Can You Blend Frozen Fruit Without Liquid?

Frozen fruit is hard and most people add liquid when they are making a smoothie with frozen fruit. But sometimes you don’t want to add excess water or another liquid. Well, do you have to?

So the simple answer is yes. But it’s a bit more complicated. Let’s take a look at the factors that go into the decision.

 

Why Do You Need Liquid When Blending Frozen Fruit?

The reason that you need to use liquid is that frozen fruit is hard. It’s basically like blending ice, except Ice doesn’t have the fiber and melts.

When you add liquid to the blender with the frozen fruit, it helps to make the smoothie smoother. Otherwise, the frozen  fruit would turn into a slushy. Not a smoothie.

But think of it in a different way. When you make a smoothie, do you ever just add fruit to a blender and blend? No. So, even if you are using frozen fruit instead of regular fruit, why would you not want to add liquid?

Well, the reason that most people ask is that they don’t want to create a smoothie that is mostly liquid. And that’s reasonable.

So, the solution is to not add too much liquid. If you take frozen fruit and make it the majority of your smoothie, then you are either going to have to add a lot of liquid or find a work around.

What Type of Liquid Can You Use When Blending Frozen Fruit?

There are several different types of liquid that you can use when blending frozen fruit. Some of them will add less “liquid” than others.

What do I mean by that? Let’s see.

• Water

If you add water, then you’re going to get the most “liquid” consistency of any liquid. That’s because there are no solids in water. It’s a pure liquid. If you are blending up frozen fruit and add water, realize that the smoothie will be watery because the frozen fruit will “thaw” a bit during the blending and also while it’s in your glass.

• Coconut Water

After water, the most “liquid” of the liquids that you can use is going to be coconut water. I like to use coconut water, however, over regular water because it adds minerals. Also, coconut water has a nice and very subtle flavor. It’s basically natures Gatorade (the minerals and electrolytes).

• Yogurt

Yogurt is the least “liquid” of the list, and honestly it’s not even something that I would consider a real liquid. However, if you add yogurt to the blender when making a frozen fruit smoothie, then you will have some assistance in blending up hard fruits.  Greek yogurt, obviously, will add less liquid than a regular yogurt.

• Nut Milk

There is a lot of variance in using nut milks. Some nut milks such as cashew milk has less “liquid” than regular nut milk such as almond milk. I like to use an organic almond milk (as long as it doesn’t have sugars or other chemicals).

• Oat Milk

Oat milk has a lot of variance. If you are getting something like Oatley, then it’s going to be somewhat thick. If however, you are making your own oat milk, you have more control over how thick it will be.

• Ice 

Another thing that is somewhat related, but which most people don’t consider listing as a liquid is Ice. Now, anyone who took intro to chem in High School will know that Ice is not a liquid, but rather a solid.

Ice therefore won’t work well as a a liquid to assist with blending the frozen fruit.

However, if you are thawing your frozen fruit and skipping traditional liquid, and you want to add ice, then that is an option.

I have a whole write up on the best personal blender fro crushing ice if you are someone who plans on using a lot of ice.

 

What Happens If You Blend Frozen Fruit Without Liquid?

If you blend frozen fruit without liquid, then you’re going to end up with a slushy material, not a smoothie. And that’s not what a smoothie should be.

If you want to make a slushy or a frozen sorbet, then yes, don’t add liquid. But if you are looking to make a regular smoothie, then you need to add some liquid.

I have a whole blog post dedicated to blending frozen fruit. It covers some of the ways to handle it.

Otherwise, what you are going to end up with is a simple puree of frozen fruit.

And I would suggest that if you are looking to make a frozen fruit puree, it would be easier to do so with a good juicer. I suggest using masticating juicers that have fruit puree attachments. For instance, you can take frozen berries and with an omega juicer you can turn frozen fruit into a nice frozen fruit puree.

How Can You Blend Frozen Fruit Without Liquid?

Well, if you really do not want to add more liquid to the blender, and you don’t want to end up with a frozen fruit puree, then here’s what I suggest.

First, you will need to plan in advance. I suggest taking out the frozen fruit that you would like to blend and letting it sit in the fridge for a few hours. You can place it in a bowl and let it thaw a bit.

You could also let it thaw by putting the frozen fruit out on your kitchen table.

Make sure thoigh that you place the frozen fruit in a bowl. You don’t want the fruit to spill out onto the table and cause a mess.

Also, you do not want the frozen fruit to loose the juice.

When frozen fruit thaws, some of the juice will be lost if you do not have it in a container. So, I like to thaw my frozen fruit in a small cup. That way I can simply add it right to the blender without any liquid if I want to blend a smoothie.