How to Make Smoothies
The Right Texture

Do you want to learn how to make smoothies that just-right texture, but feel frustrated when it comes out wrong?

Have you tried making your own smoothie at home but ended up feeling frustrated because you could never get the texture just right?

Do your smoothies come out a goopy or chunky mess, with a texture more like an icy or slushy than a smoothie?

I’ve been there before. It could be the blender you are using, the ingredients you add, or the order you blend everything. Or it could be all three.

Don't give up on learning how to make smoothies at home...

Do You Need A High-Powered Blender?

Many expert smoothie makers would recommend that you go out and buy the fanciest blender on the market, like the Vita Mix or Blendtec.

While that’s ONE possible solution, it’s certainly not the cheapest. And it’s not necessary.

That’s right, you DO NOT need a fancy professional-grade blender to make great smoothies.

I’ve been making smoothies for the past 15 years without one of those fancy (and expensive) blenders, and my smoothies still come out with a near-perfect texture.

It’s not as easy as it would be with a high-powered blender. But this is my process. It takes a bit longer, but it does work. Here’s how you do it…

Your Step-by-Step Blending Process

This is the procedure I would recommend for making most smoothies. Of course, it will depend on which exact ingredients you’re using. But follow this process and you really can’t go wrong.

This process will help you learn how to make smoothies that perfect texture...including how to choose the right ingredients, eyeball it to get the right quantities, and blend it in phases, in the right order to get that “just right” texture.

Step 1: Fruit & Liquid

First add in the fruit. I like to use at least one banana in every smoothie I make, because it makes a fantastic base for the smoothie, giving it the perfect texture. Click here for alternatives to bananas. You can toss in multiple fruits, but try to stick to 2 or 3 different fruits maximum per smoothie.
Make sure you break the fruits into small bite-size chunks. Adding whole fruits without chopping or breaking them is only for the big fancy blenders, not suitable when you’re using a regular blender.
Then add in just enough liquid to just about cover the fruit. It doesn’t have to cover it completely. My blender has measuring marks, and I fill it up to the 1 cup mark AFTER the banana or other fruit is already in there (so it ends up being a little less than 1 cup of liquid).
Blend the two together on a low setting for just a few seconds until the banana/fruit is liquefied. It should happen really fast since those are the only two ingredients so far, and now you have a nice liquid base to work with. It’ll be easier to add other ingredients going forward.

Are you using frozen fruit in your smoothies? Click here to see how that changes this step-by-step process.

Step 2: Powders

Next add in the dry powders, if you’re using any. This can be protein powder, raw chocolate powder, superfood powder, maca powder…whatever you choose to use.
If you’re just getting started making smoothies, I recommend you start with just one powder, if any at all. Adding too many powders is a good way to end up with an odd-tasting smoothie, so keep it simple when you’re just starting out. You can experiment with more once you’ve got the hang of it.
The important thing is that you add any dry smoothie ingredients now, before later adding wet ingredients like peanut butter. That way you can use one spoon for the dry ingredients, and then use that same spoon for the wet peanut butter.
Add all powders at the same time, blend for a few seconds once again so all the powders are sucked up into the liquid, and you should end up with another nice liquid base with no remaining powder or chalkiness.

Step 3: Any Remaining Dry Ingredients

If you’re using any nuts, seeds, or other extra ingredients, repeat the above with those ingredients.
The important thing is that you add just a few ingredients at a time, then blend on a low setting until it’s all mixed together into a liquid.
Some common options that I use are walnuts, chia seeds and ground flax seeds.

Step 4: Repeat the Above with Peanut Butter or other Nut Butter

Options are peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter, cashew butter, macademia nut butter, cacao butter, nutella or hazelnut butter, coconut butter, the list goes on.
You can find a lot of these at Whole Foods or Mother’s Market, if you live in the US. Outside the US you’ll be lucky if you even find peanut butter, and forget about the others.
Nut butter is not a crucial ingredient for making smoothies, so don’t throw in the towel just because you can’t find it. I like that it adds a bit of taste, texture and protein. Some people don’t like the taste in smoothies, and that’s fine.

Step 5: Ice

Finally, add the ice and start on the highest setting possible (“Ice Crush” on my blender). Blend for a few seconds until it’s crushed, then go down to the next lowest setting for a few seconds, continuing down through all the settings for about 10 seconds each until you’ve got a nice, smooth consistency.
By this point, the ice blends in easily…much more smoothly than if you tried to add all of them into the blender at the same time. Nothing gets stuck to the other ingredients, everything blends just fine, and this works with any old blender.

That’s it! It’s really not rocket science, it’s just about following this simple process to maximize your results….and prove to your family and friends that you know how to make smoothies on your own!

So now you know how to make smoothies that just-right texture, without owning any fancy equipment! How does it feel? Tell your story in the box below and let us know your results.

Or are you still not sure about something?

Continue to the next page to read frequently asked questions about this smoothie making process, or to ask your own question about how to make smoothies the right texture (without a fancy blender).

Don't own a blender yet? Click here for my recommendations on affordable "starter" blenders.

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