Bananarita Smoothies

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Bananaritas are a deliciously smooth banana smoothie with milk, honey/sugar, and a little zip of zesty lime! We love these for breakfast, a snack, or even a healthy treat!

Bananarita Smoothie with milk

Bananarita smoothies have been a staple in our home for over 20 years. They are a delicious breakfast on the go, a great snack, and a nice treat as well. I first shared this recipe back in 2008 and here I am, 8 years later updating the photos. 

I always think of these banana smoothies when school starts back for a very funny reason. When I first made them, they were called non-alcoholic banana margaritas. I started making them, fell in love, and always referred to them as “banana margaritas”. I would make them for breakfast when I had bananas getting too ripe and the whole family just loved them, especially Brady.

Shortly after he had started kindergarten, I made them for breakfast one morning. Brady drank his share and then some, filling up on the tangy smoothie and bragging about how good it was. I didn’t give it another thought until I found out later that Brady had marched right into kindergarten and announced to his teacher that he’d had a margarita for breakfast. Fortunately, she gave us the benefit of the doubt on that one!

So here you go, one more way to use up ripening bananas, another way to keep cool, and a quickie breakfast on school mornings! All you need is bananas, sugar or honey, bottled or fresh lime juice, ice, and the milk of your choice. Place all ingredients in a blender and in a flash you’ll have your very own banarita smoothie. It’s smoothy and creamy with that little zesty touch thanks to the lime.

Banana Smoothie With Milk Ingredients

Recipe Ingredients

  • Milk
  • Sugar (I often use honey as a substitute and it adds a great flavor as well so go with your preference). 
  • Bananas
  • Lime juice
  • Ice 

How to Make Banana Smoothie With Milk

Fill blender halfway with ice.

Fill your blender up about halfway with ice cubes.

Add banana to blender.

Add bananas…

Add sugar or honey, milk, and lime juice to blender.

Then add sugar or honey, milk, and lime juice.

Blended banana smoothie with milk.

Blend that until nice and creamy and drink up!

Pouring banana smoothie into glass.

Oh yum! These are so good, and the riper your bananas the sweeter it is.

You may even like it without any sweetener added at all!

Bananarita Smoothies

I hope you get to try one of our “margaritas” soon!

Storage

This is one of those recipes you can adapt to suit you so there are no leftovers. For example, divide each ingredient in half to make only 2 banana smoothies.

Recipe Notes

  • While I love to use ripe fresh bananas, this healthy banana smoothie recipe also works with frozen banana chunks.
  • You can use any kind of milk or non-dairy milk alternative you like, including coconut milk, oat milk, soy milk, or almond milk.
  • Here are some variations to try to make this banana smoothie recipe work for you:
    • Add 1/2 cup of other frozen fruit or fresh fruit, like mango, orange, pineapple, or berries (I recommend blueberries or strawberries).
    • Add 1 cup of greens like spinach or kale.
    • For more flavor, add a teaspoon of your favorite spice, like ground ginger, turmeric, cardamom powder, or ground cinnamon.
    • Add a tablespoon of cocoa powder for a chocolate banana smoothie.
    • Add a spoonful of protein powder.
    • For a banana peanut butter smoothie, add a tablespoon of creamy peanut butter, almond butter, or your favorite nut butter.
    • To make a creamier smoothie, add 1/4 cup of plain Greek yogurt.
    • Instead of sugar or honey, use maple syrup or a sugar-free alternative like Splenda or Swerve. Vanilla extract is also another way to add sweetness to your smoothie.
    • Add 2 tablespoons of old-fashioned oats to make this banana smoothie with milk more filling.
    • Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of coconut flakes.

If you have more ripe bananas, check out these recipes:

Bananas in Red Stuff (a.k.a Strawberry Glaze)

Caramel Banana Pie (a.k.a Easy Banoffee Pie)

Gluten-Free Banana Nut Muffins (No Dairy or Eggs)

Cream Cheese Banana Bread

Low-Sugar Banana Mug Cake

How To Make Homemade Banana Pudding From Scratch

Bananarita Smoothie

Bananaritas are a deliciously smooth banana smoothie with milk, honey/sugar, and a little zip of zesty lime.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: American
Keyword: banana, smoothie
Servings: 4
Calories: 122kcal

Ingredients

  • 4 bananas
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup sugar or honey
  • 1/2 cup lime juice
  • ice

Instructions

  • Fill blender halfway full of ice, add remaining ingredients, blend until frothy, then serve!
    4 bananas, 1/2 cup milk, 1/4 cup sugar or honey, 1/2 cup lime juice, ice

Nutrition

Calories: 122kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

 

 

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55 Comments

  1. Talking about funny things kids say: small daughter made a Fathers’ Day card at school and she was very young and not so good at spelling. She would “sound things out” and write words that way, so the card said “you are the best Farter ever!” He got a big kick out of that, as did her teacher!
    Anyway, about the smoothie, I now add a scoop or two of vanilla protein powder, and the yogurt (I use whole milk yogurt) as mentioned before. Gotta have that protein to get through the morning!
    Thanks for the recipe and the chuckles.

  2. Hi Christy! I was wondering what kind of blender you use? Also, we love your blog! My kiddos (ages 5and 3) and I made monkey bread. They were so proud to make it mostly themselves 🙂 Love your Splenda recipes – I’m definitely going to try them (better for me due to prediabetes). Now I can’t wait to buy your books. Thank you for helping mamas on a tight budget feed our families well Hugs 🙂

    1. Hi Gina!! The blender shown in that post is a Hamilton Beach that I got when we got married and its still going strong! I recently upgraded to a Hamilton Beach Wave Action blender that I got at Walmart for around $30 just because I am making a lot of smoothies and such and it crushes ice really fine, pretty much turning your smoothing into a milkshake consistency. I love my HB blenders AND they are affordable!

  3. Love your smoothie recipes…..can’t wait to make them…..I always have frozen bananas and milk and peanut butter….so now I can make them anytime I want to….and I either have lemon or lime juice in the fridge also…..so I am all set…..

    Thanks for posting…

  4. This is wonderful. I cut it down and made just one serving. The lime really adds something special. mmmmmm……

  5. Another recipe that is great to use when the bananas get too ripe is money saving mom’s PB banana smoothies. Slice your bananas and freeze them till ready. Blend 1 cup of frozen bananas, 1 cup of milk and 1 tbs of peanut butter.

  6. ha ha my daughter wrote about going the beer store with daddy and illustrated it with a truck full of empties in the back. totally frameworthy. teachers really must see it all.

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