This vegan thick frosty peanut butter banana cauliflower smoothie is healthy, delightfully shake-like, cool, and creamy. Frozen cauliflower florets, frozen bananas, almond milk, peanut butter, and a splash of vanilla are blended to perfection. The trick to create an ultra frosty and thick smoothie is simply to add less liquid. Patience is definitely a virtue as you blend, but if you take the time to stop and scrape down the sides (instead of adding more liquid), you'll be rewarded with a shake-like breakfast treat.
Have you heard the news?
Adding frozen cauliflower florets to smoothies is all the rage.
I have no idea which brilliant blogger first thought to add frozen cauliflower to a smoothie to up the creaminess factor, but if I did, I'd happily credit her/him here. If you happen to know, let me know so I can appreciatively offer credit where credit is due.
I do, however, remember that the first person I saw apply this snazzy veggie magic was Natalie from Feasting on Fruit. She doesn't claim credit for the idea either, but girl has so many smart fruit 'n' veggie tricks up her sleeve that I wouldn't have been surprised if she'd been the one to come up with it.
Okay. Back to frozen cauliflower in smoothies.
I know it sounds a little weird and unbelievable at first, but trust me and all the others hopping on this trendy bandwagon: frozen cauliflower = creamy smoothie magic.
After adding heaps of frozen florets to my smoothies for the last several weeks, I've come to two conclusions:
1) Frozen cauliflower florets are basically like creamy ice cubes. Correction: Detoxifying, mineral- and vitamin-rich creamy ice cubes.
2) A proper cauliflower smoothie recipe needs to be shared here. And fast.
So here you have it. An epically thick, frosty, creamy, and HEALTHY (←but seriously, does this lavishly applied, overused word even have meaning anymore?) smoothie.
Healthy, schmealthy.
But seriously, if your "healthy" looks anything like my "healthy" (i.e., eating vitamin- and mineral-rich, close-to-the-earth foods most of the time without judgment of myself or others... or snobbiness, for that matter, because I'm so over the know-it-all attitude when it comes to food—put your kindness where your mouth is), then we can go ahead and call this smoothie healthy. Also, virtual high five for being "healthy" soul sisters.
This peanut butter banana smoothie is packed with vitamin c, potassium, folate, B6, fiber, copper, manganese, and biotin.
As I've mentioned before, bananas are excellent muscle healers and mood boosters thanks to their triple threat potassium-B6-tryptophan combo. Plus, they're an excellent natural smoothie sweetener and blend up creamier than any other fruit I've had the pleasure of regularly enjoying. Pair them with a bit of frozen cauliflower and a dollop of peanut butter, and you've got yourself a nutritional powerhouse of a smoothie. Look out.
To make this thick frosty peanut butter banana cauliflower smoothie, you'll gather your ingredients (frozen cauliflower florets, frozen bananas, almond milk, peanut butter, vanilla), add everything to a blender, and blend until smooth.
Now, there is a teeny, tiny trick to creating a super thick, ultra cool and frosty smoothie.
What's the trick? Add as little liquid as possible. I'm lookin' at you, almond milk.
Simple enough but much easier said than done when you've got a case of the mid-morning hangries.
But trust me, every time you opt to stop the blender and scrape down the sides to encourage blending (instead of adding more liquid), you're one step closer to the dreamiest breakfast smoothie ever.
So, patience. It really is a virtue. In life and in super frosty peanut butter smoothie making.
Thick Frosty Peanut Butter Banana Cauliflower Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 heaping cup frozen cauliflower florets
- 2 ripe and speckled bananas, peeled, sliced, and frozen
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, plus more only if absolutely needed to encourage blending*
- 1 to 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter, to taste*
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender, and blend on high until smooth, stopping as often as needed to scrape down the sides. You'll want to add as little almond milk as possible to maintain a thick, frosty texture. Patience is a virtue here—just keep stopping to scrape down the sides as needed, and you'll be rewarded with a delightfully thick, shake-like treat.
- Scoop into a glass (or two).
- Serve immediately.
Notes
This seems so healthy! If I want to also have something crunchy in the smoothie, do you think some peanut or coconut bacon would be a good idea?
Thanks, Luna! Sure, I think you could certainly add peanuts in at the end and pulse to chop/incorporate them into the smoothie. Enjoy!
Yum, this looks like a heavenly fluffy beverage ^^ I'll try this asap (maybe with homemade tigernut milk - my favorite!)
Mmmmmmmm. Delicious. What a fabulous idea. I had no idea cauliflower could be used in a smoothie. Thanks for sharing.
I must admit I was skeptical about the cauliflower but not anymore! This might be my new go to smoothie! Delicious!
Loved it. Did not have almond milk so I used coconut water flavored with pineapple. Added 2 fresh apricots to up the fruity flavor and make it thicker. My new favorite smoothie. It was a lovely pale apricot color. I drank it all up before i took a picture
So glad you're enjoying the recipe, Madelyn! Love your additions!
Is this raw or cooked frozen cauliflower?! Thank you!
Hi, Sarah! I use raw frozen cauliflower, but I'm sure cooked frozen cauliflower would work, too. Enjoy!
I have raw, unfrozen cauliflower. Could I make a batch and THEN freeze it? Would it change the consistency too much?
Hi, Olivia! The cauliflower definitely needs to be frozen before blending. Enjoy!
Do you have nutritional information for this smoothie?
Hi, Margaret! I'm so sorry, but I don't calculate nutrition information (see my FAQ page for why if you're curious). There are lots of great calculators online though!
This was so good! I definitely had to add more almond milk, but really tried to keep the consistency almost "nice-cream-ish" with my Vitamix. Absolutely delicious.
So glad you enjoyed it, McKenzie! Thanks for taking the time to come back and share your thoughts and rating.
This was yummy! So good and creamy.
Happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to let me know. :)
This was so good! The only change I made was that I used green tea as my liquid. I will k=make this again, Thank you for the recipe!
Ooh, green tea! Such an interesting twist. So glad you enjoyed, Lynn! Thanks for taking the time to come back and share your thoughts and rating. Means so much. :)