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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
This was yummy!
Woo hoo! So glad you thought this one was yummy!
I’ll give that banana smoothie a big thumbs down. Too many things in it. For me a banana smoothie is just banana and low fat milk. A few berries are a good extra, but not too many. None of these plant white liquids. I like my smoothies thin enough to be drunk through a straw.
For your record, it’s 33 degrees Celsius outside and perspiration is dripping down my face.
Everyone has their own preferences, so I completely get it!
very nice!
I hope you’ll make this one again, Judy!
Day 3 : Creamy Banana smoothie
Great tasting smoothie!
Happy to hear you like this one, Nasombi!
Loved the day 3 smoothie- great banana flavor and so very creamy.
Way to rawk the creamy banana smoothie, Arlene!
Banana Smoothie is very
Glad you gave this one a try, Marcia!
I don’t really like fresh bananas or yogurt, so considering those things, this smoothie was a huge winner. I think if I was going to enjoy it even more, next time I would add some nut butter. But it actually was tasty and had a wonderful ice cream like consistency.
Ooohh great idea to add nut butter to this one next time, Beth!
Another great tasting smoothie!
Used 1 cup soy milk and a half cup lactose free milk. Could have used a full cup because the smoothie was very thick. Also used 1 banana and 1 mango, powdered spices of ginger, anise, cinnamon, and cardamon.
None of the ingredients were frozen. Made 3 cups .
Sounds like some delish additions, Theresa!
This turned out very thick, like a milkshake. I’m not mad about it! It made a nice healthy dessert after dinner, though it was a bit banana heavy for me. I wish I had used more vanilla, and maybe some vanilla paste.
Vanilla paste would definitely work in this one, Alberta! Great idea!
The banana cream smoothie was perfect! I only used 1 1/2 of the bananas and a little under 1/2 yogurt. The blend was flawless!
So glad this one turned out great for you, Jemia!
The banana smoothie is great. I has lots of banana flavor and is very smooth. This will definitely be enjoyed weekly.
Yeahh!! Glad this one will be added to your weekly rotation, Neil!
I enjoyed it. My grandson liked it but not as much as the Strawberry one from Day 1 & my son wouldn’t drink it.
Glad you enjoyed this one, Stephanie!
Day 3 smoothie (creamy banana) was excellent!
Woo hoo! So happy you think this one was excellent, Terry!
So far this is the best tasting smoothie. I added chia seeds for added nutrition. Easy to make and very filling. Delicious too!
Great idea to add chia seeds, Jenny!
This Creamy Banana Smoothie is simply wild! Absolutely delicious! I will make this again with some of the suggested variations!
Your comment made my day, Dawn! The possibilities are endless with this one.
Yummy!! Used a toasted coconut Greek yogurt to add some warmth on a cold day
Yum! I bet the toasted coconut added some great flavor, Allie!