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High-Calorie Apple Smoothie Recipe for Weight Gain (Yummy)

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Iulia Serban, RDN
Last updated on February 14, 2023
High-calorie apple smoothie for weight gain - featured.

Since apples are low in calories, they can be a tricky ingredient for people who try making an apple smoothie without a high-calorie recipe designed to make gaining weight easier.

Nevertheless, the key to delicious weight gain apple smoothies is blending apples with high-calorie foods and high-calorie drinks without overpowering apples' flavor.

But, don't sweat. You don't have to find the right ingredient combo by yourself. As proven experts in creating high-calorie smoothies, we applied our guide for making high-calorie smoothies to craft an apple smoothie recipe that will help you gain weight.

Moreover, we got registered dietitian Iulia Serban to approve the recipe, and took pictures of the preparation phase of the smoothie to make it easy for you to follow the recipe's instructions.

From recipe creator’s experience:

In my opinion as a long-time consumer of high-calorie smoothies, apple flavor is one of the most pleasant ones while being especially efficient at masking plain protein powder.

Calorie-wise, this high-calorie apple smoothie has 594 calories.

But, if you need more calories, you can modify this smoothie's calories to your goals by adjusting ingredient quantities.

Follow these guidelines:

  • For 1000-calorie apple smoothie: multiply ingredient quantities by 1.68;
  • For 1500-calorie apple smoothie: multiply ingredient quantities by 2.53.

With that cleared out, let's explore the recipe.

Recipe contents

Equipment

Equipment needed to make High-Calorie Apple Smoothie - blender, knife and spoon.

To make the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie, you need 3 pieces of kitchen equipment:

  • Blender
  • Knife
  • Spoon

Ingredients

Ingredients needed for High-Calorie Apple Smoothie recipe: apples, 2% fat Greek yogurt, smooth peanut butter, whey protein powder, and apple juice.
  • 2 medium (12.8 oz or 364 g) apples
  • 1/2 cup (4 oz or 115 g) 2% Greek yogurt 
  • 1 tbsp (0.6 oz or 16 g) smooth peanut butter 
  • 1 scoop (1.1 oz or 32 g) whey protein powder 
  • 1 cup (8.5 fl oz or 250 ml) apple juice

 

Roles of each ingredient

Every high-calorie smoothie recipe is made following our comprehensive guide on how to make weight gain smoothies.

To explain the composition, below are the main reasons why we chose each ingredient in the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie.

The core ingredient of the smoothie is apples because this is an apple smoothie and we want it to taste accordingly.

Secondly, the 2% fat Greek yogurt has the role of bringing a thicker consistency to the smoothie.

Furthermore, peanut butter's mission is to boost the total calories.

Onward, whey protein powder increases the total protein content.

Finally, besides accentuating the apple flavor of the smoothie, apple juice is meant to thin out the smoothie so it's easily drinkable.

Ingredient substitutions

If you are vegan, on a dairy-free diet, or allergic to nuts, you need to substitute some of the ingredients in the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie to make it satisfy your needs.

For vegans and dairy-free diets
  • Substitute whey protein powder with plant-based protein powders, like pea, soy, or spirulina powder;
  • Replace the 2% fat Greek yogurt with a plant-based yogurt, like cashew yogurt.
For nut allergies
  • Substitute peanut butter with seed butters, like sesame seed butter or pumpkin seed butter.

Optional add-ins

You can use add-ins to enhance the taste and the nutrients in the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie.

Here are a few add-ins that work for this smoothie:

  • Cinnamon, for taste;
  • Weight gain syrups, for a sweeter taste and more carbs;
  • Honey, for sweeter flavor;
  • Dark chocolate, for sweetness, more carbs, and more fats.

Instructions

1. Wash and slice the apples

Whole apple vs chopped apple.

Firstly, you need to wash, and then slice the apples, like in the picture above, to get the core out of the apples and make them fit in the blender.

Don't peel the apples because their skin contains many nutrients.

2. Adapt ingredients to blender size

Think whether all the ingredients will fit inside your blender.

If you use an undersized blender with a capacity of less than 800 ml (27 fl oz), break the ingredients into 2 or more identical portions, then follow the next instructions for each portion individually.

3. Add ingredients

Adding ingredients of High-Calorie Apple Smoothie in a blender.

Add the ingredients to the blender, making sure the apple juice ends up at the bottom of the blender.

In case you have a blender with an ingredient recipient that must be turned upside down when installed on the blender, always add the apple juice lastly. This way, the blades will work smoothly without clogging in other ingredients.

4. Blend

Ingredients for High-Calorie Apple Smoothie - unblended vs blended.

Blend the ingredients until the smoothie develops a fine texture (about 30-60 seconds).

If you own a less powerful blender, you may need to mix the ingredients for longer than 1 minute. Still, to prevent overheating your blender, abide by the recommended blending duration in your blender's manual.

5. Serve

High-calorie apple smoothie for weight gain and two apples.

Pour the smoothie into a glass, or into a shaker bottle, and serve.

Congrats! You just learned how to make a high-calorie apple smoothie with a fine texture that combines a pleasant apple flavor with notes of peanut butter.

How to thin

If you prefer the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie to have a less thick consistency, you can thin it out by adding more apple juice or water.

Yet, it's unlikely you'd want to thin this smoothie because it already has a pretty light texture, especially if compared to other smoothies, like the High-Calorie Oat Smoothie.

How to store

As a rule of thumb, although we recommend drinking the smoothie right after blending to have the best experience, you can safely store it in the fridge for about a day.

Nutrition facts

  • Volume: 26.3 fl oz (777 ml)
  • Calories: 594
  • Protein: 40 g
  • Carbs: 88 g
  • Fat: 12 g

Besides being loaded with calories, the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie is rich in proteins and abundant in carbs while having a slight amount of fats as well.

Therefore, this smoothie is energizing, promotes muscle growth, and encourages weight gain.

As a further consequence of being high in proteins, the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie can replace pre-workout meals designed for muscle gain.

Also, because it's low in fats, this smoothie is easily digestible and counts among the low-fat high-calorie foods.

Moving on, let's see how each ingredient contributes to the overall nutrition facts of the smoothie.

Nutrition facts of each ingredient

Apples

  • Weight: 2 medium (12.8 oz or 364 g)
  • Calories: 190
  • Protein: 1 g
  • Carbs: 50 g
  • Fat: 1 g

Apples bring 57% of the carbs in the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie.

Apple juice

  • Weight: 1 cup (8.5 oz or 250 ml)
  • Calories: 114
  • Protein: 0 g
  • Carbs: 28 g
  • Fat: 0 g

Apple juice brings 32% of the total carbohydrates in the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie.

2% fat Greek Yogurt

  • Weight: 1/2 cup (4.1 oz or 115 g)
  • Calories: 83
  • Protein: 10 g
  • Carbs: 4 g
  • Fat: 3 g

The 2% fat Greek yogurt is responsible for 25% of the total proteins in the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie.

Smooth peanut butter

  • Weight: 1 tbsp (0.6 oz or 16 g)
  • Calories: 94
  • Protein: 4 g
  • Carbs: 4 g
  • Fat: 8 g

The smooth peanut butter, which counts among the high-calorie nut butters, is responsible for 67% of the total fats in the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie.

Whey protein powder

  • Weight: 1 scoop (1.1 oz or 32 g)
  • Calories: 113
  • Protein: 25 g
  • Carbs: 2 g
  • Fat: 1 g

The whey protein powder brings 62% of the total proteins in the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie.

Who is the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie for

The High-Calorie Apple Smoothie is a great dietary option both for those that need many calories to maintain their weight and for most people looking to gain weight.

To expand, here is a list of people who can benefit from adding the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie to their diets:

  • People with a fast metabolism;
  • Skinny males and females;
  • Persons looking to build muscle;
  • Bodybuilders in their bulking phase;
  • Athletes and fitness enthusiasts;
  • Underweight toddlers, kids, and teenagers;
  • Pregnant women, while respecting doctor's recommendations;
  • Persons with an increased need for calories due to medical conditions, like cancer or malnutrition;
  • Elderly people with dentition problems.

Benefits of drinking this smoothie

Our High-Calorie Apple Smoothie has plenty of health benefits, from gaining weight to improving health and saving money.

Explore 7 of the smoothie's benefits below.

1. Gain weight easier

The first and most obvious benefit of consuming the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie is that it makes weight gain easier by increasing caloric intake without satisfying the appetite for too long.

As further proof, according to the ranking of best weight gain foods for females, 91% of the females who gain weight successfully drink smoothies as part of their diet.

 

Boost calories

The High-Calorie Apple Smoothie increases caloric intake significantly because it's nutritious, having 594 calories per serving. These almost 600 calories will help you get on daily caloric surplus, the main condition for gaining weight.

 

Ability to eat more

Another helpful characteristic of the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie is that it will keep your appetite satisfied only for short periods of time.

By doing so, the smoothie makes the weight gain process more convenient by enabling you to eat more food in a briefer period of time.

To establish this fact, a University of Bristol study compared fruit smoothies with fresh fruits and other drinks in terms of satiety. They concluded that fruit smoothies are more filling than drinks less alike to food (e.g., water and milk), but less filling than solid foods.[6]

2.  Build more muscle

An additional benefit of drinking the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie is that it can increase your ability to build muscle because it has 40 g of proteins, which come mainly from the whey protein powder and the Greek yogurt in the smoothie's composition.

As proof, a pre-workout serving of 20 g of protein, according to a University of Birmingham trial on protein ingestion effects, is enough to aid in muscle-building.[7]

3. Increase energy

The High-Calorie Apple Smoothie increases energy levels because it's full of carbs, which come mainly from the apples and apple juice in its composition.

In the end, as stated in a University of Lausanne study on the energy potential of carbs, carbohydrates are the main energy source for humans.[8]

4. Strengthen bones

The High-Calorie Apple Smoothie is great at strengthening bones because it's made with Greek yogurt, a source of calcium.

5. Improve immunity

Yet another benefit of drinking the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie is that it contains antioxidants, given it's made with apples and peanut butter.

Apples, according to a Cornell University study on apples' health benefits, contain a variety of strong antioxidants.[9]

Antioxidants, according to a scientific review of antioxidants, increase health protection and disease prevention.[10]

6. Combat colon disease

Besides improving immunity, the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie may be proficient at combating colon diseases.

If you drink apple smoothies, according to a German study about apple smoothies' effects on the colon, apple smoothies may be more efficient at protecting against colon disease than apple juice or apple cider.[11]

7. Save money

A financial-related benefit of adding the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie to your diet is that it's affordable. The cost of making it is just $3.5.

After all, two of the smoothie's ingredients, peanut butter and apple juice, count among the list of cheap high-calorie foods.

For the sake of comparison, a 20 oz Apple Kiwi Kale smoothie costs around $7.5 at Smoothie King. That's almost double the cost of our recipe.

Recipe summary

To follow our High-Calorie Apple Smoothie recipe in a compressed format, check the summary below.

High-calorie apple smoothie for weight gain - featured.

High-Calorie Apple Smoothie for Weight Gain (Yummy)

This recipe shows you how to make a high-calorie apple smoothie tailored for weight gain. The smoothie has a fine texture that combines a pleasant apple flavor with notes of peanut butter.
Prep Time 3 mins
Blend Time 1 min
Total Time 4 mins
Course Smoothies
Servings 1 person
Calories 594 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Blender
  • 1 Tablespoon

Ingredients
  

  • 2 medium apples (12.8 oz or 364 g)
  • 1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt (4 oz or 115 g)
  • 1 tbsp smooth peanut butter (0.6 oz or 16 g)
  • 1 scoop whey protein powder (1.1 oz or 32 g)
  • 1 cup apple juice (8.5 fl oz or 250 ml)

Instructions
 

  • Slice the apples.
    Firstly, you need to wash, and then slice the apples, like in the picture above, to get the core out of the apples and make them fit in the blender.
    Don't peel the apples because the peel contains many nutrients
    2 medium apples
    Whole apple vs chopped apple.
  • Think whether all the ingredients will fit inside your blender.
    If you use an undersized blender with a capacity of less than 800 ml (27 fl oz), break the ingredients into 2 or more identical portions, then follow the next instructions for each portion individually.
    2 medium apples, 1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt, 1 tbsp smooth peanut butter, 1 scoop whey protein powder, 1 cup apple juice
  • Add the ingredients to the blender, making sure the apple juice ends up at the bottom of the blender.
    In case you have a blender with an ingredient recipient that must be turned upside down when installed on the blender, always add the apple juice lastly. This way, the blades will work smoothly rather than clogging in other ingredients.
    2 medium apples, 1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt, 1 tbsp smooth peanut butter, 1 scoop whey protein powder, 1 cup apple juice
    Adding ingredients of High-Calorie Apple Smoothie in a blender.
  • Blend the ingredients until the smoothie develops a fine texture (about 30-60 seconds).
    If you own a less powerful blender, you may need to mix the ingredients for longer than 1 minute. Still, to prevent overheating your blender, abide by the recommended blending duration in your blender's manual.
    Ingredients for High-Calorie Apple Smoothie - unblended vs blended.
  • Pour the smoothie into a glass, or into a shaker bottle, and serve.
    High-calorie apple smoothie for weight gain and two apples.

Notes

Here are 7 benefits of drinking the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie:
  1. Gain weight easier
  2. Build muscle
  3. Increase energy
  4. Strengthen bones
  5. Improve immunity
  6. Combat colon disease
  7. Save money
Keyword high-calorie, muscle-building, weight gain

If you decide to make this High-Calorie Apple Smoothie, let us know by tagging your recipe @unfoldtoday on Pinterest, Instagram, or Facebook.

Also, don't forget to leave a comment and a rating in the comment section found at the very end of this article.

And if you haven't already tried the recipe, we encourage you to do so and share the result with us.

Now, why don't you explore other smoothie recipes below?

Other high-calorie smoothie recipes for weight gain

If you want to try other homemade smoothies that can help you gain weight besides the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie, visit our full list of high-calorie smoothie recipes,

And if you want to get creative, you can build your own high-calorie smoothie recipes. Learn what can you add to your smoothie and how to bring extra calories to it from our guide on how to make high-calorie smoothies for weight gain.

Bored with smoothies?

Try switching high-calorie smoothies for high-calorie shakes. If you don't know the difference, check our smoothie vs shake comparison.

How to gain healthy weight with smoothies

Although the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie can be healthy for people looking to gain weight, it needs to be complemented by solid nutritious foods and a regular exercise regimen to ensure efficient weight gain.

First of all, by eating a high-calorie diet and not exercising, you will gain weight in the form of fat instead of muscle.

Secondly, without focusing on solid foods instead of liquid ones, according to registered dietitian Iulia Serban, you will find it difficult to get satiated and maintain a healthy dentition.

In simple words, your weight gain diet should contain a combination of high-calorie drinks, like smoothies, and high-calorie foods, with the focus being on the latter.

Here are some high-calorie foods that can help you gain weight:

With high-calorie foods and drinks in your diet and regular workouts, you'll be able to not only enjoy the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie but also to gain weight more efficiently than ever before.

External sources

Unfold Today has rigorous sourcing principles adhering to the top journalistic standards, so our writers always look for official, experienced, and first-hand sources. Read more about how we keep our content trustworthy and updated by reading our editorial process.

Ideas for high-calorie diets
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