Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Enjoy a bright pink strawberry banana smoothie for a super quick and easy breakfast or on-the-go snack. All you need are four ingredients, a blender and a few minutes to make one.

Ripe bananas provide sweetness and together with some yoghurt make the mixture creamy. I love using kefir in smoothies as it’s particularly easy to pour and mix, but any yogurt will do, including non-dairy varieties.

There is enough fruit in this recipe to get a full-size blender running, but you should be able to squeeze it into a single-serving blender too. If you need a new blender, here is a list of the best blenders.

Use ripe bananas

My favorite smoothie ingredient is frozen ripe banana. When I say ripe, I mean lots of spots, a bit mushy, and more ripe than most people would like to eat fresh.

It needs enough texture to freeze successfully (not total mush) but should be super sweet. Ripe bananas add a natural sweetness to the smoothie, so you don’t need to add honey or other sweeteners.

Freezing keeps your drink cold and makes the mix incredibly creamy.

For the coldest, creamiest smoothie, use quality frozen fruit. Store-bought frozen fruit is a convenient option, and it comes in handy especially when berry season is long gone. Keep bags tightly sealed and frozen consistently to avoid icy, bland-tasting fruit.

It’s also easy to freeze fresh ripe fruit, and it’s a great option if strawberries are dirt cheap at the grocery store or you’ve bought a few too many bananas.

Freeze strawberries: Wash well, drain and dry completely. Seal the berries, cut in half and place in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. They have a shelf life of two months.

Freeze Bananas: Simply peel and cut into pieces. Place the fruit-filled baking sheet in the freezer for at least an hour, or until the fruit is frozen solid. Place in a ziplock bag, squeeze out the air and seal. Frozen bananas will keep for a month.

Tips for making smoothies

Here are a few tips for making the best smoothies possible:

• Start with ripe fruit. Quality fruit means better flavor that makes for a delicious smoothie.
• Use frozen fruit. Frozen fruit makes for a creamier, more refreshing smoothie.
• You don’t need ice. Also, since you’re using frozen fruit, there’s no need to add ice to the mix. Your smoothie will be a lot tastier this way because the ice won’t dilute the other ingredients.
• plan ahead. For a few servings of smoothies, measure the fruit into separate ziplock bags. When it’s time for smoothies, add the contents of one sachet to the blender along with the milk and yogurt for a super quick breakfast or snack.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie Swap and Substitute

The great thing about smoothies is that you can add or swap out ingredients to make it your own. Here are some variations you can try:

• Make this smoothie dairy-free by using non-dairy yogurt and non-dairy milk like almond or oat milk.
• You can omit the yogurt entirely.
• Use vanilla or strawberry yogurt for a sweeter smoothie. Alternatively, you can add up to 1 tablespoon of honey for extra sweetness.
• Replace up to half of the milk with orange juice.
• Add up to 2 tablespoons of peanut or almond butter. Together with the strawberries it tastes like a PB&J smoothie.
• Add 2 teaspoons of chia seeds.

Need more smoothie ideas?

• Apple Pie Smoothie
• Quick and easy green smoothie
• Strawberry Almond Oat Smoothie
• Berry Banana Smoothie
• Bloody Mary smoothie