Our papaya smoothie recipe introduces a great, yet simple way to enjoy this fruit.
Considered exotic in America, papaya is quite popular among its native countries as a sweet, juicy-tender fruit. It is often chilled, prepped, and sold by street vendors in bags (sometimes skewers) as a rehydrating snack for pedestrians.
Today’s recipe takes this freshness up a notch by blending it with ice and mint. Milk is added for extra richness, resulting in the ultimate healthy and delicious beverage.
Health Benefits
This awesome fruit is beneficial to our health in many ways.
To start with, it’s loaded with nutrients like fiber, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin A, folate, and potassium while containing trace amounts of calcium and magnesium, all of which are necessary for the body’s proper functioning.
Like many other fruits and veg, papaya is found to contain antioxidants — carotenoids, specifically. Some other nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin E, and vitamin A are also antioxidants. Antioxidants can neutralize free radicals to reduce the risk of developing disease, including some types of cancers.
Our papaya smoothie recipe calls for 1 tbsp of sugar for 4 servings, leaving each with only 3 g of added sugar. It equates to 6% of the USDA’s daily recommended upper limit of added sugar for a 2000-calorie diet.
Each serving also gives you just 80 calories. Such a small amount makes it a great fit for calorie-tight meal plans.
Ingredients for This Smoothie
Our papaya smoothie recipe has a very simple formula:
We start with ripe papaya, which should have orange flesh with a greenish-yellow ombré peel. You can also look for canned papaya if fresh ones aren’t available, but be sure to rinse off any syrup.
As papaya varies in sweetness, you can adjust the amount of sugar we suggest or leave it out altogether. You can also substitute sugar with honey, which will dilute more quickly.
One of the joys of making smoothies is being able to add your favorite toppings. We’re adding mint leaves to this papaya smoothie, simple, but you can go for chia seeds, nuts, or even berries.
To make this smoothie vegan, you can opt for a nut-based milk instead. We think almond milk is a great fit.
How to Cut and Peel a Papaya for Smoothies
There are two approaches to prepping ripe papaya.
Approach number one slices the fruit in half, scrapes off its seeds, peels it with a peeler, then cuts the fruit into desired segments. Approach number two peels the fruit first, then does the rest of the steps in the mentioned order.
To make papaya balls, go for approach number one but after you’ve scraped off the seeds, continue with a melon baller. These balls look great on cakes, smoothies, or even inside a fruit bowl with bananas, berries, and yogurt!
And if you’re looking for more delicious papaya smoothie recipes, don’t forget to check out our Avocado Papaya Smoothie Recipe, Banana Papaya Smoothie Recipe, and Strawberry Papaya Smoothie Recipe.
How Long Does Papaya Smoothie Last?
It’s best to consume any smoothie right away — it will become more and more diluted as it sits, which isn’t very appetizing.
For storage, we recommend that you blend the smoothie without ice, then portion the mixture into small Ziploc bags. These bags can be refrigerated (for up to 2 days) or frozen (for up to 3 months) and blended with ice whenever you need.
Papaya Smoothie Recipe
This papaya smoothie recipe makes a sweet, refreshing drink. It also adds notes of freshness from mints.
- by Tuyet Pham, Luna Regina, 2022-04-27
- prep TIME 7 mins
- total TIME 7 mins
- COURSE Beverage, Smoothie
- CUISINE Global
- SERVINGS servings
- CALORIES 80 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 16 oz papaya (peeled and deseeded)
- 3 1/2 cups ice
- 8 mint leaves
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar (optional)
- 1/2 cup whole milk
INSTRUCTIONS
Place all ingredients in a blender 3 1/2 cups ice, 16 oz papaya, 1/2 cup milk, and sugar to your taste but no more than 1 tbsp, starting with the ice.
Cover and blend in 20 seconds until smooth.
Pour into serving glasses.
Garnish with more mint leaves and serve immediately.
NUTRITION
Tuyet Pham
Head Chef, Culinary ConsultantLuna Regina
Writer, AuthorNatalie Butler, RD, LD
Nutrition Reviewer- AlazaeThis looks like a delicious and easy-to-make smoothie recipe! I'm definitely going to try it out.