Ever since I saw my friend Catherine over at Weelicious make a vibrant pink smoothie using beets, I’ve wanted to try it! So now that we’re warming up to the idea of eating beets, it was time to give it a go. We only put half of a beet in this tropical pink smoothie (that’s all it takes for the vibrant pink color!), but if you’re a more established beet lover, feel free to go ahead and throw in the whole thing. More on all the different combinations we tried below.
We did some fun experimenting when it came to the types of beets we tried in this smoothie recipe.
We tried:
- Raw beets (skin intact)
- Fresh roasted beets (skin removed)
- Previously roasted beets (skin removed) that had been frozen
Surprisingly, the difference was very minimal! We did not try canned beets, but I imagine that quality would be inferior so would not recommend it. We also did not try store-bought frozen beets, but I bet that would be a decent option (since frozen produce is usually frozen at the peak of freshness and holds up better than canned).
The girls and I kept trying the different options over and over again to try and detect the difference (that’s how minimal it was!). My older daughter said that if she had to pick one, she preferred the raw beet version. I thought the texture of that one had a slight difference (flavor was the same to me). It was maybe just a tiny bit grittier—but barely.
My younger daughter and I both preferred the “previously roasted beet that had been frozen” version, but all in all, you could hardly even tell they were different. You certainly wouldn’t know if you weren’t doing a side-by-side taste test! And funny enough, my husband independently tried all of them as well and told me his two favs were the same two we had already picked.
We also tried:
- 1/2 beet
- 1 whole beet
My older daughter and I (who both like beets) thought the whole beet version was fine but liked the 1/2 beet version slightly better if they were offered up side-by-side. My younger daughter (who is so-so on beets) most definitely preferred the 1/2 beet version only. So, even if you’re not a huge beet fan…start small just for the sake of making your smoothie so pretty! :)
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Hot Pink Smoothie
Ingredients
- 2 bananas the riper they are, the sweeter they are!
- 1/2 small red beet or medium sized, can be raw, roasted, or frozen
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- 1 cup frozen pineapple
- 1 cup fresh spinach leaves or could sub beet greens
- 1 orange peeled
- 2 cups coconut water
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. If you are using fresh berries and pineapple instead of frozen, add some ice first.
My daughter is allergic to pineapple – what would you suggest as a substitute? I imagine the sweetness of this fruit helps disguise the beet flavor.
Good question. It might be a matter of trying out different fruits to see which works the best with the beet. Maybe try some oranges or mangos. – Nicole
I’ve had a bet smoothie before and it tasted dirty, the way beets smell. I tried peeling it even more and it was the same. Any suggestions?
Sometimes it’s just a matter of personal preference, as far as how someone likes or dislikes the taste and smell! Maybe just start with a little bit and work your way up to more beets and add more fruits for sweetness. – Nicole
Wow, we need to get a blender on board our sailboat. The cons of full-time liveaboard sailing! LOVE your recipes!
I went out and bought a grouping of 5 organic beets at the grocery store. I was not even necessarily trying to buy organic, it was simply all they had in fresh beets, and they were quite inexpensive. I washed them off, kept the skin intact, and cut them into 3-4 pieces each and flash froze them. I have been sticking them into my daughter’s smoothie with a recipe very similar to yours above and she really likes them. She is 14. She said as she ate the first one she noticed something a little different, but by the 3rd or 4th one she really no longer noticed. And wow, are these are some beautiful smoothies!!! I recently took a pasta making class and we put raw beet into our ravioli. It made the prettiest pink ravioli … I am getting into this beet thing!
I made this with my daughter, and the flavor was delicious, but it didn’t turn out hot pink at all! It was more of a brown color. I added the other half of the beet and extra strawberries, and it became more of a reddish brown. I put it in a red cup and my daughter loved it and asked for more. Not sure why mine wasn’t a pretty pink color like yours, but the flavor was really good!
That is strange! It was a red beet?
We loved this smoothie! I loved the fact that my kids had beets and kale (I had to sub kale for the spinach) plus lots of fruits for breakfast. It does require a bit more work then our typical smoothies. The servings were very generous so I’d likely not make so much next time. Using 1/2 coconut water and 1/2 plain water and 1 less banana based on what we had worked great so it’s definitely customizable. Thanks for another great recipe!
Glad you enjoyed it and figured out a way to make it work for your family. :)
Wow – thats 9 servings of fruit, so its 4.5 servings of fruit in each serving of smoothie. THis definitely wont work for a diabetic, or someone watching their weight!
The naturally occurring sugars found in fruit should not be treated the same as added sugars found in processed foods.
Granted natural occurring sugars in fruit are nutritious and ours bodies do need these type of sugars for proper energy, eating to much fruit can raise blood sugar in a negative way. Diabetics do have to watch natural sugars as well.
I am not a diabetic, however I think this contains a lot of fruit. I would only drink half the suggested serving with a dollop of homemade whipped cream on top(the fat from the cream helps the body release the insulin at a slower more steady rate)
Note that “naturally occurring sugars in fruit” do count towards daily sugar intake. Even to much fruit can negatively affect blood sugar.
If we don’t have coconut water, could plain water or ice be substituted? We usually make our smoothies with plain yogurt.
Yes, plain water will work as a sub!
I have to ask. . . what if you are not a beet lover? Does it taste like a beet? I’d love to try this, but i don’t like beets at all so. . . if the flavor is disguised, this may be the way for me to get it in.
It didn’t taste like beets at all.
I think starting with 1/2 a beet is the way to go … you can hardly taste the flavor over everything else!