How Long Do Smoothies Last in the Fridge?
Do you ever find yourself with too much smoothie to finish, but you don’t want to toss it out? How long do smoothies last in the fridge, anyway? Here is a super simple guide that will help you to know the best way to store smoothies so that they won’t go to waste and so that you can enjoy them later!
Let’s face it, sometimes a delicious nutrient filled smoothie for a quick breakfast is just the way to start the day! That being said, they can also be quite filling and more often than not, I end up with leftovers. So what should you do? How do you store them, how do you prevent the separation that sometimes occurs, how do you make sure it tastes just as fresh? Well let’s chat about it.
How Long Do Smoothies Last in the Fridge?
A typical rule for how long a smoothie will last in the refrigerator is roughly 24 hours. Any time after that, and your fruit smoothie will just not taste as fresh. In my opinion, the best part of a smoothie is the fresh taste of the fruits and veggies and it’s just not worth drinking if that freshness is gone, in my opinion.
With some smoothies, you can stretch it up to 48 if you would like. The freshness isn’t’ quite the same, but it will still taste pretty good. The type of smoothie you have also determines how long it will last. Here are some guidelines on the longevity of smoothies for you:
Green Smoothies – Smoothies that are made with leafy greens tend to not be good after the 24 hour mark.
Fresh Fruits Smoothies – When you make a smoothie from fresh fruits, it often can be enjoyed up to 48 hours after placing it in the fridge.
Frozen Smoothies – When you make a smoothie from all frozen fruits and ingredients, these tend to go bad at about the 24 hour mark.
Store-Bought Smoothies – Store bought, grab-n-go smoothies tend to have preservatives included in the ingredients list, which means that they tend to last longer than homemade smoothies. While I tend to prefer homemade, this is one good reason to keep pre-made smoothies on hand.
Banana Smoothies – Smoothies that are made with banana (frozen or fresh) tend to go south the quickest, in smell, sight and taste, so it’s best to drink these right away. If you do have leftovers, I recommend drinking it within 3-6 hours.
Will Smoothies Go Bad in The Fridge?
While the first 24-48 smoothies tend to simply lose their freshness and flavor, smoothies will certainly start to go bad after that, so be sure to not grab an old one willy nilly and start to drink it. Luckily, it’s easy to spot when they do go bad though, so don’t stress that you are going to accidentally drink a bad one. There is no exact shelf life of a smoothie, but its usually a good rule of thumb to not keep them more than 1-2 days.
What Happens if My Leftover Smoothie Has Separated?
Yogurt based smoothies are prone to separating. While it may not look appealing, a separated smoothie can be brought back to life!
- Give it a good shake. Grab that jar and shake it up! That will reblend your smoothie pretty well on its own.
- Add ice. Add a couple of ice cubes and throw it in the blender again. You’ll have a good, cold smoothie again.
- Keep it with an ice pack. If you are bringing your fresh smoothie along with you for your lunch, be sure and keep an ice pack next to it for best quality.
When To Toss Your Leftover Smoothie?
Are you wondering when you should toss your leftover smoothies? Well, I assure you, you’ll know when it is time to toss it, but just to be on the safe side, we will go over it again here. Here are some obvious signs that your smoothie has gone bad:
- Your smoothie has turned brown. While they may not necessarily be bad, trust me, it will not taste the same. If it’s brown, toss it!
- The smoothie smells bad. Give the smoothie a good sniff, if it doesn’t smell good, toss it!
- If it has been left out at room temperature. Smoothies need to stay cold to stay good, so be sure that you put the leftover smoothie mixture straight into the fridge for maximum freshness.
What is The Best Way to Store Leftover Smoothies in the Fridge?
When it comes time to store your leftover smoothies in the fridge, there are some tried and true containers that work the best with smoothies. The key is to use the right containers, which is exclusively glass storage containers to maintain freshness as long as possible. Here are some of my airtight container favorites:
- Glass mason jars
- Other glass containers and bowls.
You may be tempted to store your leftovers in a reusable bowl or container, but a glass mason jar really is the only good way to store a delicious smoothie in the fridge.
Ideas for Leftover Smoothies
So you’ve made a big batch of smoothies and now you have way too much. What should you do with leftover smoothies? Here are some of my favorite ideas:
- Make smoothie ice cubes. Pour the leftover smoothie mixture into ice cube trays and make your own freezer smoothie packs. You can reblend these and make yummy healthy smoothies again.
- Make some smoothie popsicles. Pour your leftover smoothie mixture into popsicle molds and enjoy your own popsicles! These are a great way to enjoy a cold, healthy treat during the warm weather. Sometimes I make larger batches of my favorite smoothie recipes just for this reason.
How to Freeze Leftover Smoothies
We touched on this a bit in the last section, but in order to freeze your leftover smoothies, follow these tips for best results:
- Store in Freezer Bags. Pour the leftover mixture into freezer bags and you can simply pour them from the bag into the blender when you are ready to enjoy them again. You could also use reusable silicone bags for this purpose, just make sure that you are using a freezer-safe bag to ensure that you don’t have to deal with freezer burn.
- Freezer-Safe Containers. There are some really great containers out there that are perfect for storing frozen smoothies.
- Store in ice cube trays or molds. Not only is this is an easy way to make small servings of smoothies, but you can also just much on them for a snack.
*Tip for remaking smoothies out of frozen smoothie ingredients
Be sure to use a high-speed blender, such as a ninja or Vitamix blender. A cheap, non powerful blender is not a good match for the solid, frozen ingredients of a smoothie.
