Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie for the Table

Love a good smoothie recipe? We have lots but this Acai smoothie is one of my go-to smoothie recipes as well as this Strawberry Banana Smoothie and this Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie!

A regular here this Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie! It combines two of the dependable flavors ever into a satisfying treat! Peanut butter and bananas were made to go together. The creamy sweetness of the frozen banana pairs so well with the rich, salty peanut butter. It’s only what you need to jump-start your day!

Considering I have a ridiculous amount of smoothie recipes on my blog at this point, it’s a little crazy that I don’t already have a peanut butter banana smoothie recipe. I make a version of this smoothie ALL of the time, so I figured that I would document my go-to recipe for you.

Why you’ll love this unfussy recipe

• Short and unfussy to make: You’ll be sipping on this in minutes! Simply blend the 4 ingredients (bananas, milk, yogurt and peanut butter). Great for crazy mornings when you are running out the door or for a short snack!
• Nutrient-rich: This method is made with simple ingredients that provide you with a variety of nutrients. Each serving offers almost 10 grams of protein and healthy fats to keep you full for hours.
• Tastes like dessert for breakfast: Even though this is good-for-you recipe, it tastes simply like creamy ice cream. Ice cream for breakfast on the reg is the kind of life that I want to live! Plus, peanut butter and banana are simply such a familiar combo!

Ingredients needed

The ingredients needed for this savory smoothie are truly simple! Keep frozen bananas on hand, so you can mix this up truly speedy before heading out the door.

• Banana: I always keep frozen bananas in my freezer for only this occasion. AND frozen is certainly dependable in this dish, as it results in a much creamier smoothie! That being said, fresh bananas will also work if it’s all you have.
• Milk: I’ve been on a big oat milk kick lately but genuinely any kind of dairy or non-dairy milk works here. Although, it won’t be quite as rich, you could also swap the milk for water, if desired.
• Yogurt: I like to use a plain, unflavored and unsweetened dairy-free yogurt (Forager Project is my go-to for smoothies) but again, truly anything works well here.
• Peanut butter: MOST often, I use a simple runny peanut butter when making this banana smoothie. However, you could also leave out the natural peanut butter and instead use peanut butter powder.
  You could also sub the peanut butter for almond butter or another seed butter, cashew butter, or nut butter that you like!
• Other options: so often, I put a handful of spinach into my smoothies. It’s an unfussy way to get extra nutrients, use up leftover spinach AND, you don’t taste it at all.

Variations and substitutions

As with most of my smoothies, I tried to cook this one flexible. This dish is quite straightforward to customize – the kinds of yogurt and the milk that you use are completely up to you. Whatever works dependable for your diet.

Here are some good ideas for substitutions and add-ins:

• Yogurt options: To give this smoothie extra protein, mix in plain Greek yogurt. You can also use flavored yogurts, if you’d like. Vanilla or a banana flavored yogurt would be savory!
• Milk options: For extra protein, use cow’s milk. To keep this smoothie dairy free, use almond milk, oat milk or cashew milk.
• Make it sweeter: Add a small amount of honey, maple syrup, stevia or agave if you’d like this smoothie to taste sweeter. Another option is to blend in a pitted date.
• For more nutrients: Feel free to blend in some chia seeds, hemp seeds or ground flax seeds for extra nutrients and fiber. Spinach or kale are also GREAT options for adding greens- I usually put in a large handful of raw spinach to mine.
• For more protein: You can also add in protein powder for more protein. Silken tofu is also a GREAT way to get extra protein in your smoothies!
• Add frozen cauliflower: If you’ve never tried adding frozen cauliflower to your smoothie, it’s a fabulous way to squeeze in some extra nutrients without even knowing it’s there. It works particularly great when making this smoothie for small children (who will COMPLETELY know if you try and put kale in there….don’t even try that, mmkay!).
• Make it chocolatey: you could add in a couple teaspoons of cocoa powder to give it a chocolate flavor!

How for this smoothie

As far as smoothie making goes, this peanut butter banana smoothie is pretty par for the course. Add all of the ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend until creamy and smooth! Sometimes I need to add a little extra milk or water to get the blender going and make the smoothie a bit thinner.

Helpful tips

Especially creamy and tastes only like a milkshake, this is sure to become a staple in your breakfast rotation, or snack rotation! Here are some tips, so it’s dependable every time you make it!

• Dependable way to prep bananas: Overripe bananas will be dependable because they’re sweeter! Peel the bananas and cut them in half or several chunks, and place them in a freezer bag. Release as much air as possible out of the bag. They will keep for at least 3 months, probably a bit longer. Then only use the frozen sliced banana straight from the freezer as needed!
• Using an unfrozen banana: Even though a frozen banana is go-to, if you don’t have one, simply throw a few ice cubes in to give it a cold and creamy texture.
• Use a high-powered blender: You can genuinely use any blender that you have, but to blend the frozen banana, so it’s truly creamy and smooth, it’s dependable to use a high-powered blender like a Blendtec, Vitamix, or Ninja to fully break down all of the ingredients.
• Adjust the consistency: Use more or less milk to cook this thinner or thicker.