Almond Banana Smoothie
This creamy banana smoothie recipe is flavored with almonds. It's a rich and delicious treat that you can enjoy for breakfast or a snack.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on July 25, 2025
This creamy banana smoothie is made with frozen banana, almond butter and almond milk. The generous spoonful of flax seeds makes it thicker and more substantial, and a tiny splash of almond extract lightens up the flavor and makes it taste like a treat.
Try this smoothie in the morning for breakfast, as an afternoon pick-me up, or an after-dinner treat. It offers a healthy dose of fiber, vitamins, minerals and plant-based omega-3s, so it will stick with you until your next meal.
This recipe has been a classic in my kitchen for over a decade now, and I hope you love it as much as I do! You’ll find the recipe, variations and a video below.
Banana Smoothie Variations
Here are a few fun ways to adjust this simple smoothie recipe.
Peanut butter banana smoothie: Substitute peanut butter for the almond butter and vanilla extract for the almond extract. This is delicious in its own peanutty way!
Make it a protein smoothie: For more protein, add one scoop of vanilla protein powder. I enjoyed it with Natural Force Vanilla Whey (affiliate link).
Make it coffee-flavored: For a caffeinated smoothie, add 1/4 cup cold brew concentrate.
Lighten it up: Use just 1 tablespoon almond butter for 100 fewer calories and a thinner consistency. It’s richer and creamier with two tablespoons, but still very nice with less.
Watch How to Make Banana Smoothies
More Smoothies to Try
Here are five more of my favorite smoothie recipes:
- Blueberry Smoothie
- Chocolate Smoothie
- Clementine Sunshine Smoothie
- Pineapple Avocado Smoothie
- Strawberry Smoothie
Please let me know how your smoothie turns out in the comments! If you’re craving more banana goodness, check out my banana recipes here (don’t miss the banana bread).
Almond Banana Smoothie
This creamy banana smoothie recipe is flavored with almonds. It’s a rich and delicious treat! See notes on how to make a peanut butter banana smoothie variation. Recipe yields 1 cup; you can multiply the recipe and make two or three smoothies in your blender at once.
Ingredients
- ½ cup almond milk or milk of choice
- 1 medium-to-large frozen banana (break your bananas into one-inch chunks before freezing)
- 1 ½ tablespoons flax seed
- 2 tablespoons almond butter
- Optional: ¼ to 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract, to taste (or vanilla extract, but the almond extract makes the smoothie taste almost like candy!)
Instructions
- Toss all the ingredients into a blender, in the order listed.
- Blend on low until the blender gains traction, then ramp up to the highest speed as soon as possible (or if your blender has a smoothie function, that will work well).
- Taste, and if you would like stronger almond flavor, add up to ⅛ teaspoon more almond extract and blend again. Enjoy while cold.
Notes
Adapted from the New York Times Recipes for Health. Ingredients and method edited in 2025 for superior results.
Peanut butter variation: Substitute peanut butter for the almond butter and vanilla extract for the almond extract.
Change it up: For more protein, add 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder (I used Natural Force Vanilla Whey). For a caffeinated smoothie, add ¼ cup cold brew concentrate.
Lighten it up: Use just 1 tablespoon almond butter for 100 fewer calories and a thinner consistency.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This recipe is wonderful! So delicious and filling!
Howdy Kate,
This recipe looks yummo!
Quick question. I live in Nicaragua and I don’t believe flax seed is easily found. Could I use Chia seed instead?
Thank You
Yes, you can! You could also just omit the flax seed.
Your Flax seeds should be put thru a coffee mill to grind them , that way the body can absorb them if they are not ground the seeds just pass thru
Most of them are being ground up in the blender, so you’re getting the same effect. If you really want to go nuts, consider that lots of our foods aren’t being fully digested as they pass through (case in point: whole almonds are only digested to the extent that they are chewed), and we never know the extent to which our individual bodies can absorb them, anyway.
I swear to god this was literally the best smoothie I have ever tasted. I didn’t even need to add sweetener. Thank you so much!!
I know this was an old post but I randomly craved a smoothie (I never crave smoothies!) and found your recipe. I never follow recipes exactly but I did use most of your suggestions and it was delicious! As I wasn’t planning on making this prior, I used a fresh banana and a cup of ice (I like it thick), a little milk and extra dry nonfat milk (I find that it helps the viscosity), pecans (those are the only nuts I had on hand), cinnamon, nutmeg, and a little honey. Having just returned from the Caribbean, the flavored reminded me of Jamaican cashew punch. Thanks again!
Absolutely Delicious! Also very filling – will definitely be making again.
Ok so I added a little twist to it…..my recipe including fresh Christ cut apples, a banana ,flaxseed’s , honey ,almond milk and apple juice mixture , almonds ,5 blueberries…… very delicious. I would love more recipes
wow! This banana almond smoothie looks is really awesome. I think it is very effective for make the Smoothie for weight loss…! thanks for share…
Oh my gosh, this is absolutely delicious! I made it exactly as the recipe states. I can easily see me making this everyday. Thank you so much for another wonderful recipe.
I actually do almost the exact same recipe but add 1cup spinach(or kale) and switch it up with raw oats sometimes. great pictures on the site.
Hi Kate,
Do you know how long a banana can stay frozen for before it goes bad?
Thanks!
Nicole
Hey Nicole, frozen foods can last pretty much indefinitely, as long as the freezer is working properly. If your bananas are covered in freezer burn (little icicles that accumulate over time), they won’t taste great, though.
I have ground flax would I still use the 2 spoonfuls?
Hi Barbara, I’d probably scale back a little. Maybe 1.5 spoonfuls?
Didn’t have any almond butter but used my son’s Nutella – gave it a little hint of chocolate taste and so my son loved it too! I also threw in some chia seed. Delish!
Yum! A chocolate/hazel-nuttiness sounds wonderful in this smoothie.
Fabulous!
So good!!!
Thank you, Alice!
I found this over a year ago on Pinterest and I make it often. I recently did Whole30, and I was thankful that this was allowed. It is yummy enough to be a dessert but nutritious enough to drink for breakfast. Thanks!
You are welcome! Thank you, Heather for your comment.
protein value in this per serve ?!
The nutrition information is below the notes section. You just need to click to expand. Hope this helps!
Delicious! Awesome when you want something sweet but healthy. I’ve done it with a date r two replacing the sweetener.
Thank you for sharing, Susa!
Almond & Banana – my favorite smoothie combination ever. I tried it yesterday morning and it was so delicious! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes. :)
Thanks, Philipp!
Great with yogurt or milk! I dream about this smoothie as I fall asleep lately <3
I love that! I haven’t made this in so long. I should :)
This recipe looks amazing! I love eating bananas with almond butter and putting into a smoothie is the BEST idea. I can’t wait to try this and I might even add some cocoa powder to it and see how that works!
Just made this for breakfast and it was delicious!! Felt like dessert! It was such a nice change from my usually berry smoothie! My 1 year old son loved it also!
Hooray! Thank you for sharing, Paige.
Wonderful idea for a great tasting and low-calorie smoothie. My daughter just got me into smoothies and some of them have so much fat and sugar. I love being able to find good, healthy, great tasting smoothies
Delicious! Added extra almond milk and 1/4 cup of oats to make it extra filling and it definitely kept me going through to lunch
I was looking for natural ways to get Melatonin instead of taking supplements and this recipe popped up. I have two questions: Can this be taken before bed? Can I make these ahead of time and freeze them to consume during the week?
Hi Winnie, I find smoothies are best made and consumed right away.
Excellent! My new Go To comfort breakfast!
Making mine so far with Peanut Butter and non-fat plain yogurt. Added 4 deglet noor pitted dates (softened) and (sometimes) a 1/2 cup of crushed ice for a REALLY cold smoothie!
I made this smoothie tonight with my homemade almond milk and it was nothing short of amazing. I’m on a mission to get my husband to eat healthier and he said it was better than dessert! Thank you Kate for this recipe which will become a staple in my house. And yes it was at beautiful as your picture.
All your recipes the past cohort of years have been cocktails, dressings, nut butters (really??) or something similarly dull and simple. If you don’t want to create actual recipes for a living, make it less obvious.
All delicious looking recipes. Just curious as to what blender you use. I’m in the market for a new one.
Hi Rhonda, I am a fan of Vitamix blenders. You can read about the models I’ve tried in my guide to cooking tools. I use mine for sauces, smoothies and more.
Kate,
Once again, you have hit it out of the park with this Almond Banana Smoothie. You’ve combined everything I enjoy eating and wow. I followed the directions, however added a bit more almond milk along with chia seeds. I can definitely sip this for my morning breakfast. This will be passed on to my friends whom I share your recipes with. Thank you…
Hi La Vita, I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for taking the time to comment and rate the recipe.
Delicious and creamy! And super filling — it was all I needed for breakfast.
I bought more almond extract because I plan on making this often. I used peanut butter powder & flax meal and did add a scoop of protein powder. First smoothie recipe I’ve seen using almond extract – so good!!
Hi Jill, I’m so glad you found another recipe to add to your rotation!
P.S. just mixed in room temp coffee as I was having breakfast – delicious!!
My Vitamix could not even BEGIN to process this thick frozen mess. Sorry to say, had to throw it out.
Hi Kb, I’m sorry to hear that and confused by your troubles since I’ve made this smoothie so many times in my Vitamix. Was your banana cut into chunks? Was it particularly large? Was the liquid at the bottom of the bowl? You could always add more liquid if needed.