Our Mango Lassi Smoothie Bowl is the perfect marriage of two great ways to beat the summer heat: mango lassi + smoothie bowl! Plus, it’s vegan!
We love mango lassis. We love smoothie bowls. So naturally, we thought, why not make an Indian-inspired smoothie bowl replacing the traditional açaí base with a mango lassi-inspired one. We veganized the mango lassi by replacing the dairy with vegan dairy substitutes.
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🥭 WHAT IS A MANGO LASSI?
One of the most common beverages in Northern India, the lassi is a yogurt beverage thinned out with water and seasoned. There are two varieties: salted and the more popular sweet. The sweet type is often blended with fresh fruits, like mangoes. The salted kind is similar to any number of salted yogurt drinks in the Middle East. Anybody here a fan of Persian doogh besides us? Anybody? Anybody?
Summer in the Northern parts of India can be sweltering—temps regularly climb past 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius). The cool lassi keeps you chilled and hydrated, and your gut full of good bacteria. There’s nothing worse than being bloated in the heat.
You probably already know the most famous sweet variety flavor. Mangoes are the king of fruits in India, and the native Alphonso mangoes are the king of mangoes. There are some seriously creamy and delicious varieties when you start venturing outside of the hard and tart Tommy Atkins mangoes. The salty lassis are often flavored with cumin, mint leaves, and fresh ginger.
🥭 INSPIRATION FOR OUR MANGO LASSI SMOOTHIE BOWL
One of the things we love most about travel is that when you visit a place and leave, you often take a part of that place with you. When we came back from Hawaii last year, we brought back a newly discovered love of smoothie bowls. We still talk about those damn delicious bowls to this day.
But we felt açaí was played out, and after reading articles about what harvesting açaí entails, we began thinking a little outside the box.
Like Archimedes in his bathtub, it hit us. We love smoothie bowls. We love mango lassi. Eureka! Mango Lassi Smoothie Bowl.
And boy oh boy, do these flavors work. The saffron and cardamom put an alluring twist on the tired açaí base—with its horrific harvesting practices. And topped with some fresh mangoes—Alphonso, naturally—this bowl is a regular staple at our breakfast table.
📝 INGREDIENTS
- Frozen mango: the base of the smoothie bowl
- Plain, unsweetened vegan yogurt: creamy element in the lassi
- Unsweetened plant milk: diluting element in the lassi
- Cardamom, rose water, and saffron: seasonings for the lassi
- Desiccated coconut, fresh mangoes, mint, chia seeds, dried rose petals, and agave nectar: optional toppings for our smoothie bowl
🔪 STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
***Check out our recipe video below!***
- Simply dump all the ingredients into the bowl of your blender or food processor and blend away!
- Then top your smoothie bowl with optional toppings. We highly recommend a drizzle of agave nectar.
💕 YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE BECAUSE IT’S:
- Healthy
- Simple
- Quick
- Light
💡 RECIPE TIPS
- Freeze fresh mangoes: You can use frozen mangoes bought from the store—but know that those are more likely the tart variety. For the best flavor, peel and freeze the in-season Alphonso variety.
- Use unsweetened plant milk: We prefer unsweetened plant-milk because the mangoes are plenty sweet, but you can also use sweetened plant milk.
- Saffron options: We prefer to use liquid saffron in this recipe for the sake of ease. You can also use ground saffron, but you will need to bloom and then cool the brewed saffron. Read this blog post section on “Preparing Saffron” to learn more about the process. Otherwise, you can totally omit saffron from this recipe, and it’ll be plenty delicious.
- Adjust smoothie consistency: If you prefer a thinner smoothie consistency, feel free to add additional plant milk.
DID YOU MAKE OUR MANGO LASSI SMOOTHIE BOWL?
Did you make this recipe? We’d love to hear about it! Please comment and leave a 5-star🌟 rating below. Share your dish with us on Instagram and tag us @plantbased.passport. We would love to seeing your delicious creations! Still hungry? Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest for more global vegan recipes and travel tips!🍴✈️
💕 MORE FRUIT-TASTIC RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE:
👩🏽🍳 RECIPE
MANGO LASSI SMOOTHIE BOWL
Equipment
- 1 High-speed blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 3 cups frozen mango preferably fresh mangoes
- ½ cup plain unsweetened vegan yogurt
- ½ cup unsweetened plant milk
- ½ teaspoon of cardamom
- ½ teaspoon rose water
- 1 teaspoon liquid saffron water or substitute ¼ teaspoon saffron water bloomed in 2 tablespoon hot water and then cooled
Suggested toppings:
- desiccated coconut
- fresh mango
- fresh mint
- chia seeds
- food-grade dried rose petals
- agave nectar drizzle
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor or stand mixer, blend smoothie bowl ingredients together. If you prefer a thinner smoothie consistency, feel free to add additional plant milk.
- Top with optional toppings. We highly recommend a drizzle of agave nectar for added sweetness! Enjoy!
Notes
- Freeze fresh mangoes: You can use frozen mangoes bought from the store—but know that those are more likely the tart variety. For the best flavor, peel and freeze the in-season Alphonso variety.
- Use unsweetened plant milk: We prefer unsweetened plant-milk because the mangoes are plenty sweet, but you can also use sweetened plant milk.
- Saffron options: We prefer to use liquid saffron in this recipe for the sake of ease. You can also use ground saffron, but you will need to bloom and then cool the brewed saffron. Read this blog post section on “Preparing Saffron” to learn more about the process. Otherwise, you can totally omit saffron from this recipe, and it’ll be plenty delicious.
- Adjust smoothie consistency: If you prefer a thinner smoothie consistency, feel free to add additional plant milk.
My new favorite smoothie bowl recipe. So creative.
Such a fun way to eat a mango lassi. I love Indian food.