This Healthy Coffee Smoothie recipe is ready in 5 minutes and is so much healthier and tastier than those sugar-filled coffee shop drinks you're buying. Coffee, meet smoothie!
Let’s face it: caffeinated mornings are better than non-caffeinated mornings.
Let's discuss how this coffee smoothie came to be:
- Coffee is great for boosting your energy levels in the morning, but plain coffee can be boring.
- We all know that stopping for a sugar-filled coffee drink on your way to work is not a good idea.
- Skipping breakfast is also not a good idea.
- Plain coffee is not breakfast.
- Iced coffee is life.
Enter this banana coffee smoothie as a great breakfast option. It's like coffee, but better.
I know: BOLD statement.
BONUS: The smoothie is ready in 5 minutes and is as healthy as possible.
For now, let’s just enjoy that awesome news. Because breakfast and coffee ready in 5 minutes is golden.
In This Post You'll Find:
- Healthy Coffee Smoothie Recipe Video
- Ingredient Notes
- Why This Coffee Smoothie Is A Healthy Breakfast
- Is Coffee Healthy?
- How Peanut Butter Makes This Smoothie Healthy
- Why Add Bananas To Smoothies?
- Can You Put Coffee Grounds into A Smoothie?
- Want A Decaf Coffee Smoothie?
- What Type of Coffee Should I Add To My Smoothie?
- How To Make This Coffee Smoothie Ahead Of Time
- More Healthy Smoothie Recipes
- Healthy Coffee Smoothie Recipe
- Reviews
Healthy Coffee Smoothie Recipe Video
Ingredient Notes
Let's discuss what ingredients you'll need to make a coffee smoothie.
Here's what you need:
- Milk of choice – in this coffee smoothie, I use unsweetened almond milk, but any unsweetened milk will work
- Banana – half a banana will do the trick, the riper the better for sweetness, and keep it frozen for the best texture
- Nut Butter – peanut butter, cashew butter or almond butter all work great
- Vanilla – vanilla extract goes great with coffee and makes it taste sweeter, too
- Coffee! We use both fresh ground coffee AND brewed, chilled coffee in this recipe. Because: coffee! (My Cleanish Coffee blend is pure perfection for this recipe).
- Ice - Only needed if you don't use a frozen banana or you want it a little thicker
Once you have all the ingredients gathered, add them to a high speed blender, and blend until smooth. That's it -- and your perfect morning coffee smoothie is ready to enjoy.
Pro Tip: If the smoothie is too thick, you can add more coffee or milk to loosen it. If it's too thin, just add a few ice cubes and re-blend. Using a frozen banana will help keep your smoothie creamy and thick, so it's always good to have those ready to grab from the freezer.
Why This Coffee Smoothie Is A Healthy Breakfast
Here are a few reasons why this coffee banana smoothie sits high on the scale of healthy breakfast smoothies:
- It’s vegan
- It’s gluten-free
- It has 0 processed sugars
- It has coffee (duh!)
- It's super easy and simple
- It's high in protein (and uses my favorite protein, Cleanish Plant-Based Protein)
But, that's just from a high level -- let's dive deeper into WHY the main ingredients are each so good for you, specifically, the coffee, banana, and peanut butter.
Is Coffee Healthy?
Coffee increases your energy level, which means drinking coffee = feeling less tired. But I bet you knew that already. So let's discuss some other amazing things you should know about coffee.
Coffee is:
- Low in calories – 1 or 2 calories per ½ cup
- A great source of potassium - 92 mg per ½ cup
- A good source of magnesium - 8 mg per ½ cup
- A rich source of antioxidants
Remember: PLAIN coffee is low in calories, and good for you in moderation. Coffee drinks that are high in sugars and fats are not good for you.
How Peanut Butter Makes This Smoothie Healthy
I'm a huge fan of adding nut butters into my smoothies. In fact, it's rare for me not to include some sort of nut butter. In this coffee smoothie recipe, I use peanut butter because it is:
- Absolutely delicious (duh!)
- A great source of energy
- A good source of protein (25 g protein per ½ cup)
- Great source of healthy fat
- Helps make a creamy texture
It will also leave you feeling fuller longer, which is an important part of a smoothie for me.
Why Add Bananas To Smoothies?
And the all-powerful banana. Ever wondered why bananas work so great in smoothies? That's because they are:
- naturally fat-free
- high in potassium
- A great source of carbs
- A great source of natural sugar
- high in vitamin C, vitamin B6, and vitamin A
- the perfect texture when blended, especially if frozen
Hate Bananas? Read this post on alternatives to bananas in smoothies.
Can You Put Coffee Grounds into A Smoothie?
Yes, you can add ground coffee into your smoothie and it's totally ok (and even good for you!) to eat coffee grounds. It's not only a great way to add extra flavor and texture into your smoothie, it'll also provide that added caffeine without needing to brew any coffee. Plus, you get the full benefit of coffee beans without having it be diluted in the brewing process.
That being said, we ALSO add chilled brewed coffee because we want to maximize the coffee flavor in this coffee smoothie. BONUS: coffee grounds contain antioxidants, which is an added bonus for your smoothie.
Just make sure you're using un-brewed ground coffee for your ground coffee in this smoothie. If the coffee grounds are already brewed, they will lack flavor and caffeine, which are the two main reasons to be adding the grounds into your coffee to begin with!
NOTE: We are talking about ground coffee here, NOT instant coffee. While you could use instant coffee, that is not how this recipe is intended.
Want A Decaf Coffee Smoothie?
Just use decaffeinated ground coffee and decaffeinated brewed coffee, and you'll easily make your coffee smoothie a decaf. This is a great option if you're trying to avoid caffeine or you want to enjoy this as an evening snack, but still want to sleep.
What Type of Coffee Should I Add To My Smoothie?
Now that we've discussed whether or not coffee grounds are okay to eat, the next question is what type of coffee is best for smoothies? This question is pretty variable, depending on your tastes and coffee preferences. In general, the better quality coffee grounds, the better taste you'll have in your smoothie.
KEEP IN MIND: If you buy the cheapest beans you can find, the chances are higher you’ll be consuming pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers. Look for high-quality coffee beans. My favorite is Cleanish Coffee which is organic, fair-trade, and absolutely delicious.
How To Make This Coffee Smoothie Ahead Of Time
It’s not hard to make smoothies in the morning, but the process can be even easier if you want to plan ahead. Here's how to make this coffee smoothie in a freezer pack:
- Add the ground coffee, banana, vanilla extract, and peanut butter to a sealable freezer-safe bag (I love these re-usable storage bags or mason jars).
- Press the air out of the bag.
- Place the bag in the freezer.
When you crave a coffee smoothie in the morning, all you have to do is to add almond milk followed by the frozen ingredients to your blender.
This also means your breakfast drink will be ready in 2 minutes now. You can see all about smoothie freezer packs here.
OR if you wanted to blend everything fully ahead, you can pour it into a mason jar, and freeze. Then, grab it the night before and allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight. When you wake up, it'll be ready to grab and enjoy.
More Healthy Smoothie Recipes
Are you developing a strong sense that healthy breakfast smoothies are the way to go during busy mornings? Good. I’m glad to hear it. Here are some other great healthy smoothie recipes:
- Coffee Protein Shake | With Creamy Almond Butter
- 14 Smoothie Freezer Packs
- Banana Protein Shake
- 5 High Protein Fruit Smoothie Recipes For Weight Loss + Video
- Blueberry Protein Shake | Thick & Refreshing
- Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter Protein Shake
Healthy Coffee Smoothie Recipe
Equipment
*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ground coffee un-brewed, (not instant coffee)
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)
- ¼ cup brewed coffee, chilled (Try my organic coffee beans)
- ½ frozen banana (the riper, the sweeter)
- raw honey, as needed, for sweetness (and if not vegan)
- ice, as needed to thicken
- 1 scoop vanilla protein I use this one
Instructions
To Make the Healthy Coffee Smoothie Recipe:
- Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Add more ice if too liquidy or more almond milk if too thick, as needed.
- Serve immediately.
To Make The Smoothie Freezer Pack:
- To make the smoothie freezer pack, add the ground coffee to the bottom of the bag, followed by banana, vanilla extract, and peanut butter to a freezer bag.
- Press the air out of the bag and seal tightly, then place in the freezer.
- When ready to blend, add the almond milk and chilled coffee to a blender, followed by the frozen contents from the freezer pack.
- Blend until smooth.
Eliza
deliciously divine!
The ground coffee I neglected, and instead added some instant granules to up the coffee taste till I got it perfect, added a dash of cardemum..love banana, coffee and cardemum together. Also used a somewhat defatted pnut butter flour instead of out of the jar peanut butter.. thank you for this wonderful idea!!!!
Dustin
Glad you liked it 🙂
Lacey Baier
Ooh, I love the cardamom addition! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Sadie
this sounds great just one question is there something i can replace the honey with
Mer
This is so yummy amd refreshing! Love the crunchy coffee grinds! Make it every day now!☺️
Lacey Baier
That is so cool!
Tere
I used agave nectar and loved it!
Lacey Baier
You can use pure maple syrup or monkfruit extract.
W
So tasty! Just what I was looking for. I only used 1/2 the coffee grounds as I was skeptical of the texture and powdered peanut butter and it turned out delicious. My new morning beverage.
Lacey Baier
YES! Love to hear it.
tam
How did you rim the glass with coffee grinds? Did you dip it in water first or use a piece of orange?
Lacey Baier
I actually just used water - coffee is sticky so it works 🙂 but you could also add a little of the almond butter around the rim.
Veronica Cruz
This smoothie is amazing! I’ve had it for a while now. It’s very smooth and deli
Lacey Baier
So glad you have enjoyedit, Veronica!
Thane
There's a whole detailed recipe and nutritional panel at the bottom.
Lacey Baier
<3
Alyssa
This shake is so yummy! It’s so sweet that I can’t believe it’s healthy and has no chocolate in it! I wanted to make the shake even healthier, so I altered the recipe by removing the coffee grounds (it left a funky texture in my mouth), adding more coffee and banana, replacing the honey and vanilla with dates, and adding spinach leaves and chia seeds for extra nutrition. So delicious! You can’t go wrong with this recipe.
Lacey Baier
Woot! So glad you agree!
Chloe
Just made this and it went down fast! Was sooo yummy! I think next time for a special treat I’d put some grated dark choc in it 😀
I didn’t do ground coffee granules but did one shot coffee, but definitely will do a double expresso next time and a dollop of natural yoghurt
Thank you! More for me as husband doesn’t like peanut butter or banana
Lacey Baier
Perfect! I'm glad the substitutions worked out for you.
Elise
This smoothie was so good! It's super simple, too. We used agave syrup instead of honey and didn't add ground coffee beans, but it was still awesome!
Lacey Baier
Glad you enjoyed it!
Sarah
I added a scoop of vanilla protein powder (and omitted the honey) to thicken it up and make it a full breakfast, very tasty and filling!
Lacey Baier
Awesome!
Vanessa
Hi, this sounds delicious but I don’t eat peanut butter, anyone knows what I could substitute it with?
Thanks
cg
Do you eat sunflower seeds? Try sunbutter maybe?? Or how about any other kind of nut butter?? Good luck!
Lacey Baier
Almond, cashew, or sunflower butter would work as well.
Sue
This recipe sounds delicious! What did you rim your glasses with in these pictures?
Lacey Baier
It's coffee grounds on water-dipped rims 🙂
Inna
This is delicious! I have a question, though, it may sound silly.
Do I put the banana in the freezer with the peel or do I peel it and cut it up into slices ?
Also, how long should it be frozen for?
Tanya
Unpeeled bananas are best frozen, no peel. You can cut it up or just break it in half. I would put it in the night before if you can.
Lacey Baier
Not a silly question at all! I peel them before freezing them. So much easier.
Bree
This was SO good! I just finished mine and cannot wait to make another to take to work with me tomorrow. Thanks so much for this recipe! I added some ground flax seed to mine for extra fiber ☺️
Lacey Baier
You're very welcome!!
Claire
Tastes delicious! My only edit would be to omit the coffee grounds and add more coffee in its place. My blender didn’t make the grounds smooth so the smoothie came out with an odd texture. Otherwise it was great and I will make it again!
Awhit
Excited to try this! Question … is the caffeine in this roughly equivalent to a regular cup of coffee, or more or less caffeine? I want to adjust the ingredients accordingly to get about the same caffeine as I typically do so I don’t get a caffeine headache or get jittery!
Jen Moderator
Hi Awhit! Thank you for your comment and that's a great question! The coffee grounds directly will contain a decent amount of caffeine. While we can't say exactly how much...Lacey did determine that 1 tablespoon of grounds plus 1/4 cup of brewed coffee would be pretty close to 1 full cup of coffee. However, I know what you mean about getting jittery off of too much caffeine! It might be safe to begin with 1/2 tablespoon of the grounds. And see how you feel.
Lacey Baier
Sorry about the texture - I guess my Vitamix handled it well.
Rachael
This sounds relish! Apart from the banana.... I can’t stand banana! Anyone know what I could substitute it with?
Mayra
I would use dates to replace the banana and the added sweetener, two birds with one stone!😅
Lacey Baier
I have an entire post on banana-free smoothie alternatives here: https://www.asweetpeachef.com/banana-free-smoothies/
Suzanne
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
Lacey Baier
Just as any smoothie would, so I would enjoy it quickly or freeze it for later.
Vanessa
This looks so good! What a great way to combine breakfast and coffee. It would be great to not be fumbling with a thermos and smoothie cup out the door.
Lacey Baier
So glad you agree!
Grace
Thanks Lacey. Look forward to trying this. I think I’ll skip the banana and honey as I’m on Keto and the carb count is quite high. i think I’ll add Greek yogurt or protein powder for the creamy factor and add xylitol to sweeten it.
Lacey Baier
Perfect!
Siv
Thanks for the recipe! Sometimes I don’t have time to sit and eat my breakfast at work so this is a great alternative. I make this at home and pour it into a thermos to keep chilled and drink it in the office. I add in 1/4 cup oats, 1 teaspoon flax seeds and 1 tablespoon chia seeds to make it even healthier.
Lacey Baier
YUM! That's a great idea!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Karen
Hi there! I'm interested to try this recipe just wanted to clarify about the ground coffee. The ground coffee is not-instant coffee? Are these from freshly ground coffee beans? Thank you!
Lacey Baier
Yes, it is from ground coffee, not instant coffee. Hope that clarifies it for you 🙂
Rebecca Smith
Fantastic! Thank you.
Lacey Baier
You're so welcome!!
Gravory
Cows milk has vitamin D in it. It’s fortified with it. Also vitamin A, potassium . Agree with a taste preference for some for almond or other nut milks, but cows milk has the edge nutritionally. If you do some easy research you’ll see. Yummy recipes with coffee though. Thank you.
Lacey Baier
Thanks for that added info on dairy milk!
Nancy
For the freezer pack method: it doesn't say to add the chilled coffee. I assume it is with the milk?
Lacey Baier
Correct, you'll add that chilled coffee at blending time. Thanks for pointing that out!
Heather
Hi, love your recipes! Can you tell me what blender you use? If a Vitamix what’s the exact model. Thank you!!
Lacey Baier
Yep! It's a Vitamix -- it's this one: https://www.asweetpeachef.com/vitamix/ 🙂
candace murray
This looks perfect for a coffee lover but breakfast hater! Thanks for the recipe and all your great tips, Lacey. Will be giving this a try tomorrow and hoping that it becomes a habit!!
Lacey Baier
Woohoo! I'm so glad you found it to be a good fit. I hope you love it tomorrow morning!!
Artez Saulsby
One of the best smoothies that I've tasted.
debbie
How much coffee goes into this recipe , it not listed on the ingredients.
Lacey Baier
Hi Debbie! It requires 1 tbsp ground coffee and 1/4 cup brewed coffee, chilled. I hope that helps!