Banana Spinach Smoothie

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This banana spinach smoothie is just what you need for a quick, easy, and nutritious breakfast! It’s packed with plant-based protein, natural sweeteners, and healthy fats. It’s the perfect way to fuel your body and satisfy your tastebuds.

💚 Why you’ll love this recipe

• Quick: You can whip this smoothie up in less than 5 minutes, meaning it’s great for busy mornings or afternoon snacks.
• Healthy: It’s filled with healthy ingredients like spinach, bananas, and flaxseed, so you can rest assured that you’re consuming all the nutrients your body needs. 
• Versatile: If you’d prefer a different flavor, simply add or remove ingredients as you see fit. Look at this recipe like a starting point to make your own. 
• Allergy-friendly: This spinach and banana smoothie is gluten-free and vegan, making it an excellent choice for people with food allergies or sensitivities.

If you’re a fan of this banana spinach smoothie, you’ll love our mango pineapple smoothie, mango avocado smoothie, jugo verde, and strawberry juice.

🍌 Simple banana spinach smoothie

Having lots of options for smoothies is absolutely crucial if you live an active lifestyle and want to maximize your health benefits, right? Well, this smoothie makes a great addition to any smoothie recipe roster.

It features ripe bananas, spinach, soy milk, natural peanut butter, and vanilla protein, providing a perfect balance of protein, fats, and carbs. Each of these nutrients will help keep you full of energy until lunchtime!

Thanks to the frozen bananas, peanut butter, and vanilla protein, this recipe is ultra-creamy, thick, and smooth. It has subtle hints of cinnamon and a vibrant green hue.

While we do love starting our day with a banana spinach smoothie, it also makes a great mid-afternoon snack or post-workout drink. If some of the ingredients aren’t your thing, you can easily customize it to better suit your preferences. That’s the beauty of smoothies!

🌱 Are all smoothies vegan?

Most smoothies can easily be made vegan by substituting common ingredients with plant-based options.

• Instead of milk and yogurt, you can swap in soy milk and vegan yogurt with little to no flavor differences.
• If you’re a protein fan, the good news is there are many vegan protein options available that taste very similar to whey protein or isolates.

💪 Best vegan protein for smoothies

If you’re adding vegan protein powder to your banana spinach smoothie, you’ll want it to be good quality! This will help prevent a chalky, unpleasant texture. These are some of our favorite choices:

• Vega Protein and Greens
• Vegan Sport Premium Protein
• Garden of Life Raw Organic Protein and Greens
• Plant Fusion Vegan Protein Powder
• Green Boy Lentil Protein
• Four Sigmatic Protein With Superfoods

🛒 Ingredients & substitutions

• Soy milk: We prefer to use plain, unsweetened soy milk since the bananas, dates, and protein sweeten it. You can also use cashew, almond, or coconut milk.
• Spinach: Any leafy green will work, but fresh or frozen spinach is generally our go-to since it’s affordable and packed with nutrients. Kale, chard, and collard greens are also good options.
• Bananas: Make sure your bananas are extra spotty (almost black even) for natural sweetness and a creamy consistency. If you don’t have ripe bananas on hand, try ripe avocado, steamed sweet potatoes, berries, mangoes, or papaya.
• Peanut butter: We recommend natural peanut butter for the best flavor and texture. Even better, make your own peanut butter! You can also experiment with other nut butters like almond, cashew, pumpkin seed, or tahini.
• Cinnamon: Adds a sweet, warming element. Plus, cinnamon provides antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and other beneficial properties. Just make sure it’s Ceylon (true) cinnamon!
• Dates: Imparts more natural sweetness (and a delicious chew if there are tiny pieces left intact)! Medjool dates are the best in terms of taste and texture, but other varieties will work. 
• Flaxseed: Ground flaxseed adds brain-healthy omega 3s, fiber, and plant-based protein. Chia seeds make an equally healthy substitute. 
• Vegan protein: Use your favorite flavor! We love vanilla protein for this smoothie, but you can try chocolate, berry, or other flavors as well.

For a complete ingredient list and step-by-step guide, scroll down to our recipe card.

📝 How to make a banana spinach smoothie

Step 1: Add the ingredients

Add soy milk and water to a blender (it’s best if your blender is a high-speed brand like Vitamix or Blendtec). Next, add the spinach, bananas, peanut butter, cinnamon, dates, and flaxseed.

Leave the protein out until the end so that it doesn’t stick to the sides and make the smoothie too big.

Step 2: Blend the smoothie ingredients

Blend the mixture on high until you achieve a creamy consistency. If you need more liquid, add water or soy milk a couple of tablespoons at a time.

Don’t add liquid too quickly because sometimes it takes a minute or so to get everything moving along.

Step 3: Add the protein

Once the mixture is smooth and creamy, add the protein and blend again until well combined. Happy drinking!

If you have questions about making this spinach and banana smoothie, check out our FAQs or leave a comment down below!

🥗 Serving suggestions

This banana spinach smoothie makes a delicious meal on its own, but you can also pair it with other breakfast staples like these:

• Toast: Made with homemade dairy-free bread, sourdough bread, or your favorite variety.
• Biscuits: To balance out the healthiness of the green smoothie, serve it with a side of vegan biscuits, butter, and strawberry compote or blueberry compote.
• Sweets: Serve it with a side of fresh sliced fruit, berries, protein overnight oats, or bionicos.
• Tofu: Up your morning protein intake with a tofu scramble, ejotes con huevo, vegan breakfast casserole, or huevos a la Mexicana.
• Smoothie bowl: Turn your banana spinach smoothie into a more substantial breakfast by serving it in a bowl topped with vegan granola, coconut shreds, chopped nuts, fresh or dried fruit, and a drizzle of peanut butter.

🌡️ Storage

It’s best to drink your banana spinach smoothie right away, but it can be stored for later if need be. Just follow these simple storage and freezing tips:

• Fridge: If you can’t drink the smoothie all, keep it in an airtight jar or container like a mason jar in the fridge for up to 1 day.
• Freezer: If you need to store it for longer, transfer your banana spinach smoothie into ice cube trays and freeze them for up to 2-3 months. You can either re-blend the cubes or add them to your next smoothie.
• Prep ahead: Although this recipe is quick, you can make it even quicker by prepping all the ingredients and storing them in a bag in the fridge. When you’re ready, just dump and blend!

♻️ Variations

• More protein: Add another scoop of vegan protein powder or a chunk of silken tofu to boost the protein content of your spinach and banana smoothie even more.
• Nut-free: If you have a nut allergy or don’t want the extra calories, swap it for sunflower butter, pumpkin seed butter, tahini, or leave it out completely.
• Berries: Add a cup of frozen berries like blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, or raspberries for a burst of flavor and antioxidants.
• Sweeter: If you’d prefer a sweeter flavor, add a few more dates to the mix. You can also combine dates with maple syrup or agave.
• Caffeine-kick: Add some fresh espresso into the smoothie for a little extra wake-me-up power in the morning.
• Chocolate: If you’re a chocolate lover, try mixing some chocolate protein or a tablespoon of cacao powder into this banana spinach smoothie.

🧑‍🍳 Top tips

• Use ripe bananas: For the sweetest flavor and creamiest texture, use extra ripe and spotty bananas.
• Freeze the bananas: Freezing the bananas ahead of time will greatly improve the texture of the smoothie and keep it nice and cold.
• Soak the dates: If you don’t own a high-speed blender and want the dates to fully blend, soak them in hot water for about 5 minutes before blending.
• Adjust the liquid: You can easily add more or less liquid for a thicker or thinner consistency. Just adjust it up or down based on your preferences. 
• Drink immediately: For the most ideal consistency and flavor, we always recommend drinking your smoothies immediately after mixing them.

💬 FAQ

🍴 More drink recipes

If you enjoyed this spinach and banana smoothie, be sure to check out some more drink recipes like these:

• Mangonada: A vibrant drink made with juicy mangoes, chamoy, lime juice, and chile-lime seasoning.
• Peach Juice: A simple drink that contains no additives or refined sugars. 
• Agua de Fresa: Agua fresca featuring strawberries, water, and sweetener.
• Pitahaya Agua Fresca: Mexican-style dragon fruit water.

Note: We’ve updated this post to include new information and helpful tips about the recipe.