It’s berry season, folks. Graham and I start picking wild blueberries (bilberries) around the beginning of July, if we’re in a place where they grow. He wants me to tell you that he found the wild blueberries in a nearby bog and that they’re much better than farmed blueberries (he did, and they are).
Around this time of year, wild berries are abundant in northern Europe. In Gothenburg, you can pick the berries in the many urban parks surrounding the city, and we do that a few times a week. This blueberry peanut butter smoothie is in our daily rotation when blueberries are in season, and we often make it with frozen berries during other months.
You can also use frozen berries for this smoothie – see the notes below.
For some more summery drinks using seasonal berries, try this strawberry slush with lime, my personal favourite vegan strawberry milk, or a powder-free chocolate raspberry protein shake.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- A ripe banana: the riper the banana, the sweeter the smoothie will be. If it’s too ripe and brown, though, I find that the banana flavour can overwhelm everything else. Think spotty but not so brown that you can only use it for banana bread.
- Blueberries: if you don’t have enough blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries are all great choices, so use what you have on hand.
- Peanut butter: a classic combination, but if you want a nut-free option, try this with sunbutter.
- Dates: if your blender isn’t up to blending dates, either don’t add them, or use a bit of maple syrup or honey instead. The smoothie doesn’t really need extra sweetener, so this is optional.
- Non-dairy milk: I always use oat milk, but any type of milk can be used, including dairy if you can tolerate it.
Recipe Notes
If you’re using frozen banana and fresh blueberries, you may want to break or cut the banana into pieces (ideally before freezing!) if your blender isn’t super-powered. It’ll mix a lot easier. Otherwise, just add everything to a container and blend until very smooth. If there are any lumps, blend a little longer.
I don’t have a fancy high powered blender – just an immersion blender – and just about anything will work for this recipe. It’s not a green smoothie, you’re not blending anything tricky, so it should get pretty smooth no matter what.
Picking Wild Berries
It’s always good to take precautions if you’re gathering any wild foods. The wild blueberries that we pick grow on low-lying bushes, well within the range of dogs and other animals, so be cautious in where you’re collecting them from. Avoid any bushes that seem to be burned – this is often a sign of urine contact (or something like a chemical spray, also to be avoided).
Never gather foods from beside busy roadsides or near commercial fields. Depending on where you are, it may or may not be legal to gather, so check into that first. In northern Germany wild blueberries can be found in the moors, in Sweden in most wooded areas, and I don’t know about anywhere else.
And if you’re not 100% sure, absolutely positive, that what you’re picking is edible, don’t pick it, and certainly don’t try it to see. Putting something in your mouth is not a good way to test whether it’s poisonous or not (as Graham has often done). It is possible to buy wild blueberries, and cultivated are great too.
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Expert Tips
- Use something frozen: if you’re using fresh berries, make sure to freeze the banana instead. One of the elements needs to be frozen or the smoothie will be too thin. Despite the talk above about gathering berries, store bought frozen berries work just as well!
- Add the chia at the end: to serve with chia, I like to add the seeds after the smoothie is blended and poured into glasses. Otherwise chia seeds get stuck in all the nooks and crannies in the blades of the mixer.
- Make a pudding: this makes a really great chia pudding. Just stir in 50g (1/4 cup) chia seeds, mix, and chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving.
More Blueberry Recipes
Blueberry Swirl Coconut Milk Popsicles
Blueberry Almond Muffins
Roasted Rhubarb Salad
Blueberry Compote
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Blueberry Peanut Butter Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 large overripe banana
- 150 grams frozen blueberries
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1-2 soft dates seeds removed (optional)
- 250 ml oat milk
Instructions
- Place the banana, blueberries, peanut butter, cinnamon, dates (if using) and milk into a blender and mix at high speed until smooth. Serve chilled and add a teaspoon of chia if you’d like.1 large overripe banana, 150 grams frozen blueberries, 2 tablespoons peanut butter, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1-2 soft dates, 250 ml oat milk
Notes
* For American cup measurements, please click the pink link text above the ingredient list that says ‘American’.
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
This post was originally published in August 2017. It has been updated as of June 2020 with improvements to the text and recipe.
Alexandra Daum says
Oh, thank you for your kind comment, Hanne! Your garden sounds so lovely, what a nice balance you've been able to achieve with the local wildlife. I love that your neighbour feels that she can pick from your garden – it sounds like you're really embracing your community. Seeing this really made me day! Thank you <3
Alexandra Daum says
Yes! That's the thing, gardening was a necessity post-war and then there was a conscious shift away as people started to have more options again. Hahaha politely in my broken German, maybe peppered with a few English curses? I do feel really lucky that it's such a lush area to live in, especially as our garden didn't do that well (I struggled with the rainier, cool climate, I think) so we have lots of wild foods available. Thank you for such a thoughtful comment, Gaby <3
Alexandra Daum says
Thanks, Megan 🙂 the nut butter really rounds everything out, it would be a little too juice-like without it, I think.
Johanne says
We are kindred spirits. I have planted my back and front garden with my stomach in mind. I've planted fruit trees of all sorts, bushes, vines, brambles and of course veggies. We eat what the squirrels and birds leave us. There is one old Russian lady up the street who is about 100 years old who comes and plonks herself down in my front garden and eats gooseberries and black raspberries by the handful. Magical! I love the way the light hits your smoothies.
Gabrielle @ eyecandypopper says
Unfortunately I find that Europeans are "behind" on certain trends, and this is one of them. Because they were still gardening not that long ago, they haven't yet made the full circle connection that we need to start gardening again to feed ourselves in a more efficient and sustainable way… Ugh. I feel your pain. You should perhaps find a way to politely explain to them that food security and sustainability is a worldwide issue, and ultimately, you can say that you enjoy growing your own food without pesticides. I mean, gardening IS a legitimate hobby, so what if you grow edible plants? 😉 Foraging is also making a comeback everywhere, which is awesome! Lucky you to have access to delicious wild blueberries and blackberries!
Megan N says
I love picking wild blackberries, they really do have the best flavour. This smoothie looks amazing, the colours are so vibrant. I like the idea of adding nut butter.