Spicy Tomato Smoothie

from The Blender Girl Smoothies book

Spicy Tomato Smoothie

This spicy tomato smoothie from The Blender Girl Smoothies book tastes like an amazing tomato gazpacho.

I get so many emails from “green smoothie newbies” (as they refer to themselves) asking how to transition from fruit-based green smoothies to savory green smoothies. My answer is always the same: “Make vegetable green smoothies that taste like delicious gazpachos.” I’ve found that this is the easiest way to transition into more alkaline green smoothies that contain less natural sugar.

Sweet smoothies are delicious, and there is no doubt that mixing fruit with leafy greens is the most palatable way to drink your greens. However, most fruits contain a large amount of natural sugar, making them acidic in large quantities. Mixing things up and including more alkaline vegetable smoothies is a great way to increase your alkaline buffers (minerals that neutralize acids) and change your palate.

How To Make Savory Smoothies

As much as I enjoy fruit, I do not eat it on a weekly basis. My daily smoothies are typically vegetable-based blends with a bit of lemon or lime. Adding flavor enhancers like lemon or lime juice, garlic, ginger, peppers, and fresh herbs is a great way to create flavorful combinations.

Start with just 1 cup of mild-tasting greens like spinach, romaine, and radish greens, and build up from there. Greens like kale, chard, beet greens, collards greens, arugula, and dandelion greens can be bitter even small quantities when not masked with fruit. However, as your palate changes, you’ll be able to tolerate more of these greens.

Another top tip is to keep your smoothies really cold. As our taste buds are temperature sensitive, we can’t taste the full dimension of flavors when drinks are ice cold. This temperature phenomenon takes the edge of the pungency of leafy greens and earthy foods like beets. I add about 2 cups of ice when using fresh veggies.

I called this smoothie the Spicy Tomato Gazpacho Grab Smoothie in the book. This blend is a sensational introduction into savory smoothies. This smoothie is a meal replacement for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Play around with the quantities of garlic, chile, onion, and salt. I like mine with a real punch. But you might find you prefer a milder experience.

Either way, this vegetable smoothie is a winner. Enjoy!

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Spicy Tomato Smoothie

This spicy tomato smoothie from The Blender Girl Smoothies book tastes just like a delicious gazpacho and is loaded with nutrients.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 2 16-ounce glasses

Author Tess Masters

Ingredients

2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 English cucumber, chopped
1/2 medium avocado, pitted and peeled
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro, plus more to taste
1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion, plus more to taste
3/4 teaspoon Celtic sea salt, plus more to taste
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
Pinch of red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
1 cup (125g) ice cubes

optional boosters:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon finely chopped jalapeno chile
1/4 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
1/2 teaspoon probiotic powder

Instructions

Throw everything into your blender (including any boosters) and blast on high for 30 to 60 seconds until smooth and creamy. Tweak cilantro, onion, pepper, and pepper flakes to taste.

Recipe Notes

Recipe from The Blender Girl Smoothies book

Comments

Comments 19

Katy MacTownsend
July 15, 2012 at 12:07 pm

Rrrrrrrrrrr! This smoothie rocks my spicy socks…. Thank you, Tess! This is the perfect, savoury summer smoothie – Those cheeky, tangy tomatoes really hit the spot!!!! More chilli, pleasssssssssssszzzzze.

Reply
1. The Blender Girl
  July 16, 2012 at 12:07 am
  
  LOL! You make me laugh!
  Yesterday was SOOO much fun! Thankyou!!
  
  Reply
Kibby
July 16, 2012 at 4:07 am

As soon as our tomatoes are ripe, I am making this beauty. Sounds divine! I love savory green smoothies. Like the tip to serve cold – hadn’t gone there yet.

Reply
1. The Blender Girl
  July 17, 2012 at 7:07 am
  
  Can’t wait to hear what you think! This smoothie is AMAZING.
  
  Reply
The Blender Girl
July 18, 2012 at 1:07 am

Oh Great! I LOVE hearing this.
I am SO pleased you are making the transition to drinking more savoury smoothies. That is WONDERFUL.
Yes…..picking good tomatoes can be challenging these days if you don’t grow your own 🙂

Reply
The Blender Girl
August 4, 2012 at 12:08 am

LOVE avos in smoothies too. Tomato is AMAZING in smoothies. You are in for a treat!

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ImperfectCJ
August 21, 2012 at 1:08 am

Like KCassidy, I found this smoothie to be a great transition between fruity smoothies and savory smoothies. So many of the savory smoothie recipes I’ve tried had veggies but lacked FLAVOR. This one has both, and was the first that I actually liked enough to share on my blog’s Facebook Page. I’ve since shared the coconut cream pie smoothie, too, and I think the pistachio ice cream one will follow soon. I should probably just write a blog post singing your praises and be done with it!

Reply
1. The Blender Girl
  August 21, 2012 at 12:08 pm
  
  Oh! I LOVE hearing this!
  I am so pleased you enjoyed this savoury smoothie. I really love it too, and it IS full of flavour.
  Thankyou for the shout out on your FB page, and your kind words too.
  I really appreciate it.
  
  Reply
  1. ImperfectCJ
    August 23, 2012 at 11:08 am
    
    I actually did have a little “Healthy Blender Recipes Love-Fest” on my blog today. I hope it introduces a new audience to your wonderful recipes!
    
    Reply
    1. The Blender Girl
      August 23, 2012 at 1:08 pm
      
      Thankyou for your lovely post, and for all of the comments here on the blog. I really appreciate the support. It is wonderful to be connected with you and your wonderful blog.
      
      Reply
ImperfectCJ
August 23, 2012 at 7:08 pm

You’re welcome! I’m not usually so prolific a commenter, but I also don’t usually find smoothies I like so much, either. I’ll try to cool it with the comments now. 🙂

Reply
1. The Blender Girl
  August 23, 2012 at 10:08 pm
  
  Don’t cool the comments. Keep them coming! I LOVE hearing from you and getting your feedback. I really appreciate it, so hope to hear back from you after every smoothie you try 🙂
  
  Reply
Jevon Bolden
February 19, 2015 at 11:02 am

This is my first savory smoothie EVER! I normally drink fruity green smoothies. But I am fasting this week and did want only sweet smoothies; I wanted to try some different flavors. And I know this is the worst, but I don’t really like avocado. I know! Horrible. But in this smoothie, everything fits together so nicely for a really robust flavor and pleasing texture. I’ve been sipping on a big cup of it all day. And what’s great about this one is that it gets better even after sitting in the fridge. I did make one substitution: cayenne pepper instead of the Serrano chili. Still so amazing. I am going to try your “Sun-Dried Tomato Cilantro Gazpacho Greeny” next. Thank you!

Reply
1. The Blender Girl
  February 21, 2015 at 12:02 pm
  
  Oh, wonderful! I am so glad you enjoyed this as it is so much healthier than fruit-based smoothies. Yes, cayenne is an amazing substitute in this recipe, and so cleansing as well. Let me know how you like the other savory smoothies.
  
  Reply
Karen
April 8, 2015 at 4:04 pm

Woohoo! I’m new to smoothies, but CANNOT eat fruit (except I sometimes eat blueberries, which are worth the stomachache). I’m so glad to have found your site, and this recipe – finally, something to do with the Parsley that Ate Chicago out in my herb bed!! Thank you!

Reply
1. The Blender Girl
  April 11, 2015 at 9:04 am
  
  Awesome! I am so pleased you found this recipe! I don’t eat a lot of fruit either, and so savory smoothies are a lifesaver for me!
  
  Reply
Dr Rutendo Matanda
December 29, 2015 at 8:12 am

Thank you soooooo much.I will definately share this wonderfull recipe especially with my patients!!!

Reply
1. The Blender Girl
  January 26, 2016 at 5:01 am
  
  Great. Thanks for sharing.
  
  Reply
Andrea
March 26, 2017 at 9:03 am

I just tried this today with a regular cucumber, and I juiced half of a small lime and then put 1/4 of the peel in with it. I forgot the red pepper flakes, but I think next time I’ll add fresh jalapeno to give it the spiciness that I crave.

I will say, this was my first savory smoothie that I drank as “brunch,” but I would drink it for breakfast when I crave something savory instead of sweet. Yum! Can’t wait to try more savories!

P.S. The link to this says spicy tomato parsley smoothie. Was it initially made with parsley? Would you sub parsley for cilantro or just add it in to make it more green?

Reply