Easy Avocado Banana Smoothie

This Avocado Banana Smoothie is thick, creamy, lightly sweet, and ready in 5 minutes. Made with ripe banana, avocado, Greek yogurt, and milk, it has a rich, milkshake-like texture without tasting like you are drinking guacamole.

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I developed this Avocado Banana Smoothie because my husband loves smoothies and I... do not. At least, I did not think I did.

Most smoothies I had tried were either too icy, too gritty, too sweet, or weirdly chewy, which is not a word I want anywhere near breakfast. So if I was going to make one, I wanted it to be smooth, creamy, lightly sweet, and satisfying enough to count as breakfast or a late-night snack.

The secret is using very ripe banana, ripe avocado, and Greek yogurt together. The banana brings sweetness, the avocado makes everything silky, and the yogurt adds tang and body so the smoothie drinks more like a milkshake than a glass of blended obligation.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Thick and creamy: Avocado and Greek yogurt make this smoothie extra creamy without needing protein powder, oats, or anything gritty.
• Mild avocado flavor: The banana and vanilla keep the avocado flavor mellow, so you get the creaminess without a strong savory taste.
• Ready in 5 minutes: Add everything to the blender, blend, taste, adjust, and sip.
• Easy to customize: Make it dairy-free, add spinach, use frozen banana, or turn it into a chocolate or peanut butter avocado banana smoothie.

Ingredients

There are only 5 ingredients, 6 if you count the ice cubes. I love a simple smoothie situation with basically a free ingredient. I feel like a smoothie criminal. It's funny. Look it up.

• Bananas: Use very ripe bananas with plenty of brown spots. Ripe bananas make the smoothie naturally sweeter and help prevent that chalky banana flavor that can happen when bananas are underripe. Frozen bananas make the smoothie thicker and colder.
• Avocado: Use a ripe avocado that gives slightly when pressed. Avoid avocado with dark, stringy, or bitter-tasting spots because that flavor can carry into the smoothie.
• Greek yogurt: I like Greek yogurt because it makes the smoothie thick and adds a little tang. Plain yogurt also works, and vanilla yogurt can be used if you want a sweeter smoothie.
• Milk: Use dairy milk or your favorite alternative milk. Oat milk, almond milk, soy milk, and coconut milk all work.
• Honey: Start with a little honey, then taste after blending. If your bananas are very ripe, you may not need much sweetener at all. If you don't have it, or using honey is something you are not comfortable with, you can use an equal amount of agave, maple syrup, stevia, monk fruit sweetener, or your favorite choice.
• Vanilla extract: This is optional, but I think it makes the smoothie taste rounder and more breakfast-y. Technical culinary term.
• Ice: Use ice if your bananas are fresh. If you use frozen bananas, you may not need ice at all.

See recipe card below for exact quantities.

Variations

Here are some ideas to change up your banana avocado smoothie recipe:

• Orange Julius - If you don't know what that is, I feel really old, but trust me on this, trade out any type of milk for orange juice and you are drinking the best thing to come out of a mall in the 1980's!
• Green smoothie - Add a handful of spinach, kale, or chard.
• Fruit smoothie - You can add your favorite fruits like blueberries or strawberries, or out of season you can substitute the ice with frozen fruit like mango chunks. 
• Don't like bananas? - How did you even find this recipe? 😜 But seriously, I am not a huge banana lover, yet I love things like banana muffins. It's about balance. Try substituting one ripe banana with some peach slices, half a mango, or even a bunch of blueberries! Or just leave them out for a creamy avocado smoothie recipe.
• Protein and seeds - You can add some of your favorite protein powder, almond butter,  or seeds like chia seeds or hemp if you like that kind of stuff. Is my bias showing? I made this face 😖 while typing that.
• Peanut butter smoothie - Finally, my husband wants you to know that you can add a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter, but only if you want to enjoy life to its fullest. His words.

The moral of the smoothie story is, do whatever you want. It's your smoothie and you'll blend what you want to.

Do I need a high speed blender to make a smoothie?

Nope. A high-speed blender makes smoothies extra smooth, but this recipe does not require one.

If you are using a basic blender, cut the banana and avocado into smaller pieces and make sure the milk goes in first. Blend, stop and stir, then blend again until everything is smooth.

You can also make an individual smoothie using a personal sized or portable blender. If you choose to do that you'll want to decrease this recipe into fourths and make sure to break up your ingredients.

(p.s. you can also make this in a food processor. just make sure you don't go over the liquid limit line.)

Quick Recipe Video

Instructions

I am probably breaking this smoothie recipe into too many steps, but to be honest the pictures were pretty and I wanted to show them off. Indulge me and then make a smoothie to cheers me!

Step 1: Pour milk into the blender jug.

Step 2: Add ice cubes. 4 to 5 should be enough. Add more if you have small ice cubes.

Step 3: Plop in your plain yogurt. I prefer the tanginess and thickness of Greek yogurt. But use what you prefer.

Step 4: Add in your very ripe bananas. They don't have to be black bananas,  but should have a lot of brown spots because if they aren't ripe they will taste chalky in the smoothie.

Step 5: Chunk in your avocados. It should go without saying that you need to remove the pit and not add the skin, but once someone on Ibstagram asked me and I reacted like a lawyer calculating liability. Just the avocado meat (?)

Step 6: Add in honey or whatever sweetener you prefer. If your bananas are ripeity-ripe, taste after blending and if it tastes at all chalky, add more and blend again.

Step 7: Blend on high or the smoothie setting, for about 30 seconds. Use a long handles spoon or other utensil to get to the bottom and stir, then blend another 30 seconds.

Step 8: Pour into the cutest glass you have, grab a straw and sip your cares away!

Thickness note: Bananas and avocados just refuse to be a uniform size. I don't know if it's a union thing or what, but sometimes they have the nerve to be giant bananas and teensy avocados, or vice versa. And that affects smoothie thickness. If you go to take a sip and feel like it's too thick for you, just pour it back into the blender, add some more milk, and blend to your preferred consistency. The nerve of some fruits, right?

Cynthia's Tips for the Smoothest Smoothie

• Use ripe bananas: The riper the banana, the sweeter and smoother your smoothie will taste. Underripe bananas can taste chalky, although a little extra honey can help eliminate that.
• Add the liquid first: This helps the blender do its job, especially if you are not using a high-speed blender.
• Blend longer than you think: Avocado is creamy, but it still needs enough blending time to disappear completely into the smoothie.
• Adjust the thickness after blending: Bananas and avocados are not always the same size. If your smoothie is too thick, add more milk. If it is too thin, add more yogurt, frozen banana, or ice.
• Use frozen banana for the thickest smoothie: Frozen banana makes this smoothie colder, thicker, and extra creamy.

Love bananas? Try these recipes!

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