A simple and satisfying Vegan Banana Smoothie that is healthy, easy to make & packed with protein. It's rich, thick, creamy, tastes like banana bread & will keep you feeling full for ages!
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My super thick and creamy vegan banana smoothie tastes like Vegan Banana Bread. It's so good!
This vegan breakfast smoothie is quick, easy and satisfying. For convenience, you can even prep the ingredients ahead of time (minus the milk) in a bag or container in the freezer, then just add them to a blender along with your plant milk of choice when you make it.
Mel x
Ingredients
Here is what you need at a glance, along with some important ingredient notes & substitution ideas:
- Frozen banana - No matter what, I always have a stash of overripe bananas in the freezer, so even when the grocery situation is dire, we can still enjoy this easy smoothie for breakfast or snacks. Using a frozen banana is key to a super creamy, chilled smoothie.
- Oats - Either rolled oats, old-fashioned oats or quick oats. We are using them to fill us up and keep us feeling satisfied for hours to come. The starch in the oats also helps the creamy texture. Use certified gluten-free oats if necessary.
- Nuts or nut/seed butter- Walnuts or pecans are great in this and add healthy fats, protein and lots of nutrients. They also help make the smoothie even thicker and creamy as well as complementing the banana flavour perfectly. You can use nut butter instead of whole nuts, or if you are nut-free use seed butter (like SunButter or pumpkin seed butter).
- Dates or maple syrup - I find a little sweetness is usually necessary in most smoothies. You can use either dates or maple syrup. Dates give the smoothie a nice hint of caramel-type flavour and are my preference because that works with the banana here so well. If your banana is really dark, spotty, and sweet you might get away without any additional sweetener at all so use your judgment.
- Vanilla - Makes this smoothie taste like dessert!
- Spices - A dash of nutmeg and cinnamon work so well with the other flavours and help to make the smoothie taste like banana bread.
- Salt - Just a pinch. It really helps to elevate all of the flavours.
Smoothie Success Tips
- I recommend starting with only three-quarters of the milk called for in smoothie recipes, including this one. Everyone's smoothie will turn out a little differently depending on the sizes of the fruits used, how frozen or not frozen they are, and the thickness of your dairy-free milk. By holding some milk back until the end you can customize the thickness to your liking by adding a little more as necessary and then giving it a quick pulse to combine.
- Don't add ice to your smoothie. It dilutes the flavour and makes smoothies taste watery and less creamy. It's much better to just use frozen fruit, in this case, frozen banana, because it will taste better and the smoothie will be creamier.
Serving Suggestions
I love to serve my banana smoothie with a swirl of date syrup through it as per the pics. You can also make a smoothie bowl and top it with all of your favourite toppings like granola, nuts, seeds, tahini, peanut butter, almond butter, chocolate chips, or chopped fresh fruit.
Flavour Variations
Smoothies are really customizable so feel free to switch this one up and make it your own. Here are a few variations that would work well:
- Add a tablespoon of cocoa powder to make it chocolaty.
- Add a few dollops of natural dairy-free yogurt for a tangier smoothie.
- Add half a cup of freshly cooked or canned pumpkin or sweet potato.
- Add different spices like turmeric, ginger, cardamom, allspice or pumpkin pie spice.
- For more nutrition, add a tablespoon of flax or chia seeds (or both).
- Up the protein with a scoop of vanilla or chocolate protein powder.
Or take a look at my other vegan smoothie recipes for more ideas!
How To Prep In Advance
What's really great about this vegan banana smoothie is that you can prep it in advance if you want to. You can even make up multiple bags at a time. They will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.
Simply add all of the ingredients except the milk to freezer bags (or reusable food storage bags) and pop them in the freezer until needed. When you want to make a banana smoothie for breakfast, remove a bag from the freezer, add the contents to a blender, pour in the milk and blend.
Recipe FAQs
Simply peel the bananas. Break them up into pieces. I always break them into 3 then I know that 3 pieces equal 1 banana when I use them later. Lay the pieces out in a single layer on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper or a Silpat. Put the baking sheet in the freezer being careful to keep it fairly level and when the banana chunks are hard (they don't take long), transfer them to a bag or container then put back into the freezer until you need them.
If I am feeling lazy, sometimes I skip the laying them out on a baking sheet part and just throw into a freezer bag but you do pay the price later because they stick together a bit. If that happens I give them a bash with my rolling pin to break them up!
Recipe
Vegan Banana Smoothie
Author:Ingredients
- 1 frozen banana
- ⅓ cup (33 grams) oats , rolled or quick oats
- 2 tablespoons walnuts or pecans , or a heaping tablespoon of nut or seed butter
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 medjool dates , or 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ - 1 cup (180 - 240 mls) milk of choice
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add the ingredients to a blender. Start with just ¾ cup (180 mls) of milk and add more later if necessary.
- Blend until completely smooth. See how the texture is for you. This smoothie is great served quite thick but if you want it thinner add the rest of the milk and blend again for a couple of seconds.
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Boston Vegan says
You're not kidding Mel - this 100% tastes like banana bread! I'll make it again and reduce the maple syrup a little bit for personal preference. 5☆
Melanie McDonald says
Thank you so much for your review. I’m really pleased you enjoyed it!
harper says
i know this is an older recipe but i've made this several times now- it is so freaking delicious. i do quite a lot of cinnamon and nutmeg because i'm a spicy boy, and there's no such thing as too much vanilla. i've been using lakanta's no sugar added powdered peanut butter, and i do a little less than 2 tbsp of that. all in all it is so divine, i love the thickness of the smoothie and i think i'll keep this recipe in my back pocket for a long time.
Melanie McDonald says
So pleased you're enjoying it, Harper!
Renee Shafer says
Delicious (even with me forgetting to add the vanilla) :-) Also, very filling too.
Diane says
I agree with you entirely to not add water to smoothies.
Most of my daily smoothies have dark greens in them but I may try this one as a 'dessert'. Sounds utterly delicious.
Nancy Andres says
Hi Mel, Yummy recipe and especially appreciate it's made with no refined sugar.
Jolene says
This recipe sounds tasty! Since everything gets pulverized in a blender, can I sub Bob's Red Mill oat flour for the "⅓ cup (33 grams) oats , rolled or quick oats"?
I know you have other smoothie recipes on your site, but I would love to see more smoothie recipes using this basic formula of banana, oats, nuts or seed butter, seasonings/extracts/sweeteners, and milk. It's just so allergery-friendly!
Thank you.
Melanie McDonald says
I've never tried it, but I don't see why you couldn't use oat flour instead. As you say it's being pulverized anyway so it shouldn't make any difference.
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll bear it in mind when a new smoothie recipe happens!
Suzy says
I'm grain free so I replaced oats with chia seeds and flax. I also used hemp milk. It came out thick and creamy and delicious.
billy rivers says
i haven't tried the recipe as yet. i make super smoothies with many different ingredients all the time. my cupboard looks like a vegan health food store! I am simply grateful for finding your site!! looking forward to searching more recipes... thanks
A Virtual Vegan says
I hope you enjoy it when you get to try it!
Josie says
I forgot to rate this delicious smoothie five ⭐️ stars!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Josie!
Josie says
Hi Melanie,
Thanks for the delicious recipe. I need to eat oats for cholesterol-lowering and didn’t know I could add them to smoothies!
Josie