doesn’t have too much flavor, at least from my point of view, so you won’t be losing much in terms of overall smoothie taste.
Can You Make Smoothie with Water Instead of Milk?
In order to make smoothies we need a liquid base. That’s just how it works.
The liquid can be whatever you want: water, dairy milk, dairy-free milk, fruits/veggies juice, cold brew, etc.
Or it can be a combination between various liquids, like a combination of cold brew and almond milk or other milk variety.
Liquids are usually added last to the blender’s pitcher/jar/cup but that also depends on what smoothie recipe you’re making. Usually, we pour until the blades are submerged.
How much liquid we use also depends on the quantity of the other ingredients. We can make a smoothie with 1/2 cup, 1 cup or even 2 cups of water or liquid.
Our liquids can be whatever we prefer. Or whatever we have in the fridge/pantry.
Some will prefer dairy milks, like cow, goat’s or sheep’s milk.
Others will be more inclined to use dairy-free/vegan products, like soy/almonds/coconut/oats/rice or any other milk made from nuts, seeds, beans and grains.
Or we use just plain old water. That’s basically free, unless you use bottled water but even that is pretty cheap in most parts of the world.
Thus, if we’re using water, we save on the total cost of our everyday smoothie.
Usually, animal milk is cheaper than dairy-free milk so that’s another way to save on the total cost of smoothies.
Or you can make your own dairy-free milk in your blender and use that to make amazing smoothies also in your blender.
There’s also the option of using fruits or veggie juice as your liquid. That’s totally awesome, too.
For example, I sometimes like using freshly squeezed orange or grapefruit juice. For that, you don’t even need a juicer if you want to make it at home.
I make a few different juices to use as a base for my smoothies: apple juice, pineapple juice, carrot juice, beetroot juice, cucumber juice, spinach juice, kale juice, a bit of ginger juice, etc. Basically, whatever I have in the fridge I can transform into a juice for smoothies.
How does a smoothie made with water taste?
If you make a smoothie with water and some fruits/veggies, it will mostly taste like the blend of fruits/veggies you’ve blended.
For example, making a simple water + strawberries smoothie will taste like delicious strawberries transformed into a smooth drink. It’s refreshing and it can be totally delicious if you have delicious fruits, even if you’re making frozen fruit smoothies and you only add water.
Of course, we make things a lot more interesting by using a combination of fruits and veggies.
Furthermore, you can add nuts and seeds for even more depth of flavors. Nutty flavors always pair well with many fresh/frozen ingredients. A couple of tablespoons of almonds can make smoothies so much more delicious.
To our water + strawberries simple smoothie that I gave you as an example, we can add a few tablespoons of yogurt and a bit of honey. You won’t even feel the need for any milk if you do that.
You must also understand that we’re only using a bit of water to make our smoothie. Thus, the flavors won’t change that much.
In the end, the flavor of a smoothie is not influenced all that much by the liquid we use as a base. It’s about the combination of ingredients that we add to the pitcher.
And, if you have a powerful blender, you’ll still get a really smooth texture.
What does milk do in a smoothie?
Whether you’re using animal or dairy-free milk, since we only use a small quantity to make our smoothies, the overall flavor is not influenced all that much by the liquid we use.
Mostly, the milk we use in a smoothie gives it a creamier texture. Obviously, we also get the added bonus of the nutrients and vitamins that the milk has but, in terms of texture and flavor, the creamier texture is the thing that stands out.
On the other hand, water contains zero calories.
If you’re looking to cut back on calories in your drinks, water is your answer. Plus, it’s free if you’re using tap water.
I’m not going to say that the water used in a smoothie will help you stay hydrated because we’re usually not using too much liquid when we’re making smoothies. I guess it depends on how much water you use as a base for your recipes.
What other liquids can you use for smoothies?
We’ve talked about using water as the calorie-free, cost-free option and we’ve established that the smoothie will still taste amazing, as long as we use delicious ingredients.
Let’s see what other liquids we can use to make smoothies.
Coconut water is another water we can use but it’s not cost-free.
On the other hand, probably the most used liquids for smoothies are animal milks and dairy-free milks. These options make our smoothies have a creamier texture.
I also talked about my preference to use veggie/fruit juices as a liquid base. The bonus is the added nutrients and vitamins but you will need a juicer to make most of these juices. Making freshly squeezed orange/grapefruit juice is the easiest.
But you can also use some more exotic options.
Those who want to combine their morning coffee and morning smoothie into one drink, might want to use cold brew. If you’re using hot coffee, you’re not going to be able to drink the smoothie.
Chocolate milk is another liquid we can use. It can become addictive but you must also see which ingredient combinations work best with chocolate milk as a base.
Kombucha might be an option some people want to try but keep in mind that it has a vinegary taste so you’ll need to use some sweetener for your smoothie. You can use plain sugar, honey, maple syrup, date paste, etc.
All in all, the answer to the question can you make smoothie with water is yes and I’ll also add that it’s going to taste really good if you’re using delicious ingredients to make it.
