When I want a creamy smoothie, I turn to cashews or bananas. Well, I went a little crazy with this banana smoothie recipe and added BOTH. Get ready for a super creamy, super protein-charged smoothie that can jumpstart your day.
Table of Contents
How to Make a Banana Smoothie Recipe
When making a green smoothie I recommend blending the leafy greens + liquid first. Yet for a non-green smoothie, feel free to blend all your ingredients at once!
If this smoothie is too thick for your blender blades to handle, try adding a bit more liquid, stirring up the ingredients, then blending again. This should help.
If cashew milk isn’t your thing, then use the plant based milk of your choice! Oat milk will produce an equally creamy smoothie, while almond milk will make this smoothie a bit thinner.
Health Benefits of Bananas
This easily accessible fruit is incredibly versatile and delicious. Use it to naturally sweeten baked goods, make that smoothie creamier or naturally more sweet-tasting, or as a simple healthy snack dipped in almond butter.
Bananas are great sources of fiber, antioxidants, potassium, vitamin B6, and manganese. Bananas, while sweet, are actually a lower glycemic (low sugar) fruit. Unripe bananas have a GI (glycemic index) score of 30, while ripe bananas have a GI score of around 60. So if you want your banana smoothie to be naturally lower in sugar, use a less ripe banana!
Tips for storing bananas
Living in Florida means my bananas ripen in two days tops. I love having them on hand for a quick snack or easy smoothie ingredient, yet they turn brown too quickly! So I’ve learned a great trick- freeze them.
I leave bananas on my counter until they are the perfect ripeness for me (which I’m finding is different for everyone). Then I line a baking sheet with parchment, peel the bananas, and line them up on the baking sheet. Freeze for 1-3 hours, then toss those lovely frozen bananas in a freezer-safe bag.
Now I’ve got the perfect ingredient ready to go. If you don’t have gallon-sized freezer bags, then cut your bananas in half before freezing to maximize space. Prepping smoothies ahead also saves produce!
Low Sugar Swaps
While the sugar in this recipe comes from whole food, it might be a little high for some. If you need a lower sugar option, then here are some great swaps:
- Use plain cashew yogurt or swap for 1/4 cup cauliflower
- Swap yogurt for in 2 tbs cashews
- Swap banana with 1/4 cup cauliflower or 1/4 avocado
Make sure the collagen or protein powder you use doesn’t have any added sugar. Read the label on the yogurt you use as well! There are many great plant based yogurt brands on the market now, yet lots are loaded with added sugar.
FAQs
Yes, just make sure that smoothie is full of only whole food ingredients. No fillers, chemicals, added sugar, or fake ingredients!
I recommend changing up your daily shake or smoothie, so you can benefit from a variety of fruits and veggies. Bananas are a great regular addition though!
Bananas are a great source of fiber, and often help settle stomach issues naturally.
No! Well… it depends what you put in them. Strawberry banana is a popular smoothie flavor at restaurants, yet those smoothies are usually pre-made mixes full of processed sugar and chemicals. Stick to strawberry banana smoothies with real, whole food ingredients and soak in all the benefits.
8 More Healthy Banana Smoothies
I know that bananas are a polarizing fruit. People either love ’em or hate ’em. If you enjoy bananas in your smoothies, then check out some other delicious recipes below:
- Banana peach smoothie
- Strawberry banana smoothie
- Chocolate banana smoothie
- Banana oatmeal smoothie
- Avocado banana smoothie
- Pineapple banana smoothie
- Kale banana smoothie
- Berry banana smoothie
If you are a banana fan then be sure to make this smoothie! Don’t forget to rate + review once you’ve tried it.
Creamy Banana Smoothie
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 bananas frozen
- ½ cup vegan yogurt plain
- 1 cup cashew milk
- 1 serving collagen powder or 1 serving homemade protein powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Blend all ingredients until smooth
- Pour into your favorite glass and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- To make this smoothie vegan, swap 1 scoop of collagen powder with 1 serving of homemade protein powder
- To reduce the natural fruit sugars, use 1/4 avocado and 1 banana
- You can swap in any kind of yogurt, just choose one that’s plain or with limited sugar
- The cashews can be swapped for almonds or oats
- The cashew milk can be swapped out for the dairy-free milk of your choice
Yummy dessert smoothie!
I used homemade vanilla cashew/coconut yogurt (per SGS DIY vegan yogurt recipe) including some probiotic powder, and added a bit of pea protein powder.
Let me just say, this was not what I expected given the simplicity of the ingredients. I wasn’t able to get my hands on cashew yogurt so I soaked some cashews and added 1/4 cup of cauliflower. I also did not have collagen. This was such a creamy, frozen treat! I found the banana nice and subtle, balanced well with the other flavors. This is definitely one of the top smoothies from this winter challenge!
Oh My, So Creamy And Delicious What Else Is There To Say, Tastes Just Like A Banana Milkshake. I Will Make This Smoothie Again.
I really didn’t think I was going to like this one. I am not a banana girl and was looking for a way to change the recipe. However, I committed to this challenge so I did not change the recipe and found that I liked it. I think that the cashew milk and yogurt and the vanilla cut the heaviness of the bananas. I will definitely make this again.
I loved the Creamy Banana Smoothie. I used almond milk. I’ll make this one again.
YUM!! So creamy & smooth!
Not a fan of milk alternatives or non-dairy yogurts. Still a good smoothie I will try again with dairy substitutions and added nuts. Marine collagen powder did not seem to detract from flavor.
So relaxing, frothy and delicious I used Greek yogurt, warm almond milk and only 1/2 banana, a dash of cinnamon in addition to the rest of the ingredients.
A Simple and really nice and soothing
I have but one word…….YUM!
Simple and really nice and soothing
I love bananas but have to watch carbs. So I subbed 1/4 cup avocado and 1/4 cup cauliflower for the 2nd banana. I added 1 tsp of cinnamon because I love cinnamon! It was delicious!
Oohhh this smoothie was so smooth and creamy!!! We didn’t have cashew yogurt, so I just used my vanilla 0% sugar greek yogurt, which added a nice hint of vanilla to it and it was so delish! I also added a scoop of vanilla protein powder to it as well!! So fresh!!! Hubby said ‘Make this one again!!’.
Another winner! I had ‘old’ frozen bananas and this smoothie still tasted good.
It’s funny that I enjoy bananas much more in smoothies than eating them plain. Creamy and banana-y. I like the addition of vanilla extract, and as others have posted, cinnamon or cocoa powder would also be a nice addition.
I was in the mood for a smoothie bowl today, so I only added enough liquid to make the rest of the ingredients “come together”. I didn’t have any cashew milk or yogurt, so I used almond milk and plain Greek yogurt. Also subbed in cauliflower for some of the banana. I topped my bowl with chia, kiwi, blueberries, almond butter, grated chocolate (75%), and grain-free granola. Another winner!