This Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie is a healthy recipe that’s perfect for breakfast, or an easy snack on-the-go. The texture reminds me of a milkshake!
Ingredients You’ll Need
To make the best Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie, you’ll need to start with frozen bananas. I recommend having a stash of ripe bananas that are ready-to-go in your freezer.
When your bananas have lots of brown spots on them, make sure to peel them first, then place them in an airtight container with a lid and store them in your freezer to freeze overnight.
If you don’t have a high-speed blender, slice your bananas into smaller pieces (before or after freezing them) so they will break down faster.
Once you have frozen bananas on hand, all you need to do is blend them with peanut butter (you can use homemade peanut butter if you like), flax seed, and a little liquid. I like to start with as little liquid as necessary needed for blending, so this smoothie will have a thick texture. You can always add more as needed!
Can You Use Overripe Bananas?
I don’t know about you, but when I have overripe bananas on my counter, my first thought is that it’s time to make Coconut Flour Banana Bread. (Or Banana Oatmeal Muffins!)
If your bananas aren’t totally black and mushy, it’s fine to use them in smoothies.
Remember, the flavor of the banana will transfer to your smoothie, so you want to make sure the flavor of the bananas are still appealing to you. Bananas with lots of brown spots are perfect for smoothies, but if the skin is getting borderline-black in color, I’d use them for baking instead.
How to Thicken a Smoothie
I love a good smoothie that has a milkshake-like texture. Here are 3 tricks to make sure your smoothie turns out nice & thick:
- Don’t add too much liquid! If you start with too much liquid (even 1 cup is too much to start with), you may end up having to add ice, or more frozen fruit to thicken it up again. Adding ice will dilute the flavor, and adding more fruit might make more servings than you were hoping for, so start with only 1/2 cup of liquid for a single serving.
- Use frozen fruit. This recipe calls for frozen banana to make a thick smoothie, with an ice cream like texture. If you use a fresh banana, the smoothie will be much runnier in consistency, and you’ll need to use even less liquid in that case.
- Add flax seeds. Flax seeds “gel” when you add them to water, so they help thicken this smoothie even more. They also add omega-3 fatty acids and extra fiber, to help keep you feeling full.
You can also add ice to help thicken a smoothie, but keep in mind that the ice will dilute the flavor. This peanut butter banana smoothie is so delicious as written, you won’t want to change the taste!
Are Peanut Butter & Banana Good For You?
Peanut Butter and banana are a classic combination, and with good reason. Not only do their flavors compliment each other well, they also have some potential health benefits!
- Bananas are a good source of fiber, so they are filling while being relatively low in calories. Bananas are also a good source of potassium, which is essential for kidney function, and may help to lower blood pressure and the risk of heart disease.
- Peanut Butter is about 25% protein, so it contributes 8 grams of protein to this dairy-free smoothie. Peanut butter is a good source of monounsaturated fats, antioxidants, as well as nutrients like magnesium, folate, and vitamin E.
If you don’t mind your drink turning green in color, try adding a handful of fresh spinach to this peanut butter banana smoothie. It won’t change the flavor at all, but you’ll get even more nutrients into your day!
What Other Fruit Can You Use?
If bananas aren’t your favorite smoothie ingredient, you could make this smoothie with frozen strawberries or blueberries instead. It won’t be quite as sweet with only berries, so you might want to add a pitted Medool date or a tablespoon of honey for sweetness.
For a flavor variation, try my PB & J Smoothie or Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie!
Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water or almond milk
- 1 frozen banana , cut into pieces
- 2 tablespoons all-natural peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ice , if needed to thicken
Instructions
- In a blender, combine the water, banana, peanut butter, flax seeds, and vanilla. Blend until very smooth, stopping to scrape down the blender as needed. If you need a little more liquid, add it just 1 tablespoon at a time so the smoothie with have a thick, milkshake-like texture. (If you end up adding too much liquid, you can always add a handful of ice cubes to thicken it up again-- it will just dilute the flavor slightly.)
- Taste the smoothie and adjust any flavoring to taste. If you need a sweeter flavor, you can add one pitted Medjool date or a tablespoon of honey. Serve right away!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Additional Notes:
- This smoothie can be used as a meal replacement (especially if you add spinach to make it more of a liquid salad) or you can split the batch and serve it as a snack.
- If you don’t like peanut butter, try using almond butter or sunflower seed butter instead.
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment below letting me know what you think! If you make a substitution, please share that, too. We can all benefit from your experience!
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite smoothie combination?
I saw that you posted this today and made it right away. Wow, it really is like a milkshake! So good, and guilt-free without the added sugar. Yum!!
I love your smoothie combinations. Your ratios are always spot-on! I thought 1/2 cup of liquid might not be enough for this smoothie, but it was perfect. (And my frozen banana was even pretty big!)
I make this smoothie with PB2 powder instead of peanut butter and it’s just as smooth and creamy minus the fat and calories. I also add spinach and use it as a meal on the go for busy days. Just found your blog and I’m loving all your content.
Thanks for letting me know! Hope you’ll enjoy more recipes soon. 🙂
How much powder did you use?
I did the same thing and just used the equivalent to what the recipe calls for! Came out so delicious!
I did the same thing as well! It was delicious. Added some cinnamon 😋
Love your peanut butter shake recipe. I can not do flax seed (or chia seeds). What else would you recommend? Thank you.
It’s not necessary for the flavor, so you can leave it out or you could try an extra spoonful of peanut butter or a little avocado for creaminess.
Love this smoothie!
Delicious!!! I love it! Thank you!
This is perfect as written! I want to drink it every day for the rest of my life 🙂
Loved this! I blended with unsweetened almond Malk & it turned out so creamy!
Yummy!
Delish! I used 12 oz of unsweetened almond milk & added non-flavored protein powder. Soo tasty – I love it!
I tried this smoothie and it was delicious and satisfying. I substituted coconut 🥥 almond milk 🥛 and I liked it. Is this substitution ok to achieve the goal we are working toward?
My daughter has a severe peanut allergy. Is there another butter we could try such as almond or cashew? I’m not sure how much it will affect the taste, but she loves smoothies. I would hate to chance it with peanut butter.
Yes, almond butter or cashew butter should work great! I would prefer the cashew flavor, I think. Make sure you check the label on the back of the jar to make sure the nut butter you use isn’t processed in a facility with peanuts, just to be on the safe side.
This is probably my favorite flavour combo ever!! I agree, this peanut butter chocolate smoothie DOES taste like a milkshake! When I’m craving iced cream this is my go to smoothie!
Mmm! Just tried it and it’s the flavor I’m looking for!!
Can this smoothie be made with normal skimmed milk? Also, if we are adding milk, can we add spinach leaves also?
Yes, I don’t see why not! I add spinach to almost all of my smoothies, too. 🙂
The best!
JUst made this as written, yum!
The only thing I did differently is add Hemp protein powder. Everything else, I followed exactly as it is. This smoothie combination is delicious!!!
Took me literally no time to make this and it’s sooo good!
Easy and yummy
I drink this recipe for breakfast every morning…and for a little Kickstart I also add 2-3 teaspoons of Caramel syrup😊 but even without the caramel it’s still delicious😊
One word. Delicious!
This is my favorite smoothie by far!!!! I didn’t have flaxseeds so I used a tablespoon of oats instead. I was also curious about adding kale. Amazingly delicious, thank you!!!
added some greek yogurt and honey-love pb smoothies-thanks!
Did you use the yogurt as a replacement for the water?
loved it. I didn’t have flax but added organic cacao and collagen…it was a great lunch!!! Thanks
This is delicious. It is going to be a regular in my breakfast routine. It was very tasty, hearty and kept me full up to lunch time. Yum!!! 🙂
Oh my yummy stars! I used almond milk and pb2 (2tbsp)and it’s just perfect. Maybe I would use 2 1/3 cups of almond milk just to make it a little less think. I also may try 1 tbsp pb2 and 1tbsp cocoa powder to make it a Reese’s!
Very good. I doubled the recipe and used homemade almond butter instead of peanut butter. Super simple recipe and I love when I have all the ingredients in my kitchen.
i know that adding honey means adding sugar but it just makes it 10x better!
Perfect ratios. Neither the banana nor the PB overpowers. I recently got my blender and this is the first smoothie that came out just right. Can’t wait to make it again tomorrow! Thank you!
Delicious! I added soaked chia seeds instead of flax and was amazing! Thank you for all these wonderful recipes!
Can this shake be refrigerated for a couple of days?
Deeeelicious! Definitely something I would make again!
Best Peanut Butter Smoothie I EVER made(and uneven firgitvthe vanilla)! Measurements are perfect!!
I love PB and Banana. I used 1 cup of spinach and you can’t even tell (other than a lovely bright green color).
Another BIG THUMS UP Megan 👍 I used PB2 w/cocoa and replaced flax seeds with hemp hearts. It turned out so creamy and yummy 😋 QUESTION: Are the nutrition facts based on using water or dairy milk substitute?
Good question. I’d like to know that too.
Ratios were perfect! I added hemp hearts and a little bit of plain yogurt and it was excellent!
Definetly making again
Delicious. I make it with evaporated milk (low sugar) and always add 3or 4 pounces of green vegetables(does not change taste).
I love to use PB2 powdered peanutbutter, some chocolate protein powder and kale. Add a little sweetener if using unsweetened almond milk. It makes a just delish smoothie.
Absolutely delicious!
Okay was a huge fan of this! I added some protein powder to it and it totally masked the taste. Love love love, this recipe thank you!
Delicious. I haven’t added Flax seeds as yet, but I’m gonna try. Thank you!
soo good we added vanilla ice cream and it was to die for
This was unexpectedly good! I did add just a little ice and spinach, as you suggested. Couldn’t taste the spinach at all. Thanks for the yummy new-to-me smoothie recipe!
Very creamy – really is like icecream.
I substituted chia seeds for flax seeds and added and added an extra teaspoon of peanut butter because I’m a big peanut butter fan and wanted a little extra flavor. Will make again!
Delicious!!!!
Wow this is absolutely delicious and the ground flax gives it a milkshake-like consistency. I didn’t feel like a big lunch today so tried this and loved it! This will be my go-to smoothie!
The most delicious smoothie! I used coconut milk for mine and it tasted great. I added some vanilla protein which thickened it up a lot. I just kept adding in coconut milk until it was the right consistency.
Loved It, was always hesitant to try peanut butter smoothie. But turned out great!!
Thank you for posting! I’ve only had peanut butter and banana milkshakes, I will give this a try!