In this cherry banana smoothie, the unmistakably bold and bright flavor of tart cherries is balanced by banana, sweet yogurt, and almond milk. Tart cherries are one of my favorite fruits, and they are ripening out on the tree in our yard right now! We planted our cherry trees a few years ago (one sweet, one tart), and each year they produce more cherries. The past couple of years have been exciting, because our trees have actually yielded enough cherries for us to make things with them!
Although I love the burst of tart flavor, for most people, tart cherries can be a bit sour to eat raw, all on their own, but they are incredible in baked desserts or in this case, mixed in a smoothie with other sweeter ingredients. The health benefits of tart cherries are definitely being widely written about these days. According to lots of health-related sources, tart cherries contain special antioxidants that help reduce inflammation, and inflammation seems to be a common issue for a lot of us. I am all for trying to reduce or prevent inflammation, and regardless of the health benefits, cherries are a special treat, especially right from the tree, or if you don’t happen to have a tree in your yard, the farmers markets or even grocery stores have tart cherries. They also freeze really well, so frozen tart cherries are widely available, and would work in this smoothie too.
I used cherry-flavored, lightly sweetened Greek yogurt because I like a little sweetness to balance out the tartness. If you use plain yogurt, you could always add some honey to your preference of sweetness. This smoothie comes together in just a few minutes, and it’s a great drink to add to your breakfast, or use it as a between-meal snack.
It is officially summer! In the summer, when all the fruits and vegetables are available and fresh, I like to make a lot of minimal-fuss recipes. It feels good and tastes good to let the natural, fresh flavors of the fruits and vegetables shine through. This smoothie is an example of that, and that wonderful cherry flavor, like the strawberry flavor, means “summer” to me. I hope you all have a great weekend!
Cherry Banana Smoothie
Ingredients:
- 1 and 1/2 cups of tart cherries, washed and pits removed
- 1 banana
- 1 cup of yogurt (I like to use cherry flavored Greek yogurt by Greek Gods for this)
- 1 cup of almond milk
- honey to taste, if you are not using sweetened yogurt
Place all the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Pour into glasses. Enjoy!
We lost our tart cherry treas a couple of years ago – and have yet to replant them. 🙂 These smoothies sound awesome!
Mollie
Thanks! Sorry about your cherry trees! Ours are finally big enough to really give us some good fruit, though we have to share with the birds. 🙂
Yeah, I was heartbroken – one was for my son and the other for my daughter…
Oh, sorry to hear that! xoxo
These smoothies look wonderful! The first time I ate a tart cherry right off the tree, I was shocked at how sour it was, but I’ve come to love them. I’m hoping to go cherry picking next weekend – it’s one of my favorite things about Michigan!
Thanks! I love everything with cherries. I hope you enjoy picking!?