Vibrant, creamy, and thick enough to deserve a spoon – skip the bananas and blend up these frosty fruity lower-sugar smoothie bowls instead!
As I’ve mentioned, I’m sorta taking things slow with fruit these days. I’ve been sticking to berries and citrus in small amounts because that’s what keeps my stomach happy. And let me tell you, I appreciate grapefruit on a whole new level now. The days of multi-banana, blender-filled-to-the-brim smoothies are a many months ago memory for me at this point, and I wasn’t even missing them. But then the weather turned warm. And then hot. And then I remembered why frozen fruit-based beverages are so good.
So I flipped on my Vitamix and my recipe imagination, and started experimenting with banana-free smoothies that derive their creamy consistency from less fruit-heavy ingredients.
There is one kind of fruit I cannot get enough of right now and that is BERRIES! My stomach is cool with them too, we talked it out. Berries have pretty much staked claim to the left half of the largest shelf in my fridge because I can never pick just one variety, so I’ve had a smattering stocked at all times for the past few weeks for snacking and topping and there may have even been some jam making.
That’s why two of these three smoothies are berry flavored – because some fruit is necessary for natural sweetness and frozen but ice-free thickness, and I find berries to be the best option for me personally. For the third smoothie I used frozen pineapple because it is wonderfully sweet, although frozen mango would work just as well. Besides the fruit though, each smoothie has a different creamy boost along with a spoonful of chia seeds so you will not miss those bananas one bit. And these smoothies don’t turn brown before your eyes from oxidation either, so that’s a lovely little perk.
I almost called the this post 3 Banana-Free Smoothies, but then I realized not everyone interprets the word smoothie to mean thick enough to warrant a bowl + spoon and support a hefty load of toppings without letting even a single hemp seed drown. You can always add more liquid to the mix if you prefer a sippable consistency, but personally the closer to the froyo end of the spectrum the better in my opinion.
Each of these smoothies is a template – a combo of ingredients that texturally works. Because for me, a smoothie has to be frosty AND creamy.
Too many frozen ingredients → it’s like drinking a snow cone.
Too many creamy ingredients → it’s not reminiscent enough of ice cream.
So each blend has a perfect balance of both, but with 3 different unseen base ingredients so you have plenty of options.
Purple. Forget saving the best for last, this one is my favorite! Without a doubt. But I knew it would be because I packed in lots of favorite ingredients. Cashew butter for creaminess along with the chia seeds. Vanilla bean powder because it adds a dessert/cake undertone to anything. And frozen wild blueberries for purpleness….and flavor too of course.
Pink. Since frozen raspberries tend to be a little tart, the creamy base add-in for this flavor has some sweetness of it’s own. Not to mention the word sweet right in the title. Frozen sweet potato! Bake, cube, and freeze an orange or white sweet potato, and the next day you will have perfect little cubes of creaminess to toss into the blender. I used about 1/2 of a medium sweet potato for one smoothie, but the cubes will last in the freezer for a while.
The sweet potato flavor is very subtle, you will still mostly taste the tart bold berries, which pair perfectly with chocolate chips or cacao nibs on top. And this one definitely wins on texture, did you see that luscious (almost too thick to) pour shot in the video?
Green. Green smoothies used to be my daily jam. Because why not sneak in veg under the guise of fruity almost-froyo? This one has not just leafy greens but fruity greens too in the form avocado. It adds great creamy texture and you can’t taste it underneath pineapple. Next time around I would probably cube and freeze the avocado just like the sweet potato, since my goal is as ice-cream-like as possible after all. But fresh works too. I used 1/4 of an avocado in this smoothie plus a big handful of spinach.
Non-dairy milk. All of these smoothies can be made with any kind of milk you like. To match the theme of the ingredients in each (and test out all kinds), I used…
Cashew milk for the purple.
Almond milk for the pink.
Light coconut milk for the green.
And since then I have made the blueberry one with walnut and hemp milk too. Yes my fridge is just as full of cartons and cans and jars as you are imagining.
I’m so happy to have found a way to smoothie that keeps my gut happy, and I hope they work for you too. Mix and match or sub and swap as you wish, but happy banana-free blending!
Blueberry Vanilla Cashew Smoothie
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 person 1x
- Category: breakfast
- Method: blender
- Cuisine: american
Description
A banana-free smoothie made with lots of juicy blueberries, sweet vanilla bean, and creamy cashew butter. Purple and perfectly delicious!
Ingredients
- ¾ cup milk of choice ((I used cashew))
- 1–2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tbsp cashew butter ((or any nut/seed butter))
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- ½ tsp vanilla bean powder
Instructions
- Combine the milk, chia seeds, cashew butter, and vanilla bean powder in a blender.
- Blend on high until the chia seeds are fully broken down and the mixture begins to thicken.
- Add the frozen blueberries. Blend until thick and ice cream like. Add more milk/frozen blueberries to desired consistency.
- Top with blueberries and hemp seeds. Enjoy!
Keywords: breakfast, snack, healthy, no banana, vegan
Raspberry Sweet Potato Smoothie
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 person 1x
Description
A banana-free smoothie made with tangy tart raspberries and chunks of frozen sweet potato for a thick creamy texture. Perfect for pairing with chocolate toppings!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup milk of choice ((I used unsweetened almond))
- 1–2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/2 cup frozen sweet potato chunks ((*see notes))
- 1 cup frozen raspberries
- Optional: 2-3 medjool dates or 1 tbsp maple syrup to sweeten
Instructions
- Combine the milk, chia seeds, and frozen sweet potato, in a blender.
- Blend on high until the chia seeds are fully broken down and the mixture begins to thicken.
- Add the frozen raspberries. Blend until thick and ice cream like. Add more milk/frozen raspberries to desired consistency.
- Top with fresh raspberries and cacao nibs or chocolate chips. Enjoy!
Notes
*For the frozen sweet potato chunks, bake any kind of sweet potato, cube it, and freeze overnight. Then break apart and add to your smoothie. I used about 1/2 of a small-medium sweet potato per smoothie.
Pineapple Coconut Green Smoothie
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 person 1x
Description
A banana-free green smoothie with the sweet tropical flavors of pineapple and coconut plus a dose of good-for-you leafy greens!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup light coconut milk
- 1–2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/4 of an avocado ((cube and freeze overnight first for a thicker smoothie))
- Large handful spinach
- 1 cup frozen pineapple ((or frozen mango works too!))
Instructions
- Combine the milk, chia seeds, avocado, and spinach in a blender.
- Blend on high until the chia seeds are fully broken down and the mixture begins to thicken.
- Add the frozen pineapple. Blend until thick and ice cream like. Add more milk/frozen pineapple to desired consistency.
- Top with pineapple chunks and toasted coconut flakes. Enjoy!
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Girl the color of these is SO ON POINT. I can’t even with how beautiful they are!! Fruit never fails to amaze me with it’s beauty – sounds so dramatic but I’m totally serious. You do it justice, that’s for sure! As far as the flavors, I’m all about bananas normally, but these will most definitely help me branch out when I get the itch for some variety…I mean, cashew butter in a smoothie bowl?! That sounds SO creamy and decadent and incredible!! And when I saw you put sweet potato in one…I feel like with how much sweet potato I eat it probably makes up part of my insides at this point, but I always have them for dinner, so I’m super curious/excited at the thought of throwing them in a bright pink bowl! Wow I got going there, but seriously Natalie these are GENIUS and I’m super excited to try some of these more uncommon combos – though now I’m sure they’ll be much more popular! Also, super happy for you that you’ve found what works best for your tummy! Always such a great feeling. 🙂
Fruit is stunning, I totally agree! I actually love filming and photographing super bright fruity recipes, it’s just so much easier to shoot something when it naturally POPS already. Ha yes banana-free isn’t exactly something you look for, but now if you ever are out of ripe bananas for a day there’s smoothie backup. Although somehow I’m guessing that’s a very very apocalyptic-level rare occasion 😀 Banana-based blending or not, definitely try the cashew butter addition–it’s so dreamy! And sweet potatoes are just as amazingly versatile as bananas themselves I think…maybe more since they can do sweet and savory. Thanks for reading Sara and happy monday!
These are SO PRETTY Natalie and soooo rainbow-ish! It is practically screaming summer out of my computer screen, lol! I love all of these different varieties and the fact that they are all banana-free. I know bananas are great thickeners in smoothies, but dangit, they should all be named with banana in the title because it overpowers every flavor! So, I love all these alternatives. I’m big on using sweet potatoes in baking and raw desserts, so I’m all over that one. I do pineapple ones for my daughter and hubby and wish I liked pineapple as well. I will have to try this one on Olivia and see if she can taste the avocado. Pineapple is pretty strong and sweet, so I bet it masks it pretty well. The purple one is my favorite because I love the color is so much!! Loved the video too…gets me all happy seeing all of those beautiful colors in action!
It does seem like the word “banana” is just implied in all smoothie titles, like smoothie = banana without even saying it, But I am actually loving regularly making these banana free ones even more! They actually all taste unique as opposed to just slightly different variations of banana 🙂 The sweet potato was awesome for texture. I actually made a chocolate sweet potato ice cream the other day too similar to yours but by freezing the sweet potato by itself first and then blending everything up–so good! I have an ice cream maker of course, I’m just impatient ha! The colors of this post just makes me so happy too, if it didn’t take so long I would do these triple rainbow posts more often 😀
How do you make your smoothies look SO gorgeous?? 😍 I know you’ve been exploring banana-free smoothies for awhile now… and I love everything that I’ve been seeing. You’re so right about the thickness of a smoothie vs. that of a smoothie bowl. I will always choose the “thick enough to warrant a spoon” anytime. Also, basically froyo in the morning? UM, YES!! Love that you made us a 3-for-1 recipe post—speaks volumes about your generosity (that and, well KNOWING you, ahem). Happy Tuesday, my dear lady bird. <3 <3 Can’t wait to see what frozen treat you cook/blend/bake/whip up for us next! ☺️
The same way you make your chocolate squiggles so shiny and perfect…MAGIC. For sure! Hey pour that luscious mango milkshake of yours in a bowl and it can round out this smoothie bowl rainbow perfectly 🙂 Yes this was definitely the product of a little bit of weekend working, I must admit…we’ll see if this week has another post or not haha!
The colors are beautiful!
All three smoothie bowls look so amazing and delicious 🙂
I think the rainbow of colors is my favorite part of this whole post 🙂 Thank you Pamela!
Banana-free smoothie bowls? Hell to the yes! My blender will definitely appreciate the lack of frozen banana’s ;). I just tried the blueberry one, but with oat milk and almond butter instead of cashew milk and butter because that’s all I had on hand, and it was SO GOOD, basically nice cream. Best breakfast ever, seriously. I can’t wait to try the other two, the colors just look so vibrant and delicious.
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Woohoo that sounds delicious!! They are absolutely customizable, i’ve made that blueberry one with all kinds of different milks and it comes out a little different but delish every time 🙂 Haha yes the frozen banana blender abuse is real. I’m so happy you liked it, hope the other 2 turn out juts as good!
I have just been told by my doctor after a lot of testing to not eat bananas so your post is heaven sent to me I must exclude eggs as well so many of your recipes are on point for me. Thanks for making my life a little easier!
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Well then perfect timing for finding this post! And everything around here is egg free too🤗 Good luck with the new diet and I hope you enjoy these smoothies!
These look lovely! I’ve got to try the sweet potato one. I love fruit but my stomach doesn’t seem to love it as much as my tastebuds do 🙁
I know what you mean, my stomach/tastbuds disagree on that too. I hope the sweet potato smoothie bowl makes both happy though! 🙂
Ever since I saw this video on FB, I’ve been dying to come over and read your post!! I’m so sorry about your tummy not being happy with banana at the moment…I know you love banana, but glad you found a sub!! And they sound just as yummy! I use bananas so much in smoothies that it’s actually nice to have an alternative…and those COLORS!!! I’m also with you…love eating my smoothies rather than drinking them, especially since the toppings stay afloat. We’re doing a lot of smoothies this summer and it’s nice to change it up with one of these! Will definitely try them out thanks Natalie!
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You know, I’m not even sad about the no bananas anymore because it’s been so much fun experimenting with other smoothie ways! Necessity is the mother of banana-free delicious invention 🙂 Haha the topping float test–I feel like that should be a thing. Thanks for reading Anjali <3
You’re right…bananas are suck a go-to sometimes to add sweetness that it’s nice to experiment with other things. Plus…i think you killed it on the banana front already ha! Can’t wait to see what else you come up with!
That purple one has become my go-to summer sweet treat, and I’ve been working on some banana-free date smoothies too! Thanks for watching and commenting Anjali <3
Thank you so much for creating banana-free smoothie bowls!!! Sadly, I reacting to raw bananas at the moment. Cooked are actually ok. If I’m out of acai I often run out of ideas for a raspberry or blueberry bowl!!! Haha not anymore. Sounds like Chia seeds and sweet potato are my answers! Thank you so much for creating and sharing ❤ ❤
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I’m sorry to hear you and bananas aren’t currently getting along (although I’m glad banana bread is still a-okay😊). I went through a similar experience I think just from over-doing them for a while, and honestly grew to LOVE banana-free smoothie bowls possibly more! I put chia seeds in almost all my smoothies these days for thickness, and yes sweet potato makes amazing creamy texture. Frozen cauliflower and zucchini are worth a try too. Good luck and happy blending!
Awwww you’re amazing!!! ❤️ ❤️
Lol. I think that’s totally what has happened to me! 🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌+++++
I was eating anywhere from 2 to 10 bananas x day.. for a 1 year. Almost 100% raw vegan. …though I have to say I’m now a huge advocate of a whole plant-based foods diet – cooked and non-cooked!! 🙂 Cooking doesn’t always mean compromising on nutrition. In fact, the goodies locked in our delicious healthy raw fruits, vegetables and grains are much more accessible to our bodies (once cooked) sometimes. My tummy is so much happier these days! …..oh thank you – those other veg options sound awesome! Will have to try. Have a splendid day! Keep doing the beautiful things that you do ❤️ ❤️
Hi there! Your smoothie bowls look amazing. I’ve tried to make the blueberry vanilla bowl but it never comes out thick as ice cream. It’s very smooth but I can never achieve the thick ice cream like consistency and I follow the recipe to the letter. Any suggestions?
These smoothies aren’t really supposed to be ice cream texture as written, but if you want to achieve that texture you will need less milk (maybe 1/3 cup) and more frozen stuff. So more frozen blueberries and maybe even add some frozen cauliflower too, that always gives a really nice frosty texture. Hope that helps!
I’m late to the party, but I was really thrilled finding these as almost all smoothies include bananas. Which I’m allergic to. Unfortunately I’m also allergic to avocados which cancelled out the pineapple smoothie you made. Although I might try to swap the avocado for another ingredient. Anyway, awesome video! Now I’m gonna go check out what else you have. 🙂
Oh well I’m so happy you found these then! Bummer about the avocado, but the sweet potato one will work still. I also love freezing full fat coconut milk into ice cubes for banana free smoothies, or this recipe with yogurt is another favorite of mine: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/blueberry-latte-breakfast-smoothie-jars/
Thank you so much for this “banana free” smoothie. I just made the Blueberry Vanilla one. My daughter keeps asking me for a smoothie bowl but most recipes have banana and then that is all we taste in the smoothie. This recipe is so versatile also, with the different milks you could use, the different nut butters, the different fruits…. Thank you again.
Also, do you know if these would freeze well, like popsicles?
I am so happy you guys enjoyed it! I absolutely agree–love bananas, but I don’t want them to be the predominant flavor in every smoothie I make. And yes I do think they would make good popsicles too, great idea 🙂