How do I make a smoothie that is not watery or gritty?

Two things go wrong with home smoothies: they are watery, because ice was used for thickness, and they are gritty, because fibrous ingredients were not blended long enough or the blender is not powerful enough.

What you'll need

• Blender
• Frozen fruit
• Liquid base (optional)
• Something creamy (optional)

Step by step

1. Use frozen fruit instead of ice.It gives the same thickness and cold without diluting. Freezing overripe bananas in chunks is the standard trick and it works.
2. Follow a rough ratio of one part liquid to two parts solid.Adjust from there. Too much liquid is the most common error and it cannot be fixed except by adding more frozen fruit.
3. Load the blender liquid first.Then soft ingredients, then leaves, then frozen items on top. It gives the blades something to work with and avoids an air pocket.
4. Start slow and increase speed.It draws ingredients down into the blades. Starting at maximum can create a cavity where the blades spin in air.
5. Blend leafy greens with the liquid first.Blend spinach or kale with the liquid alone until completely smooth, then add everything else. This is what prevents grittiness.
6. Add something creamy for body.Banana, yoghurt, avocado, nut butter or oats. Fruit and liquid alone gives a thin drink however much you blend it.
7. Add any powders and seeds last.Protein powder, chia, flax. Added early they can clump around the blades.
8. Drink it promptly.Smoothies separate and oxidise within minutes. If making ahead, keep it sealed and cold and shake before drinking.

Tips

• Freeze portions of smoothie ingredients in bags. Tip a bag into the blender, add liquid, and it takes thirty seconds in the morning.
• A smoothie is not necessarily light. Fruit juice bases add a lot of sugar — milk, water or unsweetened plant milk gives more control.
• If it is too thick to blend, add liquid a splash at a time rather than a large amount. It is very easy to overshoot into watery.

Common mistakes

• Using ice for thickness — It dilutes as it blends, so the drink is cold and watery. Frozen fruit gives thickness and cold without dilution.
• Adding leafy greens with everything else — They need blending with the liquid alone first to break down fully. Otherwise the texture is gritty.
• Loading frozen ingredients at the bottom — The blades cannot get started and spin in an air pocket. Liquid goes in first, frozen items last.

Questions people ask