Boba Smoothie – Texanerin Baking

This boba smoothie is made with Greek or coconut yogurt, mango, banana, and milk. It’s the perfect blend of fruity goodness and chewy boba. Sweetened with maple syrup, the boba pearls add a chewy texture and flavor to every sip. It’s also easy to make vegan!

I went with a mango smoothie as the base, but you can use whatever smoothie recipe you’d like. I think this Banana Orange Avocado Smoothie and this Raspberry Smoothie would both be great choices!

You’d just need to use about half yogurt and half milk so the smoothies aren’t too thick.

And if you prefer something less fruity, then you could give this Matcha Bubble Tea a try.

Ingredients

Here’s everything you’ll need.

You can use fresh or frozen bananas and mango. If you’re using a regular blender and not a high-speed blender, just keep in mind whether or not your blender can handle a bunch of frozen fruit and not a lot of liquid.

What is boba?

Boba is made with tapioca flour, a starch from the cassava root. It’s naturally gluten-free and vegan and usually flavorless unless sweetened, giving the drink a special chewy globulous enhancement.

My recipe calls for unsweetened tapioca pearls. Follow the package instructions to prepare them, and once they’re ready, you can sweeten them with maple syrup. Or with whatever you’d like!

If your package doesn’t have directions (they usually do), then this post tells you everything you need to know about how to prepare boba, and it has tons of tips.

You can also, of course, buy instant boba. That’s already sweetened, often with brown sugar, but also usually with a bunch of funky ingredients. It is convenient, though!

A few boba tips

• If you use sweetened instant tapioca pearls, you can skip adding maple syrup since they’re already sweet.
• Allow the pearls at least 5 minutes to absorb the sweetener before assembling the drink.
• Enjoy the boba pearls soon after making them, as they will harden within a few hours. If you need to store the boba pearls, keep them in a bowl with a bit of maple syrup at room temperature for up to a few hours. Avoid refrigerating, as they can become hard and lose their chewiness.
• If you’re interested in making boba balls from scratch, check out this post.

Types of boba pearls

• Black tapioca pearls are the most common type and are often sweetened and colored with caramel or brown sugar. They’re best for traditional bubble tea flavors and smoothies that benefit from a chewy texture and slight sweetness. Some brands of boba use food coloring to get their dark color.
• White tapioca pearls are made without additional coloring. They have a more neutral taste and are best for smoothies where you don’t want the color or flavor of the boba to dominate.
• Mini boba pearls are smaller in size compared to regular boba pearls and great for when you want a more subtle texture and easier sipping.
• Flavored boba pearls come in various flavors like strawberry, mango, or lychee and often have added color.

How to prepare boba

Different brands and types may have varying cooking times, which is why the recipe below says to follow package instructions to prepare the boba. But if you don’t have any yet and are curious how to make them, here’s what you do.

1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Use about 3 cups of water for 1/4 cup of boba pearls to ensure they have enough space to cook properly.
2. Carefully add the boba pearls to the boiling water. Stir gently to prevent them from sticking together.
3. Let the boba pearls cook. Follow the instructions on the package, but typically, you’ll need to cook them for about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally to keep them from clumping.
4. Start checking the boba pearls for doneness. They should be soft and chewy all the way through. If they still have a hard center, continue cooking and check every few minutes.
5. Once cooked, remove the pot from the heat and let the boba pearls sit in the hot water for an additional 2 minutes. This helps them reach the perfect texture.
6. Drain the boba pearls using a strainer and rinse them with cold water to stop the cooking process and remove excess starch.
7. Transfer the drained pearls to a bowl and mix with maple syrup or whatever sweetener you’d like. Let them sit for about 10 minutes to absorb the sweetness.
8. Your boba pearls are now ready to be added to your smoothie. Simply scoop the desired amount into the bottom of your smoothie glass before pouring in your blended smoothie.

I hope you’ll enjoy this boba smoothie if you try it out! If you make it, I’d love to hear your thoughts below. Thanks! 🙂

❀

• Prep Time: 5 min
• Cook Time: 10 min
• Ready in: 25 min
• Yield: 2

Ingredients

For the boba:

• 1/4 cup dry tapioca pearls
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup

For the smoothie:

• 1 cup (150 grams) frozen mango chunks
• 1/2 cup banana slices
• 1/2 cup (120 grams) plain Greek yogurt (or cashew or coconut milk yogurt for vegan)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup (60-120 ml) milk (plant-based milk for vegan)

Directions

1. To prepare the boba pearls, bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Slowly add the dry boba pearls, stirring gently. Once the pearls float to the top, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Remove from the heat and let the boba steep for 2 minutes.
3. Drain using a sieve and rinse under cold water.
4. Transfer the pearls to the glass and drizzle over the maple syrup. Give it a stir and let it sit for about 5 minutes to absorb the sweetener before assembling the drink.
5. In a blender, combine smoothie ingredients (using just 1/4 cup milk) and blend until smooth. Add more milk, if needed.
6. Pour the smoothie over the boba.
7. Stir and serve immediately with a wide-mouthed boba straw.

Notes

• If you’re vegan, make sure your boba doesn’t have any non-vegan ingredients and also use plant-based yogurt and milk. I use coconut milk yogurt and unsweetened cashew milk.

Recipe by Texanerin Baking | www.texanerin.com