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Iulia Serban, RDN, is a registered dietitian nutritionist with a Bachelor's degree in Nutrition and Dietetics, and a Master's degree in Nutrition and Quality of Life.
Although oats, with their crunchy texture and fibrous content, are a rich source of calories that's especially useful for people who try to gain weight, these grains can sometimes be a drag to eat unless they are broken down in a high-calorie oat smoothie.
From recipe creator's experience: When bulking up, I eat oats almost every day, but whenever I'm in a rush, you bet I'm going to put these cereals into a smoothie rather than wait for them to soak in a bowl of milk or yogurt.
Nevertheless, if you blend oats with the wrong ingredients in your attempt to make an oat smoothie, you can end up with an undrinkable thick paste that's far away from a smoothie, or with a smoothie that's not high enough in calories to help you gain weight.
But don't worry.
At the end of this article, you'll be able to make a high-calorie smoothie that takes full advantage of the nutritional qualities of oats, bringing plenty of health benefits, especially for persons trying to gain weight.
Enough talk.
As expert creators of high-calorie smoothies, we present to you a high-calorie oat smoothie recipe, which has also been validated by one of our dietitians, Iulia Serban, RDN.
In regards to calories, the standard version of this oat smoothie has 728 calories.
Anyway, you can adjust this smoothie's calories to your needs by modifying ingredient quantities, according to these guidelines:
Now, let's get to the recipe.
You only need one piece of equipment to make the High-Calorie Oat Smoothie:
The banana used to make this high-calorie oat smoothie provides sweetness and creaminess to the drink. Also, it's worth mentioning that without the banana, which is a fruit, this drink wouldn't be a smoothie.
A smoothie's main ingredients, according to the guide for making high-calorie smoothies, are fruits and vegetables.
Nevertheless, the ingredient that drives the most calories to this smoothie is oats, which also increase the thickness of the smoothie. As an interesting fact, oats count among the favorite foods of females who successfully gain weight.
Moving on, whole milk improves the texture and liquidity of the smoothie.
Furthermore, almonds bring a significant plus of calories without noticeably altering the overall taste of the smoothie.
Just as importantly, water makes the smoothie more convenient to drink by thinning it out.
1. Think whether all the ingredients will fit inside your blender.
If you use an undersized blender with a capacity of less than 600 ml (20 oz), you may want to break the ingredients into 2 or 3 identical portions, then follow the next instructions for each portion individually.
2. Add all the ingredients to the blender, making sure the water is 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 water lastly. This way, the blades will work smoothly rather than clogging in other ingredients.
3. 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.
4. Pour the smoothie into a glass, or into a shaker bottle, and serve.
In the end, you get to experience a high-calorie oat smoothie for weight gain that has a milky but slightly crunchy texture and an oat flavor with a tint of sweetness, offered by the banana in the smoothie's composition.
Because it has a relatively low volume and over 700 calories, the High-Calorie Oat Smoothie delivers many energy-filling carbs and a decent amount of muscle-building protein without loading the stomach too much.
But let's see how each ingredient contributes to the overall nutritional qualities of the smoothie.
First of all, oats and almonds are responsible for 81% of the protein in this smoothie.
When it comes to carbs, oats and the large banana (a high-calorie fresh fruit) deliver most of them.
As a consequence of having between 20-40 g of protein and between 40-200 g of carbs, the High-Calorie Oat Smoothie can replace pre-workout meals for muscle gain.
In terms of fat, almonds, which count among the high-calorie nuts, bring 58% of the fat in this smoothie. Besides, oats and whole milk bring some fats as well.
Nonetheless, the High-Calorie Oat Smoothie, since less than 30% of its calories come from fats, counts among the high-calorie foods for low-fat diets.
Source: FoodData Central – Rolled oats.[1]
Name: FoodData Central
Type: food database
Operated by: U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Characteristics:
Source: FoodData Central – Raw bananas.[2]
Name: FoodData Central
Type: food database
Operated by: U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Characteristics:
Source: FoodData Central – Almonds.[3]
Name: FoodData Central
Type: food database
Operated by: U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Characteristics:
Source: FoodData Central – Whole milk.[4]
Name: FoodData Central
Type: food database
Operated by: U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Characteristics:
Since the high-calorie oat smoothie has a high amount of calories (728), it makes it easier for anyone to get on a daily caloric surplus, which is an essential condition for gaining weight.
Here are some other ideas that can help you get on a caloric surplus:
The High-Calorie Oat Smoothie is a generous source of energy because it contains many carbohydrates.
After all, according to a University of Lausanne study on carbohydrates' energy potential, carbs are the main source of energy for humans.[5]
Name: Carbohydrates as a source of energy
Type: journal article
Published in: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (peer-reviewed)
Made at: University of Lausanne
Another benefit of drinking the High-Calorie Oat Smoothie is that it can boost your ability to build muscle because it has 24 g of protein.
As proof, a serving of pre-workout protein of at least 20 g of protein, according to a University of Birmingham study on protein ingestion effects, is sufficient to help with muscle-building.[6]
Name: Stimulation of net muscle protein synthesis by whey protein ingestion before and after exercise
Type: journal article
Published in: American Journal of Physiology, Endocrinology, and Metabolism (peer-reviewed journal)
Since the High-Calorie Oat Smoothie is made with a banana, it contains potassium, a mineral with many health benefits.
For the record, bananas, according to a North Dakota study on the effects of banana ingestion on men, are high in potassium.[7]
Name: Plasma Potassium Concentration and Content Changes After Banana Ingestion in Exercised Men
Type: journal article
Published in: Journal of Athletic Training
Made at: North Dakota State University
In turn, potassium brings numerous health benefits, according to a Purdue University study linking potassium and health:
Name: Potassium and Health
Type: journal article
Published in: Advances in Nutrition
Made at: Purdue University
The High-Calorie Oat Smoothie is great at strengthening bones because it contains whole milk, a wide-spread source of calcium.
Two ingredients of the High-Calorie Oat Smoothie, namely bananas and almonds, contain antioxidants, which are thought, according to a scientific review on antioxidants, to improve health protection and disease prevention.[9]
Name: Antioxidants: Molecules, medicines, and myths
Type: journal article
Published in: Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications (peer-reviewed journal)
The High-Calorie Oat Smoothie will also help you save money because the estimated cost of making it is just $1. This isn't surprising, since two of the smoothie's ingredients, bananas and whole milk, count among the cheapest high-calorie foods.
If you need a more flavorful smoothie than the High-Calorie Oat Smoothie, visit our list of high-calorie smoothie recipes for weight gain.
You can always, however, come up with your own smoothie recipes.
Usually, to make a smoothie that will help you gain weight easier, you need to pick ingredients that are rich in calories, as we did in the high-calorie oat smoothie recipe you just learned.
In addition, to keep variety in your diet, you can also try some shakes. Yes, smoothies and shakes are different drinks.
Visit our in-depth article about high-calorie shakes for weight gain, where you’ll also find some oat shake recipes, like the one for Oat Peanut Butter Shake, which is rich in protein as well.
The best smoothies for making any weight gain process easier are high-calorie smoothies because these make it simpler to stay on a caloric surplus.
When it comes to making weight gain smoothies, you can use any kind of oats, whether you prefer them old-fashioned, steel-cut, raw, or soaked. If your blender is powerful enough, it will cut through any kind of oats.
The amount of raw oats you put in a smoothie depends on the size of the smoothie and how much energy you need from it. Keep in mind that blended oats thicken a smoothie, so the more oats you add, the more liquid you'll need to thin the smoothie.
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