Pomegranate Orange Smoothie Recipe

This pomegranate orange smoothie recipe uses one of my favorite combinations of fruit: orange and pomegranate.

Most people don’t know that this is actually one of the best combinations of fruit. But I wasn’t the one who invented it...

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Otherwise scroll down for some fun background information...

Orange Pomegranate Juice:
Where It All Started

While travelling in Istanbul earlier this year, the one thing we couldn’t get enough of was the fresh fruit juices.

The Turks do a lot of things well: Turkish coffee, Turkish tea, Turkish delights (sweets), Turkish baths, and of course kebabs. But our favorite was the fresh-squeezed juice.

On virtually every street corner, you would see at least one or often two competing juice stands. You could order pretty much any combination of fruits: strawberry, grape, pineapple, apple, you name it.

But there was one combo that beat them all... “Nar Portakal”: Orange Pomegranate.

This seemed to be the signature juice combination, the most classic.

It makes sense. Pomegranate is a delicious fruit but with a very intense flavor. We tried ordering straight pomegranate juice, but it was just too intense to drink straight, and also slightly more expensive.

But mix pomegranate juice with orange juice and you have an absolutely delightful combination. Orange juice is about as commonplace as it gets, so when you mix the two it turns out less expensive (because you use less pomegranates), and also milder and more enjoyable.

So every day, we would order another glass of “nar portakal” and watch the friendly juice guys squeeze the juice out of the oranges and pomegranate right in front of us.

It was the perfect treat during our hectic days and provided us with essential vitamins and minerals.

Why Pomegranate Orange Smoothies?

I wanted to make a pomegranate smoothie, and thought “What would go well with pomegranate?”

That’s when it hit me: nar portakal! Orange and pomegranate! A tried and true combination of fruits.

The nar portakal fresh fruit juice is a nice treat, but a smoothie is even better for you.

Why? Instead of just the juice itself which is the most sugary part of the fruit, you get much more fiber and other nutrients by blending up whole oranges and whole pomegranate seeds.

There are some incredible orange and pomegranate health benefits waiting to be untapped, and a smoothie is a perfect way to enjoy it all!

The flavors blend so nicely, and by adding some extra ingredients to the smoothie, like yogurt or greens, you get a healthy breakfast with much more substance than just a simple glass of juice.

Pomegranate Orange Smoothie Recipe

2 small or medium whole oranges,

½ cup pomegranate seeds (approx. half a pomegranate)

½ cup orange juice

2 tbsp fat free Greek yogurt (optional)*

1 to 2 cups ice cubes

Instructions

Peel the oranges and break them into small pieces.

Scoop out the pomegranate seeds from a whole pomegranate using a knife or spoon. Let as much juice drip into the cup as possible, and don’t be afraid to add some of the fibers if they’re stuck to the seeds.

For the orange juice, you can use fresh squeezed or bottled.

*The Greek yogurt is optional. See the note below about how to convert this to a non-dairy green smoothie.

For the ice, add 1 cup to make a more liquidy smoothie, more like juice. Add 2 cups if you want it to be thicker, more like a shake.

Add the ingredients to the blender in the order listed above, blend on a high speed for about 1 minute until all the ingredients are blended together smoothly.

This makes about 2 servings, or two tall glasses. If you only want to make a single serving, cut all the quantities in half.

Tips and Tricks

Here are some things to keep in mind when making this pomegranate orange smoothie recipe:

• If you prefer to make a healthier green smoothie instead of this more indulgent treat, substitute yogurt for a green leafy vegetable such as spinach, and use water instead of orange juice.
• Fresh squeezed orange juice is healthier and lower in sugar than the bottled stuff, and it's easier to make than you might think.
• But if you’re short on time, choose a good bottle of OJ that is low in sugar and 100% juice. The kind with pulp is generally better for you (more fiber).
• If you’re in a real pinch, substitute water or almond milk for orange juice. See the liquid smoothie ingredients series for the pros and cons of each different type of liquid base.
• Warning: if you’re using bottled OJ, it will come out very sweet. It tastes very good, but you might not want to have both servings, at least not in one sitting. It’s OK for a nice treat, especially if you share it with someone! :)
• To make a low sugar version of this pomegranate orange smoothie recipe, water down your OJ by mixing ¼ cup orange juice with ¼ cup water. Or just use ½ cup water and no orange juice at all...you already get the orange flavor from the whole oranges, after all.
• It can be a bit tough to fully blend the pomegranate seeds. You might end up with some pomegranate pulp at the bottom of the smoothie glass, and that’s fine. It doesn’t ruin the smoothie at all.
• To avoid this and get even more fiber from your smoothie, blend for a bit longer on higher speeds or use a high-powered blender.
• This was one of the few times that I didn’t use banana in my smoothie. I wanted to recreate the authentic “nar portakal” taste by using purely oranges and pomegranate. But you can also try adding a banana to this orange smoothie recipe to give it even more substance and texture.
• I also tried this time-saving tip: I scooped out the seeds from the other half of the pomegranate and stored them in the fridge to use later in the week.This way when I’m in a hurry on my hectic weekday mornings, all I have to do is toss in the seeds to make even more delicious healthy breakfast fruit shakes with pomegranate.

The Final Product

This pomegranate orange smoothie recipe turned out SO AMAZING!

I used a healthy bottled OJ (labeled as “fresh squeezed,” 100% juice, with pulp), Greek yogurt, 2 cups ice.

I was delighted to find that the “nar portakal” combo I love from my travels in Turkey also makes an incredibly delicious pom orange smoothie!

It was a nice weekend treat for me, on a Sunday morning in mid-November, when I had a bit more time to scoop out the pom seeds.

This smoothie also makes the perfect winter smoothie, with extra helpings of Vitamin C in the orange and antioxidants in the pomegranate helping you fight off nasty colds and flus this time of year.

But enough about me, what about YOU? Now it’s your turn...

Tell us what you thought of this pomegranate orange smoothie recipe!

Leave a comment in the box below to let us know how this recipe turned out for you, and whether you made any special variations to the recipe listed above.

Related Pages

Liked this winter smoothie?  You'll also love this cinnamon apple smoothie recipe, which has that just-right blend of flavors for the fall and winter seasons.

Or for another winter smoothie recipe that also packs the antioxidants, try this delectable cranberry smoothie recipe.

Learn more about the different options to use as a liquid base (juice is only one option) with this liquid base smoothie ingredients series.

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