Best Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie Recipe

A peanut butter banana smoothie is a classic combo that you must have in your smoothie-making repertoire—especially if you have kids in the house! Kids love the sweet and nutty flavor of a peanut butter banana smoothie. It’s a must-have in every parent’s kitchen toolbox!

The great thing about this smoothie for kids and grown-ups alike is that it is packed with so much protein, healthy fats, and other nutrients that you don’t need to worry about tossing in extra protein powder to make a nourishing, satisfying smoothie! Let’s get blending.

What do I need for your peanut butter banana smoothie recipe?

In all likelihood, you already have everything you need in your kitchen! You’ll need:

• Frozen bananas. Not only is banana one of the predominant flavors in this smoothie, but it also adds sweetness, and serves to thicken and chill the smoothie.
• Milk. Choose whatever milk you’d usually buy anyways, as long as it is unsweetened. Cow’s milk, almond milk, soy milk…any will work!
• Natural peanut butter. Obviously, you can’t have a peanut butter banana smoothie without the peanut butter! If you want to mix things up, you can use almond butter or another nut butter instead, too.
• Plain Greek yogurt. I love using yogurt to boost the protein and sticking power of my smoothies. Plus, it gives the smoothie an even more creamy texture!
• Honey or maple syrup. Depending on how ripe your banana is, you might be able to skip the sweetener.

Don’t I need ice?

Not if you are using a frozen banana! It will chill your smoothie on its own (with the added bonus of not diluting your smoothie flavor), so you can skip the ice.

How do I make a peanut butter banana smoothie?

For the best results, you’ll want to add the ingredients to the blender in this order:

1. Add the milk first.
2. Then the peanut butter and yogurt.
3. Top with the frozen banana.

Blend away, slowly increasing the speed until your blender is working at full power. Taste for sweetness, and add honey or syrup to taste. Enjoy!

How do I make this smoothie vegan?

Replace the yogurt with plant-based yogurt (almond-milk yogurt is a favorite in our house!). Use soy milk, nut milk, or other non-dairy milk  (almond is my favorite with the chocolate and peanut butter flavors!). And make sure to sweeten with maple syrup instead of honey. Hello, dairy-free smoothie!

What’s the best blender for making smoothies?

If you’re blender shopping, here are the three blenders we recommend at each price range for smoothies:

• AFFORDABLE: Cuisinart Hand Blender—This immersion blender is packed full of power, and will easily make a smoothie for you!
• MEDIUM: Ninja Professional Blender—This was the blender we used in the Wholefully test kitchen for years, and it’s a great starter-level, but still high-powered, blender.
• PRICEY: Vitamix Professional Blender—A Vitamix is the top of the line when it comes to blenders, and it’s what we use everyday in the Wholefully test kitchen. It’s a lifetime appliance that is a dream to use!

Is there a way to pack more nutrition into this banana and peanut butter smoothie?

This recipe makes a simple peanut butter banana smoothie, but you can add whatever seeds or powders that you’d like! For this one, I might add:

• Cinnamon. Add a little sweet spice with a touch of cinnamon (be careful not to overdo it, or the cinnamon is all you’ll taste!)
• Ground flax seeds. Bump up the omega-3s of your smoothie. Flax has a slightly nutty flavor, so it goes great with the peanut butter.
• Baby spinach or kale. Dark leafy greens are packed with so many nutrients—get a little dose of vegetables in your smoothie by adding a handful of spinach!

Once you have a set of mix-ins that you like, you can freeze them as booster packs for future smoothies!

Where can I find more smoothie recipes?

• Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
• Sunrise Sweet Potato Smoothie
• Coconut Pineapple Smoothie
• And 20 more smoothie recipes!