This ultra thick and creamy peanut butter banana smoothie recipe tastes like drinking a milkshake… and it’s good for you at the same time!
A peanut butter banana smoothie for a healthy breakfast
I know some people swear by cold cereal for breakfast. But whenever I eat a bowl of cereal, I always seem to be hungry again less than an hour later. Does this happen to you as well?
However, I do like the convenience of cold cereal. Sure, it would be nice to eat homemade pancakes or waffles or this Healthy Banana Bread every single day for breakfast, but who has time for that? Especially on Mondays, I want something that doesn’t take all morning to prepare, can be made with just a few ingredients, and will hold me over until lunch. Enter this easy banana smoothie recipe:
(View the video, above)
In 5 minutes or less, you have a balanced and filling breakfast with:
Two servings of fruit
Calcium, potassium, and fiber
And 12 grams of protein… even if you don’t add any yogurt or protein powder!
This best peanut butter banana smoothie is also easy to take on the go, which means you get to set your alarm clock that much later in the morning .
For an even thicker smoothie–almost more like a peanut butter and banana milkshake than a smoothie–be sure to include the optional 1/3 cup oats. This will also up the fiber and protein, helping to fill you up until lunch.
The recipe can be suitable for numerous special diets as well, including vegan, gluten free, soy free, refined sugar free, paleo, high fiber, low cholesterol, low calorie, and high protein. Feel free to substitute almond butter, cashew butter, pecan butter, even or sunflower butter if you have allergies or simply want to switch up the flavor.
And of course you absolutely can add cocoa powder if you want to make it a chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie!
If you try the recipe, be sure to tag @ChocolateCoveredKatie on Instagram so I can see and like your pictures!
Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
Ingredients
- 2 overripe, frozen large bananas
- 4-6 tbsp peanut butter or pb2, or allergy-friendly sub
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups milk of choice, depending on desired thickness
- scant 1/8 tsp salt
- optional 1/3 cup quick oats or rolled oats
- sweetener of choice, to taste
- optional scoop protein powder
Instructions
*If you want an even thicker shake, feel free to add an extra banana. The bananas should be at least partially brown before peeling and freezing.
To make the peanut butter banana smoothie recipe, blend the oats until a fine powder forms, then add all remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Drink immediately, or store in a covered container in the refrigerator if you’d prefer to make the smoothie the night before.
More Healthy Peanut Butter Recipes:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies
(Including Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream)
Peanut Butter Popsicles – Just 6 Ingredients!
Hey Katie!
This is kinda random but I just wanted to say that I really love your blog. You’re such a positive influence and your personality really shines through. You’ve helped me when I wasn’t sure what it meant to be healthy. Also, you can take some of the simplest ingredients and turn them into something healthy and (more importantly) delicious! I eagerly check your blog everyday in hopes there will be a new recipe, and when there is I am always SOOO excited to try it out!
All that randomness aside… I used to eat cereal sometimes but I don’t anymore cause I realized that most commercial brands are pretty processed. I totally agree with you about the convenience part though. It would be pretty awesome if someone could make a cereal that turned into pancakes the second it touched milk, but for now I will just have to either take an extra 15 minutes to cook OR just make something super-simple-yet-delicious like this smoothie!
-Emily
I’m the complete opposite! Cereal is usually okay for me, but I’m so hungry after smoothies
me too! I think for me it has to do with chewing food – I need to chew to feel like I ate something…
I love cold cereal for breakfast. I keep boxes above my desk at work and have it as I read my morning emails. One of my favourite parts of the day. I don’t think I could ever give it up!
Same here! I have to make a double serving of smoothie (at least) in order to feel satisfied, and then I usually end up needing a second breakfast, hobbit-style. They’re more of an after-work snack for me.
I love the PB2 you added to this smoothie. Thank you for the post. I need other alternatives for breakfast because unfortunately I am allergic to eggs. This will be great.
Love your blog! This looks like a good alternative to cereal, I can’t wait to try it. Lately I’ve found a good alternative to cold cereal that’s fast and easy. I cook up a large batch of quinoa and refrigerate what I don’t use immediately. Then in the morning I’ll scoop some out in a bowl, cover with unsweetened soymilk, add a few drops of stevia and vanilla extract. It tastes good, is fast, filling and nutritious.
This looks delicious, and so filling, I bet it went down a treat 🙂
Sometimes I eat cold cereal yeh, but I tend to just opt for oat porridge. Saying that, this morning I had a cold-served overnight banana oat jar topped with some granola, and it was great!
I hope you’ve had a great start to your week Katie, thanks for this recipe 😀 x
I can never usually get on with smoothies – I think that it is the thick texture I am not keen on, but I think that I will give this one a try as I love peanut butter and bananas – could a fresh banana be used?
I think that if you use a fresh banana the smoothie won’t be as thick, but since you said you don’t like the thick texture, maybe that would be a good thing.
You can use a fresh banana, but the smoothie won’t be cold. I I just made this smoothie this morning and it came out pretty thin, just use a smaller banana or more milk to thin it out! 🙂
Katie, ever since seeing your creations, I have always been making breakfast the night before. I’ve done blended cereal, oatmeal (porridge or baked), oat bran (porridge or baked), interestingly, I don’t seem to find any recipes with baking oat bran. Also, I’ve gotten into bulgur. I never care to have cold cereal anymore.
I cannot wait for your book to come out in the fall!
I’m not a big fan of cold cereal for breakfast. It’s just not satisfying to me!
Yes! One of my favorite PB2 recipes! You can also add 1-2 Tbsp of Silk Road cocoa powder and 1/2 cup frozen peas (you can’t taste the peas). Yum! I love your ideas.
Thank you for the peas suggestion, I’m going to give it a try!
I make this in the afternoon when my the munchies hit. I haven’t added oats, but I do throw in a couple of handfuls of spinach. the PB and banana cover up the flavor and my kids love the green. I will try adding oats today.
Like Allison, I’m fine with either cold or hot cereal, but smoothies only hold for about one hour or so. I love banana milk with pb, will give the addition of oats a try. Maybe it will fill me up for more than one hour!
I agree 100% on cold cereal–I feel like I could eat 5 bowls and still feel hungry an hour afterwards! I love banana and PB for breakfast, though–usually as part of a yogurt bowl or on an English muffin, but this smoothie sounds like a great idea too!
I think it depends on the cereal. I usually have a bowl of bran flakes with a banana, and it keeps me full until lunch! Grape-Nuts are also a good choice to last me until lunch. But I would only eat Cheerios for breakfast as a last resort because when I eat Cheerios, I get hungry again much sooner than that.
Yes, I eat cereal for breakfast, usually about 1-2x per week. My solution to the problem of getting hungry is to add a scoop of protein powder (and a tablespoon of flaxseed), plus have a stick of string cheese – unless I use non-fat milk, in which case the calories prohibit cheese. We also are in the habit of having a morning snack, because of the eating plan we are on, which specifies that to keep our metabolism up, we should eat every 2-3 hours. I know we were probably all raised to believe that one should just eat 3 meals a day, with maybe an afternoon snack, but current nutritional wisdom says that is no longer the best way to go. I’m looking forward to trying this smoothie recipe – smoothies are always a good breakfast.
I make something similar to this for the boyfriend – he is wary of the green “healthy” smoothies, so if it’s loaded with PB and banana … he’ll eat it! I like to throw frozen strawberries into mine just to add a bit more sweetness.
Hi Katie,
I’m writing a book and will be referencing your website in the resources section. I would like to print at least one and possibly more of your recipes in the text of the book. The recipe would of course be accompanied by a notation saying that it is your recipe and repeating your URL. Is this alright with you? Could I say “reprinted with permission?”
Please let me know.
Thanks kindly,
Marci
I have actually been in an odd bit of a habit for the past year or so – waking up any number of times between midnight and 6 to snack on… frankly whatever comes to mind. More often than not the munchable of choice is cereal. While I can’t testify for these nights/mornings, one the days where I manage a normal breakfast [with cereal] it isn’t too filling unless it is oatmeal, and even that doesn’t tend to stick for too long.
Speaking of which, I just started getting into smoothies as an accompaniment to the library/while doing field work. It’s a low-fuss way of keeping full, and this recipe sounds like no exception! I’d be tempted to try bran in lieu of oats however.
This sounds great. I like the idea of using oats for fiber and thickening. I often eat muesli with almond milk and banana for breakfast, and it usually holds me for 3-4 hours. If I need something more substantial, I’ll make cooked oatmeal and stir in peanut butter in banana (kind of like this smoothie, but in warm form!).
Cold cereal and milk is a snack. Breakfast and post workout cereal is with greek yogurt. I’m usually a flavored Cheerio’s person, which is still better than my all time favorite Reese’s Puffs but still not enough protein and fiber on its own to keep me satisfied. Mini wheats…different story, but I never go through them fast enough to warrant buying them often.
Yes! It’s my favorite bedtime snack. Got into the habit when I was working second shift, and now it feels weird to eat cereal for breakfast.
Hello!
I thought it is only my problem – after most of cereals I am quickly become hanger. Though it was one exception: I have done your 5-minute oatmeal and it was really filling! But it won’t stop me from trying this:) Thank you for another one beauty.