Healthy Strawberry Banana Smoothie Recipe

This healthy strawberry banana smoothie recipe is made with delicious and nutritious ingredients.

It’s a tasty and easy recipe, perfect for a quick breakfast or snack. 

This smoothie recipe is an easy way to fit in some important nutrients first thing in the morning or for a quick snack. The recipe is naturally gluten-free and there are easy substitutions to make this strawberry banana smoothie recipe vegan.

When the finished product is topped with berries, it looks like a photo from Pinterest. 

Best of all, you can make it in 5 minutes or less. All you need is a blender and 5 ingredients. So let’s get started! 

How to Make a Strawberry Banana Smoothie at Home

If you are in need of a strawberry banana smoothie that’s nutritious and delicious, you’re in luck. 

Making a healthy smoothie at home is super simple, and this way you can control the taste and ingredients blended into your morning concoction. 

Sometimes premade smoothies, like those from smoothie shops, are high in added sugars, sugar that does not come naturally from the fruits and other ingredients. 

Making your smoothies at home is the best way to ensure they are low in total grams of sugar and don’t turn into the equivalent of a milkshake. 

The joy of this recipe is that you use the banana smoothie base and add in any of your favorite fresh fruits; you don’t always have use strawberries. 

Making homemade smoothies is a great way to ensure your smoothie stays nutritious and budget-friendly.

Also, this simple strawberry smoothie recipe is a great way to get the kids involved in the kitchen. 

The best part about this strawberry smoothie recipe is that it is very filling, so it’s perfect for breakfast or a post-workout snack.

Now, how do you build a healthy, simple smoothie? This recipe starts with 

fresh strawberries or frozen, banana, a liquid like milk, Greek yogurt, and nut butter. 

Tips to Make a Healthy Strawberry Smoothie

• You may be asking, is fresh fruit better than frozen fruit? Well, the answer is that it doesn’t really matter. Fresh fruit can be expensive and hard to find come the colder months, so frozen is a great option. Just note that using frozen fruit may make a thicker finished product. 
• Buy a bunch of bananas, slice them up and store in the freezer until its smoothie-making time.
• Fill multiple freezer bags or small containers with a serving of the berries and bananas. Store in the freezer and pull out when you are ready to make your smoothie. Just add these frozen fruits into the blender and follow the recipe accordingly. 
• Play around with ingredients to switch up the taste and nutrition profile so you don’t get strawberry smoothie boredom. 

List of Ingredients:

There are only 5 simple ingredients in this recipe. All are naturally gluten-free (yay!) and are relatively inexpensive, so you don’t have to rack up a large bill at the grocery store. Here are the main ingredients: 

Frozen or Fresh Strawberries 

Strawberries have a delicious flavor and tend to be a crowd-pleaser, even with many picky eaters. 

These bright, juicy, red berries are packed with vitamin C and other antioxidants. Some of these antioxidants are thought to protect against certain cancers (1).

Ripe Banana

Bananas contribute to the flavor, texture, and nutritional value of this smoothie and many others.

This yellow fruit is rich in potassium and fiber, which aids digestion and makes your gut happy. They also help create a creamy, rich texture for your fruit concoction.

Fresh or frozen bananas work great for this recipe. 

Ripe bananas provide major sweetness, so you can forego other additional sweeteners like honey, syrup, and maple syrup, which would add extra calories. 

If you overestimated the number of bananas you needed for the week and have extra ripe bananas, use them to make yummy banana bread!

Unsweetened Almond Milk 

Almond milk is a common liquid found in many smoothie recipes, like this one. This non-dairy milk is low in calories and brings a slight nutty taste to your fruit-filled drink. 

Almond milk contains vitamin E and a few healthy fats like mono and polyunsaturated fats, plus some companies are even fortifying the nut milk with calcium and vitamin D.

However, in comparison to cow and soy milk, almond milk has fewer nutrients. For example, cow and soy milk are both good sources of protein, a nutrient almond milk barely provides (about 1 gram per cup).

You can easily sub almond with cow milk, soy milk, coconut milk, or any other liquid of your choosing. When browsing the dairy section at the grocery store, try to choose unsweetened milks to avoid extra calories and unnecessary sugar.

The fruit in this creation should sweeten the smoothie enough to satisfy your sweet tooth, but if you are wanting an extra boost of flavor, try the vanilla unsweetened variety of non-dairy milks.

If choosing cow milk, select the low-fat or non-fat types, unless you require a higher fat option. 

Try to avoid using fruit juice as your main liquid in this recipe in order to manage the sugar content of your morning or snack drink. 

Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt is now a common item on grocery shelves. This yogurt option is thicker than many other yogurt options, which is perfect for smoothies as it creates a lovely creamy texture.

Adding this gives your smoothie a creaminess rival to a banana milkshake. 

In addition to a great consistency, Greek yogurt tends to be higher in protein than many other yogurt varieties. If you like kefir, you can also use it as a yogurt substitute.

No matter what type of yogurt you use, try to get plain yogurt (unsweetened) and low-fat/fat-free to avoid added sugars and excess fats. 

Nut Butter

Adding nut butter to the recipe is a great way to elevate the taste and add some fats to your fruit drink creation. 

This recipe uses almond butter, but peanut butter and cashew butter will work well. 

Almond, peanut, and cashew butters not only give your drink a slightly nutty taste, but they also provide fats which can help with satiety.

If you have a nut allergy, try sunflower seed butter instead.

I love using nut butters in my smoothies, especially in recipes that include berries because the finished product tastes kind of like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (minus the bread). 

Optional Ingredient Add-Ins

Here is a short list of ingredients that you can add in to your drink.

• Protein Powder: If you need a boost or protein, you can add a scoop of protein powder or collagen to this simple strawberry smoothie. Choose kinds that are free of added sugar and artificial ingredients. Ask your dietitian or healthcare providers for suggestions. 
• Veggies: Blending veggies into your fruit smoothie is a great way to add in more nutrients and help you meet your daily vegetable requirement. My favorites are spinach and kale; the sweetness of the fruits will cover up the bitterness of these leafy greens. Plus, the bright colors of the strawberries will mask the greenness of the vegetables, so you (and the kiddos) won’t be able to tell they’re in the drink!
• Other Berries and Fruits: If you are out of strawberries or want to make this into a “very berry” smoothie, you can add in blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries. Other fruits like peaches will work well in this simple strawberry smoothie recipe. 
• Vanilla Extract: Add a 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the recipe for a little extra flavor. 
• Avocado: Substitute Greek yogurt to make this recipe vegan, or just add a little avocado for a dose of healthy fats.

Banana Strawberry Smoothie Variations:

This simple strawberry and banana smoothie recipe is quite versatile, so experiment with some variations. Here are some of my favorite smoothie boosters:

• Peanut butter banana smoothie: In this recipe, you are taking out the strawberries, adding a dash of cinnamon, and 1/4 cup of ice cubes. This recipe is a healthy dessert swap for a milkshake.
• Dairy-free Banana Smoothie: Omit the Greek yogurt and substitute with 1/4 avocado to still have the rich creaminess, without the dairy. 
• Pure Strawberry Smoothie with No Banana: If you are allergic to bananas, don’t have them on hand, or are trying to limit your carb intake, you can try this recipe. Simply omit the banana to make a pure strawberry smoothie. Without the natural sweetness from this yellow fruit, you may need to add 1 tsp. of honey. To keep a creamy texture, make sure to use plain Greek yogurt or avocado.
• Strawberry Green Spinach Smoothie: Make this simple recipe into a green smoothie by adding a handful of spinach or kale to your fruit concoction. Adding these veggies will give your drink a few extra vitamins and antioxidants. Be a little more adventurous and try adding cauliflower!
• Strawberry Pineapple Smoothie: A tropical smoothie, perfect or quenching your thirst on a hot day. Add fruits like mango and pineapple, plus a splash of orange juice to make tropical homemade smoothies.
• Strawberry Banana Dairy-Free Smoothie: Another recipe for our dairy-free friends. Forgo the yogurt and add in 1/4 cup of oats and 2 tablespoons of flaxseeds, or 1 tsp of chia seeds, which will help create a thicker texture. The flaxseeds and chia seeds will add some healthy fats to your drink as well.

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