Banana in a smoothie
The one ingredient that thickens, sweetens and creams at the same time.
Between 38 g and 113 g in a glass, depending on what else is in it. The readings are 3 of 3 for thickening, 3 for creaminess and 3 for sweetness. Banana does all three jobs at once, which almost nothing else manages — take it out and you are replacing three ingredients, not one.
Banana is the only ingredient that does all three jobs at full strength — it thickens, it sweetens and it makes the drink creamy. That is why it turns up in so many recipes, and why taking it out is the single hardest swap on the site: you are not replacing one ingredient, you are replacing three at once.
In the ratio model every ingredient fills one of five roles. Banana is a frozen fruit: the body of the drink, doing the chilling and most of the thickening. That is what decides how much of it goes in, which is the next question on this page.
How much banana to put in a smoothie
The frozen share of a 2¼-cup glass is about three quarters of a cup. As the only fruit in the blend, banana fills all of it — 113 g. Paired with a second fruit it takes between 38 g and 113 g, depending on which of the two leads.
Above that it stops pouring and turns into something you eat with a spoon. Below it there is not enough frozen weight to thicken anything, and you end up with a cold juice.
What the model gives it across every blend on the site, from smallest share to largest.
Change the amount and this moves with it — the calorie calculator does the arithmetic as you build.
What banana does to the texture
Every ingredient on this site is rated out of three on the only three jobs that matter in a blender. Those ratings are what the substitution engine scores against, so they are the same numbers the rest of the site works from.
This is the top of the thickening scale. Whatever banana goes into takes its texture from it, and taking it out is what leaves a blend watery.
This is the top of the creaminess scale — what turns a fruit blend into something that drinks like a milkshake.
This is the top of the sweetness scale — the reason a blend does not need honey, and the reason it can taste like a milkshake without one.
Banana does all three jobs at once, which almost nothing else manages — take it out and you are replacing three ingredients, not one.
Banana nutrition
Per 100 g so it can be compared against anything, and per cup (sliced) so it matches what actually goes in the jar. One cup (sliced) of banana weighs 150 g.
Figures for frozen banana. Everything on the site — every recipe, every calculator — sums from these same numbers, so a total you see elsewhere will always agree with this table.
What goes well with banana
Its best partners
strawberry , blueberry , peanut butter , mango and cocoa powder . Each of those either covers something banana does not do, or leans the same way hard enough to make the drink taste deliberate.
Recipes that already use it
9 pairings on the site put banana in the glass, with the amounts and the macros already worked out — here are 8 of them.
A banana smoothie, six ways
We combine banana into 6 finished blends — light, high protein, breakfast, green, creamy and dairy-free — with a full ingredient list and the macros for each.
What to use instead of banana
Each stand-in is scored against banana on all three jobs at once, by the same engine behind the substitution calculator. Calories and sugar are for one everyday measure of the replacement; the smaller figure underneath is the difference against the same measure of banana.
The best substitutes for banana in a smoothie works the whole swap through end to end, including what it does to the rest of the blend.
Browse from here
Banana and pineapple blends — the creamiest of the fruit colors.
Banana, dates and oats — carbohydrate you can actually taste working.
Fast carbs alongside protein, built to be drunk soon after training.
Milkshake texture, familiar flavors, nothing green floating in it.
Fast, easy carbs from banana, dates and tropical fruit, light on fat and fiber so it sits well before training.
Build a blend around it
Put banana in, add whatever else is in the kitchen, and watch the calories and macros move as you go.
Open the calorie calculatorEstimates, not advice. Every figure on this page is calculated from published per-100 g reference values and standard household measures, so your own brands, portions and equipment will move it. Nothing here is medical, nutritional or dietetic advice — talk to a qualified professional before acting on it, particularly if you are pregnant, managing a health condition, or feeding a child.