Fighting colds and flus just became exponentially more delicious thanks to this Berry Turmeric Smoothie. Made with immune-boosting foods such as blueberries, greens, turmeric, and ginger, it does double duty as both a yummy, healthy breakfast smoothie and a natural, nutrient-rich way to give your immune system a lift.
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As my mother will heartily attest, as a kid I was THE WORST about taking any kind of liquid medicine, especially cold or flu medicine.
I’d work myself into a reality TV–worthy fit, to the extent that she finally gave up and let me start swallowing the gel capsules at an age that I’m sure was a few years below what it says on the back of the box.
My one exception was the weird neon pink medicine that had to refrigerated, which I found oddly delicious.
TO BE CLEAR: This turmeric smoothie does not taste like the pink stuff. AT ALL.
It tastes like creamy, bright, healing berry sunshine.
Although my taste in flu and cold remedies has improved exponentially as an adult, my motivation to take it (an excuse to eat or drink something delicious) has not.
- Case in Point One: My daily multivitamin. I haven’t missed a dose ever since these delectable gummy ones were invented.
Yes, apparently I need my vitamins to taste like candy to remember to take them. Better than not taking them at all, right?
- Case in Point Two: This delicious turmeric blueberry smoothie.
This turmeric tastes richly fruity thanks to a medley of berries, bewitchingly bright and warm thanks to the healing spices, and satisfyingly rich and creamy.
It makes cold fighting and immune-boosting delicious and enjoyable, instead of a chore.
I started playing around with cold fighting smoothie recipes back when I shared this Strawberry Kiwi Smoothie.
While today’s turmeric smoothie shares a few of the same ingredients, its flavor profile is completely different.
Turmeric Smoothie Ingredients
- Berries: High in antioxidants, berries help fight off the bad guys in your body and reduce inflammation. I used a blend of blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries because that is what I had available near me. If you can find açai berries, those are an excellent addition too.
- Yogurt: The probiotics in yogurt may ease the severity of colds. Look for labels that say “live and active cultures” and have added vitamin D.
- Spinach: Folate, vitamin C, and antioxidants galore. (Check out this Strawberry Spinach Smoothie for another smoothie recipe with spinach.)
- Oatmeal: A fiber in oats called beta-glucan boosts your body’s ability to fight off infections. Bonus: Oatmeal smoothies keep you full and happy for longer too (try this classic Oatmeal Smoothie. It tastes like a cookie!).
- Ginger: One of the oldest natural remedies + even more antioxidants. Take THAT nasty cold.
- Turmeric: With ginger above in the super-duper natural remedy/antioxidant department. It’s also anti-inflammatory (as is ginger), so if you were seeking a turmeric smoothie for inflammation, this recipe has you covered there too. The benefits of turmeric also shine in my Golden Milk recipe.
Recipe Adaptations
This smoothie recipe is quite flexible, so feel free to adjust it to your taste.
- Smoothie for Flu or Cold Fighting. I recommend keeping the ingredients I listed above as a base, but you can feel free to add additional.
- Turmeric Banana Smoothie. Add an extra 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of banana.
- Turmeric Pineapple Smoothie. Add an extra 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of pineapple.
- Turmeric Smoothie for Kids. Add a few extra berries to make sure that any hint of spinach is covered. I’d also recommend honey or banana to up the sweetness. The fact that this is a turmeric green smoothie can be our little secret.
- Looking for something sweeter? Try this Strawberry Smoothie or Strawberry Blueberry Smoothie.
More Healthy Smoothie Recipes
Turmeric Smoothie with Berries
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Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk or milk of choice
- 2 cups baby spinach about 2 large handfuls
- ½ cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt or dairy-free yogurt of choice
- 3 tablespoons old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 ½ cups frozen mixed berries I used a blend of blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 2-3 teaspoons honey or swap agave or maple syrup to make vegan, plus additional to taste
Instructions
- Place the ingredients in a high-powered blender in the order listed: almond milk, spinach, yogurt, oats, berries, turmeric, ginger, and 2 teaspoons honey.
- Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust sweetness as desired. If you do not have a high-powered blender, I recommend blending the almond milk, spinach, and yogurt first, and then adding the other ingredients. Enjoy immediately.
Video
Nutrition
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Erin, this sounds awesome! I want to try it (and I’m not even sick!) It looks chocolatey. I’m wondering if adding some cocoa powder would be a good idea. Love the idea of using Turmeric and Ginger! Thanks for another great recipe!
Hi Laurie, I haven’t tried adding cocoa powder since I enjoy the flavors as-is, but if you think you might like that addition, you are welcome to experiment.
I will be adding this to my repertoire, but I thought I’d spout in just a smidge. Make sure to add a couple of grinds of pepper — at least one. That way, you’ll get benefit from the turmeric as pepper unlocks the anti-inflammatory properties.
Thanks for the tip, Brenna! I hope you enjoy!
LOVE turmeric in my smoothies!!
I do too, Gaby!
Would frozen berries be ok even though they’re not fresh and I have turmeric with ginger capsules. I’m wondering if that would work. Can the oats be left out?
Hi Michaela, I use frozen berries in the smoothie, so that should work great! I’m not familiar with turmeric ginger capsules, but if it contains the powdered spices like you’d buy at the store, it may work. You can certainly leave the oats out if you prefer. I hope you enjoy the smoothie!
Hi! Trying this recipe now and was wondering is vanilla Greek yogurt was okay since I bought the wrong one!!
Hi Steph! You can give it a try, but it’ll be sweeter. You may want to leave out the honey and taste it to see if it’s needed. I hope you enjoy!
Hi! I have looked at some of the smoothies, and they all seem delicious. I only have one question – can I use regular milk (cow milk) and dairy containing products in the smoothies as well?
Hi Eve, yes! Usually in the ingredient list (like in this recipe) I mention that you can use your milk of choice. I hope you enjoy!
Great tasting smoothie, thanks. I’m new to your blog and enjoying your content very much. Love the videos, they really do help to see how recipes are prepared and you’re very personable too! Thanks for blogging!
Tess, thank you so much for this kind comment—it makes my day! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the smoothie too.
I like fresh tumeric how much would I need
Hi Cindy! I apologize, but I have not tried this recipe with fresh turmeric and am not sure exactly how much would be needed. I hope you love the recipe if you try it!
Don’t we need to add pepper to release the turmeric?
Hi Eileen! We do not need pepper for the turmeric to be effective in this recipe. I hope you enjoy the smoothie if you try it!
Perfect! Was looking for a blueberry-based immunity smoothie for lunch and this was perfect. Added a twist of black pepper, a pinch of cardamom, chia seeds, and did half coconut milk and half OJ for the liquid. Made for a perfect smoothie bowl topped with granola, fresh berries, dried coconut and cacao nibs. Thank you!
YAY! I’m so happy that you enjoyed this recipe, Lena!
I make this regularly for breakfast and love it! I’ve used other fruits (peaches are in season right now, pineapple) and it’s still delicious.
I’m so happy that you’ve enjoyed it, Jeri! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
This was so good! I’ve tried adding spinach to my morning shakes without much success, I can always taste it. But not this time! Something about the spices must have done it, perfectly masks the spinach taste and adds so much satisfaction! The only changes I made was to use frozen spinach (1/2 to 2/3 cup), added a banana, reduced blueberries to 1 cup. It was perfect!!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Emma! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
This was delicious! How many servings can you have a day? Thank you!
Hi Jackie! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review! Since I’m not a registered dietitian, I can’t offer dietary or medical advice. I would ask your dietitian or doctor about how many servings you could have.
This was my breakfast and it’s delicious. I used a frozen cherry/berry mix. I didn’t have any kind if milk so I used coconut water and added a little chia, hemp, flax seed mix. Definitely will be making this regularly. Thank you.
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Debra! Thank you for sharing this kind review!