My healthy plant-based Vegan Cherry Banana Smoothie is an easy recipe made with only 5 clean, real food ingredients and is 100% Medical Medium® Compliant!
Vegan Cherry Banana Smoothie
Table of Contents
Here's Why This Recipe Works
My top 3 favorite reasons:
- It's 100% Medical Medium® Compliant
- Ready In Under 5 Minutes
- Made With Only 5 Clean, Real Food Ingredients
It's 100% Medical Medium® Compliant
I created this quick and easy vegan smoothie specifically using Medical Medium® healing ingredients.
In addition to the two main ingredients - cherries + bananas, I added healing fresh aloe vera and another surprising ingredient.
This surprising ingredient is not one you would think of to add to a smoothie but it's 100% undetectable.
It's frozen cauliflower rice!
Yes! I love to add frozen cauliflower rice to smoothies and smoothie bowls for two reasons:
- It adds extra nutritional value
- It's an excellent replacement for ice cubes to give a recipe an icy texture.
One of most favorite recipes to use cauliflower rice in a frozen dessert is my Vegan Chocolate "Nice" Cream Smoothie Bowl.
Ready In Under 5 Minutes
This Vegan Cherry Banana Smoothie recipe is perfect when you need a quick breakfast or post-workout smoothie because it takes less than 5 minutes to make.
And, there's no veggies or fruit to cut and prep in advance.
For example, simply add all the ingredients to your Vitamix, blend and it's ready to enjoy!
Made With Only 5 Clean, Real Food Ingredients
This recipe is simple to make with only 5 clean, real food ingredients that are nutrient dense.
Two of those ingredients are unique Medical Medium® recommended healing ingredients I added for extra nutritional benefits, but they can be omitted if you prefer.
You can enjoy my healthy Vegan Cherry Banana Smoothie recipe that's plant-based, raw, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, low-fat, paleo-friendly, and Medical Medium® Compliant.
"Feel good about what you eat..."
- Karielyn Tillman
Ingredients
Here are the clean, real food ingredients I used to make this recipe. Try to use organic if possible.
- Bananas
- Dark Sweet Cherries
- Frozen Cauliflower Rice
- Homemade Almond Milk
- Aloe Vera Flesh
That's it!
How To Make This Recipe: Step-by-Step Instructions
You'll love how easy it is to make this healthy plant-based smoothie in under 5 minutes!
Step 1: Add all Ingredients
The best way to make this smoothie is a Vitamix or high-speed blender because it will give it a smooth and creamy texture.
However, if your blender can easily blend frozen fruit, then feel free to use a regular blender.
Firstly, add all the ingredients for the smoothie to your blender and blend until creamy and smooth.
Step 2: Serve the Smoothie
Secondly, this recipe will make either (1) large smoothie or (2) regular-size smoothies.
Pour the smoothie into the cup(s) of your choice (glass instead of plastic!) and enjoy!
Top Tip!
If you add cauliflower rice to the smoothie, make sure it's frozen!
Karielyn's Expert Tips + Ingredient Substitutions
Here are some of my expert tips to make this recipe perfectly:
Bananas. I will use both frozen and regular organic bananas when making this recipe. See "notes" in the recipe section for more tips.
Cherries. I used frozen organic dark sweet cherries, but you could also use regular organic cherries. Please do not use the bright red cherries that come in a jar and contain additives and food coloring.
Cauliflower Rice. I only add and use organic frozen cauliflower rice. It does not have a flavor at all and gives the smoothie an icy texture and greater nutritional benefits.
Aloe Vera. I added this ingredient for the healing benefits it provides, but it can be omitted if you don't have any. I use fresh aloe vera flesh and buy mine in the produce section of Whole Foods. Slice off a 3-inch piece, cut it in half and then scrape out the gel on the inside to add to the smoothie.
Homemade Almond Milk. This is my milk of preference but feel free to substitute it with your favorite non-dairy milk. Another great option is to use Joi Organic Almond Milk made with 100% organic almonds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can add a vegan protein powder to your cherry banana smoothie.
My favorite clean, organic vegan protein powder is Sprout Living - Epic Protein Vanilla Lucuma because it's made with clean ingredients: Epic Protein Base (Yellow Pea, Pumpkin Seed, Sunflower Seed, Cranberry Seed, Chia Seed), Coconut Crystals, Vanilla Lucuma Blend (Lucuma Fruit, Ceylon Cinnamon, Acerola, Baobab Fruit, Vanilla Bean), Banana, Jerusalem Artichoke, Inulin Fiber, Himalayan Pink Salt, Stevia Leaf.
If you need to keep the recipe 100% Medical Medium® Compliant, you can use a single ingredient organic protein such as:
Organic Pumpkin Seed Protein (ingredients: cold-press organic pumpkin seed powder)
Organic Hemp Seed Protein (ingredients: organic hemp protein)
Adding protein powder to your smoothie may thicken it a little bit so you may need to add a little extra milk to get it to the consistency you prefer.
No worries! If you don't have cauliflower rice or don't want to use it, it can be omitted.
I added it to the recipe for extra nutrition and to give the smoothie a frosty texture since it acts like ice in the recipe without having any cauliflower flavor.
No, leftover or cooked cauliflower rice would not be ideal in this recipe.
The best way to take advantage of cauliflowers nutritional value is to add it to your smoothie when it is frozen.
Frozen cauliflower rice will give the smoothie a frosty texture and the taste will be undetectable.
I absolutely love to make smoothies because they are quick and easy.
In fact, I created an entire ebook with just smoothie recipes called Real Food Vegan™ Fruit Smoothies which contains 24 smoothie recipes made with clean, real food ingredients and all are 100% vegan, 100% gluten-free, 100% dairy-free, 100% soy-free, and 100% tofu-free.
You can also go to the search bar and type in "Smoothies" to find a complete listing of all the plant-based vegan smoothies and smoothie bowls on my website.
Homemade almond milk is super easy to make, and I used to make it every day when I started a vegan diet.
I have a complete recipe with step-by-step instructions which you can find here: Homemade Almond Milk, but I'll share a quick summary below.
You only need a few things to get started:
1. Ingredients: organic raw almonds and filtered/purified water.
2. Equipment: Vitamix or high-speed blender and nut milk bag.
Then, there's just 4 easy steps: soak, rinse, blend, strain!
Step 1: Soak the almonds in a bowl with water overnight to soften them.
Step 2: Drain the soaked almonds and rinse them with filtered water.
Step 3: Place the almonds in a Vitamix and blend for 1-2 minutes or until creamy.
Step 4: Strain the almond milk through a nut milk bag and store in a glass, BPA-free container up to 4-5 days in the refrigerator.
Make sure you visit the link above to get detailed instructions, the best type of almonds to use and why the water you use is important!
Yes! You can use a different variety of cherries for your smoothie.
There are three different varieties of cherries:
Sweet Cherries
Sour Cherries
Black Cherries
For this recipe, I would use any cherry from the "sweet cherries" variety.
Please do not use the bright red Maraschino Cherries in a jar because of the S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) ingredient list. For example:
Great Value Maraschino Cherries: Cherries, Water, Corn Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Citric Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), FD&C Red #40, Sulfur Dioxide (Preservative).
Instead, try the brand I use, Whole Foods Organic Dark Sweet Cherries with the following ingredient list: Organic Cherries.
Order Recipe Ingredients
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Vegan Cherry Banana Smoothie
Equipment
- Vitamix or high-speed blender
Ingredients
- 2 organic bananas
- 1 cup organic dark sweet cherries (frozen)
- 1 cup organic cauliflower rice (frozen)
- ½ cup homemade almond milk
- 2 tablespoons aloe vera flesh (fresh)
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a Vitamix or high-speed blender and blend until creamy and smooth.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
Copyright Notice
The instructions, notes, and photographs for this recipe by Karielyn Tillman of The Healthy Family and Home™ website are copyrighted material. This copyrighted work is protected and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 International License and the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) and cannot be legally used without my written permission.
More Healthy Vegan Cherry Recipes
Check out these:
- Chocolate Dipped Cherries
- Vegan Cherry Tart
- No-Cook Dark Cherry Chia Jam
- or my Real Food Vegan™ 14-Day Meal Plan Program with 42 plant-based vegan + gluten-free recipes made with clean, real food ingredients just like this one that you will love!
Christine says
This is a really delicious smoothie. Just note that you MUST make it in a Vitamix or high speed blender, not any old blender. I tried it with my old nutribullet and it didn't blend and felt like I was eating tiny rocks lol But it works perfectly in a vitamix now that I have one! I would've never thought to put cauliflower rice in a smoothie.
Karielyn Tillman says
Hi there Christine! I'm so glad to hear you liked it! Thanks for sharing your experience with the Nutibullet and I bet you are SO excited to have a Vitamix - yay!
I love to add frozen cauliflower to my smoothies and smoothie bowls because a) you can't taste any cauliflower flavor b) it adds extra nutrition and c) it gives the smoothie an extra frosty texture!
Thanks so much for trying out the recipe and for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed it...I sincerely appreciate it 🙂
rohit aggarwal says
thank you thehealthyfamilyandhome for giving me wonderful information and easy recipe
Karielyn Tillman says
Hi there Rohit! You're very welcome...so glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
sandie says
Just the color of this …. it looked and tasted devine. Will be making it again real soon.
Karielyn Tillman says
Hi there Sandie! I know...the dark cherries gave it such a pretty color! Thank you for trying out my recipe and for letting me know you liked it 🙂