Banana Chai Smoothie With Vanilla

This banana chai smoothie is made with chai tea, vanilla, almond milk, nut butter, and seeds. It’s packed with so much flavour and nutrition, making it a super easy and healthy breakfast option! Recipe is vegan and gluten-free.

If you’re looking for a new flavour combination for your morning smoothie, you’ve come to the right place. This chai smoothie recipe is unique, flavourful, and nutritious!

If there was such thing as a smoothie that was both cold and warming at the same time – this would be it. The chai spices in the tea add an almost festive flavour, making this smoothie perfect for breakfast all year long.

This chai smoothie is made with healthy ingredients like banana, avocado, nut butter, seeds, and almond milk. The chai flavour comes from a simple bag of chai tea – nothing fancier.

The ingredient combination of this smoothie packs in tons of healthy fats, dietary fibre, protein, vitamins, and minerals. As a dietitian, these are all things I look for in a balanced breakfast (or a snack if you’d prefer)!

There’s also no sugar added to this recipe and it happens to be vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free. It’s perfect for many dietary preferences.

I hope you enjoy this banana chai smoothie as much as I do!

Ingredients Needed For This Recipe

All you need to make this healthy chai smoothie are 10 simple ingredients:

• chai tea (a tea bag will do!)
• almond milk
• banana (frozen if possible)
• chia seeds
• hemp seeds
• vanilla extract
• nut butter (almond or peanut, unsweetened)
• avocado (frozen if possible)
• plain or vanilla protein powder or collagen (optional)
• ice cubes

How To Make Chai Smoothie

The first step in making this smoothie is to steep the chai tea!

Simply add a bag of chai tea to a cup of boiling water. Allow the tea to steep for at least 5 minutes, longer if you’d like it to cool down a bit more. I used this chai, but you can use any brand you’d like.

Then, squeeze out the excess tea in the bag with a spoon. Remove the tea bag and pour the steeped tea into a high-speed blender (I use this vitamix).

Next, add the almond milk and all other smoothie ingredients. Blend until smooth and creamy. That’s it!

Recipe Variations & Modifications

If you’d like to make some modifications to this chai tea smoothie recipe, here are some options!

Instead of almond milk, you can use any milk or milk alternatives that you like. Just aim for an unsweetened one, if possible.

You can use any nut butter you’d like, such as almond, peanut, or cashew butter. I personally used almond for this one! Try to purchase nut butters where the only ingredient is the nut itself, if possible.

I love adding in both hemp and chia seeds, but if you only have one of these that’s ok. Just double the amount of the one you have. You could also try using flax seeds!

Frozen bananas and avocados really help to make the texture of this smoothie thick and creamy. I love keeping frozen options on hand, but if you’re in a pinch you can use unfrozen ones. You just may need to add more ice in that case!

If you’d like to add an extra boost of protein, you can try adding your favourite unflavoured or vanilla protein powder. I personally like this recipe with a scoop of unflavoured collagen powder.

How To Store Or Make Ahead

If your mornings are a rush, rest assured that you can make a smoothie the night before. Smoothies can be kept in the fridge OR you can even freeze them. They’re a great option to include in your breakfast meal prep!

This smoothie will keep for about 2 days in the fridge. Simply pour it into a jar with a lid and refrigerate. Separation is normal – just give the jar a good shake or put it in the blender again.

If you’d like to freeze this smoothie, pour it into silicone ice cube trays or muffin tins and place them in the freezer.

Once frozen, you can pop out the smoothie “cubes” and store them in a freezer-safe bag. Just thaw them for a few hours or the night before you want the smoothie.

Chai Smoothie Nutrition

This chai smoothie packs in a TON of nutrition, like fibre, protein, healthy fats, micronutrients, and antioxidants! Check out some of the nutrition profiles of the ingredients below:

Banana Nutrition:

• A fibre-rich carbohydrate (one medium banana provides 3g of fibre).
• Good source of micronutrients like potassium, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and magnesium.

Avocado Nutrition:

• Rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids and dietary fibre. Just 1 cup of avocado provides about 40% of your daily fibre needs.
• Good source of micronutrients like vitamin C, B6, K, E, folate, magnesium, and potassium.

Hemp Seeds Nutrition:

• One of the best plant-based sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which play a role in heart health, brain health, and reducing inflammation throughout the body.
• Great source of plant-based protein, with just 3 tablespoons providing 10 grams of complete protein!
• Good source of vitamin E and minerals like zinc, iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium.

Chia Seeds Nutrition:

• One of the best plant-based sources of omega-3s.
• Two tablespoons of chia seeds gives you 5 grams of plant-protein and 10 grams of dietary fibre (about 40% of your daily needs)!
• Rich in minerals like magnesium, calcium, and iron.

Almond Butter Nutrition:

• Excellent source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids.
• Good source of fibre (2 tablespoons gives you about 2 grams)
• Rich in micronutrients like vitamin E, magnesium, iron, and calcium.
• Good source of plant-based protein, with about 7 grams in 2 tablespoons.

More Healthy Smoothie Recipes

• Simple Cherry Smoothie With Yogurt
• Strawberry Pineapple Spinach Smoothie
• Chocolate Banana Avocado Smoothie
• Simple Creamy Green Smoothie

Did you give this Banana Chai Smoothie Recipe a try? Let me know by leaving a comment and recipe rating below!

If you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram or Pinterest – seeing your creations always makes my day. You can also subscribe to my email list to never miss a new recipe or nutrition education post!

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