Roasted Apricot Smoothie in the Ninja Slushi

Roasting in the oven concentrates the apricot’s fragrance before it goes into the machine. I love this approach, which slightly caramelizes the fruit and adds a unique depth to this summer smoothie. Once processed in the Ninja Slushi, you get a frozen and velvety mixture that can be enjoyed with a straw or a spoon. It’s the ideal alternative to raw fruit, allowing you to perfectly control the freshness.

Roasted Apricot Smoothie in the Ninja Slushi

Recipe by Camille RoosCourse: Smoothie / frozen drinkCuisine: Difficulty: Medium

Servings

4

people

Prep

30

minutes

Freeze time

45

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

15

minutes

Roasting in the oven concentrates the apricot’s fragrance before it goes into the machine.

Ingredients

• 500 g ripe apricots, pitted

• 40 g honey (or maple syrup)

• 200 ml plain Greek yogurt

• 150 ml almond milk

• 150 ml water (to adjust texture and volume)

Instructions

• Place the apricot halves on a tray with the honey. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes at 180°C. Let cool. Roasting concentrates the natural sugars, which are essential for a beautiful texture.
• Blend the roasted apricots (with their juices), yogurt, milk, and water in a blender until you obtain a smooth base.
• Pour the mixture (about 1000 ml) into the Ninja Slushi, between the min and max marks. The added water helps reach the 475 ml minimum volume. Run the Frozen Juice program (or Milkshake if the base remains very dense).
• Serve as soon as the machine indicates that the preparation is ready and thick enough.

Roasted peach version

Roasted peach version: Simply replace the apricots with yellow peaches roasted with a pinch of rosemary.

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The importance of natural sugar for texture

The classic mistake with summer fruits is thinking they will be enough on their own to achieve a good consistency in the Ninja Slushi. The key is the antifreeze sugar: without it, the water contained in the fruit will just freeze into one big hard block. This is why I prefer to roast my apricots with a drizzle of honey. The oven heat evaporates some of the water and caramelizes the juices. The result is a very fragrant base that is naturally calibrated for the machine to work without strain. If your fruits are a bit acidic, do not hesitate to adjust with a little extra syrup after blending. The goal is to have a preparation that is almost too sweet when warm, because the cold will mask a good portion of that sweetness during consumption.

Managing bowl density and volume

When you incorporate Greek yogurt into a frappé-style drink, the preparation quickly becomes quite dense. It is delicious, but the Ninja Slushi needs a certain fluidity to stir the ice correctly, especially at the start. I have made it a habit to thin out this type of recipe with a little water. This also helps to reach the vital minimum volume (often around 475 ml) to prevent the sensor from signaling a filling error. If you see that the mixture is struggling to churn in the first few minutes, add 50 ml of water through the top lid. For those who love very creamy textures, I also recommend testing the Tropical Mango and Pineapple Smoothie bowl, which uses a similar logic regarding the balance between fruits and liquids.

Have you tried other roasted fruits in a smoothie?

Frequently asked questions

Can I use canned apricots in syrup?

Yes, in that case, there is no need to roast them. Blend them directly with a bit of their syrup to compensate for the honey, and slightly reduce the amount of water to avoid a result that is too runny.

Why does my smoothie get too hard at the end of the cycle?

This is often due to a lack of sugar or a very high-fat yogurt that sets firmly under the action of the cold. Let it sit for 5 minutes with the machine turned off, or add a little milk at room temperature.

Is it mandatory to use the Frozen Juice program?

It is the most suitable for fruity mixtures, but if your base is very rich in yogurt and resembles a drinkable ice cream, the Milkshake program also yields a very satisfying result.