Although we eat a lot of bananas in this house, it seems like there are always a couple that ripen way faster than we can consume them. I like ripe bananas, but when they start turning black, they begin to lose their appeal. Because of this, I pretty much always have a plastic bag of peeled, extra ripe bananas in the freezer.
During the cooler months, I often reach for that bag when thoughts of warm banana bread fill my head. But during the summer, my bagful of frozen bananas satisfies a completely different craving: banana milkshakes!
I discovered my love of fresh banana milkshakes early in life, but they were not something we ever made at home. It was always a thrill to find a restaurant or hamburger stand that offered fresh banana shakes, because you couldn’t find them just anywhere. I’m not sure what it is about the combination of fresh banana with vanilla ice cream, but I’ve always preferred it over any other milkshake flavor.
As a teenager, one of my favorite places to get banana milkshakes was Daily Delight in Fresno, CA. Who knows how long that place has been open, but it’s been a while. And I was fully expecting it to be closed down the last time my husband and I were home for a visit. But although it’s changed hands since my last visit, the place was miraculously still open and really hadn’t changed much. I couldn’t resist taking my husband there for some burgers and shakes.
And as we sat there enjoying fresh banana milkshakes and Dire Straits on the juke box, we received a phone call informing us that our offer had been accepted on the house we wanted to buy here in San Diego. It turned out to be a great afternoon! That was a month ago, and today we are proud owners of our very first home!
I know, I know, that’s pretty big news to be squeezed into a story about banana milkshakes! But it only seems fitting to share the exciting news along with a recipe for my own version of a banana milkshake.
I discovered the secret to a quick, easy and surprisingly healthy version of my beloved banana milkshake quite by accident. Remember the strawberry milk recipe I posted not too long ago? Well, when I ran out of strawberries, I started drinking banana milk instead. Same method, just different fruit. Frothy and delicious! Then I remembered my bag of frozen bananas in the freezer. Since it’s been really hot down here and we don’t have air conditioning in our current house, I decided that frozen bananas in my milk would be a nice change. What I didn’t expect was for it to taste almost exactly like a regular banana milkshake!
And it really does taste like a banana milkshake. It even has a nice thick consistency. The only thing needed to make it perfect is a few drops of vanilla extract. No ice cream needed for this shake!
You should already know that I prefer whole milk when making these types of drinks, but I’ve tried it with reduced fat milk and it’s not too bad. Just use whatever you have at home, and enjoy your banana shake!
Easy Banana Milkshake
1 frozen ripe banana, cut into chunks
1 cup whole milk
1 – 2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
Blend all ingredients until smooth using a hand blender or traditional blender. Drink immediately.
Yield: two servings
Nutrition info per serving (using 1 T. sugar): 149 calories; 4 grams fat (2 grams saturated fat); 26 grams total carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 5 grams protein
Notes: Lately I have been replacing the sugar with one packet of powdered stevia extract (Trader Joe’s brand) and I think it’s great. You could also leave out the sweetener completely since ripe bananas are very sweet on their own. Also, feel free to use reduced fat milk in place of whole milk if that’s all you have on hand. But I do recommend trying it with whole milk at least once!
Is it that simple to make?! I dig!
1:32 pm Jun 26th, 2008YUM! I think I’ll do this some night when we don’t have enough frozen bananas for our usual- frozen bananas put through our juicer with the blank plate. It tastes remarkably like ice cream and has a really creamy consistency! I can imagine this milkshake would be great, too. I think I’d throw a little fresh grated nutmeg in there!
1:43 pm Jun 26th, 2008Emon: Yep, that simple! Thanks for stopping by!
1:48 pm Jun 26th, 2008Rebecca: I don’t own a juicer but I believe you when you say it tastes a lot like ice cream. I think frozen bananas are just as good as ice cream bars and used to eat them just plain and frozen all the time when I was a kid. Nutmeg or even cinnamon would be great!
Congratulations on your first house!
2:19 pm Jun 26th, 2008One word to describe your banana pics: GORGEOUS! And congrats again on the new digs!
2:39 pm Jun 26th, 2008Jen: Thanks!
3:58 pm Jun 26th, 2008PaniniKathy: Thanks, I was having fun with the banana photos this morning!
Love the banana photos! Reminds me of the best smoothie I’ve ever had — strawberry, banana, orange, and vanilla frozen yogurt. Oooooh, it was good.
4:37 pm Jun 26th, 2008Going to try this out for sure, only I will put in some psyllium husks for the extra fiber.
5:31 pm Jun 26th, 2008Lydia: Thanks! Your smoothie sounds really good!
5:48 pm Jun 26th, 2008Jason: Sure, why not? I think I’ve tried it with benefiber before and it was good.
I love bananas, banana pudding, and I love milkshakes, so I’m guessing I’d be into banana milkshakes! Never had one though. Ever had a date shake? I looove date shakes!
6:08 pm Jun 26th, 2008Simple and tasty! Nice photos!
7:25 pm Jun 26th, 2008Tyler: I love date shakes!! We had one in Arizona once when driving across the country. I’ve always wanted to recreate it, maybe I’ll give it a try soon!
Kevin: Thanks! Yes, simple and tasty, just the way I like it!
8:31 pm Jun 26th, 2008I went to Jamba Juice recently and found out just how much sugar each drink has. It’s freaking ridiculous. I’d much rather use something like this recipe if I’m craving a fruity drink during these hot summer months, especially here in the San Jouqauin Valley. Always better to make the shakes yourself because you know exactly what is going in them. I myself like using splenda for everything. Great nanner pictures Nicole!
8:31 pm Jun 26th, 2008We love bananas here in Brazil, Nic. And a banana milkshake would make me so glad now!
7:23 am Jun 27th, 2008It looks delicious. Now I’m thinking I need to try some of that Stevia powder. I’ve never had it, but I bet I can get it here at Whole Foods. (No TJ in Utah, sigh!)
7:47 am Jun 27th, 2008Ruby: That’s so true! You just never know what you’re gonna get if you don’t make it yourself!
1:04 pm Jun 27th, 2008Patricia: I hope you made one for yourself!
Kalyn: You should definitely give stevia a try!
Mmm, sounds good. I’ll have to make one for my husband who has a strange love affair with bananas, banana liqueur, anything banana flavored. Today I made a berry protein shake and decided that I would start having them for breakfast instead of a huge cup of coffee so now my husband wants to have protein shakes too. This one ought to keep him happy
I can’t remember but Pepper Tree Frosty in Vista might have date shakes. I love their chocolate peanut butter malted shake. One of my friends kept going on about how good they were and I was skeptical since they are often lacking in chocolate flavor and usually have a cheap peanut butter flavor but Pepper Trees shakes were really good. Plus you can make a day of it and go to Philly Franks for a cheesesteak sandwich. That way you can be sure to get your weeks worth of fat and cholesterol out of the way.
7:56 pm Jun 27th, 2008Rayrena: I love berry protein shakes! I bought a huge bag of frozen mixed berries from costco and I make shakes with berries, yogurt, protein powder, a little milk and sweetener (sugar, agave nectar, or stevia, depending on my mood). They’re a perfect breakfast…especially if you’re on the run! And thanks for the Vista shake tip! We’ll have to go check it out sometime!
8:54 am Jun 28th, 2008This looks delicious! I’ve never had a banana shake (nor craved it!) but now I’m ready to get me some bananas to freeze. Really, I’ve put them on my grocery list, solely for the purpose of freezing.
4:41 pm Jun 29th, 2008Hi Nicole, well, if you’re ever around on a Wednesday, we should take a road trip for shakes and hit the Carlsbad Farmers Market on the way home. I’ve also been looking for an excuse to go to Jimbo’s in Carlsbad to get a couple jars of Santa Maria season salt…And maybe pick up lots of fruit for smoothies at the Farmers Market!!! I got three baskets of strawberries once and almost ate all of them by the time I got home. Mmmm.
6:11 pm Jun 29th, 2008This how banana milkshake or any milkshake is made in India – no icecream added!
8:13 pm Jun 30th, 2008p.s. You should try making a mango milkshake with mango pulp (canned or from fresh mango)…delish!
is*
5:22 am Jul 1st, 2008Congrats on the new house.
I grew up just outside Fresno CA.
11:22 am Jul 4th, 2008Hi,this is my first visit to your blog,you have a very nice one.I make my banana milk shake in pretty much the same way except for the vanilla extract,will try with the vanilla the next time !
9:33 am Jul 7th, 2008I’m Haley, Key Ingredient’s Chief Blogger. We would like to feature this recipe on our blog. Please email haleyglasco@gmail.com if interested. Thanks
Haley
12:00 pm Jul 8th, 2008http://blog.keyingredient.com/
Sounds good.
I use ripe bananas, dates, & Very Vanilla Silk.
3:33 am Jul 10th, 2008I LOVE banana shake too! Don’t normally add sugar to it, though on some naughtier days I like to add half a shot of Amarula liquer to it. They really complement each other due to the creamy flavour.
8:23 pm Jul 19th, 2008This is so interesting to me. Up until about a week ago, , I really hadn’t ever tasted a banana shake, or smoothie, etc… I absolutely love bananas in their native form but am generally adverse to eating them otherwise. A friend of mine suggested a recipe almost identical to this, but for frozen pops. They turned out fabulous. They’re pretty much your shake, poured into molds, and frozen into popsicles. So simple, and so good.
2:36 pm Jul 21st, 2008All I have to say is as an athlete I love this post. really great.
9:18 am Jul 24th, 2008I haven’t included enough recipes like this on my blog. I’m going to give this a try for sure.
Thanks for your wonderful recipes.
Best
Yannis (the archer)
http://mylittlebaklava.blogspot.com
Gorgeous pictures! I really like your site!
I make a recipe similar to yours but throw in a few frozen strawberries and my kids go crazy for it!
9:27 pm Jul 29th, 2008This is perfect any time of day. I will add strawberries too….also ground flax seed for a little texture and more fiber.
1:16 pm Aug 27th, 2008This looks great. My fiance loves banana milkshakes…this will be a nice surprise for him!
11:12 am Sep 8th, 2008Zowie! Those are some incredible photos!
5:50 am Sep 9th, 2008Very healthy, and great photos. Here’s another milkshake recipe with a little higher octane rating, and a movie (”There Will Be Blood”) theme. http://www.milksheik.com
11:20 pm Oct 25th, 2008Even comes with an interesting painting.
Never tried it but it sounds absolutely delishh!
I’ll have to give it a kick once I pick up some Bananas!
<3 Abbey
12:08 pm Mar 7th, 2009I end up freezing a lot of bananas so that they don’t end up in the trash after they have gotten too ripe for us. I love having a banana smoothie (as I call it) for breakfast or lunch in the summer. I don’t use any sweetner as the bananas are sweet enough for me, but do use the vanilla. I add ice cubes and sometimes use less milk to make it thicker and it tastes like the homemade banana ice cream that my parents use to make in the old hand crank freezer. Yummy and healthy!
12:51 pm Mar 9th, 2009I make this with a little cocoa powder & 2% milk = instant Guilt-Free Chocolate Shake
Love your blog!
5:53 pm Apr 4th, 2009I just discovered 101Cookbooks.com – also great food photos and recipes but hers are all vegetarian. Carnivore that I am, sometimes I need animal protein
love bananas too
1:27 pm Jun 19th, 2009Love bananas shake too , I usually add a flaxseed grains or powder ;
banana, skim milk , splenda, flexseed
1:29 pm Jun 19th, 2009