This healthy strawberry "milkshake" is thick, creamy and naturally sweetened. It is loaded with plant-based protein and nutritious pantry and freezer ingredients to satisfy your sweet tooth. Simply blend the ingredients together to enjoy this refreshing and vitamin-C rich treat!
Healthy Strawberry Milkshake
I'm always pleased when a recipe comes together quickly and easily with just five simple (and healthy) ingredients. This Vegan Strawberry Milkshake is super healthy! It tastes like the real thing but without dairy or refined sugar. You can imagine how excited my kids were about it! This plant-based spin on a strawberry milkshake is not only thick and creamy but is bursting with sweet strawberry flavor, a hint of vanilla, and extra sweetness from the dates. It's so good that I make it as a dessert, but it's nutritious enough to serve for breakfast!
Ingredients in a Vegan Strawberry Milkshake
We're working with just FIVE ingredients here! Don't you love a short and simple recipe? All of these ingredients store easily, so you can keep them on hand and make a Vegan Strawberry Milkshake whenever the craving strikes!
- Strawberries - This recipe calls for frozen strawberries! Buy them fresh and wash, slice, and toss them in the freezer as soon as you get home from the store, or simply grab a bag of already-frozen berries.
- Plant-based milk - Go for unsweetened and plain. Any type of non-dairy milk works here: Almond Milk, Cashew Milk, Oat Milk...they're all delicious!
- Dates - Dates don't need to be refrigerated, and will actually stay soft and fresh longer at room temperature! If your dates have become hard, I'd recommend giving them a quick soak in boiling water before draining and rinsing them to toss in the blender.
- Nuts - Almonds or cashews both work for this Vegan Strawberry Milkshake. This is where the thick, creamy texture comes from!
- Vanilla - Use just a splash of pure vanilla extract. I love how a bit of vanilla tastes when combined with dates...I use this combo in many of my smoothies because it's just so flavorful!
How to Make a Creamy Vegan Milkshake
The creaminess of this milkshake comes from the almonds or cashews! Nuts (especially cashews) are an absolute staple in my pantry and I use them all the time to add thicker, creamier texture to dairy-free recipes. Almonds and cashews provide plant-based protein (so important for vegans and vegetarians!) as well as magnesium and many additional beneficial vitamins and minerals.
All About Strawberries
Let's talk about fresh, juicy strawberries! Each milkshake serving contains 1 cup of strawberries which are high in vitamin C and a great source of folate. To find the best fresh strawberries, smell your package before buying. If they smell sweet, they will taste sweet! You also want to look for shiny strawberries that are firm with a bright red color, not yellow or white. The caps should be fresh-looking, green, and intact. Avoid shriveled, mushy, or leaky berries. Put fresh berries in the freezer right away so they stay at their prime and ready to use in this healthy milkshake!
Sweetening with Dates
Dates are a fresh stone fruit that come from a date palm tree. They are naturally sweet, moist, juicy and have a distinct caramel flavor. They're delicious on their own or cut in half with a spread of Almond Butter! They provide sweetness for less calories and also offer lots of healthy fiber, vitamins and minerals including zinc, copper, magnesium, manganese, vitamin B6, niacin, calcium, iron and vitamin K. Another case for dates: they contain 50% more potassium than a banana (weight for weight). Potassium builds muscles, regulates your heartbeat, controls fluid balances and breaks down carbohydrates.
If you love healthy smoothies that taste like a treat, be sure to check out my cookbook Rock Your Blender! It's filled with my all-time smoothie recipes that are exclusive to the cookbook and can't be found on the blog. Rock Your Blender is available an an e-download that you'll receive immediately or on Amazon if you prefer to have a book on your shelf.
This Vegan Strawberry Milkshake is vegan (that means no dairy!), gluten-free, and refined sugar-free. It's a treat for all to enjoy! If you blend this up, I hope you'll tag me on Instagram so I can cheer you on in your smoothie adventures. I also really appreciate it when you leave a review below this post!
More Strawberry Recipes
- Strawberry Salsa
- Chunky Strawberry Avocado Salsa
- 2-Ingredient Strawberry Sorbet
- Strawberry Mint Lime Spritzers
- Crispy Quinoa and California Avocado Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette
- Almond Pulp Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie
- Strawberry Balsamic Dressing
- Vegan & Paleo Strawberry Shortcake Cake
- Red, White, & Blue Fruit Salad
- Homemade Dye-Free Strawberry Snow Cones
- Strawberry Heart Vegan Yogurt Parfaits
Healthy Strawberry "Milkshake"
- Total Time: 5 mins
- Yield: 2-3 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This healthy strawberry "milkshake" is thick, creamy and naturally sweetened. It is loaded with plant-based protein and nutritious pantry and freezer ingredients to satisfying your sweet tooth. Simply blend the ingredients together to enjoy this refreshing and vitamin-C rich treat!
Ingredients
For the Strawberry "Milkshake"
- 1.5 cups unsweetened frozen strawberries
- 1.5 cups unsweetened, plain non-dairy milk of choice (I like almond milk or oat milk)
- ¼ cup raw blanched slivered (not sliced) almonds [or sub raw cashews]
- 4 large, soft Medjool dates, pitted
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Optional Smoothie Boosters:
- 1-2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1-2 tablespoons hemp seeds
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender and puree from low to high leaving on the highest speed setting for one minute to allow the drink to get extra creamy.
- Pour into two glasses and enjoy immediately.
Equipment
Notes
If you have a hard time getting the blender started and you are using a powerful blender like a Vitamix, you can use the tamper to help process the strawberries. If you do not have a powerful blender just add more milk. If you do add more milk, the result will not be as creamy and thick though. Alternatively, you can allow the strawberries to sit out for about 10 minutes before processing. This will allow them to blend more easily.
You may want to soak the cashews in advance if not using a powerful blender. I find with my blender I do not need to soak. If you do soak, I recommend using boiling water for at least 2 hours and then draining just before using.
Sometimes I add ½ cup of frozen riced cauliflower and/or a cup of crushed ice cubes to make the milkshake thicker and more frosty.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Blender
There may be an affiliate link(s) in this post, which means that if you click on a product link above and complete a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you! As always, all opinions are my own. Thank you SO much for reading!
Elyse says
Super creamy and delicious. My girls were hoping for hot chocolate after a walk outside in the snow but I'd just seen this and couldn't wait to try it. They were NOT disappointed!
Elaine Gordon says
Aw, yay! Thank you so much, Elyse! I'm so happy you and your girls enjoyed this one! I had it this morning with my daughter Riley too!
Jeanne says
Didn’t have dates so substituted 3T of maple syrup (saw this substitution on the hot chocolate) and was very refreshing. Next time I’ll add the cauliflower as mentioned in notes. Thank you! Not sure why I waited so long!
Elaine Gordon says
Hi, Jeanne! Thank you so much! I'm so happy you enjoyed this one! That sounds like a perfect substitution - good thinking! Best, Elaine
Bridget says
This tastes IDENTICAL to a strawbrrry shake but without any junk. Saving to my favorites for next time a craving hits!
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you so much, Bridget! I'm so happy to hear you love this one too. I agree it really hits the spot when that craving hits! Best, Elaine