A banana milkshake made in the Thermomix® only turns out properly creamy when the bananas have been frozen beforehand. Fresh bananas plus ice cubes produce a shake that turns watery after two minutes. Frozen banana pieces chill the drink, thicken it, and replace ice cubes entirely.
We have been making this shake for years, especially when we end up with too many ripe bananas in the fruit bowl. Rather than putting them into a banana cake, we peel them, cut them into pieces and pop them in the freezer. From there it becomes the quickest shake we know: banana pieces, milk, vanilla ice cream, sugar, forty-five seconds at speed 8. Done.
Banana Milkshake with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 4 ✓
- 300 g banana
- 30 g sugar
- 350 g milk
- 350 g vanilla ice cream
Instructions 0 / 2
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1
Peel the bananas.
Peel the bananas and place them in pieces into the mixing bowl.
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2
Blend the ingredients.
Add the sugar, milk and vanilla ice cream to the mixing bowl and blend for 45 sec / speed 8.
Tip: Vary the ingredients to discover new flavour combinations. How about a chocolate milkshake or a strawberry milkshake?
Nutrition per serving
Why frozen bananas make all the difference
Three points we have learned from hundreds of attempts.
Frozen bananas chill the shake from the inside. Ice cubes do the same job, but they melt quickly and water down the drink. Banana pieces straight from the freezer act as their own ice cubes while also adding flavour. That is why shakes made with frozen bananas stay firm and thick for longer.
Banana starch is released through freezing. When bananas freeze, the cell walls burst. When the Thermomix® then blends them, more starch and pectin is distributed through the milk than with a fresh banana. This is physical thickening, with no added binding agents. That is precisely what gives the shake the consistency you know from a proper ice cream parlour.
Speed 8 for 45 seconds is the right combination. Blending at a higher speed creates foam rather than creaminess. Speed 8 breaks down the frozen pieces evenly without beating in too much air. We use 300 g of bananas to 350 g of milk and 350 g of vanilla ice cream. These quantities are not random; they are the ratio that produces the creamiest result across all 6 glasses.
How we prepare the frozen bananas
Once you have peeled and frozen 2 kg of ripe bananas, you always have shake ingredients on hand. Here is how we do it: peel bananas that have brown spots on the skin (meaning they are truly ripe), cut them into 2 cm slices or pieces, spread them out in a single layer on a baking tray lined with baking paper, and place them in the freezer for four hours. Only then transfer them into a freezer bag or container. If you put the pieces straight into a bag, they freeze into a solid lump that cannot be portioned.
Shelf life in the freezer: three months without any loss of flavour. After that the bananas develop a slightly musty aroma because oxygen still gets through the packaging over time. Vacuum sealing extends this to six months.
Where the shake goes foamy or watery
The bananas are not ripe enough
A greenish or plain yellow banana without brown spots tastes starchy in a shake, not sweet. The starch only converts to sugar once the skin develops brown flecks. Our solution: We deliberately buy overripe bananas at the market (often in a discounted 2-euro bag) or leave them on the windowsill for two days until the spots appear. Then peel, freeze, done.
The shake turns foamy instead of creamy
If you blend at speed 10 or for too long (over 60 seconds), the Thermomix® beats in too much air. The shake looks like cappuccino foam and collapses after three minutes. Our solution: 45 seconds at speed 8 is enough. For an even creamier result, blend for 30 seconds at speed 6, then 15 seconds at speed 8 to smooth it out.
Fresh bananas plus ice cubes
This is the version found in most recipes online. Ice cubes splinter during blending, melt in the mixing bowl and the water ends up in your glass. After ten minutes the shake separates into a watery layer at the bottom and a foamy layer on top. Our solution: ALWAYS use frozen bananas and skip the ice cubes. If you have no frozen bananas, blend fresh bananas with cold milk and place the glass in the freezer for 15 minutes before serving.
Variations we make regularly
Chocolate banana shake: add 20 g of cocoa powder or 50 g of grated dark chocolate during blending. It tastes like liquid chocolate ice cream. For an even thicker result, replace 100 g of milk with double cream.
Banana peanut butter shake: add 2 heaped tablespoons of peanut butter (smooth, unsweetened) to the mixing bowl. This variation is as filling as a meal, making it ideal after exercise. The flavour is reminiscent of our banana peanut ice cream.
Banana berry shake: replace 100 g of the bananas with 100 g of frozen raspberries or strawberries. The acidity of the berries cuts through the sweetness and makes the shake lighter. This is our go-to variation in summer.
Banana coffee shake: replace 60 g of the milk with 2 espressos (cold, approximately 60 g). It tastes like a frappe but is more nutritious. This only works with vanilla ice cream, not chocolate ice cream.
Vegan version: use oat milk or almond milk instead of cow’s milk, and vegan vanilla ice cream. Oat milk works better because it is creamier than almond milk. Without ice cream (that is, with only plant milk and frozen bananas) the shake becomes almost too thick, in which case a splash more milk helps.
With pancakes, waffles, or on its own for breakfast
In summer we often serve the shake as dessert after a barbecue. If you drink it for breakfast, you can pair it with a slice of banana cake made in the Thermomix®. That is banana twice over, but we do it anyway. If you have run out of frozen bananas and need something quick, banana milk is a thinner but equally fast alternative.
After a hot day, our quick fruit ice cream made in the Thermomix® is a great companion; it is also based on frozen fruit and ready in two minutes. If you enjoy a caramel twist, the banana caramel layered dessert is well worth trying. And if you are looking for more ice cream ideas, our Ice Cream hub brings together all our frozen recipes in one place.
Storage and shelf life
The shake tastes best freshly blended. In the fridge it separates after about 30 minutes into a liquid layer and a thicker layer. Give it a good shake before drinking, or blend it briefly at speed 4 in the Thermomix® to restore the consistency.
Freezing the finished shake works well and produces a kind of soft-serve ice cream. Pour the shake directly into shallow dishes or ice lolly moulds and freeze for four hours. Leave to thaw for 5 minutes before serving. You can also thaw it in the mixing bowl: 30 seconds at speed 6 and it becomes spoonable again.
If you have made too much: it is better to freeze it immediately as an ice lolly than to leave it until the next day. Banana oxidises over time and the shake takes on a slightly brownish tint, which is harmless but looks unappetising.
Serving the shake like an ice cream parlour
If you serve the shake in a warm glass, you will notice a watery puddle at the bottom within three minutes. We put all 6 glasses in the freezer for a quarter of an hour before blending. Frosted, ice-cold glasses keep the consistency going twice as long and look like something straight out of a cafe. We top ours with a dollop of whipped cream, a drizzle of chocolate sauce and a few toasted peanuts or banana chips. For children, a colourful straw and a piece of banana on the rim of the glass make it special. That way a quick shake becomes a small summer treat that we are just as happy to serve on the terrace as after lunch.
Want more banana recipes? Here are our most-made ones:
- Banana Milk with the Thermomix®
- Banana Peanut Ice Cream with the Thermomix®
- Banana Cake with the Thermomix®
- Banana Caramel Layered Dessert
- Banana Cookies with the Thermomix®
