These 7 Quick & Easy Vegan Banana Smoothies are incredibly freezer friendly, so easy to make and taste absolutely delicious! PERFECT for busy mornings. All vegan, and made with all natural, clean eating ingredients!
Happy Monday Friends!! I have a super post for you here today – my 7 top fav smoothies. These will take you through the entire week, wake you up, keep you energised and keep you full. Also, they are so freezer friendly that you can make an entire week’s batch in less than 15 minutes. Yes, they are that easy. If you watch the video above, you’ll see just how easy and nutrition loaded they are. Drink up!
Now, a few words about these banana smoothies before we get into the actual recipes. Smoothies are life. Whoever invented them I want to thank you. They are nutrient dense, tasty, portable and easy to make meals that can be had at pretty much any time of the day. I would however, recommend having these in the morning. You’ll set your intentions for the day perfectly that way. Plus, this is the ultimate wake up meal to get you going for the day ahead.
Reason for having bananas:
To make it easier to make these banana smoothies. That’s one less base ingredient you have to think about, and buying a bunch means you can make these smoothies on hand whenever you feel like.
Creaminess factor. Hello smooth, creamy and delightful smoothies. Bananas help to thicken up anything they are put into, and definitely boost the creaminess in these smoothies.
Easy freezable. I wanted you to be able to throw all these ingredients into a zipped bag in the freezer and only having to add liquid thereafter, and bananas are the perfect base to allow that. I opted for unsweetened almond milk and/or OJ, but coconut water, tea and any other nut milk work just as great.
Nutrition. Bananas have lots of potassium, Vitamin C (yes!), fibre and Vitamin B6. It’s also loaded with pectin. Know that these banana smoothies will actually help keep you full and are pretty healthy for you. See banana milk video for even more banana info.
My Fav. Smoothie Equipment – Blenders & Jars
Pictured: Blendtec 725 Designer Series + Twister Jar
Hands down, my Blendtec blender is my absolute #1 choice for making smoothies. FRIENDS. This will change your life. I’ve had lots of blenders before, and never have I seen a machine completely break down and blend every ingredient so perfectly than my Blendtec. I’ve had it all of a few weeks now and I’ve been given so many “progress awards” by this smart machine that I’m convinced it pays for itself if you purchase it. Plus, you can totally use it to make lots of other items (hello Cauliflower Soup + Banana Milk!). If you are someone who is always making smoothies, sauces, soups, nut butters etc., I would definitely buy this baby.
The blender is also like an acrylic material, so even clumsy me won’t be breaking it. The Twister Jar is just as useful for smaller, more dense items like pestos, nut butters and pastes. I made every one of these banana smoothies in the blender except the Strawberry Mango, which I made in the Twister Jar. Best part? It comes with an EIGHT (8!!) year guarantee. You can also check out the blender alone for an option with the Twister Jar.
Pictured: Oster My Blend Blender
If you’re still like eh, I just want to make smoothies randomly, my first blender, The Oster My Blend Blender is honestly a great option. I still have it, and it’s a gift that the Mr. gave me I think for a birthday a while back. It is literally for making smoothies and is a single-serve blender. You make it, and then switch the tops and BAM – sports bottle on the go. Pretty ingenious when you think about it. It is not so great on the ice factor, which makes it ideal for these kind of banana smoothies. It won’t be as creamy as a smoothie from the Blendtec, but it’ll definitely do the job.
Pictured: Ball Pint Mason Jars
JARS.
Lastly, I am completely obsessed with Ball Jars. Oh boy. I think I have every variety, every weight, and every make including the freezer friendly ones (PLEASE do not put the glass jars in the freezer they will crack and explode. Yup.). They are the perfect size for these single serve smoothies, and work amazingly for other items too. As I’m opening my fridge, I see Ball Jars holding:
Active yeast, Homemade vegan Worcestershire sauce (I should probably share that recipe), pumpkin butter, coconut butter and super thick coconut whipped cream. Yes, my name is Jessica and I’m a crazy jar lady, but point being you’ll be using these jars way beyond your smoothies. One thing: once you finish using a jar, I would wash it immediately and dry off the top to prevent any premature rusting.
Smoothie Tips (+ Spicing it Up)
So here are my top fav. smoothie tips to make these the best smoothies you’ll have:
Start with FRESH ingredients! I can’t stress this enough. There is nothing wrong with buying ingredients and then freezing, but please ensure to start with fresh ingredients. These will yield not only better tasting smoothies, but smoothies packed with the maximum nutrition. If possible, head to your local Farmer’s market for nutrient dense ingredients grown in the best soil.
Go easy on the ice. Ice = watery smoothies, so I would definitely just skip this ingredient.
SPICE IT UP.
What I mean is, add some pizazz to your smoothies. While you can make the smoothies as is, I love to add in some nutrient dense ingredients that help to take it up a notch. My favs:
– Flax seeds, chia seeds & hemp seeds – lots of protein, fibre, and they help to thicken up your smoothies.
– Nut butters – adds protein, a new flavour and a great thickener that’s probably already in your pantry.
– Maca powder, goji berries, acai powder – superfoods that boost the nutrition in your smoothies and help to power you awake. Specifically, I’ve found adding maca powder to anything boosts my mood immediately and helps me to feel awake.
– Maple syrup and other natural sweeteners – if you want a sweeter smoothie, go ahead and add these in at your discretion.
– Teas, coconut waters, banana milk, almond milk, coconut milk, orange juice – your base choice is up to you. These already in the recipes are my fav kinds, but switch it up based on your preferences.
Use ripe ingredients. This is just as important as #1. Please, use bananas that already have spots on them, use mangoes that are ready, use berries that are ripe and all other ingredients. These will not only produce more naturally sweet recipes, but will be safer to consume.
Make enough for a week, or even a month in one sitting. YES, it is very possible. If you want lots of variety, just buy 4x the ingredients per smoothie, and add them to zipped tupperware bags. Everything freezes smoothly and all you need to do is choose your liquid of choice. Stack them beautifully and watch breakfast be a completely breeze for an entire month.
LAST one, but pretty important, but the frozen ingredients in last. If they are first, the liquid can’t
help break down the rest of the ingredients, so layer your ingredients from liquid to fresh to frozen.
Onwards to the smoothie recipes!
Just in case you’re wondering, my fav is the green smoothie. Tried, true, loved.
Tropical Green Smoothie
7 Quick & Easy Banana Smoothies Recipes
Print
Serves: 1 smoothie
Ingredients
3 slices/1 cup diced pineapple
2 cups fresh spinach, washed and stems removed
1 banana, frozen
½ cup fresh orange juice
Instructions
Blend all the ingredients in a blender until smooth and creamy. Enjoy!
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Strawberry Banana Smoothie
Strawberry Banana Smoothie
Print
Serves: 1 smoothie
Ingredients
1¼ cups frozen strawberries
1 banana, frozen
½ cup orange juice
Instructions
Blend all the ingredients until smooth and creamy. Enjoy!
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Blueberry Pineapple Spinach Smoothie
Blueberry Spinach Pineapple Smoothie
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P.S. This isn't pretty but tastes AMAZING.
Serves: 1 smoothie
Ingredients
1 cup blueberries
1 cup pineapple
2 cups spinach
1 banana, frozen
½ cup almond milk
Instructions
Blend all the ingredients until smooth and creamy. Enjoy!
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Mixed Berry Smoothie
7 Quick & Easy Banana Smoothies Recipes
Print
Serves: 1 smoothie
Ingredients
½ cup raspberries
½ cup blueberries
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 banana
½ cup almond milk
Instructions
Blend all ingredients until thick and creamy. Enjoy!
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Strawberry Mango Smoothie
Strawberry Mango Smoothie
Print
Serves: 1 smoothie
Ingredients
1 cup strawberries
½ frozen banana
½ cup almond milk
1 cup mango
½ frozen banana
½ cup milk
Instructions
Blend the strawberries, 1 half banana, and almond milk until thick and smooth. Pour into a ball jar.
Blend the rest of the ingredients together until creamy and pour over strawberry mixture. Enjoy!
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Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie
Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie
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Serves: 1 smoothie
Ingredients
1 frozen banana
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tablespoon runny natural peanut butter - I LOVE Justin's
1 tablespoon cocoa/cacao powder
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Instructions
Blend all the ingredients until thick and smooth. If you have some time, let it set about 5 minutes - the peanut butter thickens it right up.
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Turmeric Mango Smoothie
Turmeric Mango Smoothie
Print
Serves: 1 smoothie
Ingredients
1 cup mango
1 frozen banana
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ cup unsweetened almond milk
Instructions
Blend all the ingredients until thick and creamy and smooth. Enjoy!
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Everything I used for this post:
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Can’t/won’t have bananas?
I feel you, I had a slight sad period in my life where I was intolerant to bananas for about two years (WHY.). Or maybe you would like a different base than bananas. It may take a bit of work around, but you can easily substitute ⅓ of an avocado for the creaminess, ½ cup of coconut yogurt (to keep it vegan) or even thick coconut cream.
P.S. These colourful straws are gorgeous, but they really are just for pretty pictures and parties. I would highly recommend buying a glass straw. It’s 100% more eco-friendly, looks gorgeous and lasts forever. The Hummingbird Glass Straws are my favourite.
If you try any of these 7 Quick & Easy Banana Smoothies please let me know in the comment section below, or tag me on instagram with the hashtag #jessicainthekitchen! For more exclusive recipes follow me on Instagram AND on Snapchat: jessinkitchen.
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