Wholesome Banana Almond Milk Smoothie
Inspired by a sweet little coffee shop on the Puerto Rican coast, this wholesome banana almond milk smoothie with flax, vanilla, and a hint of cinnamon tastes like a milkshake yet is healthy and filling enough for a meal.
This post is sponsored by Almond Breeze. All content and opinions expressed are my own.
Awhile back, my husband and I enjoyed a glorious vacation in Rincon, Puerto Rico. I’m pretty sure it was only three years ago, but it honestly feels like another millennium – before we had a kiddo, before we moved to Brussels, you get the idea. Rincon is known as a big surfing destination, and though we are not surfers, we loved everything about the trip. Gorgeous sunsets, good food, lounging by the pool, watching and listening to waves crash at night, all the usual things you love about a beach vacation.
One specific stand-out, though, was this tiny little coffee shop in town, Banana Dang. We went running almost every morning we were there, it was HOT, and if you go inland just a tiny bit Rincon is actually quite hilly, so we were SUPER sweaty and spent by the end of each workout. I think it was the second day of our vacation that we happened to pop into Banana Dang for a post-run smoothie, and we literally went back every single day after that. It was that good. If memory serves, we might have even gone twice on the last day, before driving back to San Juan.
All of the smoothies at Banana Dang were amazing – and we did try them all – but my hands-down favorite was the simplest on the menu. A banana concoction with flax seeds and just a hint of vanilla and cinnamon. Normally I’m obsessed with red berries in all my blended beverages, but something about this combo was absolutely perfect as it was. I craved it the whole time we were there. I routinely wished I had one after we got home.
This was back before I cooked on the regular, so it took some time to realize – duh – I could try to recreate it.
How to freeze bananas for smoothies
I think I was the last person on the planet to realize that frozen bananas yield delicious pseudo-ice cream amazingness. My first attempts to recreate this smoothie failed pretty spectacularly, since I didn’t really understand that you need to slice the bananas before you freeze them. (I’ve learned a lot since then.)
As it turns out, when you slice, then freeze bananas, you can throw those frozen slices straight into the blender with other ingredients of your choice, and the bananas make everything rich and creamy without having to use any yogurt or other thickening agent.
Again, I realize this is last century’s news to all the “real” foodies. Thanks for sticking with me, slow learner that I am. And if you’ve never tried this before, GO slice some bananas and throw them in the freezer immediately. They’ll probably take 12-24 hours to freeze and be ready for smoothie action. Your world will be rocked.
More recipes to use extra bananas include our favorite five banana banana bread and all of these muffins: banana bran, banana chocolate chip, and banana zucchini with walnuts.
It actually feels like cheating a bit to even call this a “recipe,” because really it’s a list of ingredients, a flexible list at that, and a simple assembly job. I believe the Banana Dang original is made with soy milk, which is delicious, but I’ve found I love the flavor that Almond Breeze Almondmilk imparts even more. Feel free to use whatever you keep on hand!
True recipe or not, this is my absolute favorite smoothie ever, so I would never want to forget the combo, and it deserves to be in your life, too.
As a final side note – since our vacation, I have heard that, sadly, Banana Dang closed up shop in Rincon. Silly though this may be, that small fact significantly dampens my enthusiasm to return to Rincon! But, they appear to have reopened a shop in southern California, and certainly if I’m ever lucky enough to find myself nearby, I will direct myself there and hope fervently that the smoothies are just as stellar as I remember them.
Since a trip to California doesn’t seem likely in my foreseeable future, though, I’m awfully glad I can make my own perfect smoothie right on my kitchen counter – in Virginia, in Brussels, or wherever else I may land. And now you can, too! Enjoy!
More tasty smoothie flavors
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Wholesome Banana Almond Milk Smoothie
Ingredients
- 2 bananas, sliced and frozen
- 1 cup Almond Breeze Original Almondmilk feel free to substitute regular or soy
- 1 Tablespoon flax seeds
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in blender and pulse on high for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until mixture is completely smooth and thick. Serve immediately.
After a knee injury I am finally able to run again. Did 5 miles today. This would have been the perfect post run drink.
Congratulations on being back out there! Five miles is a great run – I rarely fit in more than three these days. You’ll have to have this ready to whip up after your next run – it’s a great motivator! 🙂
That sounds so yummy! Takes me back to holiday times!
i love this.. banana dang is actually located in oceanside ca now .. i love this vanilla dang.. i been looking for how to make it for awhile now – thank you very much.. at over $7 each gets costly..lol
Hi Thomas, that’s great, so happy to hear it and that this might help you save a few bucks! Yup – with something I crave this often, $7 a pop would definitely add up, ha!
I am in such a smoothie mood right now! All those Christmas cookies…LOL. This is basically the exact smoothie I have every day, with the addition of a few more fruits and some kale for color and a bit more flavor. Solid recipe, girl! Yum!
Gorgeous and delicious drink! I love smoothies with all my heart and always ready to explore !
Isn’t it funny, the little things like this that stand out from vacations? I still daydream about the acai bowls we had from this tiny little shack right on the beach in Aruba. My husband was there for a work conference and every morning while he was in meetings, I’d walk down the length of the beach to the little shack and get one. So delicious!
Smoothie looks so delicious! I liked that you recreated the same smoothie you like,I do similar to some restaurant food that I love! Beach is amazing too.
I love how a scoop of flax seeds can transform a smoothie. This looks like a really tasty combo. It’s always fun when you nail it when you recreate favorite restaurant dishes!
Yes, they add such a subtle warm and nutty flavor! Thanks so much, Ashley!
Frozen bananas are great!! And talk about versatile too. Your smoothies sounds so good. I haven’t made a smoothie in years and I think it’s about time to do it again. I like your ingredients.
Thanks, Marisa! Yes – they are good in just about any smoothie, plus baking, etc!
This looks like a great smoothie with some really good flavors!
Thanks so much, Ben!
This smoothie looks so good and simple to make. Your pictures make me want to make this STAT.
Thanks so much, Sharon! That’s always the goal, right!? 🙂
Simplicity at its’ best! I love the combination of banana and almonds. This sounds delicious
That beach looks stunning! I make a smoothie every morning with banana and soy milk, plus bluberries and greek yogurt. It’s so delicious. I use an Oster mini blender…got it for about $30 at Walmart. It’s more for single servings, but it’s so handy and stores easily
Oooh, I would actually love to have something single-serving. I use my food processor or immersion blender for practically everything else in the kitchen, so something little for smoothies would be just the thing!
I didn’t have banana almond smoothie in a while and I don’t even know why! Those two flavors are meant to be together and I like to have it for breakfast. But yes it has been months. Time to make this in 2018!
Filling and delicious smoothie recipe
So funny to click on your post and read about this…I just made something very similar but added a pinch of salt and vanilla – so I totally get what you mean about craving this! It’s a keeper!
Great minds think alike! I love the idea of adding a pinch of salt – I’ll have to try that next time! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
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What a great way to start the day! I had some extra time this Sunday morning so instead of drinking the smoothie I poured it into a bowl and added some blueberries and sliced bananas for a smoothie bowl! My husband and I loved it!! Thanks for the delicious recipe! ?
What a great idea to add the bananas and blueberries – that sounds delicious! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, it makes my day to hear that! 🙂
I love trying to recreate recipes from our vacations once I’m back home. It’s such an easy way to revisit those memories! This smoothie looks like it would instantly transport me back to days on a beach.
Food is definitely one of the strongest memory inducers, and vacations are usually some of the best memories worth inducing! 🙂 Thanks, Megan, for the kind words!
So easy to make and so filling! These sound right up my alley. Pinning for later, thank you!
Yay, I hope you like them!
It always amazes me how quickly time flies; I often think “oh it was just a few months ago” and it’s been a year! Scary really! This smoothie looks like the perfect way to start the day though, I love having bananas for breakfast any way I can!
Completely agree. And it just seems to speed up more and more the older I get, which makes sense I guess, but is a little scary! 🙂
I love how simple this recipe is. I also love all the ingredients. I will be making it often. Thanks for sharing
This sounds like a really delicious smoothie — I don’t usually use almond milk (or have it in the house) do you think it would be ok with regular milk?
Definitely! It would be great with regular milk, or with soy, whatever you tend to have on hand.
Sometimes, the simplest smoothies are the best on the menu! So fabulous that you can recreate this now – especially since that cafe closed down! Btw – that photo of Rincon, Puerto Rico is GORGEOUS- as is this smoothie!
Thanks, Shashi, for the kind words! 🙂