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Delicious, Healthy, and Easy Banana Milkshake Recipe

June 26, 2008 by Nicole 60 Comments

Bananas

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.

Bananas

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!

Bananas

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!

Filed Under: Desserts, Vegetarian

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mackenzie says

    July 5, 2010 at 8:59 am

    I tried this and lived it , fresh fruity find j think I would add a little cinnamon to taste nut I really liked it keep up the experimenting ! :)
    Reply
  2. Deb says

    July 12, 2010 at 3:07 pm

    Yummy! I make a version of this with nutmeg, cinnamon and 1/2 & 1/2 instead of the milk.
    Reply
  3. Tiamo sim says

    November 4, 2010 at 11:54 pm

    I am glad to get a good and easy infomation ,
    Reply
  4. Ciara says

    March 13, 2011 at 5:09 am

    I tried this...and it is delicious i love it!
    Reply
  5. Aamir Afridi says

    May 23, 2013 at 1:34 am

    1 cup of milk 1 table spoon of honey (no sugar) 2/3 bananas Put them in juicer and grind them for a min. Put them on a glass. If possible add a spoon of vanilla icecream in it. Put soon thick cream on the top. And finally soon almonds on the top. Enjoy :)
    Reply
  6. I Also Make This .. My Own .. I Use To Banana .. One Or To Cup Milk .. Two Or Three Teaspoon Sugar .. And Some Ice .. Use Only That Three Ingredients .. says

    June 17, 2013 at 8:38 am

    I Also Make This .. My Own .. I Use To Banana .. One Or Two Cup Milk .. Two Or Three Teaspoon Sugar .. And Some Ice .. Use Only That Three Ingredients .. And Its Very Testy .. Bye. Love You All ..
    Reply
  7. Tonia says

    August 10, 2013 at 4:44 pm

    Yummy in my tummy!......I'm having one right now and it is soooo good. Great Post!
    Reply
  8. Jessie says

    August 19, 2013 at 2:04 am

    A lovely cool summer afternoon snack :)
    Reply
  9. Maialana says

    January 17, 2014 at 2:31 pm

    love it! simple and easy... I used reduce milk it came out perfect
    Reply
  10. Jess says

    January 25, 2014 at 2:27 pm

    It was delicious, and I made mine with vanilla almond milk. :) great recipe!
    Reply
  11. akshit says

    May 12, 2014 at 1:00 am

    great recipe,, just tried,,had a blast :-P
    Reply
  12. AnimeGale says

    April 3, 2015 at 7:32 pm

    So, I've heard of people using Vanilla Ice Cream instead of Vanilla Extract. I get that it won't be as healthy - but is it a bad alternative?
    Reply
  13. Emma says

    November 10, 2015 at 8:04 am

    I'm sure this recipe is lovely, but to make it healthier, you really don't need the sugar or the extract. I use one frozen banana and one fresh with semi skimmed milk for two portions (for myself and my 5 year old) and it tastes AMAZING. Almost, as though I have put sweetener in it. :)
    Reply
  14. Pat phagan says

    January 26, 2017 at 10:29 am

    I am trying to reduce my beer gut and eat less starchy foods. I have found that the greener the banana the less starchy because they contain more resistant starch which does not add fat to my belly like a sugary over ripe banana. I also uses stevia in my shakes and sometimes add dark chocolate powder which has not been processed by alkaline which removes the good stuff in it. If the box does not say it was processed that way then it is better for you.
    Reply
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