This energizing banana carrot smoothie recipe is perfect to start your day just right. Filled with fruits and vegetables, but also healthy hemp seeds and spices, it makes for a creamy and thick smoothie that's naturally super sweet and flavorful.
Smoothies are such a great way to get tons of nutrition into your diet without much effort. We make them often and especially love making this mango cucumber smoothie in the summer for a refreshing drink or this no-banana peanut butter smoothie to get a good dose of protein.
And this banana carrot smoothie is another good example of a yummy plant-based breakfast that I make for myself (or my kids) when I need to fuel my body.
Including carrots in your smoothie add valuable nutrition, but they also increase the volume of your drink in a healthy way and make it thicker. Plus, carrots are already so naturally sweet that you won't even need to add any sweetener.
Let me know if you give it a try! ❤️
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❤️Why you will love this smoothie
- Quick and easy, simply add to a blender and blend!
- Packed with antioxidants, fiber and vitamins (read more about the valuable nutrition found in carrots here!)
- Refined sugar-free: amazing flavor from the carrot and banana's natural sugars
- Beautiful and appetizing orange color
- Great for snacking, as a post-workout treat or a light breakfast
- Naturally vegan and gluten-free!
🗒 Ingredient notes (+ substitutions)
- Frozen bananas: using frozen bananas as opposed to fresh ones is important for this smoothie to have a nice frosty and creamy result. See below in the FAQs section for tips on how to freeze bananas.
- Carrots: raw carrots blend easily, no need to cook them first! Orange carrots give an amazing bright orange color, but feel free to use purple carrots if you prefer.
- Hemp seeds: add an amazing creaminess and tons of healthy omega-3 fats and plant protein. You can also use chia seeds or flax seeds.
- Dairy-free milk: oat milk is great for making drinks, but almond milk or soy milk works well too.
- Lemon juice: or lime, for a little touch of freshness.
- Cinnamon and nutmeg: adjust to your taste. Vanilla would work well too.
⭐️ Full list of ingredients down below in the recipe card!
✅ Variations
- Add some vegan yogurt, the kind that's higher in protein like the Kite Hill Greek style yogurt.
- If you are into protein powder, then add a scoop!
- Include some rolled oats for their high content of fiber, they will help you feel full longer.
- Rich in healthy fats nuts, like cashews, almonds or walnuts can all be blended to smooth if you have a high-speed blender (or use nut butters!). Add only a few so you don't change the texture of the smoothie too much.
- Add some more fruit and veggies, such as kale, berries, baby spinach and raw shredded beets. They would all be very nutritious additions to this recipe, although they would change the color and overall flavor.
🍽 How to make a carrot banana smoothie
Step 1: Add the frozen banana, carrots, hemp seeds, plant-based milk, lemon juice and spices.
Step 2: Blend on high until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Taste and adjust the spice and sweetness. Enjoy right away.
⭐️ Detailed recipe down below in the recipe card!
💡 Helpful tips
- Adjust the thickness: add more fruits for a thicker result or more vegan milk for a thinner smoothie. Or, I like to add a handful of rolled oats to make it heartier and more filling. Also, if you love smoothies that are extra cold, then adding a few ice cubes would help to cool it down on top of making it thicker.
- Adjust the sweetness: this smoothie is already quite sweet with the combination of carrots and bananas, but if you want it even sweeter, then add 1-2 pitted Medjool dates or a splash of maple syrup/agave nectar.
- Adjust the creaminess: the bananas and hemp seeds give a super creamy texture to this smoothie. To make it creamier without adding more bananas/hemp, then try including avocado or frozen mangoes. You can also buy and keep frozen avocado in your freezer to add to your smoothie to boost with more healthy fats.
❓ FAQs
You will get slightly better results if you make this smoothie using a high-speed blender, like Vitamix. The frozen bananas and raw carrots are a little hard and you might end up with some small pieces from the carrot if using a regular blender. If you don't have a high-speed blender, then using boiled, blanched or shredded carrots would help to blend to a smoother texture.
This smoothie can also be made ahead and kept in the fridge for about 24 hours. I found that the color stayed the same and other than not being as cold, the flavors were the same too. Just make sure to stir or shake well before enjoying the next day as it might separate during storage. Or freeze it! Use an ice cube tray and pop the cubes of smoothie in your blender with an extra splash of milk to blend it back into a creamy drink.
Try to get more bananas than you need when grocery shopping and let them ripe at room temperature. When they start to get black freckles all over, then peel and transfer them to a parchment paper-covered baking sheet, then in the freezer. Transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag once frozen, so they don't stick to each other and you can grab only a piece at the time when needed. Add your frozen bananas to smoothies or use them to make healthy shakes, like this coconut milkshake. Or, blend/process them alone until creamy and it will make banana ice cream!
Yes! Make your smoothie nice and thick by adding less dairy-free milk. You can also include some rolled oats, ice cubes or more fruits to make the consistency thick enough to support the garnishing ingredients. If you have a high-speed blender, then use your tamper or if not, then take a few breaks to scrape the walls and bring the thick smoothie mixture back down to the blades. Then, pour or scoop the smoothie mixture into a bowl and top with more fruits, granola, cereals, shredded coconut, chocolate chips, nuts/seeds and dried fruits.
🍌 More banana smoothies you might like!
I hope you enjoy this banana carrot smoothie as much as we do! If you try it, please leave a comment below and rate the recipe to let me know how it was. Your feedback is so helpful!
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📖 Recipe
Banana Carrot Smoothie
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 2 frozen bananas
- 1 cup carrots - peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 cup plain dairy-free milk - I used oat milk
- 1 tbsp hemp seeds
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp nutmeg
Instructions
- To your blender, add all the ingredients and blend until very smooth. Taste and adjust the flavor. Add more fruits or vegan milk to make it thicker/thinner. Enjoy right away.
Video
Notes
- Using a high-speed blender will give you better result as the carrot can be hard and fibrous. If you have a regular blender, then consider blanching them first or grate them to ease the blending.
- This smoothie can be kept for up to 24 hours in the fridge.
- Customize your smoothie:
- Add more protein: add a scoop of pea protein or dairy-free Greek yogurt. More hemp will also add more plant protein!
- Adjust the thickness: simply add more fruits for a thicker or more vegan milk for a thinner smoothie. Or, I like to add a handful of rolled oats to make it heartier and more filling, especially if I know that the next meal will be in a little while. Also, if you love smoothies that are extra cold, then adding a few ice cubes would help to cool it down on top of making it thicker.
- Adjust the sweetness: this smoothie is already quite sweet with the combination of carrots and bananas, but if you want it even sweeter, then add 1-2 pitted Medjool dates or a splash of maple syrup/agave nectar.
- Adjust the creaminess: the bananas and hemp seeds are mostly responsible for making this smoothie super creamy. To make it creamier without adding more bananas/hemp, then try including avocado or frozen mangoes. You can also buy and keep frozen avocado in your freezer to add to your smoothie to boost with more healthy fats.
- Spice it up: the cinnamon and nutmeg make this smoothie very much carrot cake-like, but feel free to use ginger (ground or fresh), cardamom, turmeric, vanilla extract or even pumpkin spice mix.
- Pack with more goodness: kale, berries, baby spinach and raw shredded beets would all be very nutritious additions to this recipe, although they would change the color and overall flavor
- Nutrition: please note that the nutritional information is an estimate per serving provided for informational purposes only (calculated by software) and accuracy is not guaranteed. Consult with your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if you need precise nutrition calculations for health reasons.
We have made this recipe many times, we love it!
Thank you so much for your comment!