This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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
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!
Equipment
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
That was a good suggestion. I added some frozen cauliflower and spinach to bulk it out a bit. The result was a warm, vibrant green drink with the taste of banana. That was slightly disconcerting, but tasty.
I also added a couple pinches of sea-salt and a pinch cinnamon to punch it up. (I thought about cayenne instead of cinnamon.)
Yum!
This was a tasty and filling smoothie. I cut back on the banana and added some greens.
I added cacao powder w acai and goji which was good– in addition to frozen strawberries and bananas and my usual triomega blend, hemp seeds and protein. I should have stopped there!!! It was the arugula that threw it over the the edge. My bad
Love this banana smoothie!!
Very mild and yummy. I like the idea of adding cinnamon or peanut butter…anything you’d want. It isn’t necessary as it is good as is.
I really enjoyed this one, I substituted small amount of avacodo for the banana, added some cauliflower and chia seeds, Excellent flavor! Felt like adding some Kahlua but didn’t want to ruin the challenge..lol.
#Challenge – Day 3 completed. The smoothie was so creamy and delicious. The vanilla extract gave a nice flavor to it. I added fresh spinach, flaxseed, basil seeds and Hemp Protein + Fiber as I am swapping my meals with a smoothie.
Well…no bananas of course as I don’t prefer them in my smoothies! I swapped with peanut butter instead of another fruit. Added my Toasted Grahams protein powder and yummmmmy!! It’s like a drinking a healthy milkshake after giving it a good blend!
Banana Smoothie Day 3. Too sweet for me and I should have substituted some avocado for the banana and added greens. This is a learning lesson for me.
So creamy and smooth and definitely a keeper. Considering its only fruit is bananas it doesn’t taste overly banana-y. Delicious.
Very delicious with cocoa powder and peanut butter!
Creamy Banana Smoothie was tasty, used greek yogurt which cut some of the banana.
All I had was strawberry lingonberry skyr but this was really good. I bet with vanilla yogurt and a touch of cinnamon this would be outstanding
Very good. Should have added some extras (spinach, etc.) just to get them in, but this smoothie made according to the recipe was tasty.
Love when I get my veggies in first thing.
This is a very yummy and creamy smoothie! I added cacao nibs, cinnamon, cauliflower, and walnuts.