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Peanut Butter Banana Protein Shake

Name: Peanut Butter Banana Protein Shake
Prep time: 2 min
Total time: 2 min
Yield: 1 large shake
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder; 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter; 1 frozen banana; 1 cup milk or unsweetened almond milk; 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon; 1/2 cup ice

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⏱ 2 min total 💪 42g protein 🍽 1 large shake

The peanut butter banana shake is the workhorse of the protein-shake genre: cheap ingredients, reliable taste, and almost impossible to mess up. With a scoop of whey and 2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter, you hit 42g of protein in a single glass, plus the kind of dessert-like flavor that makes it feel like a treat instead of a chore. A frozen banana is the only essential technique. Skip it and the shake will be thin and warm. Use it and the texture is milkshake-thick straight out of the blender.

Ingredients

1 scoop vanilla or chocolate whey protein
2 tbsp natural peanut butter (no sugar added)
1 frozen banana
1 cup milk (dairy or unsweetened almond)
¼ tsp cinnamon (optional)
½ cup ice
1 tsp honey or maple syrup (optional)

Equipment

Blender: any standard blender. Frozen banana does the work, you don't need a high-powered one
Tall glass: 20 oz or larger
Measuring spoons: for peanut butter (eyeballing usually means too much)
Spatula: to scrape down PB stuck to the sides of the blender jug

Instructions

Peel and freeze a banana the night before, broken into 4 chunks. The frozen banana is the difference between a shake and a sad warm cup.
Add milk, frozen banana, peanut butter, whey, cinnamon and ice to a blender.
Blend on high for 30 seconds until smooth and thick. Scrape down any PB stuck to the sides halfway through.
Taste-test. If you want more sweetness, add the honey and pulse twice. If the shake is too thick to pour, add 2 tbsp more milk.
Pour into a tall glass and drink within 5 minutes for the best texture.

Macros

510

Calories

42g

Protein

38g

Carbs

19g

Fat

Per shake, made with vanilla whey, 1 cup almond milk, 2 tbsp natural peanut butter. Dairy milk adds about 60 kcal and 6g carbs.

Substitutions

Powdered peanut butter: use 2 tbsp PB2 mixed with 1 tbsp water. Cuts the fat by 75%
No frozen banana: use 1 fresh banana + ¾ cup ice. Shake will be a bit thinner
Chocolate version: swap vanilla whey for chocolate, add 1 tbsp cocoa powder
Peanut allergy: almond butter, cashew butter or SunButter all work. SunButter is the closest in flavor
Higher protein: add ¼ cup Greek yogurt or a second ½ scoop whey to push to 55g

Tips

Use natural peanut butter, not the sugary kind. Look for an ingredient list that reads peanuts and salt, nothing else. The added sugars in regular PB stack on top of the banana sugar and push the total past 25g. Stir the peanut butter jar from the bottom up before measuring: the oil settles on top and you'll get a runnier shake if you only scoop from the surface. For extra creaminess, use whole milk dairy and a frozen banana that was riper than you'd usually eat it (lots of brown spots = more sweetness, naturally).