Vegetarian Recipes

Strawberry Cheesecake Smoothie

This Strawberry Cheesecake Smoothie recipe is a magic trick; it gives off dessert vibes while sneaking in some budget-friendly frozen fruits and protein-packed cottage cheese. It’s the best of both worlds (and super easy to make) if you ask me! Leave off the whipped cream and crumbled snack cookies if you’re trying to be good, but I encourage you to treat yourself!

Easy Recipe for Strawberry Cheesecake Smoothie

This smoothie tastes just like strawberry cheesecake, except it’s way more wholesome and something I feel good about sipping any time of day. The cottage cheese makes it super creamy and adds a little cheesecake-like tang, while the frozen banana and strawberries give it the perfect thick, frosty texture. And while the toppings are optional, I’ll be honest…I never skip them. A little whipped cream and crushed cookies on top? They take this healthy breakfast smoothie and make it feel like dessert in a cup real quick. 😉

You know those bananas on the sale cart at the grocery store with all the brown spots and freckles? Buy and freeze them! Not only are they insanely cheap, but they’re perfectly ripe and sweet, ready for any of your smoothies and banana bread needs.

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Strawberry Cheesecake Smoothie Recipe

This Strawberry Cheesecake Smoothie tastes like dessert but is made with wholesome, budget-friendly ingredients like frozen fruit and cottage cheese!

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Drinks, Snack

Cuisine American

Total Cost $4.31 recipe / $2.15 serving

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 5

Total Time 10

Servings servings (3 cups)

Calories 415kcal

Author Jess Rice

Equipment

Small Blender
Hand Mixer

Ingredients

Smoothie

1 frozen banana (½ cup if pre-diced)* $0.26
1 ¼ cup frozen strawberries $2.17
¼ cup cottage cheese* $0.24
1 cup milk $0.18
¼ tsp vanilla extract $0.17

Toppings

half a batch of Beth’s Homemade Whipped Cream**
½ cup heavy whipping cream $0.84
1 Tbsp granulated sugar $0.04
½ tsp vanilla extract $0.33
2 vanilla cream sandwich cookies, crumbled $0.08

Instructions

Gather ingredients. Prepare half a batch of Beth’s Homemade Whipped Cream (using the heavy whipping cream, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract), and put it in the freezer to chill while you make your smoothie.
Add banana, strawberries, cottage cheese, milk, and vanilla extract to a blender.
Blend until smooth.
Top with homemade whipped cream and crumbled vanilla sandwich cookies.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*I used 4% fat cottage cheese, but any fat % will do!

**You won’t use all the whipped cream to top these smoothies, so I recommend freezing the rest in dollops on parchment to use later…or hey, grab a spoon! I won’t tell! I didn’t cut the recipe in half further because it was too little liquid for the hand mixer to manage turning into whipped cream.

Nutrition

how to make a Strawberry Cheesecake Smoothie step-by-step photos

The ingredients to make a strawberry cheesecake smoothie.

Gather all of your ingredients. Start by making half a batch of Beth’s Homemade Whipped Cream using ½ cup heavy whipping cream, 1 Tbsp granulated sugar, and ½ tsp vanilla extract. Place it into the freezer to chill while you make your smoothie base.

Frozen banana, frozen strawberries, cottage cheese, milk, and vanilla extract in a blender.

Make the smoothie: Add 1 frozen banana (½ cup if pre-sliced), 1 ¼ cup frozen strawberries, ¼ cup cottage cheese, 1 cup milk, and ¼ tsp vanilla extract to your blender.

Overhead view of a strawberry cheesecake smoothie in a blender.

Blend everything together until nice and smooth, with no chunks of frozen fruit left.

Two glasses of strawberry cheesecake smoothie, topped with whipped cream and crumbled vanilla sandwich cookies.

Add the toppings: Pour your delicious strawberry cheesecake smoothie into two glasses. Top each glass with a dollop of the homemade whipped cream and a crumbled vanilla sandwich cookie each. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Side view of two strawberry cheesecake smoothies, topped with whipped cream, crumbled cookies, and strawberries.

How to Freeze Fresh Fruit

I mentioned earlier about buying bananas from the sale cart and freezing them. This is one of my favorite ways to reduce food waste and save a little money while stocking up on smoothie staples. Here’s exactly how I freeze fresh fruit to keep things quick and easy when a smoothie craving hits:

Wash, peel, and slice larger pieces of fruit (e.g. bananas) into evenly sized chunks so they blend more easily later on.
Lay the pieces out on a baking sheet. I try to keep them from touching too much so they don’t freeze into one big clump.
Freeze until solid.
Transfer to a freezer bag or container. I label mine with the date and keep them in my freezer until I’m ready to blend.

You can freeze just about any fruit, including avocados (I love an avocado smoothie!). I also recommend mixing and matching different frozen fruits to make smoothie packs with all sorts of fun flavors.

Try different fruits. To switch up the ‘cheesecake’ flavor in this smoothie, swap the frozen strawberries for frozen raspberries, cherries, mango, blueberries, or any other fruit you like.
Add a nutrition booster. You can definitely add in some chia seeds, ground flaxseeds, or your favorite vanilla protein powder for an extra hit of goodness. Just keep in mind these additions may alter the flavor and texture of this strawberry cheesecake smoothie recipe.
Make it a smoothie bowl. I’d use a little less milk to keep it thick, then pour it into a bowl and pile on toppings like granola, sliced fruit, or coconut flakes.
Sweeten to taste. I think this smoothie is plenty sweet enough, especially if you add the whipped cream topping. But if your bananas weren’t super ripe when you froze them (the browner they are, the sweeter your smoothie will be!) or you have a major sweet tooth, feel free to drizzle in some honey, maple syrup, agave, or brown sugar to taste.
Turn it into popsicles! This smoothie recipe is best served fresh while it’s still thick and frosty. But if you have any leftovers, you could freeze them in popsicle molds to make some smoothie popsicles. I think these would be a super fun, kid-friendly snack for a hot day!
Got leftover cottage cheese? Don’t let it go to waste! Check out our ‘One Ingredient, Five Ways – Cottage Cheese’ Youtube Video, where I share 5 of my favorite, easy recipes to use it up (I also make this smoothie in the video, so you can see it in action and blend along with me!)

Green Smoothie

$6.21 recipe / $0.78 serving

Mixed Berry Smoothie

$6.92 recipe / $3.46 serving

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

$0.76 each

Pineapple Protein Smoothie

$0.98 each

The post Strawberry Cheesecake Smoothie appeared first on Budget Bytes.

Cheesy Vegetarian

Easy Mediterranean Lentil Meatballs

Don’t you just love it when a recipe is as simple as ‘mix + bake’? No pre-cooking, no unnecessary extra steps – just mix together all of the ingredients, and pop it in the oven. And that’s just the case for these vegetarian lentil meatballs (lentil balls? vegeballs? meatlessballs?). They couldn’t be easier.

Other easy ‘mix and bake’ recipes → easy nut roast; baked fajita rice; Boursin pasta.

Vegetarian Mediterranean lentil meatballs served with spaghetti and tomato sauce.

I served my lentil balls with spaghetti and tomato sauce – spaghetti and meatballs is such a classic that’s hard to improve on. If you prefer, you could equally serve these vegetarian meatballs with couscous and tzatziki, stuffed into pitta bread, or even just eaten straight from the oven (no judgment here). They’re packed with Mediterranean-inspired flavours, and they’re super versatile.

Mediterranean lentil meatballs on a baking tray.

What’s in these Lentil Meatballs?

The basic recipe for these lentil meatballs is canned lentils + flour + egg (the same base I used for my cheesy lentil burgers). Once you’ve got that far, you can jazz things up however you like. I added:

black olives
sun-dried tomatoes
parmesan-style cheese
fresh basil
garlic

If you like, you could easily switch things up to bring a different flavour profile to your meatballs – maybe you could make a Tex-Mex version, or use some Indian spices, for example.

Cheesy Vegetarian Bakes ebook on an ipad screen.

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Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make these vegetarian meatballs. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

cooked lentils. I used lentils from a can, because they’re so convenient – just drain them well, and they’re ready to use. If you can’t get canned lentils, you can boil dried brown or green lentils until they’re soft, then continue with the recipe as written. I would not recommend using red lentils for this recipe, as they will not give quite the same end result.
eggs
plain flour (I used wholemeal for extra fibre)
sun-dried tomatoes
black olives
parmesan-style cheese. ‘Real’ parmesan isn’t vegetarian, but there are plenty of vegetarian alternatives, which are very similar. Often, supermarkets sell a generic ‘Italian hard cheese’, which is usually vegetarian.
fresh basil
garlic granules

Spaghetti with tomato sauce and Mediterranean lentil meatballs.

Printable Instructions

Mediterranean Lentil Meatballs

Easy vegetarian lentil meatballs, made extra tasty with Mediterranean-inspired ingredients. These are so simple – just mix and bake!

Course Main meal

Cuisine Italian, Mediterranean

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Servings meatballs

Calories 216kcal

Author Becca Heyes

Ingredients

2 x 390g tins green lentils, thoroughly drained (470g, or ~ 2 2/3 cups, in total when drained)
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons sliced black olives, roughly chopped
5 pieces sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
50 g (~ 1/2 cup) finely grated vegetarian parmesan-style cheese
1 teaspoon garlic granules
Few sprigs fresh basil, roughly chopped
85 g (~ 2/3 cup) plain flour (I used wholemeal)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F). Add all of the ingredients, except for the flour, to a large mixing bowl. Use a fork to mix the ingredients thoroughly. It’s fine if the lentils get a little mashed up.
Add the flour, and mix well to combine.
Lightly grease a baking sheet. Use clean hands to form the mixture into ball shapes, and place them on the tray. The mixture will be quite sticky – they don’t have to be perfect balls. I managed to get 25 balls from the mixture.
Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, until the lentil balls are slightly crispy and just firm.
Serve with spaghetti and tomato sauce, if desired.

Nutrition

Recipe FAQs

Can I prepare these lentil balls in advance?

You could certainly mix together the ingredients in advance, and then store the mixture in a sealed container in the fridge for a day or so, until you’re ready to shape and bake the balls. The meatballs are tastiest when freshly baked, but if needed, you could even bake them in advance, and then reheat when you’re ready to eat them.

Can I freeze these lentil meatballs?

I didn’t experiment with freezing these balls, but it’s the sort of recipe I have had luck with freezing in the past, so I definitely think it’s worth a try.

How should I reheat leftover vegetarian meatballs?

The easiest way to reheat these lentil meatballs is in the microwave. They do dry out a little and lose their crispiness when reheated, but they’re still tasty. Alternatively, you could re-crisp them in the oven or air fryer.

How should I serve vegetarian lentil balls?

I served my meatballs with spaghetti and tomato sauce, which worked beautifully. You could alternatively serve them stuffed into pitta bread with some tzatziki, or alongside some mashed potato.