Growing up, I was never a huge peanut butter and jelly sandwich lover. I much preferred my Dad’s famous after school turkey sandwich with pickles, mayo, mustard and LOTS of lettuce. Love you, Dad!
Now that I’m an adult, every now and then I’ll crave a really good PB&J, but here’s the thing: I won’t stand for anything but raspberry or strawberry jam. Seedy raspberry jam is my absolute favorite! How about you?!
One night after making my pregnant self a thick a$$ peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I started imagining it as a smoothie and therefore this gorgeous peanut butter and jelly smoothie was born. It’s refreshing, packed with over 15g of protein, vitamin A, C, and plenty of fiber thanks to berries.
I actually think this might be one of my favorite smoothies to recommend for kids because of how much it tastes like that childhood classic PB&J sandwich we all know and love.
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Ingredients in this 5-ingredient peanut butter and jelly smoothie
Below are ingredients you can feel free to mix and match in this peanut butter and jelly smoothie, but in general, I suggest trying to stick to the fruit and liquid ratios to ensure the smoothie stays nice and creamy.
- Frozen berries: we’re adding both frozen raspberries and strawberries to this smoothie for an amazing source of fiber (8g per cup!) vitamin c, and antioxidants. Who doesn’t love raspberry jam with their peanut butter & jelly sandwiches?!
- Peanut butter: can’t forget about the PB part of your PB&J!
- Protein powder: I made this a post-workout smoothie by adding a scoop of collagen peptides protein. Protein powder is optional, and see below for more protein ideas!
- Milk: feel free to use any milk you’d like to make the smoothie nice and creamy. Almond milk tends to have a neutral taste in smoothies, coconut milk will add a more tropical and creamy flavor, and regular milk will add a boost of protein.
Customize this PB&J smoothie
This easy peanut butter and jelly smoothie recipe is great for customizing based on what you have on hand. Here’s what I can recommend:
- Choose your berry flavor. If you like strawberry jam better than raspberry, feel free to add more strawberries than raspberries. The flavor profile is up to you!
- Use your fav nut butter. Not into peanut butter? Almond butter or any other nut butter will also work well and will add a delicious boost of protein to your smoothie.
- Pick your protein boost. Feel free to use your fav protein powder (I also love Vital Protein collagen peptides or Bob’s Red Mill Plant Based Vanilla Protein Powder for a vegan option). You could also add a 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt.
Add a boost of nutrients
You can enhance any smoothie by adding additional nutritious ingredients to really make it your own. Here are a few suggestions that you can add to this peanut butter and jelly smoothie:
- Flaxseed meal: this is one of my favorite ingredients to add to smoothies for a little boost of fiber and minerals, and is especially great for nursing mamas as flaxseed can help increase milk supply. Usually a tablespoon is plenty! Here’s a brand I love.
- Chia seeds: feel free to add a tablespoon of chia seeds to your smoothie for a boost of healthy fats and fiber.
- Hemp seeds: if you’ve been wondering what to do with those hemp seeds lurking in your cupboard, feel free to throw in a tablespoon into your smoothie for a boost of healthy fats, omegas and minerals.
- Oats: to add a little heartiness to your smoothie and to help thicken it, feel free to add in 1/3 cup of oats. Do not use steel cut oats as they will not blend well.
- Frozen cauliflower: feel free to throw in a cup of frozen cauliflower to thicken your smoothie and get extra veggies in, especially if you opt for fresh raspberries & strawberries instead of frozen. You won’t even be able to taste it!
- Spinach: if you’re looking to get more greens in your smoothie, try adding a cup or two of raw or cooked spinach. You’ll never be able to taste it, but just know that it may change the color of your smoothie to brown with these berries.
Tips for making smoothies
Here are a few of my favorite tips I like to share in regard to making the best creamy, healthy smoothies:
- Use frozen fruit. This is best as it helps keeps the smoothie cold and thick. Sometimes ice doesn’t blend as well, so it’s best to skip unless absolutely necessary. If you only have fresh fruit, try adding 1 cup frozen cauliflower.
- Add more liquid as necessary. Don’t be afraid to add more liquid if your smoothie is too thick or won’t fully blend. High-powered blenders tend to blend frozen fruit much better, so if you have a regular or personal size blender, you may need to add more milk.
- Start on low. Start the blender on low speed, then gradually increase to high to help blend all ingredients. Finally end with the blender on low speed.
Meal prep this smoothie
Yes, you can actually meal prep this peanut butter and jelly smoothie! Make it as-is or even double it and then try one of my three amazing ways to prep and store smoothies right in your freezer.
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More smoothie recipes you might like
- Get Your Greens in Smoothie (the best green smoothie!)
- Ridiculously Good Wild Blueberry Muffin Smoothie
- Orange Creamsicle Smoothie
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
- Snickerdoodle Tahini Date Smoothie
Get all of my smoothie recipes here!
I can’t wait to hear how you like this PB&J smoothie! Come back tomorrow for another delicious smoothie recipe you won’t want to miss. And don’t forget to check out our guide on how to prep smoothies ahead of time. xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Peanut Butter and Jelly Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup frozen raspberries*
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- 1 serving collagen peptides or your favorite protein powder brand (1-2 scoops depending on the brand)
- 1 tablespoon all natural peanut butter
- ¾ cup unsweetened almond milk, plus more as necessary (or light coconut milk)
Instructions
- In a large high-powered blender, add in all ingredients and blend on high for 1-2 minutes or until all ingredients are well combined. If necessary, add in more almond milk to thin the smoothie. Makes 1 smoothie. Drizzle the top with extra peanut butter if desired!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
😋 yummy
So glad you loved it, Jan!
Hi! I’ve made some of your smoothies, most are amazing! This one is tasty but I was a little disappointed since the berries were so tart and overwhelming I could hardly taste the peanut butter. I used a cup of each strawberry & rasberry and 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter. I usually make a peanut butter and banana which is better. Perhaps next time I can try it with just one cup of berries instead of two?
Sorry to hear that! Yes, feel free to reduce the berries a bit and let me know how it goes 🙂
My pb&j sandwich loving 5-yr-old loved this smoothie. We used regular whole milk plain yogurt instead of protein powder and whole cow’s milk, and it was very tasty!!
Amazing! So happy to hear that 🙂
This is very yummy! My kids loved it! I added kale, chia seeds, 1/3 banana and almond butter instead!
Thanks Monique!
So happy to hear that, Alexandra! Perfect for kiddos. Love those additions, too!
Subbed raspberries for half blueberries, half frozen red grapes. So good! Also made it thicker to make a smoothie bowl and it was delicious!
Yummm that sounds amazing! Glad you liked this one 🙂
This looks so yummy. I am more in the camp of strawberry jam. but growing up I was very into the traditional concord grape jelly. Will have to give this a try. Love that you are including smoothies that don’t have bananas, my stepdaughter can’t eat them anymore and this is a way she can still get to enjoy smoothes. And I had not idea you were pregnant. Congratulations to you and Tony. I am so excited for you two!!
Love a good strawberry jam! I tried to include a good mix of banana vs. non-banana, dairy free, etc. so that there’s something for everyone. And thank you, Courtney! We’re super excited 🙂