Recipe: Banana Split Smoothie

Christine Gallary
Christine GallarySenior Recipe Editor at The Kitchn
I grew up in a Chinese food-loving family, eating my first restaurant meals in Oakland's vibrant Chinatown. My love of food but lack of cooking experience led to me Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, where I graduated with a Diplôme de Cuisine in French cooking. After culinary school, I learned how to test and edit recipes in test kitchens at Cook's Illustrated and CHOW, falling in love with the process of rigorously testing recipes to make sure they were foolproof for the home cook. I've worked with thousands of recipes over the past 15 years, including developing recipes for the James Beard-award winning Mister Jiu's in Chinatown cookbook. Living in the delicious diversity of San Francisco, I never get tired of finding new ingredients or cuisines to try. My favorite type is Cantonese home cooking — I'm on a quest to recreate the dishes my grandmother used to make. All the food I test at home is eagerly tasted and enjoyed by my husband, Hayden, and daughter, Sophie, while our little dog, Mochi, looks wistfully on.
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updated Jan 29, 2020
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Credit: Maria Siriano

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When you go to an ice cream shop, are you a sundae or a milkshake person? I’ve always ordered a milkshake, but I have to admit, seeing the towering sundaes loaded with toppings has always made me a little jealous. Here’s a smoothie that meets both camps halfway!

(Image credit: Maria Siriano)

Fresh banana, a healthy dose of frozen sweet cherries, milk, and a spoonful of sunflower butter (to make this nut-free) get tossed into a blender with some vanilla extract to mimic the flavor of vanilla ice cream. Notice that this banana split is ice cream-free and is even acceptable as breakfast!

For those who believe that all sundaes need a drizzle of chocolate syrup on top, feel free to doctor up your own glass to your heart’s content — especially if you’re having this for dessert. I skipped the chocolate syrup when making this for my toddler and she didn’t even notice. For her, this naturally sweetened drink was still tasty enough on its own to qualify as a treat, and I have to agree that it hits the spot when I want a milkshake but don’t need the extra calories.

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Banana Split Smoothie

Serves 1

Nutritional Info

Ingredients

  • 1

    banana, peeled

  • 1 cup

    frozen cherries

  • 1/2 cup

    milk

  • 1 tablespoon

    sunflower butter

  • 1/2 teaspoon

    vanilla extract

  • Pinch fine salt

  • Chocolate syrup (optional)

Instructions

  1. Place the banana, cherries, milk, sunflower butter, vanilla, and salt in a blender. Blend at high speed until smooth. Serve with chocolate syrup drizzled into a glass or on top, if using.

Recipe Notes

Nut butters: Sunflower butter makes this a nut butter-free smoothie, but feel free to use your favorite nut butter here instead.

Filed in:
Beverages
Breakfast
children
Dessert
Drinks
easy