Best Banana Smoothie Recipe 3 Ingredients

Why We Love This Banana Smoothie Recipe

These 3 Ingredient Banana Smoothies are the perfect frozen treat to add some pep to your step! Smoothies shouldn’t be complicated… They’re meant to be an on the go breakfast or anytime snack. This extremely simple banana smoothie recipe lets you take your bananas, freeze them, and make easy smoothies in less than five minutes. This recipe is SO quick, easy, and versatile – it’s a great jumping off point for nearly any fruit-based smoothie. In fact, you can use this recipe as a base for all kinds of nutritious, satisfying, and/or decadent smoothie creations!

3 Ingredients You Need

Frozen bananas – For the perfect amount of sweetness and fruity flavor. Keep reading our easy steps for how to freeze bananas for smoothies. Milk – Your preference of dairy, or plant-based dairy-free alternative. Yogurt – Greek or plain whole milk yogurt, or your favorite dairy-free alternative.

*Keep reading to check out some of our favorite suggestions for possible add-ins below!

How to Freeze Bananas for Smoothies

I love to keep a bag of banana chunks in the freezer for whenever a smoothie craving hits! It’s super easy to do… Just peel ripe bananas and chop them into chunks, about 1-inch thick. Place them in a freezer bag, squeezing out as much air as possible before sealing shut. Freeze the bananas for up to 3 months. It can take a few hours for banana slices to freeze in the bags. But you can flash freeze the banana chunks to get things going a bit faster! Place the cut pieces onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. Freeze for 1 hour, until the chunks are nearly frozen solid. Then use right away or transfer them to bags. Pro Tip: Store each chopped banana in its own bag. Then you have perfect portions to grab from the freezer!

How to Make the Best Banana Smoothie

Now that the bananas are frozen, you’re ready to get smoothie-ing! Simply place the banana chunks, milk, and Greek yogurt in the blender jar. Cover the jar and purée on high speed until completely smooth. This can take a minute or two, so be patient! After blending together you can add extra ingredients, if you like! Blend on low or high speed, depending on whether you want the add-ins to stay a bit chunky or smooth.

Possible Add-Ins

Customize this classic banana smoothie recipe with nearly any goodies you want! Here are a few of our favorite ingredients to add extra fun and flavors to your drink:

Peanut butter – your choice of smooth or crunchy Nut butter – try almond butter, cashew butter, or decadent Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread Frozen fruit – a handful of frozen strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, mango, and pineapple are all delicious with banana Chia seeds or flax seeds – for a boost of nutrients Coconut – either sweetened large pieces or desiccated (finely shredded) Protein powder – your choice of flavor, like vanilla or chocolate Powdered greens – Make a green smoothie with powdered veggies Fresh greens – add a handful of spinach or kale for extra nutrients Cocoa powder – to make a sweet chocolate banana smoothie Cocoa nibs – for a nice bit of crunchy texture Vanilla – Vanilla bean seeds or vanilla extract both add depth and intrigue Instant coffee powder – to give your smoothie a kick of caffeine Additional sweetener – although we don’t think you’ll need it, feel free to add honey, maple syrup, or agave to taste

Mix-and-match any of these add-ins to make chocolate peanut butter banana smoothies, peanut butter and jelly (fruit) smoothies, tropical smoothies with pineapple and/or mango with coconut, chocolate espresso smoothies… Whatever you like!

Tips for the Best Fruit Smoothies

If you’re looking for a plant-based vegan smoothie recipe, simply swap the dairy products with plant-based milk and yogurt. Cashew yogurt is a great options, as well as almond milk, oat milk, soy milk, coconut milk, or cashew milk. Use bananas that are very ripe, but not brown. In baked goods you want dark brown and soft bananas that are extra sweet. But in smoothies you want just ripe bananas that are firm and not overly sweet. If planning to use other frozen fruits along with the bananas, make sure to use only 3 cups of frozen fruit total – including the banana. I would go with 1 ½ cups of frozen banana chunks and 1 ½ cups of other frozen fruits, so you still have a strong creamy base. Make a thicker smoothie by blending in ice. Too thick? Thin it out with a little more milk. As-is this banana smoothie recipe yields 3 large drinks. Feel free to cut back or increase the ingredients to make however many smoothies you want. If making more 4+ drinks you’ll likely need to work in batches. Don’t over blend the ingredients! You want to purée long enough to get a smooth, rich consistency… But if you keep blending much longer, the frozen bananas will defrost and make the smoothie watery.