The first time I saw a vietnamese avocado smoothie I was sceptical. At that time the only avocado containing food I ever ate was ice cream. And I didn’t like it… Buttery, mildly sweet with a strange aftertaste. I couldn’t imagine that people in Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia, used avocados to sweeten their meals.
Most of the time they combine milk with the rich and creamy taste of avocados. I guess that’s the reason they call it sinh tố bơ, or in English: butter fruit shake.
The vietnamese avocado smoothie is quite popular in Southeast Asia. Filipinos love avocado flavored ice cream, whereas Indonesians combine their avocado smoothie with chocolate syrup or coffee. Even outside of Asia it’s a popular smoothie.
In many Vietnamese American restaurants and cafe you will find people who order a vietnamese avocado smoothie to their meal. The smoothie is often quite thick and should be enjoyed with a spoon.
As someone who used to be on both sides, the one which hates avocados and the other one which loves them, I say: Give it try! Your first experience with a certain fruit or vegetable should never close you up against another try.
This one is simple and easy to make. Cut a ripe avocado in two and remove the pip. Take 1 cup ice, ½ coconut milk and ½ cup milk. Throw everything into your blender and mix it until it’s smooth.
Avocados give your smoothie a thicker texture, so I wouldn’t recommend to add yogurt into your vietnamese avocado smoothie. If you still like to add thickness-increasing ingredients like banana, peanut butter or yogurt, use more milk and ice for your smoothie.
Secret tip: Pour Hershey’s syrup on the top of the glass, so the syrup drips down. After that pour your vietnamese avocado smoothie into the glass and enjoy!
As I already said: Avocados and bananas are a great way to give your smoothie a thicker texture. Therefore, we are going to use a half avocado and a half banana to make this smoothie.
Additionally, you can replace the milk with almond milk and scatter some chia seeds or walnuts on your finished avocado smoothie. Thereby increasing the nutrient content and giving your vietnamese avocado smoothie a more complex taste.
Carrots are not only rich in vitamin A, they are also a great addition to your avocado smoothie. Take 1 ripe avocado without a pip, ½ cup carrot juice, ½ cup rice milk, 1 cup ice and 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup.
As always: No one is going to stop you from including spices, herb, seeds or nuts into your shake, so be creative! Cashew nuts would be a nice match to this shake.
I am a big chocolate fan, so I always try to include at least one smoothie recipe featuring chocolate in my posts. This one is going to be it.
Prepare 2 tablespoons cacao powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 cup milk, 1 ripe avocado, ½ cup spinach and ½ cup sugar-free dark chocolate with at least 60% cacao. Put it all into your blender and mix it until you get the desired consistency.
Our last smoothie recipe is for all the coffee lover out there.
I tested several versions of this smoothie, before I published this recipe. This one is my personal favorite, but hey… you can choose how much coffee you want to add into the smoothie. Now let’s see how to make a coffee flavored avocado smoothie.
Get 1 medium sized avocado, ½ cup of coconut milk, ½ cup milk, 1 cup cold coffee and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Mix everything together until you have a nice consistency and violà, a great Southeast Asian smoothie.
Do you have any suggestions, ideas for recipes or just want to say “hi”? Write it in the comments. We would like to hear about your experiences with avocado flavored smoothies. Do you like them or do hate them? Dare to try one after this post?