Our banana papaya smoothie recipe is a naturally -sweet blend that’s super fresh and satisfying.
Banana and Papaya — A Guilt-Free Pleasure
These two fruits not only taste great when paired with other ingredients but also taste really delicious on their own. Chilled bite-size papaya pieces are a favorite thirst-quenching street snack in Vietnam, Thailand, and any other countries where the fruit is native to. Hence, there’s no reason to pull out the blender and process this fruit, unless to make something that tastes even better.
Today, we present to you a gorgeously -hued drink that’s satisfyingly thick and tastes just like summer. It features banana and papaya blended with orange juice and just enough ice to fend off the summer heat. Like other classic sweet-tart drinks, it contains a unique combo of different floral notes and leaves a lingering scent that keeps you wanting more.
More importantly, it also boasts plenty of nutrients.
How Banana Papaya Smoothie Benefits Your Body
Papaya packs vitamin C and A, and with extra nutrients from bananas such as magnesium, phosphorus, B vitamins, and even more vitamin C from orange juice, you can tell how rich this drink is in antioxidants. Besides the many roles these nutrients play, they also reduce oxidative stress, which is the cause of inflammation and an indirect cause of many diseases.
Like a healthy diet should, this drink possesses a healthy amount of calories with no added sugar, since we use no additional sweetener. To learn more about how a drink containing 134 calories is healthy, you can have a look at our nutritional guidelines.
Main Ingredients
Besides the mentioned ingredients — banana, papaya, orange juice, and ice, our banana papaya smoothie recipe also calls for some mint leaves. We want to harvest their lingering cooling sensation, which is so important in a summer drink.
Although we use fresh fruits for this smoothie, you can freeze the fruits and use them to make an ultra flavorful smoothie bowl.
With no added sweetener, using very ripe fruits is the key to a delicious smoothie.
How to Spot Ripe Papayas
Like mangoes, papayas start off green, and in random patches, gradually turn yellow as they mature. Some varieties even boast a vibrant cross between yellow and orange.
But the color isn’t the key identifier: papayas that just turned all yellow yesterday can look very similar to very ripe papayas. Do choose yellow ones, but also ones that are heavier than others of the same size. Ripe fruits may also have a large spot that’s slightly darker than the rest of the fruit, signifying it’s been left to sit and ripen for quite some time.
If you do happen to end up with unripe papaya, bananas are known to help fruits ripen quickly, so place your unripe papaya in a black bag along with some bananas, and place them in a cool, dark corner. After a few days, the papaya will be ripe and ready to be cut and refrigerated.
Fruits That Pair Well With Papaya
Our strawberry papaya smoothie proves that this tropical fruit goes perfectly well with berries. Because of its sweet nature, it also pairs wonderfully with citruses, mangoes, pineapples, and other tart fruits.
If you’re looking for more ideas on how to turn this delicious fruit into spectacular, thirst-quenching smoothies, here are a few to start with:
- Strawberry Papaya Smoothie Recipe
- Avocado Papaya Smoothie Recipe
- Papaya Pineapple Smoothie Recipe
- Mango Papaya Smoothie Recipe
Storage
You can store the ingredients/smoothie in either the fridge or freezer. As with storing most smoothies, we suggest not adding ice until you want to use it.
In the fridge, both can be kept for about 4-5 days in an airtight container.
In the freezer, both should last for up to 3 months, but the storing methods should be a bit different:
- Freeze the fruits on a lined tray so that they don’t stick together. Once frozen, remove them from the tray and transfer them to a sealable bag/container.
- Once blended (without ice), the smoothie should be portioned out into small sealable bags, zipped, and stacked in the freezer.
Banana Papaya Smoothie Recipe
Our banana papaya smoothie recipe promises a delicious experience with just 5 ingredients. It's also got a gorgeous hue and a cooling undertaste.
- prep TIME 5 mins
- total TIME 5 mins
- COURSE Beverage, Smoothie
- CUISINE Global
- SERVINGS servings
- CALORIES 134 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 12 oz banana
- 10 oz papaya
- 1 cup orange juice
- 8 mint leaves
- 2 cups ice
INSTRUCTIONS
Add all ingredients: 2 cups ice, 12 oz banana, 10 oz papaya, 1 cup orange juice, mint leaves.
Blend in 20 - 30 seconds until smooth.
Pour into serving glasses.
Enjoy immediately.
NUTRITION
Tuyet Pham
Head Chef, Culinary Consultant
Luna Regina
Writer, Author
Natalie Butler, RD, LD
Nutrition Reviewer
- Marissa WeilA fun way to eat this super fruit, and it was great!
- Unni ReghunathDelicious, my family loved it.