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This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almondmilk.
Look out, world.
In my continued attempt to cut out more refined sugars in my life (with a few indulgent exceptions on occasion), I have been experimenting lately with turning some of my favorite desserts into healthier smoothies. I know, I know, not totally the same. But actually, many dessert flavor combinations seem to translate well into smoothies, so I’ve been on a roll giving them a try. This week for breakfast at mi casa, I smoothie-fied banana bread, cherry pie, blueberry muffins, chocolate-covered strawberries and confetti cake batter. And somewhat to my surprise, they all turned out to be delicious successes! This is fantastic news for when those old sugar cravings strike. And bonus? Each one felt like eating an indulgent dessert for breakfast. (Or lunch. Or dinner. Or hey, even dessert!)
Stay tuned, because I will definitely be sharing more of these recipes over the summer. But for today, I thought I’d start by sharing my first success of the week — this Banana Bread Smoothie.
For anyone out there who loves a slice of soft, rich, spiced banana bread as much as I do — but maybe not all of those pesky calories and gluten included — this one’s for you. It’s simple to make, ready to go in about 5 minutes, and celebrates all of the rich flavors of classic banana bread. My kind of smoothie. :)
Banana Bread Smoothie Recipe | 1-Minute Video
The ingredients to make it are quite simple. I went with:
The oats, spices, and vanilla definitely combine to make this taste much more like actual banana bread, versus your typical plain banana smoothie. And the almond milk and Greek yogurt make it extra creamy, and full of extra protein to fuel your day (versus that annoying sugar/carb crash that often accompanies actual banana bread). Oh, and don’t forget all of the potassium in those bananas!
Great ingredients, great flavor, great smoothie. I think you’re going to love it!
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, store-bought or homemade
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
(optional: 1 teaspoon maple syrup, if you’d like a sweeter smoothie)
Instructions
Add all ingredients to a blender and pulse until smooth. Serve immediately.
This is a sponsored post in partnership with Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almondmilk. I am partnering with them to bring you some tasty new recipes this year, and all opinions are my own as always. Thanks for continuing to support the brands that help make this site possible!
To clarify, so you recommend using the sweetened or unsweetened Almond Breeze original flavor? This looks like a sweetened carton despite trying to make a low sugar recipe. Thanks!
Hi Ellen, I recommend using whichever you prefer. I go back in forth between sweetened and unsweetened almond milk. There is only 7g of sugar in the sweetened almond milk, and I feel like that’s still pretty low, but if you’re still concerned, go with the unsweetened kind. Hope you enjoy!
I’m cutting the refined sugars out of my diet as well and it has done absolute WONDERS for my skin. So thankful I decided to go that route. My eyes no longer look puffy in the morning and my skin is just softer and smoother, not to mention what it is doing internally! I LOVE this smoothie, totally unique and I adore the blue almond milk too, making this today.
I love dessert for breakfast!! And this is healthy. :) I’ll have to experiment more with my smoothies, it seems like I always get stuck making the same kinds. This one looks delicious!
Hi Sangeetha, you can skip the Greek yogurt and make it with almond milk, it’s just not going to be the same consistency (it will be thin, not thick). But taste-wise, that should be fine! : )
Hi Ali!
It makes me smile! because in my mind all the smoothie all super healthy :D, And This is seems so delicious, and is a smoothie and it taste like dessert… Heaven!!!
Best Wishes,
Cat
Simple and tasty. This smoothie sounds wonderful. I would probably add some protein powder, also, because I do better with higher levels of protein. I just happen to have all the ingredients on hand (except nutmeg), so this will probably be tomorrow’s breakfast. I’m really looking forward to seeing what your other smoothie recipes are. (Can’t have too many good smoothie recipes!)
Thank you, Susan! Protein powder and/or peanut butter would be great additions to this, for sure. And I agree, you can never have too many good smoothie recipes! : )
This is a timely post. I’m so glad I didn’t throw out those two VERY ripe bananas that were sitting on my kitchen counter. I have coconut milk at home. I shall try it with that. It can be called a tropical banana bread smoothie. :-)
Turning desserts into smoothies is a great idea! Looking forward to the confetti cake batter smoothie.
Thanks, Sandra! I bet it would be AMAZING with coconut milk, I’m definitely trying that! And oh man, a confetti cake batter smoothie sounds so yummy right now!
Ali, this looks delicious! My husband and I make a similar smoothie for breakfast a lot. I also freeze the bananas, and I love the thick texture that results. I usually only use cinnamon, so I definitely will try including nutmeg next time. Looking forward to the other smoothies you mentioned. They sound heavenly!
I would try using cloves as the spice, and use an additional 1/2 cup of yogurt in place of the banana. You could always add some ground flax or some nuts in place of the oats. I hope that helps!
Michelle —
I’ve been eyeing this recipe for awhile now and finally made it today! It was really good following the recipe exactly but then I added a scoop of peanut butter, a half scoop of protein powder (chocolate protein powder would be amazing in this) and a couple of chocolate chips for some added texture and it was out of this world! Plus, I didn’t have to heat up the oven on a 90+ degree day to bake banana bread which is a total win in my book! ?
I make yogurt, sometimes Greek, sometimes regular. I also drink a huge smoothie every single day [Ninja]
I mix honey, or agave nectar, etc. and maybe some chia seed in the yogurt and freeze it in silicone ice cube trays,
then add them [2 or 3] to my smoothie, however I make it. It allows me to keep my yogurt fresh and in abundance for
[our] daily smoothies, and also to make separate batches to have on hand fresh [unfrozen] to use for baking and cooking.
Each of us make individual smoothies [Nutri Ninja Auto IQ blender system 1500watts] and the yogurt cubes make it
easy for all to get from the ziplocks in the freezer to go along with……bananas,strawberries, blueberries,grapes,spinach,kale,almonds,chia seed,sesame seed,flax seed,celery,cucumber,almond milk,coconut milk,
pineapple, [much of the ingredients kept frozen]……..and usually ALL OF THE ABOVE ! I look forward to making the
Banana Bread smoothie in the morning !!
I just tried this for breakfast. It was excellent. The only thing that I would say is if you use a very good quality vanilla you may want to cut it down ti 1/2 tsp. I will be making this again.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks Cleo, we’re happy you enjoyed it! Also, that’s a great point on the vanilla, thanks for sharing. :)
Tried this tonight, not a big fan of the bits dried oats, not very smooth-ie. Maybe could use leftover oatmeal to keep it from being chunky. Other than that I’d say great recipe!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hey Matti, we’re glad you enjoyed this! As for the oats, you can always grind them more, to make a powder, that way you’ll get a great oat flavor without the texture.
I can’t get enough of this smoothie!! I have question though – can I make it the night before and pop it in the fridge so I can just have it ready to go in the morning?
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks Maria, we’re so glad you like it! We haven’t tried making this smoothie the night before, and it might work great, but we’re worried the banana might be suuuuper strong in the morning.
I didn’t see the calorie count? Did I miss it, how many calories, fiber, sugar etc??
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Susan! That’s right, we currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
I just made this wonderful smoothie for breakfast this morning. Yummy! I was craving banana bread but didn’t want the guilt of all the calories. What a great substitute!
I did add a little extra ingredients though…2 Tbsp. of ground flax seed, 1 Tbsp. chia seeds, 5 ice cubes, 1 squirt of liquid stevia, I also skipped the almond milk (didn’t have any), and instead I added 7 or 8 almonds and 1/2 cup of water. This is definitely one of my favorites!
Thanks!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks for sharing Julie — we’re so happy to hear you enjoyed it! :D
I finally tried this today, and really like the flavor. It was a little weird, though, because it came out warm, even though my almond milk and yogurt were chilled. Maybe I needed to use bigger bananas? In the aftermath I thought about perhaps adding ice, but I liked that the recipe made exactly two pint beer glasses of smoothie with nothing left over. Next time I guess I’ll try adding some ice.
My family is on a 21 day fix and the food is bland bland bland…do you have the nutrition facts for this?
Thanks!
Tricia
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Tricia! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
I found this recipe on pintrest and i substituted the almond milk for coconut milk. Really amazing recipe. Tastes just like banana bread in smoothie form. Oh and i also used a little less yogurt than half a cup. Great job! Thank you!
We’re glad to hear that, Gabrielle! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
Katie —
I’m going to make this in a few hours for my little ones. I only have quick cooking oats. Is that okay to use? Thanks!
Hi Jess! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
You say I can nix the Greek yogurt; can I replace it with plain natural yogurt? Also, if I leave it out completely, does it effect the consistency much?
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Yes, you can definitely use regular your instead! If you leave it out entirely, it will still taste good, it will just have a much thinner consistency.
AMAZING RECIPE YOU GUYS!!
The taste was very good, sweet, but not too sweet, the texture was smooth and the color matched the images on the recipe. Now I made some changes because of my teeth sensitivity and my allergy to almonds, so I used unfrozen banana (it works just as well as frozen), and vanilla milk which worked as well. I was very happy with the result, the smoothie was delicious and I was full of energy for the whole morning until 1:00 pm.
I just made a variation of this smoothie using hemp milk instead of almond, and no yogurt to keep it vegan. I’ve never put oats in a smoothie before, but this is delicious!
This was delicious! Only change I made was using regular (cow’s) milk, and added walnuts for a little more protein and a little more banana bread flavor. No maple syrup, my overripe frozen bananas were plenty sweet. I don’t have the best blender so the oats and nuts were still a little chunky but it didn’t bother us. Was looking for something a little different than the same 2 smoothies I make all the time and this was perfect.
I tryed this and it was delicious! I started working out and trying to eat healthy today and that this smoothie would be perfect bc i would get that banana bread taste without taking in all the calories of a real bannana bread, its also really easy to make! I dident add every thing on the directions bc i thought that way i did it was better then adding salt and nutmeg (i also only did half of everything and added 1 cup of ice)
A smoothie that tastes like one of my all-time favorite desserts? Sign me up! This sounds like such a great breakfast!
Thank you, Alexa! Hope you enjoy! : )
To clarify, so you recommend using the sweetened or unsweetened Almond Breeze original flavor? This looks like a sweetened carton despite trying to make a low sugar recipe. Thanks!
Hi Ellen, I recommend using whichever you prefer. I go back in forth between sweetened and unsweetened almond milk. There is only 7g of sugar in the sweetened almond milk, and I feel like that’s still pretty low, but if you’re still concerned, go with the unsweetened kind. Hope you enjoy!
I’m cutting the refined sugars out of my diet as well and it has done absolute WONDERS for my skin. So thankful I decided to go that route. My eyes no longer look puffy in the morning and my skin is just softer and smoother, not to mention what it is doing internally! I LOVE this smoothie, totally unique and I adore the blue almond milk too, making this today.
That’s so cool Laura, thanks for sharing! And I hope you enjoy the smoothie! : )
Love how you added oats in here too! Banana bread is one of my faves, now I can have a healthy version in a smoothie!
Thanks, Jenna!
I’m sorry I don’t think I read anything after cake batter smoothie. 0_0 POST NOW pretty pleeeeeeeazzzzzeeee :D
This looks like my weekend smoothie recipe, yum! I LOVE banana bread.
Hope you enjoy, Andrea!
Deeeelicious!! I always have almond milk handy. Thinking how good this would be with the chocolate version! =)
Thanks, Jett! (Love your name, btw)! And a chocolate version would be awesome. Yum!
Yum! This sounds delicious, and much better for me than the Banana Nut Muffin I had from Starbucks this morning.
Josh – The Kentucky Gent
https://thekentuckygent.com
Thanks, Josh!
I love dessert for breakfast!! And this is healthy. :) I’ll have to experiment more with my smoothies, it seems like I always get stuck making the same kinds. This one looks delicious!
ME TOO! Hope you enjoy this one, Shawn! : )
I dont have greek yogurt, Can i skip that and make it with just almond milk. Will it be still good ?
Hi Sangeetha, you can skip the Greek yogurt and make it with almond milk, it’s just not going to be the same consistency (it will be thin, not thick). But taste-wise, that should be fine! : )
Hi Ali!
It makes me smile! because in my mind all the smoothie all super healthy :D, And This is seems so delicious, and is a smoothie and it taste like dessert… Heaven!!!
Best Wishes,
Cat
Thank you, Cat! Hope you enjoy!
Simple and tasty. This smoothie sounds wonderful. I would probably add some protein powder, also, because I do better with higher levels of protein. I just happen to have all the ingredients on hand (except nutmeg), so this will probably be tomorrow’s breakfast. I’m really looking forward to seeing what your other smoothie recipes are. (Can’t have too many good smoothie recipes!)
Thank you, Susan! Protein powder and/or peanut butter would be great additions to this, for sure. And I agree, you can never have too many good smoothie recipes! : )
This looks delicious! I bet it would also be good with a bit of peanut butter :-)
Thanks, Ali, I bet it would too!
This is a timely post. I’m so glad I didn’t throw out those two VERY ripe bananas that were sitting on my kitchen counter. I have coconut milk at home. I shall try it with that. It can be called a tropical banana bread smoothie. :-)
Turning desserts into smoothies is a great idea! Looking forward to the confetti cake batter smoothie.
Thanks, Sandra! I bet it would be AMAZING with coconut milk, I’m definitely trying that! And oh man, a confetti cake batter smoothie sounds so yummy right now!
Ali, this looks delicious! My husband and I make a similar smoothie for breakfast a lot. I also freeze the bananas, and I love the thick texture that results. I usually only use cinnamon, so I definitely will try including nutmeg next time. Looking forward to the other smoothies you mentioned. They sound heavenly!
Awesome, hope you enjoy!
This looks amazing! I might need to buy a blender now so I can make my own. :)
Thanks, Keating! If you’re into smoothies, I’d definitely say it’s a worthwhile purchase!
I love banana bread, and this looks so delicious and easy to make! Definitely going to try this recipe out soon :)
Thanks, Toni, hope you enjoy this!
Yes! Can’t wait to put my new Blendtec to work on this deliciousness! Totally making it after din tonight :) Thanks, Ali!
Awesome, I hope you love it! : )
Muchos exitos hay recetas maravillosas y faciles,gracias. Desde Colombia con gran cariño.Mercy
Gracias, Mercy! : )
This was very yummy! I would be up for more smoothie recipes….nom nom nom!
Thanks, Robin, glad you liked it!
Love oat smoothies!! And so much easier for little ones to eat oatmeal with a straw than a spoon. ;-)
Yes! I hope your boys love it! : )
My Husband is allergic to Oats, Cinnamon and Nutmeg. What can I use to substitute?
I would try using cloves as the spice, and use an additional 1/2 cup of yogurt in place of the banana. You could always add some ground flax or some nuts in place of the oats. I hope that helps!
I’ve been eyeing this recipe for awhile now and finally made it today! It was really good following the recipe exactly but then I added a scoop of peanut butter, a half scoop of protein powder (chocolate protein powder would be amazing in this) and a couple of chocolate chips for some added texture and it was out of this world! Plus, I didn’t have to heat up the oven on a 90+ degree day to bake banana bread which is a total win in my book! ?
★★★★★
I just made this (without the nutmeg) and it’s totally amazing! Such a rich flavour wich defenitly reminds me of baked goodies
Thanks, Billy, we’re so glad you liked it! A pinch of nutmeg does wonders in things. : )
I make yogurt, sometimes Greek, sometimes regular. I also drink a huge smoothie every single day [Ninja]
I mix honey, or agave nectar, etc. and maybe some chia seed in the yogurt and freeze it in silicone ice cube trays,
then add them [2 or 3] to my smoothie, however I make it. It allows me to keep my yogurt fresh and in abundance for
[our] daily smoothies, and also to make separate batches to have on hand fresh [unfrozen] to use for baking and cooking.
Each of us make individual smoothies [Nutri Ninja Auto IQ blender system 1500watts] and the yogurt cubes make it
easy for all to get from the ziplocks in the freezer to go along with……bananas,strawberries, blueberries,grapes,spinach,kale,almonds,chia seed,sesame seed,flax seed,celery,cucumber,almond milk,coconut milk,
pineapple, [much of the ingredients kept frozen]……..and usually ALL OF THE ABOVE ! I look forward to making the
Banana Bread smoothie in the morning !!
Very cool, thanks for sharing Jona!
I’m not a fan of Greek yogurt. Can you use regular yogurt?
Thanks, Susan
Sure thing! It won’t be quite as thick, but absolutely, it will work!
Made this today. All I can say is wow so delicious!!! Very filling too.
Thank you Janet, we’re happy you liked it! :)
I just tried this for breakfast. It was excellent. The only thing that I would say is if you use a very good quality vanilla you may want to cut it down ti 1/2 tsp. I will be making this again.
Thanks Cleo, we’re happy you enjoyed it! Also, that’s a great point on the vanilla, thanks for sharing. :)
Tried this tonight, not a big fan of the bits dried oats, not very smooth-ie. Maybe could use leftover oatmeal to keep it from being chunky. Other than that I’d say great recipe!
Hey Matti, we’re glad you enjoyed this! As for the oats, you can always grind them more, to make a powder, that way you’ll get a great oat flavor without the texture.
How would this taste as a green smoothie?
We’re not really sure Laura, but we think it’s worth trying!
What a great way to start your day. Thanks.
You’re welcome Kimberly, we hope you enjoy it!
I can’t get enough of this smoothie!! I have question though – can I make it the night before and pop it in the fridge so I can just have it ready to go in the morning?
Thanks Maria, we’re so glad you like it! We haven’t tried making this smoothie the night before, and it might work great, but we’re worried the banana might be suuuuper strong in the morning.
OMG!! I just love it!!!! Something different from the good ol fashion berry smoothie!!
Yay, we’re so glad to hear that Gigi! :D
I love this!!! A new turn from the good ol fashion berry smoothie!! Thank you so much!!!
Thanks Gigi, we’re glad you like it! :D
I didn’t see the calorie count? Did I miss it, how many calories, fiber, sugar etc??
Hi Susan! That’s right, we currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
I just made this wonderful smoothie for breakfast this morning. Yummy! I was craving banana bread but didn’t want the guilt of all the calories. What a great substitute!
I did add a little extra ingredients though…2 Tbsp. of ground flax seed, 1 Tbsp. chia seeds, 5 ice cubes, 1 squirt of liquid stevia, I also skipped the almond milk (didn’t have any), and instead I added 7 or 8 almonds and 1/2 cup of water. This is definitely one of my favorites!
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing Julie — we’re so happy to hear you enjoyed it! :D
I finally tried this today, and really like the flavor. It was a little weird, though, because it came out warm, even though my almond milk and yogurt were chilled. Maybe I needed to use bigger bananas? In the aftermath I thought about perhaps adding ice, but I liked that the recipe made exactly two pint beer glasses of smoothie with nothing left over. Next time I guess I’ll try adding some ice.
I can’t eat oats. Has anyone substituted buckwheat (either cream of b. cereal, whole b. ground, or b. flour?
My family is on a 21 day fix and the food is bland bland bland…do you have the nutrition facts for this?
Thanks!
Tricia
Hi Tricia! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
I found this recipe on pintrest and i substituted the almond milk for coconut milk. Really amazing recipe. Tastes just like banana bread in smoothie form. Oh and i also used a little less yogurt than half a cup. Great job! Thank you!
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Brett! :)
Love your blog! How many calories is this?
We’re glad to hear that, Gabrielle! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
I’m going to make this in a few hours for my little ones. I only have quick cooking oats. Is that okay to use? Thanks!
★★★★★
How many calories are in this?
Hi Jess! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
You say I can nix the Greek yogurt; can I replace it with plain natural yogurt? Also, if I leave it out completely, does it effect the consistency much?
Yes, you can definitely use regular your instead! If you leave it out entirely, it will still taste good, it will just have a much thinner consistency.
I liked this smoothie but I think next time I will add a little more of the spices. I really didn’t get much of the taste of them. Otherwise….yum!
Great tasting. Easy to make. Add blueberries.
★★★★
AMAZING RECIPE YOU GUYS!!
The taste was very good, sweet, but not too sweet, the texture was smooth and the color matched the images on the recipe. Now I made some changes because of my teeth sensitivity and my allergy to almonds, so I used unfrozen banana (it works just as well as frozen), and vanilla milk which worked as well. I was very happy with the result, the smoothie was delicious and I was full of energy for the whole morning until 1:00 pm.
Once again, amazing!
I just made a variation of this smoothie using hemp milk instead of almond, and no yogurt to keep it vegan. I’ve never put oats in a smoothie before, but this is delicious!
★★★★★
This was delicious! Only change I made was using regular (cow’s) milk, and added walnuts for a little more protein and a little more banana bread flavor. No maple syrup, my overripe frozen bananas were plenty sweet. I don’t have the best blender so the oats and nuts were still a little chunky but it didn’t bother us. Was looking for something a little different than the same 2 smoothies I make all the time and this was perfect.
★★★★★
Made it for breakfast today. Delicious! My new favorite smoothie!
★★★★★
So good! I added some roasted walnuts & a nip of honey and ho baby was it good!
★★★★★
I tryed this and it was delicious! I started working out and trying to eat healthy today and that this smoothie would be perfect bc i would get that banana bread taste without taking in all the calories of a real bannana bread, its also really easy to make! I dident add every thing on the directions bc i thought that way i did it was better then adding salt and nutmeg (i also only did half of everything and added 1 cup of ice)