This creamy green avocado smoothie bowl is vegan, nutritious, and packed with flavor from banana, berries, kale, dates, peanut butter, zucchini, and of course avocados! Get a few servings of vegetables into your morning routine with ease.
What is a Smoothie Bowl?
If you've never indulged in a creamy, nourishing smoothie bowl, you're missing out! A smoothie bowl is essentially a super thick smoothie that you can eat from a bowl with a spoon. Or think of it as a creamy, healthy version of ice cream or frozen yogurt that you can eat for breakfast.
This delicious green avocado smoothie bowl contains healthy fats from the avocado fuel your morning or post work out meal. And for more nourishing smoothie bowl recipes, try my peanut butter avocado smoothie bowl and banana chocolate smoothie bowl.
Who knew healthy food could taste so decadent? While this avocado smoothie bowl is packed with vegetables, I promise, you won't even taste the kale and zucchini. The flavor is light and fruity, with a little salty balance from the peanut butter.
Ingredients and Notes
- Steamed and frozen zucchini - creates a super thick smoothie bowl
- Frozen banana - adds natural sweetness and a thick texture
- Kale leaves - you can substitute baby spinach; both add the natural color to this green smoothie bowl
- Peanut butter - adds protein and a little salty flavor to balance the sweetness
- Avocado - you can use either frozen or fresh ripe avocado
- Dates - optional to add sweetness; you can substitute maple syrup
- Non-dairy milk - just a little helps everything blend together smoothly
How to Make Super Thick Smoothies
Frozen bananas and avocados are common in smoothies and smoothie bowls to help thicken them. But did you know that frozen steamed zucchini is the secret ingredient for the ultimate thick and creamy texture?
I first heard about adding frozen zucchini years ago. Since then I've dedicated numerous trials in my kitchen to get the perfect texture for you to make at home.
Just slice up a few fresh zucchini, steam them for 10 to 15 minutes, then let them cool completely. Pop them all in an airtight container or zip lock bag and freeze them. When you blend them, you get the thickest, creamiest smoothie bowls ever.
Best Smoothie Bowl Toppings
- Fresh berries and pitted cherries
- Nuts like cashews, almonds and walnuts
- Seeds like chia seeds, pepitas and hemp seeds
- Granola
- Shredded coconut
- Peanut butter or homemade chocolate almond butter
- Chocolate chips
FAQ's
How do you thicken a smoothie?
Frozen banana, peanut butter, avocado, and frozen steamed zucchini all help thicken smoothies and smoothie bowls.
Why does my avocado smoothie bowl taste bitter?
If you added too many bitter kale stems, that could make it taste bitter. Or if your banana or avocado weren't ripe, that can also make your avocado smoothie bowl bitter.
What's the best way to freeze banana?
If you freeze a whole banana, it's really hard to take the peel off. I recommend peeling and slicing a ripe banana into chunks, then storing it in the freezer in an airtight container.
Why did my avocado smoothie turn brown?
Avocados contain an enzyme that turns brown when it oxidizes in the air after being cut open. This is natural, and it shouldn't affect the flavor of your smoothie.
More Frozen Treats
Hungry for more? Here are a few more of my favorite frozen treats!
Green Avocado Smoothie Bowl
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup steamed and frozen zucchini cut into chunks
- 1 frozen banana
- ½ cup kale
- 2 tablespoon peanut butter
- ½ avocado
- 3 pitted dates
- ¼ cup non-dairy milk (of your choice, I use oat milk)
- ½ cup berries for optional topping (I used pitted cherries, strawberries and blueberries)
- 3 tablespoon chopped nuts for optional topping
Instructions
- To make the steamed frozen zucchini, trim the ends off a few fresh zucchini and slice them into one-inch chunks. Boil a small pot of water on the stove on high heat. Place the zucchini chunks in a steamer basket into the pot and steam with the lid on for 10 to 15 minutes, until the zucchini are tender.Carefully remove the zucchini from the steamer basket and set aside to cool to room temperature.Place them in a single layer (don't stack them) on a baking sheet and freeze for one hour. Then transfer to a freezer-safe ziplock bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Blend the steamed frozen zucchini, frozen banana, kale, peanut butter, avocado, dates and non-dairy milk in a blender until everything is smooth. You may need to scrape down the sides of the blender a few times to ensure everything gets mixed and blended evenly.
- Scoop the thick smoothie into a bowl.Top with berries and nuts of your choice. Enjoy!!
Notes
- Remove the fibrous stems of kale and only use the leaves, since the stems are bitter and difficult to blend.
- You can substitute cold water for the dairy-free milk. Oat milk, coconut milk and almond milk all work great in this recipe.
- Use a ripe (or overripe) frozen banana and ripe avocado for the best flavor.
Pauline
So creamy and thick!! I love the color too 😀
Terri
Smoothies and smoothie bowls are my go-to breakfast. I loved this one, especially with the frozen zucchini! What a great way to add more veggies to smoothies.
Azilde Elizabeth
Peanut butter chocolate is my favorite smoothie and smoothie bowl yum. I love your pictures!
strawberryandcream
Me too!! It's the BEST flavor combo!! Thank you! 🥰🤩