This healthy peanut butter milkshake is made with only 4 ingredients, is gluten-free and vegan, and is arguably the tastiest milkshake you could ever eat!
If any time of the year deserves a little shake-up, itās summer. We spend most of our year stuck in the daily grind of office life, sending kids to school, or even sending ourselves to school, all while the daylight gets shorter and the weather gets colder.
Itās easy to get into a rut. And itās hard to pull yourself out.
Which is precisely why summertime means itās time to let loose. Shake things up. Do things differently. Live life to the fullest. Enjoy every moment. Soak up the sun. Take our family to the beach. And laugh.
And also…enjoy those amazing summer treats! Today I want to share an updated version of one of my favorite treats: this healthy peanut butter milkshake. It's creamy, it's delicious, it's healthy and it's the perfect way to shake up your summer!
What is a Milkshake?
Before we talk about how to make this healthy milkshake, let's talk about what a milkshake actually is. A milkshake ā or just shake as some people say ā is a drink made from blending ice cream and milk. You can also add flavorings like syrups or extracts, but traditionally they're just plain milk with vanilla (or chocolate or strawberry) ice cream.
How Unhealthy is a Milkshake?
In general, I would say that a classic milkshake is fairly unhealthy, just based on how much sugar they contain. A medium vanilla milkshake (16 oz) from fast-food restaurants like Burger King or McDonald's is:
- 650+ calories
- 35+g of fat
- 50+g of sugar
So in general, they're not the healthiest, BUT you can definitely make a healthy version which is what we're doing today.
Vegan Peanut Butter Milkshake Ingredients
It probably sounds impossible, or at least counter-intuitive, to have a milkshake that tastes so good and is actually healthy. But Iām not in the business of making stuff up. Itās always my goal to create luscious treats that you donāt have to feel guilty about eating.
For this healthy peanut butter milkshake, youāll need just 4 simple ingredients:
- bananas
- coconut milk
- cinnamon
- and peanut butter
And a food processor. No bowls, no mixing, no stirring, no freezing. Just process and slurp.
Talk about easy-peasy.
How to Make a Healthy Milkshake
There are a few tricks for making your milkshake healthy. Here are some of my ideas:
- frozen bananas instead of ice cream
- “lite” ice cream
- almond milk instead of dairy milk
- skip flavorings and/or any added sugars or syrups
When it comes to actually making your milkshake, it couldn't be easier! If you have a high powered blender, I think you can do this in a blender, but I like to use my food processor. Either way, you're going to dump all your ingredients into the appliance you're using, blend it up until it's smooth & creamy, and then serve!
Why You'll Love this Peanut Butter Milkshake
Honestly, I hadnāt had a milkshake since I was a little girl. It had been years, if not decades. But this recreation was everything I remembered.
This peanut butter milkshake is…
ultra-creamy
super decadent
dairy-free
gluten-free
vegan
packed with peanut butter
and totally healthy
And it really is a āmilkshakeā. That ice cream-like texture, that decadence, all without loads of sugar and actual ice cream.
Oh, and itās totally breakfast-worthy, basically like having a smoothie. But shh…I wonāt tell if you wonāt!
More Healthy Summer Desserts
- No Bake Snickers Banana Bites
- Easy No Bake Key Lime Pie Bars
- Frozen Berry Tarts
- Banana Blueberry Crumble
- Gluten-Free Vegan Strawberry Shortcake
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Soft Serve
The Healthiest Peanut Butter Milkshake
Ingredients
- 3 frozen bananas (make sure they're ripe!)
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup coconut milk or more as needed
- Dash of cinnamon
- Dash of maple syrup*
Instructions
- Add bananas to a food processor and process until broken up into little pieces. Add peanut butter and process again.
- As mixture starts to come together, add the milk a splash at a time, allowing mixture to get more smooth between each addition.
- Once the mixture is totally smooth, add a dash of cinnamon and process for another 10 ā 15 seconds. Taste and add a dash of maple syrup if needed (only if your bananas aren't totally ripe).
- Transfer milkshakes into two jars. Top with peanut butter and a little quinoa. Stir gently with a knife so you get that swirling effect.
- Enjoy immediately!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This looks delicious too!
Wondering if anyone has tried making this with coconut milk or almond milk and almond butter instead of peanut butter. If so, are the ratios the same?
I would say that they most certainly are š The flavors would be slightly different, but still yummy! Let me know how it works out!
I just made this recipe and it is INSANELY DELICIOUS!!!! I will be making this my breakfast smoothie for a while!!!! Loved, loved loved it!
Thank you!!!
YES! So happy you made it – isn’t it awesome!? Totally something that tastes like a decadent dessert but healthy enough for breakfast. One of my absolute favorites! I’m all about the guilt-free indulging š
This recipe looks great and would love to try. I do have a question. I can not have bananas. Is there any other fruit I could use? Thanks!
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I’m visiting from Pinterest – this ‘milkshake’ looks absolutely delicious!
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peanut butter is absolutely one of my favorite milk shake flavors – there is a FANTASTIC juice cart in SE Portland that has a lovely peanut butter shake… that I sometimes recreate from home if I cannot get across town. yours looks fantastic too, love the quinoa!
I love using frozen bananas in smoothies, your version with peanut butter sounds wonderful!
This is so unique! Love it!
How decadent! And without a drop of dairy or soy. I have a friend who can’t have either and she misses milkshakes dearly! I will pass this along!
How many calories per serving?
I don’t have that data on hand, but feel free to plug the ingredients into one of the online calculators and that should give you the info š
My thoughts exactly. Thanks for the recipe and if I want to know calories or etc I can look it up
It would be really helpful to have the nutritional content when posting recipes, some of us are trying to watch calories, manage sugar and count grams of protein. i see that others have asked as well, perhaps you can look into this as your recipes look delish but if the caloric count is so high, I may have to skip lunch!
I’m working through them little by little. Appreciate the patience!
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Love this Milk Shake!!!
Hooray!! xox
This looks delicious! Your recipe makes 2 servings. Can it be refrigerated for the next morning?
Definitely!
Do you use the quinoa how it is or boil it first or what?
I use cooked quinoa!
I don’t like quinoa.
Oatmeal work?
Definitely!
Why can’t I see the recipe?
Sorry about that! It’s updated now š
I’ve sent you my email address, so I can access this delicious-looking milkshake. But it’s been a couple of days and I haven’t received anything yet. Is there something else I need to do?
Your email must have gone to spam – sorry about that!! The post is updated with the milkshake recipe š thank you for bringing that to our attention!
Got it! Thanks so much!
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Yum!
I will use subutter vs pb.
And oatmeal vs quinoa.
Love it!
I added cinnamon and used chocolate pea milk (Ripple) and it came out delicious!
YUM!
When do you add the milk?
There was a typo! Updated the instructions š Thank you!
I love simplyquina recipes and this soft serve is a keeper for me its soooo delishes
Woohoo! So glad you enjoyed it š
Would light (reduced fat) coconut milk work for this recipe? Thank you
Totally!
Can I use PB power instead of the already prepared PB? Would I have to add anything additional?
That should work!! It might be a little more thin but still great taste š
Looks yummy. Is the coconut milk the type in the can or box?
Hi! The peanut butter milkshake looks super delicious and I will definitely try it out! Although, could you please explain why/how coconut milk is healthier than regular dairy milk? How exactly is dairy milk unhealthy?
Dairy milk is very inflammatory for a lot of people. So I personally choose to eat dairy-free because it works better for my system. If you can tolerate dairy milk fine, then go for it. But one interesting thing to just think about: humans are the only species that eat/drink another animal’s milk. Cow’s milk is really to feed baby cows not humans š