How to Make Delicious Keto Smoothies

Looking for the most delicious keto-friendly smoothie recipe? Look no further! This raspberry acai smoothie is sweetened with zero calorie allulose syrup and is packed with 34 grams of protein.

How to make smoothies ketogenic diet friendly

The hardest part of making smoothies work on a keto diet is that most smoothies are loaded with sugars – healthy and unhealthy ones. But even though the sugars in fruits are the healthiest kind, the keto diet requires a very strict limit on the total number of carbohydrates a person consumes each day.

Sweeten without extra carbs

To minimize the amount of sugar and carbs in my smoothies, but keep them tasting great, my preferred sweetener is allulose. Believe it or not, allulose is actually a naturally occurring sugar. It’s found in certain types of fruits like raisins, figs, and jackfruit.

Allulose has a very similar taste and texture to regular sugar, but it’s only 70% as sweet. So it’s important to understand that you’ll need to use more allulose per recipe than you’d use with sugar.

Allulose benefits

One of the best things about allulose is that it’s not metabolized – meaning that none of it’s calories or carbohydrates “count” when you’re calculating net carbs.

And if you’re sensitive to certain sweeteners like sugar alcohols, no need to worry. Allulose is easy on the digestive system and won’t make you gassy or uncomfortable like sugar alcohols can.

My favorite thing about allulose is that it doesn’t have any weird aftertaste. It just tastes sweet, pure and simple. I have tried just about every alternative sweetener over the years and allulose and erythritol are the best tasting two that I’ve come across.

Erythritol can be a good keto smoothie sweetener, but it does give some folks an upset stomach. It’s also known to be deadly for cats and dogs, so not great to have around the house if you have pets who might get into it.

So for anyone on a ketogenic or low carb diet, allulose is the number one pantry ingredient I recommend purchasing. I’ve had no trouble finding it in my local Shaw’s grocery store in both crystal and syrup form, and it’s also available on Amazon.

Choose a quality, low carb protein source

Keto-friendly smoothies can be made with protein powder, yogurt, filtered milk, or all three for even more protein. As long as your protein source is low carb, it’s a good option.

I like to use Orgain Unsweetened Protein Powder along with an unsweetened almond milk, but I recently discovered that Chobani ultra-filtered milk has the same amount of protein and carbs as Orgain!

This is an easy to find grocery item that’s great for times I run out of protein powder or when I don’t want the texture that powders can add.

Ultra-filtered milk is loaded with protein and it’s also ultra creamy. This makes it a great choice when your keto smoothie is meant to feel like a treat or as a healthier dessert option.

Greek yogurt that is unsweetened is another excellent protein source for keto smoothies. I browsed all of the labels at my local grocery store and the brand with the highest protein and lowest carbs was Fage.

I picked up their 0% fat because I am currently sticking to a moderate, rather than high fat diet, but they also have 3% and 5% fat options that are great for keto.

Add healthy fats

Speaking of fat, avocado is an excellent keto-friendly smoothie add-in. It’s healthy fats are great for you and it adds a great creaminess to the drink. Start with half a small avocado and add more if you enjoy the flavor.

Nut butters are another way to add healthy fats. Almond butter is my favorite. Just keep in mind that nut butters will also add some carbs, as well as fat and protein.

Always try to go with a pure nut butter that contains only ground nuts. Many types of peanut and almond butter have added oils, sugar, and salt that you don’t need in your keto smoothie.

Add low carb, nutritious fruits

I used to always make my smoothies with a whole frozen banana. But since I’ve been using Lumen to work on my metabolic flexibility, most days are low carb for me. This has led to my interest in keto recipes and it opened my eyes to just how much (albeit natural) sugar there is in my favorite fruits.

Bananas, mangoes, and pineapple are three of the highest carb fruits – and three of my faves! You can still enjoy these fruits on occasion when sticking to a low carb or keto diet, but for a daily keto smoothie, stick to the most versatile smoothie fruit: berries.

Strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries have the fewest net carbs and add great flavor for breakfast, a snack, or dessert. Blueberries clock in with slightly higher carbs but are another great choice.

You can add great berry flavor with as little as a 1/4 cup of fresh or frozen berries. Depending on how many carbs you have available, you can add up to 1 cup (which is about 15 grams of net carbs).

Acai: the low carb superfruit

Have you added acai berries to your smoothie before? These tiny berries come from the acai palm, which grows in South America. They’re known as a superfruit for their high concentration of antioxidants and trace minerals. They also contain very little sugar and a good amount of healthy fats, making them a very unique fruit.

Thanks to the popularity of the acai bowl, a frozen smoothie bowl, it’s now easy to find frozen, unsweetened acai berry pulp in ready to use “smoothie packs” at the grocery store. They’re super convenient and each pack has just a couple of grams of carbs!

Use frozen ingredients and plenty of ice

For the best texture and to avoid an overly airy smoothie, make sure to use frozen fruit and at least a half cup of ice. You can also pre-mix your milk and yogurt and freeze them in ice cube trays! This will add a lot to the final texture of your smoothie.

Pro tip: make a keto simple syrup

If you’ve ever added sugar or any sweetener in crystal form to a cold drink, you know that it takes some time for it to dissolve. Prevent an unsweet-tasting smoothie by making a keto-friendly simple syrup!

Dissolve a measure of allulose crystals in an equal measure of water. It doesn’t even need to be hot, the allulose will dissolve quite quickly with some stirring. Store your syrup in a jar or bottle in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Start with two tablespoons (one ounce) of allulose simple syrup and see if your smoothie is sweet enough. Because allulose is not as sweet as regular sugar, you may need more syrup. Depending on the other ingredients and the total volume of the smoothie, you could use as much as a quarter cup of the syrup to get to a normal level of sweet!

How do you make your keto-friendly smoothies? Find my basic recipe below as well as ways I modify this recipe on a daily basis.

Use a quality blender

It goes without saying around here, but if you want a good smoothie, you need a good blender! To make this recipe I used my Cleanblend, which has become one of my very favorite machines. It’s incredibly easy to use, easy to clean, and remarkably affordable when compared to brands with similar features, like Vitamix.

They offer a 5 year warranty and free shipping, so if you’re in the market for a new blender, consider the Cleanblend Blender Classic.

Cleanblend Blender replaces nine appliances in one easy to use, quiet, all-in-one machine. Shop Now.

Want more? Learn about the best blenders for smoothies or indulge in an Angel Food Smoothie Recipe!