Mango Smoothie

At a glance

What stands out: From-scratch smoothies are more economical and healthier than purchased smoothies. A mango smoothie with bananas is creamy, rich, and straightforward to mix!

How long it takes: 5 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: blender
Servings: 2

Ben and we love to go to a great Lebanese place near our home, so much so that they know us. They have a lot of fresh juices and smoothies but let’s be honest, we're more concerned about the fattoush, shawarma, hummus, and pita bread. If we have any room left in our tummies, we often will get a creamy mango smoothie for the road.

This mango smoothie recipe isn’t an exact replica but we love the fresh taste of mango in it. It’s refreshing and delightful and it’s straightforward. It’s made with milk, fruit, and just a bit of honey.

Creamy Mango Smoothie

As good as a milkshake. This mango smoothie is so rich and creamy, it could actually pass for a milkshake. The milk and frozen banana give it that thick smooth feeling that you’d expect from a milkshake, even if you use skim milk.

Customizable. You’ll notice that there are just four simple ingredients in this mango banana smoothie but there are tons of ways you can customize it. Keep reading for ideas.

Straightforward and inexpensive. From-scratch smoothies are inexpensive, simple, and ridiculously straightforward to mix. You’ll wonder why you ever spent the big bucks buying a smoothie!

What goes in

• Mango: Buy a bag of frozen mango chunks for the easiest smoothie. If you have a lot of ripe mangos on the counter, peel them and cut them into chunks. Freeze the chunks for a couple of hours or until firm (or overnight). You’ll need 2 cups of mango chunks.
• Banana: Ripe bananas will be sweeter than green bananas. The recipe calls for half of a large banana. If you happen to have an excess of ripe bananas (sometimes they seem to ripen so quickly!), peel and slice the bananas, and pop them into freezer safe bags or containers, ready for smoothies, banana bread, or banana muffins. Learn more about how to freeze bananas.
• Milk: Use any type of milk you prefer, either dairy or nondairy (nut milks, oat milk, or coconut milk). Yogurt can be substituted, if you prefer. Keep in mind that if you use a flavored milk or yogurt, they often have added sweeteners, so your smoothie will be sweeter.
• Honey: A sweetener is optional since this smoothie is quite sweet without any added sugar. However, we do feel that honey enhances the flavors of mango and banana.

How it comes together

Simply put all the ingredients into a blender and hit the ON button. That’s it!

Pour the smoothie into a couple of glasses and serve.

What Kind of Blender To Use

Blender: For a standby results, we recommend using a blender for this recipe, preferably a high speed blender.

Handheld immersion blender: You can use an immersion blender (stick blender) if you don’t have a blender. This smoothie recipe does not include ice cubes as one of the ingredients which immersion blenders have a tougher time with, unless you have crushed ice. You may need a bit of extra liquid to keep the immersion blender going and it will take a bit longer to get the mixture nice and smooth.

Food processor: You can use a food processor but the results may not be quite as smooth. It will get the job done though.

Straightforward Recipe Variations

• Add protein. Add a scoop of protein powder to the smoothie. You can add a scoop of oatmeal to the mixture, too. The texture won’t be quite as smooth.
• Use different fruits and veggies. Use different fruits or add a vegetable. We love this cherry smoothie with black sweet cherries. If you’re adding vegetables or greens, a high powered blender does a standby job. If you want to make a smoothie without banana, simply add more mango instead.
• Make it thinner. Don’t care for a frozen smoothie? You can easily make this smoothie with room temperature mango and banana. It won’t be as thick.
• Add yogurt. This smoothie is made without yogurt but if you like smoothies with yogurt, simply substitute any type of yogurt for the milk. If the smoothie is too thick to blend, you may need to thin it with just a little milk or juice.
• Make it a bowl. Make a smoothie bowl. Pour the smoothie mixture into bowls and top with sliced fresh fruit, granola, toasted coconut, toasted nuts or seeds, flax seeds or chia seeds, whatever you like.

Keeping leftovers

Smoothies can be refrigerated for a day or frozen for up to 3 months. Make sure there’s a bit of extra space in the freezer container (head room) because the mixture will expand a little.

Refrigerated smoothies will have a thinner texture. Frozen smoothies can be eaten frozen or thawed.

Time Saving Tip

Measure out the amount of mango and banana you need for a smoothie. For one smoothie, cut this recipe in half so you’ll need one cup of mango and a quarter of banana. Combine the fruit in individual containers or bags, and freeze. When you’re ready for a smoothie, simply grab a bag from the freezer and proceed with the recipe.

• Yield: 2
• Prep: 5 minutes
• Total: 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups frozen mango chunks
• ½ large banana, cut into chunks and frozen (about ½ cup)
• 1 cup skim milk (or milk of your choice), more as needed
• 1 tablespoon honey, optional

Method

1. Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

Notes

Variations:

If you don’t have time to freeze the fruits or just don’t feel like it, you can use fresh fruit and add ice cubes to achieve desired thickness.

Any type of milk can be used, both dairy and nondairy. Plain yogurt, either Greek or regular, can be substituted for the milk, if desired.

Feel free to omit the honey, if desired, or substitute another sweetener of your choice.

If mangos aren’t available, try frozen peaches or pineapple.