Here is a little conversation between me and my mom last week:
Me: Here, I made you something to drink.
Mom: This is excellent. What is this? Is this a milkshake?
Me: No, it’s not a milkshake. It’s a smoothie.
Mom: Are you sure this isn’t a milkshake?
Me: Yes, I’m sure. It’s a Roasted Banana and Almond Smoothie. I just invented it.
Mom: Liz, you know I can’t have ice cream.
Me: Mom, it’s not a milkshake. There isn’t any ice cream! It’s vegan!
Mom: I don’t believe you.
Me: {insert: excessive eye rolling and sighing}.
So you’re probably wondering why I’m telling you this boring story. Well, it’s because I want you to know that I’m not exaggerating when I say this smoothie taste just like a milkshake. For reals. It’s thick, sweet, frosty and well, just like a milkshake.
My secret: roasted bananas. Yup. We are coaxing as much fabulousness out of these bananas as possible by sending them into the oven with a little brown sugar on top. Oh yeah.
I was pretty excited when I first decided to do this. But then I had an “oh s**t” moment when I realized the bananas wouldn’t be frozen anymore. Because I’m a firm believer that a frozen banana (or other frozen fruit) is essential to making a really thick smoothie. So to make up for my warm bananas (OK, I giggled when I wrote that), I decided to make some ice cubes out of almond milk. This gives a wonderfully thick consistency to the smoothie (kind of like a milkshake!), without watering it down. Totally winning.
This Roasted Banana and Almond Smoothie does take more time and pre-planning than your typical dump-everything-into-a-blender-and-hit-the-button smoothie. But I think the results are definitely worth it.
AND don’t go away yet! Because today I’ve teamed up with some of my blogging friends to sponsor a $400 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!!! Think of all the awesome stuff you could buy! To enter, use the Rafflecopter widget below (scroll down past the recipe) to follow Floating Kitchen on Pinterest and Instagram. And the more bloggers you follow, the greater your chances of winning. Make sure to get your entries in by March 9, 2015. Update: This giveaway has ended and a winner has been chosen. Thank you for participating! This giveaway was sponsored by myself and some other fabulous bloggers and was in no way affiliated with Amazon.com.
Cheers,
Liz
Ingredients
- About 2 cups unsweetened almond milk, divided
- 2 medium bananas, peeled
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 2 dates, pitted and roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons almond butter
- Extra banana slices and almonds for garnish, if desired
Instructions
- Make the almond milk ice cubes. Using about 1 cup of the almond milk, fill the wells of an ice cube tray (you’ll only need about 4-6 ice cubes for this recipe). Freeze until solid.
- Roast the bananas. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Place the peeled bananas on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, then sprinkle with the brown sugar and a pinch of salt. Roast the bananas in your pre-heated oven for 20 minutes. Remove and set aside until they are completely cooled.
- Meanwhile, add the chia seeds, chopped dates and 1 cup of the almond milk to your blender. Let this sit for about 10 minutes. Then add the almond butter, cooled bananas (making sure to scrape in any of the brown sugar) and 4-6 ice cubes. Blend on high until smooth.
- Pour into a glasses. Garnish with fresh banana slices and sliced almonds, if desired. Enjoy immediately.
Roasted bananas?! freaking genius! and your mom is a hoot!!! TGIF!
Thanks, Alice! My mom will be happy to know someone thinks she is funny! 🙂
Hahaha!!!! I LOVE that conversation with your mom. Too funny, sounds like a conversation I would have with MY mom. The trick for roasting the bananas is brilliant! I need to try that.
It’s so good! You definitely gotta do it. I was amazed how much of a difference it makes.
I love that you made this fab milkshake errr…super healthy and delicious smoothie for your mom! Moms are the best to cook/blend for. I’m seriously making this milkshake errr smoothie for dessert tonight. Girl’s taking herself on a magical date, and all magical dates need to end with warm bananas! 😀 Have a great weekend!
He he he. Warm bananas. I can’t stop giggling over that. Yes, I’m like a 12 year old.
Whoa girl, this sounds awesome! I’ve never roasted bananas but I bet I would like them better that way. 🙂
Life changing! It’s so good! Thanks, luv!! XOXOXOXO
I love it that your mom didn’t believe that it wasn’t a milkshake. But I can see why! It looks rich and sooo delicious.
Ha ha. She was being stubborn!!
The flavors are so awesome, love this Liz!
Thanks, Matt!
This looks like a winner. I need to atone for some serious February dessert fiascos…
You and me both, lady!
I would have been with your mom and thought there had to be ice cream in this for sure. It looks just like a milkshake! So smart to roast the bananas, and even smarter to do almond milk ice cubes! Can’t wait to make this!
Thanks, Natalie! Let me know if you try it out!
Frozen bananas..always!! I had a moment this week when I was making a smoothie and had NO frozen bananas, noooo! Almonds and bananas are a fav of mine, yeah girl!
Yeah, the almond milk ice cubes are the perfect work around for not using frozen bananas. Some of my favorite flavors too, Abby!
This looks so yummy!
Thank you, Amanda!
Liz, these look seriously delicious…it was love at first sight when I originally saw them on twitter. Had to come by and snag the recipe to make them! Thanks for sharing♡♡
Thanks, Cheyanne. Glad you stopped by!
You’re always comin up with something brilliant! Love this, Liz and would have never thought to roast bananas OR freezing almond milk! Delicious! Thank you for this Liz!
The convo with your Ma! BaHahhhaaaaa!! Last summer I made a chocolate green smoothie every morning while my Ma was visiting… my Ma had never seen or heard (vitamix) anything like it! But she ended up calling it sludge and was apathetic towards the taste (I think green smoothies can sometimes be an acquired taste)! Your Mom loved it, right?
Yes, my mom loved it! And I’ve even gotten her drinking green smoothies now too! 🙂
It looks so thick and creamy, I would have thought it was a milkshake, too! Looks delicious, Liz!
Thanks, Denise!
A healthy smoothie that tastes like dessert?! You know I’m into this.
You and me both, Joanne! XO
My heart just skipped a few beats. This is absolutely genius! Genius, I tell you! I love that you made almond milk ice cubes. Pinned.
Thanks, Jennie! Yeah I was pretty excited about the ice cubes too. It was one of those “I’m a total freaking genius” moments!!
That’s the best kind of confusion! I wish all smoothies tasted like milkshakes! This looks amazing and I love that it’s vegan 🙂
Thanks, Medha! I hope you try it out!
Roasted bananas?! I want to have this asap. We had a banana smoothie in Tokyo that was amazeballs and I haven’t been able to recreate it. MAYBE roasted bananas were the secret. You’re a genius.
Oh, I hope that was the secret. Let me know if you try it and how it compares. Now I’m intrigued!
I love this idea! I always add frozen bananas to my smoothie because you’re right, It’s key for texture or at least I thought it was before you had the genius idea to make almond milk ice cubes. PS- Your mom sounds awesome! So funny that she didn’t believe you.
She is a character for sure!!
Seems delicious miam miam *-*
imma try it!
That’s great to hear! Let me know how it turns out!
omg delicious…. it reminds me that i was going to buy bananas at the supermarket the other day then i forgot about it 🙁 so no bananas here to make myself that yummie recipe T___T
You better stock up next time then! Thanks, Nat! Let me know if you eventually try it out!
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Are the dates necessary? I am completey out of dates right now, and I am dying to try this recipe!!
Hi Jayden. The dates sweetened the smoothie (and also provide other nutrients and fiber). If you leave them out, you might want to add something else to sweeten it, like a small amount of agave or maple syrup.
So I tried these and they were SO GOOD OMG. I have a hard time finding dessert recipes that are vegan and without chocolate, and sometimes they don’t turn out so well either, but these were just fabulous. My whole family loved them! Now we’re going to get some of those retro milkshake glasses so we can enjoy your wonderful recipe in style 🙂
Thanks again!
That’s awesome, Camille! Definitely would be so fun to serve them up in milkshake glasses. I love it!