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The Moroccan avocado milkshake is a creamy, nutritious avocado smoothie traditionally mixed with milk, avocado, and sugar.
It’s a very common beverage in Morocco, especially during the month of Ramadan when juice and shake blends of all kinds might be served when breaking the fast.
During other times of the year, Moroccans might offer an avocado milkshake to family or guests as a refreshment alongside nuts, dates, and dried fruit. You’ll also find it available at restaurants, snack shops, bakeries, and juice stalls.
Avocado Shakes Are Healthy and Delicious
If you’re only familiar with using avocados in salads or dips, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the smooth texture and delicious flavor of an avocado shake. Even people who don’t normally like avocados on their own tend to enjoy this smoothie.
Avocado milkshakes are also healthy and nutritious, as avocados are packed with fiber, potassium, and monounsaturated fatty acids.
In addition, avocados can help lower cholesterol, and they’re a good source of vitamins E, C, B6 and K.
Tips and Variations
For extra health benefits as well as texture and flavor, dried fruits such as dates or figs are sometimes blended into Moroccan avocado smoothies.
And although it’s not as popular in Morocco, fruits such as bananas, apples, or mangos can also be added. Or, consider blending in a tiny bit of vanilla to complement the drink’s creamy flavor.
Make sure you select fresh, ripe avocados for your milkshake. I find that ripe avocados that are a bit too soft to use in salad give the best flavor.
Avoid avocados that are too hard or over ripe. Both can give an unpleasant flavor to the shake.
How big and ripe your avocado is will determine how much milk and sugar you add. For a medium avocado, plan to use approximately 2 cups or more of milk or non-dairy substitute such as almond milk.
The recipe reflects the fact that many Moroccans tend to prefer their beverages on the sweet side. I recommend sweetening to taste, adding the sugar or honey in small increments.
Allow time for chilling, or blend in a few ice cubes for immediate serving.
For another tasty and healthy beverage, try a Moroccan Almond Milkshake.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on your palate. Some people describe avocados as having a mild nutty and buttery flavor. Others say that they have a bit of an eggy or grassy flavor. Ripe avocados tend to have a slightly sweet aroma.
Ripe avocados will yield slightly to gentle pressure. However, they shouldn’t feel soft or mushy. If your avocados are quite hard, you can speed up their ripening by placing them in a paper bag along with a banana or apple for a day or two.
Whole milk will give the richest, creamiest flavor, but you can use any dairy or non-dairy milk to make an avocado shake or smoothie.
To open an avocado, cut around the circumference of the avocado lengthwise, making sure that your knife reaches the pit. Twist or pull the halves apart. Remove the pit, then use a spoon to scoop out the avocado flesh or pulp from the skin.
Moroccan Avocado Milkshake
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- 2 to 3 cups milk – or non-dairy milk
- 1 medium ripe avocado
- 2 tablespoons sugar or honey – or to taste
Remove the Flesh from the Avocado
Place the avocado on a cutting board and cut it in half lengthwise. This is easily done by cutting through lengthwise to the middle of the avocado until you can feel the knife touch the pit, then rotating the avocado to continue cutting around the pit’s circumference. Twist or pull the two halves of the avocado apart.
Remove the pit. If it’s a bit stubborn, try hitting the blade of your knife against the pit until it’s inserted. Lift the knife up with the pit on the blade.
With a spoon, scoop the avocado flesh from the skin of both halves. Remove any spots that have discoloration.
Blend the Milkshake
Pour 1 to 1½ cups of milk into a blender. Add the avocado and sugar (or honey) to taste. Blend the ingredients until smooth.
Continue adding milk in increments until the milkshake is the texture you prefer. The ripeness of the avocado and how big it is will determine the amount of milk you will need.
Taste for sweetness, blending in more sugar or honey to taste.
Serve the Avocado Shake
The avocado shake is best served chilled. If serving immediately, you may want to blend in a few ice cubes.
Pour your milkshake into glasses, garnish if you like, and serve.
- Almond milk or other non-dairy may be used instead of dairy milk.
- Use honey instead of sugar for a natural sweetener.
- Add dried fruits, figs, or dates to pack naturally sweet flavor.
- You can add banana, apple, or mango for a fruity blend.
- Add a sprig of mint and one or two chopped almonds on the surface.
- Chopped pecans can also be used to garnish the surface and add a nutty flavor.
- An avocado spoils very quickly once it’s peeled, so if you’re not using the whole avocado wrap the other half in plastic and store it in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. You can also store it in the freezer for 6 months.
Serving: 3servingsCalories: 237kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 6gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 75mgPotassium: 540mgFiber: 4gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 361IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 192mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is only an estimate obtained from online calculators. Optional ingredients may not be included in the nutritional information.
Christine Benlafquih is Founding Editor at Taste of Maroc and owner of Taste of Casablanca, a food tour and culinary activity business in Casablanca. A long time resident of Morocco, she’s written extensively about Moroccan cuisine and culture. She was the Moroccan Food Expert for The Spruce Eats (formerly About.com) from 2008 to 2016.
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