To most smoothie lovers, bananas are a must-have. This potassium-filled fruit is responsible for making smoothies sweet and creamy while still being nutritious. However, there are some folks out there who just can’t have or stand bananas. If you’re one of them, don’t worry, I have you covered. Plus, I’ll also let you in on a few tricks that’ll help you achieve a thick and creamy smoothie without needing a banana. From pineapple and watermelon to chocolate and coffee, this list has a banana-free smoothie to suit every mood. Let’s dive in.
How To Make a Smoothie Thicker Without Bananas
While bananas are the most common ingredient used to thicken smoothies, there are tons of alternatives out there. So don’t feel like your thirst for smoothies can never be quenched just because you’re not bananas for bananas. Use these healthy thickening agents, instead.
Avocado
Avocadoes are arguably the best alternative for bananas because not only are they a wonderful thickener, but they’re also incredibly nutritious as well. In fact, an avocado contains even more potassium than a banana! Just a half avocado has 345 mg of potassium, while a medium-sized banana has 422. In case you don’t remember your science lesson, Potassium is an essential nutrient for regulating your blood pressure and keeping your heart healthy. Apart from potassium, avocados are also rich in vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, and healthy fats. Lastly, I just love its rich, creamy, and nutty flavor. The only thing a banana has that avocado doesn’t is sweetness, and you can easily remedy that with a bit of sugar or honey.
Ground Oatmeal
Oatmeal is another nutrition-packed ingredient that will transform your smoothie from watery to creamy. Loaded with carbs, fiber, and protein, it makes smoothies extra hearty and substantial. Throw ground or powdered oatmeal into the mix for a delicious pre-workout smoothie.
Chia Seeds
These Mexican seeds have become wildly popular over the years because of their jam-packed nutritional value. Loaded with vitamins and nutrients, they definitely are a superfood. Oh, and they can also thicken smoothies beautifully, too. Just blend it into your smoothie, wait for 1 minute, and voila.
Frozen Milk Cubes
Pour any kind of milk into an ice tray, freeze, and voila, you’ve got yourself frozen milk cubes. It’s a fantastic alternative to ice cubes because it won’t water down the flavor of your smoothie when melted. Instead, it’ll give it an even creamier flavor.
Frozen Fruit
Whether they’re mangoes, peaches, pineapple, coconut, or berries, frozen fruits are a fantastic replacement for bananas in making smoothies thick and creamy. The fruits won’t make the smoothie thick, per se, but rather, they’ll eliminate the need for ice in the recipe. Since there’s no ice in your smoothie, you won’t have to worry about it getting watery after several minutes.
Yogurt
Yogurt is loaded with probiotics, or the good bacteria in yogurt fight off the bad bacteria in your body, keeping it fit and healthy. It’s delicious on its own, so you already know it’ll only make smoothies even better. With its creamy consistency, you can also count on it to make your smoothie nice and thick. Greek yogurt is healthier, but regular or flavored yogurt is great just as well.
Silken Tofu
If you don’t like to alter the flavor of your smoothie, go for silken tofu. With its neutral flavor and creamy texture, it’ll do wonders at thickening your smoothie without changing its taste. It’s also a terrific option if you’re vegan! Plus, it’s a great source of protein, iron, calcium, minerals, and all nine essential amino acids. What more can you ask for?
Soaked Cashews or Nut Butter
Peanut butter, almond butter, or soaked cashews may be relatively high in calories, but they’re good for you, so who cares. Besides, they add such a lovely nutty flavor to your smoothie, the calories are worth it. Alrighty, now that that’s out of the way, let’s finally have a look at these 12 no-banana smoothies!
10+ Ways To Make Banana Free Smoothies
1. Chocolate Almond Butter Berry Smoothie
Chocolate, almond butter, and berries: talk about starting things with a bang! From flavor to nutrition to star quality, this smoothie has it all. A combination of milk, cocoa powder, almond butter, honey, and your choice of berries, this smoothie is the perfect blend. You’d think the flavors would clash with one another, but they don’t. They create a beautiful symphony of flavors instead.
2. Strawberry Smoothie
Start your day right with this sweet, creamy, and aromatic strawberry smoothie. I think we can all agree that no other fruit smells as heavenly as strawberries. The only gripe I have about them is that they’re deceptively tart. But, blend them with milk and honey, all the tartness goes away and you’ll be left with nothing but sweet and tooty-fruity deliciousness. Pro-tip: if you’re a fan of the chocolate-strawberry combo, go ahead and add a tablespoon of cocoa powder in there.
3. Blueberry Mango Smoothie
Mangoes and blueberries combine to make this ridiculously rich and creamy – not to mention, pretty – smoothie. I just love the combination of blueberries and mangoes. While both sweet and juicy, they have different flavor profiles that, when blended, create a wonderful taste. Almond milk, Greek yogurt, and maple syrup transform them into a refreshingly delectable smoothie. It’s so good it’s hard to believe it’s healthy.
4. Pineapple Smoothie Recipe
A sip of this pineapple smoothie will take you to a tropical paradise. If you’re a fan of Disneyland’s famous Dole Whip, you’ll go crazy over this one. The awesome blend of coconut milk and fresh pineapple is simply sublime. It has just the right amount of sweetness and creaminess, and it’s refreshing as can be. It also gets bonus points for being vegan. This is definitely a smoothie for everybody.
5. Blueberry Almond Milk Smoothie
Frozen blueberries, almond milk, sweetener, and ice cubes are all you’ll need for this outrageously delightful refreshment. Besides its tasty fruity flavor, I also love how blueberries give a luscious purplish-blue hue to the smoothie. It’s almost too pretty to drink!
6. Avocado Smoothie
If you’re looking for an ultra-thick smoothie, the search is over. This avocado smoothie is the clear winner. I’m talking milkshake-level of thickness, here, people! And it’s all because of avocado. Thanks to this incredibly rich and creamy fruit, your smoothie will taste like an actual vanilla milkshake, only healthier. And if you’re not too fond of the avocado’s flavor, that’s okay — you’ll barely taste it.
7. Green Smoothie
As nutritious as green smoothies are, they are notorious for their bitter, grass-like taste. If you don’t want your smoothie tasting like leaves, I know just the solution. Create a perfect blend of nutrition and flavor with mangoes, spinach, and kale. Mangoes are so wonderfully sweet, they’ll overpower the vegetal taste of the leaves.
8. Peach Fruit Smoothie
How about a southern smoothie to quench that thirst? A mix of peaches, vanilla yogurt, coconut milk, sugar, and a pinch of cinnamon will do the trick. Peaches have such a sweet and juicy flavor, not to mention, a lovely yellow hue. The touch of cinnamon gives it a bit of warmth, making the drink feel like a giant hug.
9. Watermelon Smoothie
Watermelon is hands down, my favorite fruit for making shakes and smoothies. I think it deserves an award for being extremely refreshing! Because it contains water, you don’t even need a liquid ingredient to turn a watermelon into a beverage. Just blend it with some lemon juice for a flavor contrast, and you’re all set.
10. Simple Mango Smoothie
Kick start your day with this sweet and sunny mango smoothie! Its color alone is enough to perk you up. With the scrumptious sweetness of mangoes and the creaminess and nuttiness of almond milk, this smoothie is simply divine.
11. Honeydew Melon Smoothie
It’s a fruity, tropical smoothie with a matcha twist. Sweet and juicy honeydew is blended with coconut milk, cinnamon, matcha, and lime juice to give you a ridiculously flavorful smoothie. You’d think all the different flavors won’t work well together at all, but they do. This might just be your newest favorite drink.
12. Coffee Smoothie
Coffee is naturally sweetened and made creamy with dates, hemp seeds, and peanut butter. This is an excellent drink if you need your morning caffeine fix. Move over Starbucks, this smoothie is the new coffee frappe. It’s just as sweet and creamy, but a lot more nutritious. Click on a star to rate it!
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