If you dislike the sound of someone slurping through their straw to try to get every last little drop out of their cup, then you probably shouldn’t make these PB&J smoothies. My kids absolutely LOVE them! And it all started when on a recent trip to buy groceries from Earth Fare we decided to also have lunch in their little cafe.
While paying for our sushi I noticed that they had a surprisingly good smoothie menu, so on a whim, I decided to order their PB&J smoothie for my girls (and me) to share. Well, that was a mistake…I should have gotten a large size for each of us! During the first 5 minutes of the lunch (which was as long as the smoothie lasted) all I could hear—aside from the slurping—was “I want more of it,” ”It’s my turn for some,” “she is drinking it all.” Need I say more?
I, of course, don’t have Earth Fare’s exact recipe so this is just my version that emulates theirs as best as I can. My daughters responded very similarly to this version so I would say it went over well. This is the best invention for kids since the original PB&J!!
PB&J Smoothie
An easy smoothie recipe your kids (and you!) will love.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/3 cup apple juice
- 1/3 cup peanut butter
- 2 bananas, (I like using 2, but if you only have 1 on hand, don't let it stop you!)
- 1 cup frozen berries, or fresh
- 1 handful spinach, optional
- ice, (only if you use fresh berries)
Instructions
-
Mix well in a blender and serve cold with a straw.
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Nutrition Facts
Other Smoothie Recipes You Might Like
Check out the recipe suggestions below or view all smoothie related posts and recipes here.
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Made this for snack today! VERY GOOD! 3 yr old still unsure abt it, but me, my son & husband thought it was great! Thx for the recipe!
kt
can’t wait to try the smoothie…only 2 more days on my cleanse and then gradually start eating real food again…all of your recipes are making me hungry…
Have you ever tried it without the juice? Another way to get some added nutrients is to throw a handful of spinach into your smoothies of any kind. Can’t taste it and if it turns your smoothie green which it sometimes does we call them Popeye drinks and my kids love them!
To lose the green color in a smoothie from adding the spinich or broccili etc, just add beets. My family has no idea that their fruit smoothies contain any of this stuff. I have a small silicone ice tray that I put pureed veggies with the beets and make up frozen premeasured packets in ziplock baggies with cutup fruits, just add milk, juice or water and you have a shake ready to go!
nice idea,,,,thanks
The beets are a great idea! I love throwing spinach into my smoothies ’cause I can’t taste it, but my husband says he can. Personally, I think it’s just the coloring that throws him off. I may try the beets on him and see if he can notice anything in the PB & J smoothie. (I just made it today without the apple juice, but with a cup of spinach and it was delish!)
So do you cook and puree the beets and then freeze in an ice cube tray? Do you puree the spinach into the beets? Looking for ways to get more veggies down the kids and this would be great!
I just toss in some grated raw beets. It turns the smoothie a lovely shade of pink or fuschia, depending on how much beet you add.
Hi!
I just wanted to let you know that I’ve made this PB&J smoothie twice now and my 9 year old son just loooooves it! (so do I) I made it for him for breakfast this morning as a matter of fact.
I found you in my research on food and ADD/ADHD as my son was just diagnosed with ADD. I felt like I had to try something here at home other than the prescribed stimulant which I’m not really thrilled about. My husband, son and I also watched Food Inc. and we thought it was truly appalling what is being done to us and the farmers of America, and that no one can do anything about it. Right then we decided to take a stand.
I’m in the Steele Creek area and my son and I visit the Ballantyne Earth Fare frequently. My family has now decided to try going organic/local as much as we possibly can. I don’t live far from the Yorkmont Farmer’s Market and I’m excited to go see what they have. (It’s almost strawberry season, yay!) Having grown up on the NC mountains, I grew up on ‘real food’ for the most part. We didn’t even have a McDonald’s there until I was in high school. Our idea of fast food was the drive-in where the food was still basically ‘real’: homemade buns, locally butchered beef, locally grown vegetables. But my family is now going to try to change the way we eat. No more Pop-Tarts or fake food for us (among other things).
I’m also proud to say I made my first whole chicken in my crock pot thanks to your recipe. I ended up having chicken wraps, chicken salad and chicken tenders using olive oil and organic bread crumbs. I never knew how easy it could be. :)
I hope to see you again soon on Charlotte Today! Please keep the great recipes coming!
Thanks so much for joining us and for your comment…the more the merrier!! :)
This was exactly what I needed! My one year old has issues with dairy, but I am very unhappy with the alternatives to dairy. I’ve been trying to get her to like goats milk, but it was not happening. I just made this (with a few tweaks to make it a bit easier for her to swallow) and she loved it. This may be a way to get a little more calcium, protein, and fruits into her day! :) Thank you!
Hi Again! I was wondering on this recipe about the PB. Does it matter if it is chunky or smooth? I would assume smooth but wasn’t sure. Thanks!
You know…I’ve only tried it with smooth PB, but I think both would work with the right blender. Also, with any smoothie the leftovers are best kept in the freezer (per your other comment).
LOVE this. I add a bit of honey to make it a little sweeter, but it’s one of my favorite breakfasts now!
If i omitted the apple juice what would you suggest I replace it with?
You could just add extra milk instead.
I made this today and although it tasted good there were a lot of seeds in the frozen fruit i used (strawberries, raspberries,blackberries). I know I could just use blueberries to avoid that but I was wondering if you had any suggestions on how to lower the number of seeds in fruit smoothies with using frozen berries.
You could blend the berries first (by themselves), strain out the seeds with a fine mesh sieve, then mix them in with the other stuff. I hope that helps!
Mmm, made this for my kids for lunch with some popcorn to go along with. Secretly I was glad my 18 month old chose his usual cup of milk instead since I only had enough peanut butter for one. Now I get some for lunch too!
Excellent! I froze some of this in the freezer pops as you have pictured on the snack recipes page and my kids ask for these instead of popsicles!
I would love if you could add a way to “pin” these articles to Pinterest (I think there is a Word Press plugin for that now). Pinterest needs more whole food recipes!
So glad it was a hit…and I do have a pinterest button now!
I think I stumbled on your website through Pinterest and I have been taking time daily to read through all of the wonderful information that you have shared. Thank you first of all for sharing your knowledge and challenging people to eat a healthier, whole diet. I have been a healthy (no fast food, or junk food, liked to cook everything-kinda gal) for a long time. I am just recently taking the time to further educate myself on eating a whole foods diet with no processed foods and comprised of mostly organics. I am a cancer survivor and am very conscientious as to what I put into my body now. I feel like finding your blog was like finding a wealth of knowledge!
I was totally on the brink of caving and dying for something chocolatey or super sweet today, but then I remember I had wanted to try this recipe, so I whipped it up really quickly. It is delicious! I drank it all by myself and then though, shoot! I just ate 1/3 of a cup of peanut butter!! lol.
Thanks for sharing. I will make more next time and do the popsicles!
I used to work at a smoothie bar and would often try creations of my own. The PB&J smoothie I created was always my favorite! My ‘secret’ ingredients were to add oats and flax to the mix to give it a kind of ‘breaded’ flavor. With a quality machine they’ll blend right in, otherwise you have to be okay with a slight grainy texture.
this looks yummy, but my girls didn’t like the other smoothie i made because they could taste way too much banana. would it be ok without the banana? Loving your webiste! We made zucchini muffins for breakfast today and had them for snacks and dinner too! Slowly but surely, we are making some good changes. Thank you so much!
If you don’t put in bananas I would recommend adding a little bit of honey to the smoothie. Glad the blog is helpful!
I just made this… it is amazing! I used coconut milk (we can’t do cows milk), almond butter (totally addicted to it right now), and added some oats and flax seeds … it is excellent!
Just tried this and it is great and better than the one I had at the gym once. And I can tell you I watched them make it this is healthier too.
Also just a hint: My family loves Bananas some weeks more than others. So if you start seeing that this week your family is not eating as many and they are starting to brown. Cube them and freeze each banana seperately in storage bag(labled). Great for throwing in to shakes later and your bananas are not wasted.
awesome! thank you! of ocurse I made this for my girls and they didn’t like it, so I drank both of theirs! Not so healthy for me! ha! but I will say, that if you freeze this smoothie it’s like an ice cream treat! if I make it for myself, maybe i need to not use so much nut butter! i loved it! back to the drawing board for a smoothie my girls will like that tastes healthy (preferrably chocolate or blueberry) with no banana taste, and something that is REAL and healthy.
Thank you!
Try plain yogurt, frozen blueberries, 1 banana and some honey…recently discovered this and it’s really good (and blueberryish)!
You might add spinach too. I’ve been adding it to all our smoothies to make them healthier. It doesn’t have a taste at all so no complaints from my husband or daughter. The blueberries keep it from looking green so they hardly notice
Any ideas on what you can replace the banana with. Most smoothies have bananas as ingredients, but we are super allergic to them. Thanks!!
Honey would probably be the best bet…bananas act as a sweetener.
Thanks!! I will give that a try. My kids will be really excited when they hear the name!
Dates are another way to sweeten smoothies, and could be used instead of bananas. I use them to sweeten smoothies all the time.
Oh! In a pb&j smoothie you could totally use prunes as a sweetener. They have a jellyish flavor to them!
We are on Day 4 of mini-challenge #1! I made this today as a snack for my boys (ages 2 and 4) and they slurped it down! I made the rest into Popsicle that they are excited to have after dinner. Thanks for sharing this great recipe!!!!
Does this make just one serving?
No…3 or 4 servings depending on how big of a glass you go for.
I made this without the banana so yummy!!
This is seriously DELISH!!! I’m sipping on it now!!! I used coconut milk instead…can’t even taste it…and as we don’t have access to raw milk…it’s also just a tad healthier :) LOVE IT!!
I used powdered peanut butter with mine and it is a lot easier than the peanut butter in a jar.
Lisa, just made the smoothie for the kids. they had a taste, then I filled four smoothie pop molds. They loved it! thanks for a winner!
Love this recipe! AMAZING. I am very inspired by your website. I have shown my 5 year old all the pictures of your school lunches to get him excited about taking lunch to school this year. We have been testing the freezie pops and he loves them.
Do you use a regular blender when you add the kale or spinach? If so, what kind? My blender won’t turn greens into smoothies…..only frozen fruit.
Hi Victoria. Many people love the Vitamix. I personally have a Ninja which is much cheaper than the Vitamix and I think it does a great job. Jill
This may have already been asked but 1 of my 4 kids is allergic to peanuts. Have you (or anyone) substituted the PB w/any of the allergy friendly spreads like soy nut butter or Nutella? Thanks!
Hi Stephanie. I have not tried a substitution. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try. Jill
I bet it would be good with sun butter or whatever seed/nut butter your child likes. Nutella is not really a nut butter so much as a very sugary choclate srpead with a few nuts in it.
Hi Stephanie! We have tree nut and peanuts allergies in our house. We’ve done this smoothie with soy butter, sunflower butter, and sesame butter. All three were yummy, but chunky sunflower butter is our favorite. We use those for a 1:1 substitution for all recipes that call for peanut butter (including no bake cookies).
Made this smoothie for my son and I today. It was very yummy!
oh my we love it!!!
I was thinking of substituting almond milk for the milk. Has anyone tried it?
I love making smoothies, i have both the Nutra bullet & the Vitamixer and i use them both.
I lov almond milk i also use coconut milk, i always buy the unsweetened kind i have made my own almond milk as well
going to make this one for my breakfast in the morning minus the apple juice dont need the extra calories and with using furit it will be sweet enough.
Very tasty! May sub out greek yogurt for the milk to make it a touch thicker, but the munchkins inhaled this!
We have allergies to bananas in this house. Any suggestions for a substitute? Do you think just some plain yogurt would taste as good as a substitute for the banana?
Hi Val. The banana adds some additional sweetness, so, you may want to substitute another fruit for the banana. Jill
Just got our molds delivered & made theses smoothies (I snuck in more fruits). They are amazing! My kids don’t want to wait until they’re ‘frozen’ lol
AMAZING – highly addictive!
I am trying to cut out apple juice because of all of the sugar- do you either have a recommendation for a substitute or maybe a recommendation for a ‘healthy’ apple juice?
Hi Stacey. A healthy apple juice would be one that is organic, since apples are on the dirty dozen list: http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/, and should have no added ingredients. ~Amy
I can’t imagine mixing apple juice with milk. I’m not supposed to have milk although I do every once in a while, so I would substitute with almond or coconut milk. Is the apple juice to sweeten?
Hi Sandi. Most juices would add natural sweetness but smoothie recipes are easy to adapt to your own tastes. Enjoy. ~Amy
I mix & match smoothies a lot. A little oj instead of other juice adds a little tang. I also throw in some avocado for healthy fat & it thickens it some too.
Wow! Great recipe! I did not use the Apple juice however I did put in a little bit more of the almond milk. What a great recipe! Thanks for sharing this.
Your recipe doesn’t state natural peanut butter, but that’s what I use, since regular peanut butter is a processed food, with lots of additives. I use natural, unsweetened applesauce in place of the apple juice, and 0% fat greek yogurt (vanilla) in place of the milk. The applesauce and the yogurt help make it a thicker drink.
Made this for breakfast this morning and it is incredible! A big hit with everyone in the house. It feels like I am havig a milkshake for breakfast, but it is healthy! Yum!
What kind of apple juice do you use? I feel like all the juice I see in the grocery store has sugar in it.
Hi Karen. There is no particular brand we recommend. You can find 100% organic apple juice in most grocery stores. Apple and Eve, Martinelli’s, and Santa Cruz are some popular brands. Hope that helps. ~Amy
Do you know how many servings this recipe is and also the calories per servings? Thank you!!
Hi Meghan. Sorry, but we do not track nutrition information. There are several “calculators” on line that you can use, however. ~Amy
Hi. I want to try this. What other alternative can i use for apple juice? one of my kids cant have anything that has apples in it. What can i use for the apple juice.
Hi Mandy. White grape might be a yummy substitute. Enjoy. ~Amy
I’ve used beet and carrot. It makes a great color and is sweet!
we absolutely LOVE these! i don’t use the apple juice as we really don’t ever have juice in the house. so i do more of a traditional smoothie using milk and yogurt. i also add a little agave syrup and either wheat germ, flaxseed, or oat bran (or all of them!). so yummy and my almost 3-year-old totally prefers this to a regular pj&j sandwich!
What are the serving sizes on the smoothies? The PBJ sounds like one serving but the fruit sounds like multiple servings. Thanks. Are all recipes listed for a family of 4? We have 6 boys and I generally double all recipes.
Hi Amy. This recipe makes 4 servings give or take. :) ~Amy
I tried this recipe and my family loved it! We didn’t have any apple juice so I just left it out. We also added plain greek yogurt. Yum!! :)
I love this smoothie! A handful of spinach or other greens added to it makes it healthier and doesn’t change the taste. :)
I made your recipe this morning using Sunbutter in lieu and it was awesome! I used cherries and blueberries for the frozen berries. (I also added about a tablespoon of ground flax seed too for fiber and omega-3’s.) Oh yummy!!!!
This was A-MA-ZING! My three kids (5, 7, and 9) and I loved it! I bought those push pops that you put in your girls lunches and poured the smoothie inside to freeze. I’m just loving your ideas! :)
I forgot to mention that I only had pineapple juice and used that instead of apple juice, frozen blueberries that we picked last month, peanut butter, and of course milk. Do you have any more smoothie recipes?
Here is another basic smoothie recipe: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/05/17/recipe-tasty-smoothies/ but don’t be shy about creating your own! ~Amy
Can I substitute Almond milk and still have it freeze ok? Just figured out my 7y girl is lactose intolerant. Thanks for all the great ideas, she loves the 3 compartment ziploc lunches we have been lacking over the last year.
Hi Kristy. The almond milk will work fine. ~Amy
Using, not lacking! Sorry about that, iPhone correction to my typo! Thanks!
I don’t keep juice around, so I threw in an apple and increased the milk a bit. Yummy!
This was delicious! To keep it healthy and vegan, I substituted the cow milk for almond milk. Didn’t have any apple juice around so I just doubled the amount of almond milk, used fresh blueberries, and 1/2 cup of pb instead of just 1/3. I also think almond milk goes better here since you’re mixing it with peanut butter and other whole foods (blueberries & bananas).
I just tripled the recipe (before I learned it was already enough for 4) for me and my 3 kids (5,4,1) as our afternoon snack – we all sucked it down. I added a handful of baby spinach leaves when they weren’t looking. This will likely become a staple!
How many calories for one serving of this recipe (with a handful of spinach added)?
Hi Shara. We do not provide nutrition information on our recipes. Our focus is on helping people cut out processed food while replacing them with real/whole foods. These posts help explain our philosophy: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/04/healthy-eating-defined/, https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/23/portion-size-matters/, and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/10-reasons-to-cut-out-processed-food/. ~Amy
My boys aged 4 and 3 loved this and I as well. I added a little spinach to give a boost. My 4 yr old will not try any veggies so smoothies are great way for me to boost the nutrition. He loves peanut butter and jelly so this is a win win
What are some alternative can I use for bananas
I substitute avocados for bananas in my smoothies so you still get that creamy texture without the banana.
If you don’t have fresh spinach leaves on hand, will frozen work for this?
Absolutely! :)
I used frozen and had no problems.
It sounds delicious, but that’s about 880 calories! I can’t eat that many calories for lunch!
Thank you so much for this recipe!!! IT IS SO GOOD! (to make it even more of a complete breakfast I added oats and flax seeds) I love your blog! I have been on a real food quest for a while and its great to get good ideas from you!!! Many thanks!
The color was funky but my daughter loved it!!!
Made a batch of this today. Substituted 100% organic unsweetened cranberry juice for the apple sauce and it was plenty sweet. Also used frozen bananas (added a bit more milk and some water to get the consistency what we wanted). It filled four smoothie pop moods and 3 small servings for myself, my toddler and my husband.
I like this smoothie. However, the kids were in between about it, and did not drink it after one taste. The kids are not really big smoothie drinkers, although. I will fix this for myself again. I added more milk to get the consistency I wanted.
According to an earlier comment, this is supposed to be 4 servings. I just made this today and it only made enough to fill 3 half-pint mason jars (and they only really fit about 3/4 cup in them). Should there be more liquid base in it to bring it up to 4 servings?
Hi Beverly. It is a very flexible recipe. You can always add more liquid if you want larger serving sizes but you may need to add more of other ingredients as well. My husband and I drink a very similar smoothie for breakfast occasionally with similar measurements and have nothing left over. :)
Can I freeze this? The recipe sounds delicious and I would love to freeze and it stick it in mu daughter’s lunch. Thanks!
Hi Jennie. Sure, you can freeze it.
LOVE these smoothies! They are a favorite of my kids – 1 year and 4 years old.
This majorly satisfied a pregnancy craving today. Left out the bananas because I don’t like them when I’m pregnant, and added some extra berries. So, so good!!
This was absolutely delicious! I was so happy to find I had all of the ingredients on hand.