50+ Recipes to Make In Your Blender - That Aren't Smoothies (2024)

Alison Murray November 23, 2013 Recipes, Resources 8 Comments

ATTN: As of 16.01.16 this post has now been updated with lots ofnew content!

Some links on this posthad disappeared over the last two years so I’ve added lots of new recipes to bring the total well over 50+ links. I’ve also added more books covering the subject of blender recipes that I’ve bought over the past few years.

Enjoy! xx Ally

Nine times out of ten, when I’m plonking ingredients into my blender, it’s to make a morning smoothie. How boring and predictable! Stopthinking of your blender as a ‘smoothie making machine’ so I’ve gone and enjoy these50+ recipe ideas to get your creative juices flowing!It’s time to think outside the jug!

All these recipes may be suitable for a Ninja Bullet-style blender, however some of these recipes require pulverising hard materials (nuts, seeds) or using blade friction to quickly cook ingredients. For these more intensive tasks I would recommend a high-powered blender like the Optimum blender rangefor better results.Check out my blender review for more information on the Froothie Optimum range.

Best Healthy Blender Cookbooks

Since I first wrote this article, there have been some fantastic cookbooks that answer the question “What can I make in my blender – besides smoothies?”.

For example, the following list are my favourite books for getting the most use out of your full-size or ninja bullet blender:

• The Ultimate Blender Cookbook: Fast, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal by Rebecca French
• The Blender Girl: Super-Easy, Super-Healthy Meals, Snacks, Desserts, and Drinks–100 Gluten-Free, Vegan Recipes!by Tessa Masters
• The Vitamix Cookbook: Over 200 delicious whole food recipes to make in your blenderby Jodi Berg
• Vitamix Cookbook: Not Just Smoothies! Super Delicious, Super Easy Blender Recipes for Health and Happiness by Julia Grady
• Ninja Blender Cookbook: Fast, Healthy Blender Recipes for Soups, Sauces, Smoothies, Dips, and Moreby Dylanna Press

Blender Kitchen Basics

Some ingredients are just better home-made and from scratch – whether it’s fresh breadcrumbs, baking ingredients or breakfast. A good blender can help you with your kitchen adventures by easily turning day-old bread into breadcrumbs, whipping up cream, applesauce and jam or even scrambling your eggs for you for the quickest breakfast ever.

• FreshHomemade Butter in the Blender by Savory Experiments
• Making Your Own Breadcrumbsby Cheeky Caprice
• Toasted Breadcrumbs with Sageby Culinate
• Instant Raw Applesauceby Om Nom Ally
• Blender Scrambled Eggsby Me and My Blender
• Chia Kombucha Blender Jamby Real Food RN
• Easy 3 Ingredient No Cook Strawberry Blender Jamby Practical Stewardship

Blender Sauce

It’s probably no surprise that a blender can help you make pureed, silky sauces for cooking. What about using your blender to make the easiest mayonnaise ever? Read on!

• Homemade Blender Mayonnaiseby Creative Homemaking
• 5 Minute Blender Tomatillo Avocado Ranch by Carl’s Bad Craving
• Easy Blender Salsa with Basil by Adventures of Mel
• Blender Hollandaise Sauceby Sugar & Spice by Celeste

• Raw Alfredo Sauce Recipeby The Rawtarian

• Home-made Pestoby Sam Tan’s Kitchen
• Easy Summer Blender Salsaby The Ann Arbor News

Blender Soups

When using a high powered blender, such as the Optimum range, you can turn whole vegetables into warmed soup in minutes thanks to the friction caused by the blades. Simply add your favourite vegies and seasonings, set the blender to high and watch it pulverize and cook your soup.

• Tomato-Carrot Soupby Incredible Smoothies
• Sweet Dumpling Squash Soup with Crispy Baconby Incredible Smoothies
• Creamy Vegan Corn and Red Pepper Blender Soupby Averie Cooks
• Black Bean Blender Soupby Suzanne Broadhurst
• Rich Tomato Blender Soup (Raw) by Tinned Tomatoes: The Scottish Vegetarian
• Book:Nutribullet Soup: Healthy Cookbook with Quick & Easy Skinny Nutribullet Blender Soup Recipes by Paul Rosenberg

Cauliflower ‘Couscous’ and Cauliflower ‘Rice’

Great for raw or paleo, grain-free, gluten-free or rice-free diets, cauliflower is an easy alternative for couscous and rice when whizzed up in a blender. Simply cut the cauliflower into florets, pop it all in the blender and pulverise!

• Cilantro Lime Cauliflower “Rice”by Skinny Taste
• Cauliflower Rice Vegetable Paellaby Dina’s Cucina

Blender Nut Butters and Spreads

If you have a good quality blender, you should never have to buy nut or seed butters ever again. Add nuts of your choice to the blender bowl, and a little oil if needed to get the machine going and watch it all turn into your new favourite spread in minutes.

• Healthy Home-Made Nutella Choc-Hazelnut Spreadby Om Nom Ally
• Homemade Creamy Peanut Butterby Edible Sound Bites
• How To Make Almond (Or Any Nut) Butterby The Primalist
• Homemade Chocolate Nut Butter (more over Nutella) by Tinned Tomatoes
• Book:Nut Butters!: 50 Delicious & Healthy Nut Butter Recipes by Julie Hatfield
• Book:Nut Milks and Nut Butters: Simple Ways To Make Great-Tasting Nut And Seed Products At Home by Catherine Atkinson
• Book:The Worlds Tastiest Nut Butter Recipes: Healthy, Delicious, Quick And Easy by Melissa Jones
• Book: Nut Butter Universe: Easy Vegan Recipes with Out-Of-This-World Flavors

Blender Nut and Seed Milks

Home-made nut and seed milks have a few major advantages.

1. They taste amazing – richer and fresher than their packaged counterparts.
2. No nasties – no added oils, vegetable gums, sugar or carrageenan.

All you need it a high quality blender like the Optimum Blender range and a nut milk bag or very fine strainer. Check out the following links for a range of nut, seed and grain milks that are extremely simple to make yourself.

• Cinnamon Quinoa Milkby Om Nom Ally
• Easy Homemade Coconut Milk Using Shredded Coconutby Healthful Pursuit
• Homemade Almond Milkby Cooking to Get Laid
• Homemade Pistachio Milkby Autumn Makes and Does
• Book: Milks Alive: 140 Delicious and Nutritions Recipes for Fresh Nut and Seed Milks
• Book: Not Milk… Nutmilks!
• Book: Milk recipes from nuts & seeds
• Book:Nut Milks and Nut Butters: Simple Ways To Make Great-Tasting Nut And Seed Products At Home by Catherine Atkinson

Blender Dough and Batter

Did you know that a high-powered blender can knead dough? Or that the easiest way to get out lumps in pancake, waffle or baking batter is to blitz it in your blender?

Try the following recipes next time you have a hankering for home-baked bread, muffins or pancakes and let that mixing arm have a rest!

• Making Bread Dough In the Optimum 9900 High Speed Blender
• 5 Ingredient Blender Peanut Butter Banana Muffinsby Thirty Hand Made Days
• Blender Batter Pancakesby Real Food My Way
• Blender Banana Oat Pancakesby Beauty That Moves
• Blender Waffles and Vanilla Custardby Domestic Ingenuitiy
• Gluten Free Blender Pumpkin Pie
• Oatmeal Pancakes by Flavour Mosaic
• Magic Crust Custard Pie Recipe by Hot Eats and Cool Reads
• Fudgy Blender Brownies by Amanda’s Cooking

Blender Ice Cream

You read that right, ice cream made in a blender! You don’t need a fancy machine or a frozen mixing bowl to make a chilly dessert – for these recipes your blender will do the hard work for you! Read on for dessert bliss:

• Blender Banana “Ice Cream”by Making Life Delicious
• Chocolate Hazelnut Blender “Gelato”by Making Life Delicious
• DIY Healthy Cookie Dough Blender Ice Creamby Juliette Laura
• 3 Easy Sorbets Made In A Blenderby She Knows
• Italian Gelato by Before It’s News
• Chocolate Dipped Fudge Popsby Katy’s Kitchen
• Chunky Monkey Blender Ice Cream by Strawberry Mommy Cakes
• Book:Nice Cream: 25 Delicious Dairy-Free Banana Ice Cream Recipes to Make Without an Ice Cream Machine by Jessica Lauren DeBry

Blender Juice

I’m not trying to trick you, but these juices somewhat resemble the process of making a smoothie. Some recipes may feature added water to thin out the drink for a juice-like consistency, while others are strained through a nut milk bag or fine sieve to remove the fibre. You can have all the benefits of a cleansing juice using these too methods without having to buy another expensive machine.

• CupcakesOMG!’s Green Juiceby Cupcakes OMG
• Juicy Tidbits 104: Making Green Juice in a Blender {VIDEO}by Eat Spin Run Repeat
• Blender Lemonadeby All These Drinks
• Green Juice In A Blenderby Just A Taste
• Dr Oz Green Blender Juiceby Blender Babes
• Cucumber and Lime Juiceby Blender Babes

Got some favourite non-smoothie recipes to make in your blender that you believe should be listed? Email me at ally@omnomally.com or leave a comment below.

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