This delicious and healthy Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie requires no milk, yogurt or banana! With just a handful of simple whole-food ingredients, it whips up in a cinch and will tantalize your tastebuds with a creamy, dairy-free blend of strawberry and vanilla.

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Thanks to the wonderful cashew nut, you can make this healthy strawberry shortcake smoothie without milk! Yes, you read that right. Not even dairy-free milk is required. So, if you're all out, there's no need to fret. A creamy, refreshing Strawberry Smoothie is still in order!

How to Make a Healthy Strawberry Smoothie Without Milk

Making a healthy strawberry shortcake smoothie without milk couldn't be simpler! To see how it's done you can watch the video here.

As mentioned above, cashews are what make this possible. Once blended with the strawberries and water, they become creamy and smooth, just like milk! However, if you want to make an ultra-creamy smoothie, you can always use your favourite milk in place of the water.

What You Will Need

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Equipment

• Blender

Ingredients

• Strawberries
• Raw Cashews (or Soaked)
• Pure Vanilla Extract
• Pure Maple Syrup
• Ice
• Water
• Collagen Creamer / Booster (Optional)

Substitutions & Add-Ons

Frozen Strawberries

If using frozen strawberries, you may need to adjust the amount of liquid. For instance, if your strawberries are quite frosty, reduce the amount of water (or milk) to around ¾ cups. Or you can simply omit the ice. This will keep your smoothie from getting too watery. 

On the other hand, if your strawberries are freshly frozen, and you are omitting the ice, you may need to add a bit more water (or milk). About ¼ cup should suffice.

Adding More Ice

If you want your smoothie to be nice and chilled for those sweltering summer days but only have fresh strawberries on hand, you can always add more ice!

Just like when using frozen strawberries, you will need to adjust the amount of liquid to prevent your smoothie from getting too watered down. The amount of liquid will depend on how many ice cubes you add. Generally, three standard-sized ice cubes are the equivalent of about ¼ cup. So, if you add three ice cubes, reduce the water or milk from 1 cup to about ¾ cups. 

You probably won't want to add more than 6 ice cubes in total since you will need some liquid to help your blender along.

Superfood Smoothie Boosters

If you want to add a nutritional boost to your Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie, plenty of options pair well with the strawberry-vanilla flavour! Here's a list of some of my favourite Superfood powders to add. (The following list contains affiliate links where I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.)

• Aura Collagen Creamer
• Collagen Booster
• Maca
• Spirulina (no more than ¼ tsp)
• Reishi 
• Lion's Mane

Soaked Cashews

To soak or not to soak. If that is your question, here are a couple of factors to consider. 

1. The power of your blender - Is your blender powerful enough to blend raw cashews smoothly?  - If not, you will probably want to go with soaked. You can soak your cashews overnight or in warm water for 10 - 20 minutes. See my guide on making cashew cream for further details and soaking tips!
2. Do you have any digestive/gut issues? - Soaked cashews contain fewer compounds that hinder the absorption of nutrients. Plus, enzyme activity has already begun, giving a kick-start on digestion. You can also add apple cider vinegar or kelp to increase the benefits of this process. 

Step 1 - Place Ingredients in Blender Jug

To make this Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie, simply add all the ingredients into your blender jug. 

First, pour in one and a half cups of water (or your milk of choice for an extra creamy smoothie). Next, add one teaspoon of pure maple syrup, one teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, one-third of a cup of raw (or soaked) cashews and one cup of fresh strawberries.

Step 2 - Blend 

Once all your ingredients are in the jug, blend until smooth. The time will vary depending on your blender power and whether you are using soaked cashews. However, thirty seconds should be long enough for most blenders.

Step 3 - Serve and Enjoy!

Once all the ingredients are smoothly blended, power down your blender and pour your Healthy Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie into your favourite smoothie glass to enjoy!

How Long Does A Strawberry Smoothie Last?

This Strawberry Smoothie is best served fresh. It will keep for eight to twelve hours in the fridge. However, for the best results, consume right away.

What Makes this Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie Healthy?

As mentioned above, this Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie is made with a handful of whole-food ingredients, requires no milk and is free of refined sugars. However, that's not all! This smoothie is full of antioxidants, fibre and skin-loving nutrients.

Great Source of Antioxidants 

Strawberries contain a unique and very powerful flavinoid called anthocyanidins. This type of antioxidant is known for its protective qualities against heart disease, cancer and inflammation.

Good Source of Fibre

Both strawberries and cashews make an excellent source of fibre. This smoothie alone provides 4 grams of fibre! That's 16% of the daily recommended intake for women.

Excellent Source of Skin-Loving Vitamins & Minerals

Vitamin C

Strawberries are a great source of many skin-loving vitamins and minerals. First, they contain high amounts of vitamin C. Vitamin C enhances their antioxidant activity and is an active component in collagen production.

B Vitamins

Strawberries also contain many B vitamins, including biotin, B1, B6, B5 and folic acid. B vitamins are a crucial and often underlooked factor in our health. Their most known role is enzyme function and metabolizing nutrients. However, their job goes far beyond that. They are also needed for cellular function. This goes from our brains and nervous systems to our skin, hair and nails. 

Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie Seasonal Benefits

Early Summer to Harvest (Late Summer)

This Healthy Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie makes a great summer refresher! Strawberries are ready for harvest in the early summer, which makes a great time to eat them!

Just the same, strawberries make a delicious, balancing summer treat right through until the beginning of autumn.

Cooling

Strawberries are considered a cooling food and can help cool down the body, making them great for those sweltering dog days of summer. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, this is because they balance our yin (downward and inward) energy, which provides a calming, cooling balance to all the summer yang (upward and outward) energy.

Coloured Red

Now, here's nature's intelligence for you. She makes sure there is balance in each food. As mentioned above, strawberries are considered a yin fruit. However, they are also red. Which is associated with yang energy.

Red foods are also associated with the summer season and the fire element. When you think about it, many red foods grow abundantly in the summer and are great eaten raw. Strawberries, raspberries, cherries, tomatoes, grapes, radishes, apples, and the list goes on!

Much like strawberries, many of these foods have cooling (yin) effects on the body yet also have the yang energy of the red colour.

Sweet-Sour Tasting

Strawberries, of course, fall on the sweet-tasting side. This means they are perfect for savouring during those late summer weeks when our bodies are beginning to pack away nutrients for the colder months ahead. However, they also have a sour taste which means they are perfect for enjoying from late spring all the way through to the end of summer.

What Months Are Strawberries in Season?

The month that strawberries are in season for picking really depends on your location. Here, in the northern part of the hemisphere, the prime strawberry picking month is June. However, in more southern parts of the world, strawberry season can start as early as April. 

More Summer Recipes You Might Enjoy

• Healthy Vegan Banana Cream Pudding With Turmeric
• Healthy Pineapple Smoothie
• Vegan Peaches And Cream
• Cinnamon Berry & Beetroot Smoothie Bowl (Raw, Vegan)
• Avocado & Moringa Green Smoothie (Nutrient Rich, Lactogenic)

If you try this Healthy Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie recipe, let me know how it turns out by leaving a comment and/or a rating below! And make sure you're following along on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook for more wildly nutritious recipes!

This post contains affiliate links where I may earn a small commission for purchases made through the links. I only recommend products and brands that I trust and use myself. All opinions and information provided have come from my own experience and research. Please read my full disclosure and privacy policy for more information.