Some mornings call for something cold, fruity, and a little indulgent — and this blueberry honey smoothie delivers all three in about five minutes. It started out as a way to use fresh-picked blueberries from the farm, but it's become one of those recipes we make year-round, fresh berries in summer and frozen berries the rest of the year. What makes this version different from a standard smoothie is the honey. We use our Blueberry Blossom Honey, and that buttery, intensely fruity character it has turns what could be a pretty ordinary breakfast drink into something you'll actually look forward to.
What Makes a Great Blueberry Honey Smoothie?
Smoothies are forgiving — throw enough good stuff in a blender and you'll generally end up with something drinkable. But a truly great blueberry honey smoothie has a few things working together: a balance of sweet and tart, enough protein and fat to keep you full, and a base thick enough to feel satisfying rather than watery. This recipe hits all of those.
The Greek yogurt does a lot of the heavy lifting on the protein front and gives the smoothie that creamy, almost shake-like consistency. The banana adds natural sweetness and body. Kale sounds like the green-smoothie cliché, but once it's blended with everything else, you genuinely can't taste it — you just end up with a more deeply colored, slightly earthy drink that balances out the fruit nicely. Almond butter rounds everything out with richness and helps the smoothie hold you over until lunch.
And then there's the honey. Blueberry Blossom Honey has a bold, fruity sweetness that pairs with the blueberries in a way that plain honey can't quite match — it reinforces the berry flavor rather than just adding generic sweetness. If you want to experiment with milder alternatives, Sweet Clover Honey or Mixed Berry Honey both work beautifully in smoothies. Orange Blossom Honey adds a floral note that's particularly nice in summer.
Ingredients
Here's what you need for one serving:
- 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
- 1 banana
- 1 cup Greek yogurt (plain, 0% or whole milk — your call)
- ½ cup almond milk, or whatever milk you have on hand
- 2 tablespoons almond butter
- 1 tablespoon Bee Inspired Blueberry Blossom Honey — or more to taste
- 3 kale leaves, stems removed
Don't overthink the ingredients. This recipe is a starting point, not a prescription — see the variations section below.
How to Make a Blueberry Honey Smoothie
This is genuinely a five-minute recipe. Pull out your high-speed blender — we use a Vitamix; my friend Joyce swears by her Blendtec — and follow these steps:
- Add all ingredients to your blender.
- Blend on high until smooth and creamy, about 60 seconds.
- Pour into a glass and top with cocoa nibs, hemp hearts, or granola for texture.
- Drink immediately — smoothies lose volume as they sit.
Variations and Substitutions
There's no wrong way to make a smoothie, and this recipe is meant to be adapted. A few of our favorite tweaks:
- No kale? Fresh baby spinach blends just as smoothly and has an even milder flavor. Or skip the greens altogether — the smoothie is still great without them.
- No almond butter? Any nut or seed butter works. Peanut butter makes it richer and more dessert-like. Sunflower butter keeps it nut-free.
- Want it thicker? Use frozen blueberries instead of fresh, or add a few ice cubes at the end. Frozen banana works even better — peel, slice, and freeze ahead of time.
- Want it sweeter? Add an extra half tablespoon of honey. Blackberry Honey is another option if you want more berry-forward sweetness.
- More berry variety? Mixed berries — raspberries, strawberries, blackberries — all play well in this recipe. Our Mixed Berry Honey pairs particularly well with a mixed-berry version.
- Dairy-free? Swap Greek yogurt for coconut yogurt and use oat milk or any non-dairy milk. The texture will be slightly lighter but still good.
When to Make This Smoothie
This smoothie works as a quick weekday breakfast, a post-workout refuel, or an afternoon snack when you want something substantial but not a full meal. It's also a great way to use up blueberries that are starting to get soft — freeze them overnight and they're perfect for smoothies.
If you're meal prepping, you can blend everything except the honey the night before, pour it into a jar, and refrigerate. Add the honey and give it a quick stir in the morning. It won't be quite as thick after sitting overnight, but it still tastes great.
A Few Fun Facts About Blueberries
If you're a blueberry enthusiast (and after making this smoothie, you will be), here are a few things worth knowing:
- Maine is the world's largest producer of wild blueberries, harvesting hundreds of millions of pounds per year.
- Blueberries are one of the few fruits native to North America.
- Blueberries get their deep blue-purple color from pigments called anthocyanins — the same compounds responsible for the color of blackberries, red cabbage, and purple grapes.
- Blueberries can be used as a natural dye — the resulting color is actually closer to grey than blue.
- July is National Blueberry Month, making it the perfect excuse to go blueberry picking and come home to this recipe.
More Blueberry and Honey Recipes to Try
If this smoothie has you in a blueberry mood, we have a whole collection of recipes that put blueberries and honey together. Our honey blueberry muffins are a weekend baking staple. The blueberry honey ice cream is genuinely one of the best summer desserts we make. If you're looking for something savory, the blueberry BBQ sauce is unexpected and delicious on grilled chicken. And more recipe ideas, see our guide on how to use blueberry honey.
Want to learn more about the honey that makes this smoothie so good? Our guide What Is Blueberry Honey? covers where it comes from, what makes it different from other honeys, and why it works so well in recipes like this one.
About the Honey in This Recipe
Our Blueberry Blossom Honey is a monofloral honey sourced from New Jersey's wild blueberry fields, harvested during the brief spring bloom window when bees forage almost exclusively from blueberry blossoms. It's raw, minimally filtered, Star K Kosher certified, and available year-round in 11 oz jars. The flavor is bold and fruity — buttery and intensely sweet with genuine berry undertones that make it taste like the blossoms it came from. It's the kind of honey that earns a permanent spot in your pantry rather than just sitting next to the stove.
If you make this smoothie, share a photo with us on Instagram using #beeinspired — we love seeing what you create. And if you want to explore more varietal honeys, each one brings something different to recipes. It's worth experimenting.
To learn about honey's benefits when compared to sugar, check out our guide to honey in smoothies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make a blueberry honey smoothie with frozen blueberries?
Yes, and frozen blueberries actually work beautifully in this recipe. They blend just as smoothly as fresh and make the smoothie colder and thicker without needing ice cubes. We use frozen blueberries all year outside of blueberry season and the result is just as good. If anything, frozen berries are more consistent in sweetness since they're picked and frozen at peak ripeness.
What kind of honey is best in a smoothie?
It depends on the flavor you're going for. For this blueberry smoothie, we use our Blueberry Blossom Honey because its bold, fruity character reinforces the blueberry flavor in a way that a neutral honey won't. If you prefer something milder, Sweet Clover Honey adds gentle sweetness without competing with the fruit. For a more floral note, Orange Blossom Honey is lovely in summer smoothies. The one thing we'd say across the board: use raw honey. The flavor is more complex and interesting than processed honey, and it goes further — you need less of it to get the same sweetness.
Can you add honey to a smoothie?
Absolutely. Honey is one of the best natural sweeteners for smoothies because it dissolves easily, blends without clumping, and adds flavor complexity beyond just sweetness. Start with one tablespoon and adjust from there — how much you need depends on how sweet your fruit is and your personal preference. Raw varietal honeys like Blueberry Blossom are particularly worth trying because each one brings a distinct flavor that pairs intentionally with your ingredients rather than just sweetening them.
How do I make a blueberry smoothie thicker?
A few easy options. First, use frozen blueberries instead of fresh — or freeze your banana ahead of time (peel, slice, freeze overnight). Both add thickness without diluting flavor the way ice cubes can. You can also increase the Greek yogurt or almond butter, both of which add body and creaminess. If you've already blended and it's thinner than you'd like, add a small handful of ice and blend again for about 15 seconds.
Can I make this smoothie ahead of time?
You can prep it the night before with a little planning. Blend everything except the honey, pour into a sealed jar, and refrigerate. In the morning, add the honey and give it a good stir or a quick re-blend. The texture will be slightly looser after sitting overnight, but the flavor holds up well. Smoothies don't freeze particularly well once blended, but the individual ingredients (especially blueberries and banana) freeze great for quick assembly.
What can I substitute for Greek yogurt in this smoothie?
Coconut yogurt is the closest dairy-free swap — it has a similar thick, creamy texture. Plain oat-based or almond-based yogurt also works. If you want to skip yogurt entirely, silken tofu blends smoothly and adds protein without much flavor. A frozen banana can help compensate for some of the creaminess you lose by skipping yogurt.
Can I use a regular blender instead of a Vitamix or Blendtec?
Yes. A standard blender handles this recipe just fine. The kale is the only ingredient that benefits from a high-speed blender — if your blender is on the weaker side, remove the kale stems completely and blend for a little longer than usual, about 90 seconds, to make sure there are no leafy bits left. Fresh blueberries blend more easily than frozen in a standard blender, so keep that in mind.
Is this smoothie good for meal prep or as a meal replacement?
It's filling enough to work as a breakfast or a light lunch, especially with the Greek yogurt, almond butter, and banana all contributing protein and healthy fats. At roughly 635 calories per serving, it's a substantial drink rather than a snack. If you're using it as a meal replacement and want more staying power, increase the almond butter to 3 tablespoons or add a handful of rolled oats before blending.
What does blueberry blossom honey taste like in a smoothie?
It's noticeably different from generic honey. Blueberry Blossom Honey has an intensely sweet, buttery flavor with genuine fruity undertones — some people detect a faint tangy note underneath. In a smoothie, it deepens the blueberry flavor rather than just making things sweeter. If you've never tried a monofloral honey in a recipe, this smoothie is a good place to start because the pairing is so natural. You can learn more about what makes it unique in our guide What Is Blueberry Honey?
What other blueberry and honey recipes can I try?
Quite a few. Prepare our blueberry overnight oats at night and wake up to an easy breakfast. In summer, prepare our Black and Blue jam for something that can last you through the winter. On the savory side, the blueberry honey glaze is great on grilled chicken and ribs. The full collection is in our blueberry and honey recipes roundup.
