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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
SO delish and perfectly creamy! I added in spinach, protein powder, and frozen cauliflower
I loved the creaminess but it was a bit sweet for me. I added spinach, though delicious it was still pretty sweet. Next time I will swap out a banana for some avocado. I agree ot was closer to a milkshake
Loved the banana smoothie. Added avocado and protein powder.
Great smoothie, made extra for my kids who complained that it wasn’t sweet enough, was great for me though.
I substituted frozen strawberries for one banana. The mix of flavors is delicious. It’s the consistency of a milkshake, which I enjoy. Next time I might add protein powder for a bit more thickness.
I love the creaminess and flavor of the banana in this delicious smoothie.
I used oatmilk and added Jen’s Homemade Protein Powder to make it a meal replacement, 1 Madjool date for a little more sweetness, and 1 Tbsp hemp hearts for a phosphorus boost, then garnished it with a dusting of fresh ground nutmeg. It was good as is, but it is an open pallet for any number of healthy add-ins. I plan to try it with chocolate protein powder and instant coffee granules for a banana mocha smoothie. Orange zest would be good plus it has additional nutrients.
Day 3 – smoothie challenge This is my favorite smoothie so far! It tasted like a dessert. I will definitely be making this one again! Thank you for all the variety in your smoothies.
Used zero sugar peach Greek yogurt. It was super cold like a peach banana shake! Yummy
What a yummy treat as is! Especially with the vanilla. Excited to try adding in other options too.
I am not a huge fan of just banana so I did add some frozen peaches and mangos I have for later this week but I did use banana too. I also added spinach. It made the most lovely color. Will probably not be in my regular rotation. However it was creamy and occasionally I do crave bananas so I would guess potassium and this is a nice way to get that and I am loving yogurt in the smoothies too
If you like bananas, this smoothie is an obvious must try.
I used a little bit of avocado and a little banana. The banana put a nice touch on it – very creamy. It was a bit bland without the banana.
The combination of bananas and vanilla is so good! I swapped one of the bananas for 1/4 avocado and the result was a beautiful light green creamy smoothie!
I found this smoothie to be quite bland. I used almond milk & plain greek yogurt. I tried adding avocado (for smoothness) & pineapple (for flavor) but still bland to me.
Did someone say Banana Smoothie? I’m in! This jewel is delicious!
Did someone say Banana Smoothie? I’m in! This jewel is delicious!
One of my FAVS!