Zucchini Smoothie (Fast & Easy!)

This easy zucchini smoothie is sweet, creamy and packed with fiber! Naturally sweetened with banana, satisfying peanut butter and cinnamon spice, it’s a delicious way to fit some hidden veggies into your day. All you need to make it are 5 minutes and 5 ingredients!

Jump to:

• ⭐ Reasons to love this recipe
• 🍌 Ingredients you need to make it
• 💭 Top tips
• 🍫 Add ins & variations
• 🍨 How to make a smoothie bowl
• 🧊 Storage, meal prep & freezing tips
• 💬 Answering your smoothie FAQ’s
• 🥛 More easy smoothie recipes
• Zucchini Smoothie (Fast & Easy!)

⭐ Reasons to love this recipe

Around here we’re big fans of green smoothies like this banana kale smoothie and this mango spinach smoothie.

So I was super intrigued by the idea of adding hidden veggies to my smoothies but honestly, I didn’t know if my sweet tooth & I were hardcore enough to handle it.

But then I remembered how deliciously zucchini disappears into desserts like muffins & quick breads and decided I was game to try it (at least once).

So I added in all my favorites (banana, almond milk, peanut butter, and a touch of cinnamon) and let me tell you…one sip and I was hooked!

Aside from lending a little green color, the zucchini was virtually undetectable AND made the smoothie super thick, creamy, and secretly packed with fiber.

It’s the perfect versatile smoothie base to make endless combinations - enjoy it as-is for blended zucchini-banana bread vibes or add frozen berries, mango or even cocoa powder for a fun twist!

🍌 Ingredients you need to make it

Zucchini: This is the star ingredient but to me (just like in a good sweet zucchini bread!) you can hardly even tell it’s in there. I leave the skin on, wash, chop and freeze mine but you could also use fresh chopped zucchini if you like.

Banana: I love the thick & creamy texture that frozen bananas add to smoothies, but fresh banana also works great. Bonus points that they add natural sweetness without sweetener!

Almond milk: I used almond milk but you can use any other type of milk you like (such as regular dairy milk or other non-dairy options like oat milk, cashew milk, coconut milk, hazelnut milk or hemp milk).

Peanut butter: I used unsweetened peanut butter but any nut or seed butter will work (almond butter, cashew butter, nutella or sunflower seed butter for a nut free version).

Cinnamon: The cinnamon is totally optional but I love that little extra bit of baked-goods flavor it adds along with the peanut butter & banana.

PS - This recipe is naturally gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free, vegan, vegetarian, and paleo friendly (if made without the oats). But you can easily make yours nut free simply by using any other milk in place of the almond milk and sunflower seed butter in place of peanut butter!

💭 Top tips

For thicker, creamier smoothies use frozen fruit: Ice is great in a pinch but frozen ingredients will make your smoothies thick without watering down the flavors.

If using fresh banana & zucchini, you can add ice for a thicker texture & colder temperature.

For a more sippable smoothie add more milk: I’m into thick smoothies but if you prefer a thinner smoothie, simply add a little more almond milk. 

To make it even more satisfying, add protein powder or Greek yogurt. Highly recommend this if you’re having it for breakfast or a pre / post workout snack!

🍫 Add ins & variations

For a boost of fiber & healthy fats: Add in 1 tablespoon of chia seeds or ground flaxseed, 1 tablespoon of almond butter or ¼ of an avocado. You can also use ground psyllium husks but be sure to enjoy it soon after blending (since they gel up quickly in liquid).

With yogurt: For extra creaminess or for an extra boost of protein (that isn’t from protein powder) add ½ cup of plain unsweetened Greek yogurt.

With greens: For an easy zucchini spinach smoothie add 2 cups of baby spinach (or kale for a zucchini kale smoothie) before blending.

With berries: You can add ½ cup of any fresh or frozen berries you like. Including blueberries for a blueberry zucchini smoothie, or raspberries, cherries, strawberries, or a mixed berry blend.

With tropical fruit: Add ½ cup of fresh or frozen pineapple, kiwi, or mango.

With no banana: You could make this smoothie without banana by using something like mango or peaches instead. You may want to adjust for sweetness by adding honey or maple syrup.

For a chocolate zucchini smoothie: Simply add 1-2 tablespoons of cocoa powder (or cacao powder), 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and 1 scoop of chocolate protein powder. Or even try adding a spoonful of nutella!

🍨 How to make a smoothie bowl

You can turn all my smoothie recipes into tasty smoothie bowls simply by using less liquid.

To make a zucchini banana smoothie bowl, reduce the amount of milk down to ¾ cup and be sure to use frozen zucchini and frozen bananas (helps make it thicker but not icy!).

You can use any toppings you like, but here’s a few that go really well with this smoothie:

• For texture and crunch: cacao nibs, chocolate chips, chocolate granola, sliced almonds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, coconut flakes
• For fresh fruit: strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, sliced bananas
• Fun extras: almond butter, nutella, coconut cream

🧊 Storage, meal prep & freezing tips

This smoothie is very easy to prep ahead, just add all your ingredients (except the almond milk) for grab and go freezer smoothie packs that you can grab & blend with liquid each morning.

I feel like smoothies taste best right after blending, but you can also store leftovers in the fridge and freezer.

For the fridge, you can store it covered for a day or two. But for the freezer, I recommend pouring your smoothie into ice cube trays so you can store the smoothie cubes in a ziptop bag for up to a month.

In either case, when you’re ready to enjoy it you can reblend it as needed with milk to thin it out or add ice, frozen fruit or chia seeds to thicken it back up again.

💬 Answering your smoothie FAQ’s

Can you put zucchini in a smoothie?

• Yes! Just like for zucchini bread and zucchini muffins, zucchini can be a great addition to sweet and satisfying smoothies. It’s rich in fiber, has little to no discernible taste, and a fun way to add a hidden veggie boost to your fruity smoothies.

Should zucchini be raw or cooked when added to a smoothie?

• Some people prefer to quickly steam their zucchini before freezing & using in their smoothies (especially folks who want or need it to be easier to digest). I like using mine raw but you can cook it before freezing if you like!