Flavored Banana Milk (Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry)

September 27 is Chocolate Milk Day so I decided that it’s time to revisit my flavored banana milk concept. I may be an adult but I still enjoy chocolate milk, even more so when it’s a simple version that’s lighter and healthier!

I made Banana Milk and flavored Banana Milks–specifically, Vanilla Banana Milk, and Chocolate Banana Milk—the other day, and all of them tasted great. I’ve always known that bananas are great for smoothies. They add creaminess and natural sweetness and help thicken smoothies. So I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of making a simple lighter banana-based beverage before. But necessity led me down the Banana Milk road the other day.

You see lately I’ve returned to an old easy breakfast favorite of mine—Grain-Free Nut and Fruit Cereal. It’s simply a mixture of nuts and fruit (fresh or dried) with some milk added and sweetener if needed. 

Most of the time when I make this simple, on-the-spot breakfast, an additional sweetener is not even needed. Nuts like pecans and cashews have their own sweetness and berries, bananas, apples, and/or dates are plenty sweet on their own. Who needs to buy cereal when you have this wonderful way of making cereal? I sure don’t. But it’s not specifically cereal that I want to talk about today. Bear with me.

The last time that I went to make my Nut and Fruit Cereal, I had no fresh bananas to add and the berries were long gone. I had dates, apples, and coconut flakes, but I wasn’t in the mood for any of those particular flavors. I wanted a simple combination of pecans, milk, and bananas.

I just really wanted that banana taste for my homemade cereal. I’ve always loved banana slices as topping on cereal.

Suddenly an idea struck. Banana Milk! I could make banana milk using a frozen banana and pour the Banana Milk over my chopped pecans and I’d be set.

Honestly, my freezer holds more bananas than you’d like to know and I’m always looking for ways to use them. First, I made Banana Milk from simply banana and milk and I put that on my cereal. It worked perfectly.

But before I added the milk to my cereal, I sampled some in a glass (because one doesn’t need much milk for this type of cereal) and it hit me that Banana Milk was great on its own. And it’s a gazillion times better than the ready-made flavored milk that’s being marketed to kids these days.

After enjoying my cereal, I kept experimenting and made some flavored Banana Milk. First, I tried Vanilla Banana Milk, adding some of my homemade vanilla extract to the basic recipe. So simple and satisfying. Then I added some cocoa powder to the basic recipe. The result was a lovely naturally sweetened chocolate milk. You could also add vanilla extract to that recipe if you’d like.

I didn’t actually make Strawberry Banana Milk, but to do so I would simply add a few real strawberries. I could adjust the sweetness if needed by either using more bananas or adding just a bit of maple syrup or honey, if needed.

I used Almond Milk to make all my creations, but you can use whatever milk you like. However, I wouldn’t recommend skim cow’s milk (which actually is not milk in my book).

Check out the ingredients in some ready-made flavored milk products compared to my recipes.

Nesquick Lowfat Chocolate Milk:  LOWFAT MILK WITH VITAMIN A PALMITATE AND VITAMIN D3 ADDED, SUGAR, LESS THAN 2% OF COCOA PROCESSED WITH ALKALI, CALCIUM CARBONATE, CELLULOSE GEL, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, SALT, CARRAGEENAN, CELLULOSE GUM. CONTAINS: MILK INGREDIENT.

Nesquick Strawberry Banana Milk:  LOWFAT MILK WITH VITAMIN A PALMITATE AND VITAMIN D3 ADDED, SUGAR, LESS THAN 2% OF ARTIFICIAL AND NATURAL FLAVORS, CALCIUM CARBONATE, CELLULOSE GEL, CARRAGEENAN, CELLULOSE GUM, CITRIC ACID, SALT, RED 3. CONTAINS: MILK INGREDIENT.

(Note that neither strawberries nor bananas are included in these products, just those “natural flavors” that could be made from most anything. It’s rarely an issue of them containing gluten though. If natural flavors contain wheat, per the law, “wheat” must be shown on the ingredients label. Read more about natural flavors here.)

Another product that’s being promoted for kids lately is Milk Splash Liquid Milk Enhancers. They’re advertised as “great-tasting, zero-calorie flavors.”

Jammin’ Banana flavor of Milk Splash contains: PROPYLENE GLYCOL, WATER, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, SODIUM CITRATE, SUGAR*, SUCRALOSE, ACESULFAME POTASSIUM, CITRIC ACID, YELLOW 5, AND POTASSIUM SORBATE (PRESERVATIVE).

*Contributes a dietarily insignificant amount of calories.

Cocoa Loco flavor of Milk Splash contains:  PROPYLENE GLYCOL, CARAMEL COLOR WITH SULFITES, WATER, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, SUGAR*, SODIUM CITRATE, SUCRALOSE, ACESULFAME POTASSIUM, CITRIC ACID, AND POTASSIUM SORBATE (PRESERVATIVE).

*Contributes a dietarily insignificant amount of calories.

Sir Strawberry Swirl flavor of Milk Splash contains:  PROPYLENE GLYCOL, NATURAL FLAVOR, SUGAR*, SODIUM CITRATE, SUCRALOSE, ACESULFAME POTASSIUM, CITRIC ACID, RED 40, AND POTASSIUM SORBATE (PRESERVATIVE).

*Contributes a dietarily insignificant amount of calories.

Yes, those really are the ingredients.  Note that Sucralose is Splenda.

The ingredients of my Banana Milk are:  MILK OF CHOICE, BANANA.

The ingredients of my Vanilla Banana Milk are:  MILK OF CHOICE, BANANA, PURE VANILLA EXTRACT.

The ingredients of my Chocolate Banana Milk are:  MILK OF CHOICE, BANANA, RAW CACAO POWDER (OR COCOA POWDER).

The ingredients of my Strawberry Banana Milk are:  MILK OF CHOICE, BANANA, STRAWBERRIES, MAPLE SYRUP OR HONEY (IF ADDED).

Banana Milk and Flavored Banana Milk (Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry) Recipes

Go make your own Banana Milk and flavored Banana Milk to give to your kids—or make it for yourself—to enjoy without worries!

Yield:

Basic Banana Milk and Flavored Banana Milk (Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry)

Print

Skip those ready-made flavored milk products and make your family delicious homemade versions using real ingredients!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

Basic Banana Milk Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 1 cup milk of choice, dairy (not skim) or non-dairy

Vanilla Banana Milk Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 1 cup milk of choice, dairy (not skim) or non-dairy 
• 1/2 to 1 tsp of vanilla extract, to taste
• 1 tsp maple syrup (or raw honey), optional

Chocolate Banana Milk Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 1 cup milk of choice, dairy (not skim) or non-dairy 
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder (or raw cacao powder)
• 1/2 to 1 tsp vanilla extract, to taste
• 1 tsp maple syrup (or raw honey), optional

Strawberry Banana Milk Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 1 cup milk of choice, dairy (not skim) or non-dairy 
• 2 to 3 strawberries, more or less to taste
• 1 tsp maple syrup (or raw honey), optional

Instructions

1. Add ingredients to blender.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Serve.

Did you make this recipe?

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Originally published July 8, 2014; updated September 28, 2021.

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