Red Bean Smoothie is a sweet, creamy, and unique breakfast. The main ingredient is Asian-style prepared sweet red bean, but the recipe also incorporates some of your standard breakfast fare like banana, yogurt, milk and oats.
Red Bean Smoothie is often sold as a dessert, and on first sip, you'll understand why. The sweetness of the red bean (plus the banana) will dance all over your taste buds. But behind that initial layer of sweetness, you will taste the short tang from the plain yogurt. The oats also help tame some of that sweetness.
This Red Bean Smoothie Recipe is a unique breakfast that is high in protein
Although the red bean is sweet, it also has some earthy properties, giving the smoothie a thick consistency while adding a unique richness and a bit of grittiness. As a result, the smoothie feels "heavier" than most fruit-only smoothies, and it tends to keep me fuller for longer (a true sign it is a breakfast-worthy smoothie!).
As sweet red bean is a fairly common Asian dessert ingredient, you can usually you can find it sold either in tuna-sized cans or in sealed plastic pouches at any Asian supermarket.
You can also buy adzuki beans in dried form, and make prepared sweet red bean (yude azuki) or red bean paste (anko) from scratch. I tend to buy pre-made versions of sweet red beans because I don't use it in large quantities and rarely use up an entire recipe of homemade red bean paste (anko).
You can use both canned and packaged prepared sweet red bean for this smoothie
But if you are interested in making your own sweet red bean paste, these two links are helpful starting points: 1) How to Make Anko on the Stovetop and 2) How to Make Anko in a Pressure Cooker.
More specifically, I use Japanese-prepared red beans (yude azuki) to make this smoothie because they happen to come in smaller packages with any leftovers going on my next slice of toast. Or better yet, take the leftover prepared red bean and make this Adzuki Beans on Banana Rice!
Because this smoothie contains both beans, yogurt and milk, you are definitely getting your protein! I use regular yogurt because the red beans add plenty of thickness to the smoothie, but you can also use Greek yogurt if you prefer. You'll end up with an even thicker smoothie, but it'll still be enjoyable (and you'll get a bit more protein).
This Red Bean Smoothie is designed to keep you full
The recipe also has oats to add fiber and to help keep you fuller. If you want your Red Bean Smoothie to pack an even bigger health punch, add in some flax seeds and/or chia seeds.
Red Bean Smoothie
Print Recipe Save RecipeIngredients
- ½ cup Yude Azuki or sweet red bean paste (also called Japanese prepared red beans, sweet red beans)
- 1 medium banana - sliced into 1-cm pieces and frozen for at least 20 minutes
- ¾ cup plain yogurt
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ cup instant oats (instant porridge)
- 1 handful ice cubes (approximately ½ cup)
Instructions
- Place everything in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into cups and enjoy.
Jonathan Jui says
I wonder how it would do with a bunch of sour fruits in the red bean smoothie to counter the sweetness.