Make kitchen-made Korean banana milk with just 3 ingredients. This fresh banana milk tastes much better than the one you buy from the store. All you need to prepare this savory Korean drink is a blender.

Banana milk was such a big part of our childhood in Korea. We remember seeing bottles of commercial banana milk lined up at the snack stand at school, waiting for kids to spend their pocket money on it.

Fresh bananas were pretty expensive back then, so we didn’t have them at home often. That’s why these bottles of Korean banana milk, with their sweet, artificial banana flavor, were so popular. It was a little taste of luxury that made everyone, kids and adults alike, happy.

Korean-style banana milk made with fresh banana and honey

These days, we make our own kitchen-made banana milk with real, ripe bananas (good thing they’re much more affordable these days!). It’s incredibly direct — just 3 ingredients and a blender.

If you want to enjoy that classic banana milk flavor, but even fresher and creamier, this banana milk recipe is the way to go. And don’t forget Korean strawberry milk for another refreshing Korean milk drink recipe!

Tips for the Best Banana Milk

We've made this banana milk many times and found that a few little tricks always make it taste just right — just like the sweet banana milk we loved as a kid, only even better.

Pick bananas that are well-speckled with brown spots. That’s when they’re at their sweetest and most fragrant. We've tried it with less ripe bananas before, and it just doesn’t have the same full banana flavor.
Always use chilled milk. We sometimes even pop the milk in the freezer for a few minutes so the banana milk was icy-cold. It tastes so much more refreshing that way, and you won’t need to water it down with ice cubes.
Blend longer than you think. We give it a good minute in the blender to make sure there are zero banana bits — it should be completely smooth and silky.
Drink it right away. Fresh banana milk likes to separate if it sits around, so pour it straight into a glass and enjoy that first creamy sip.

How the dish comes together

You only need 3 unfussy things: bananas, milk, and a little honey. Whole milk makes it extra creamy and closest to the banana milk we grew up with, but oat or almond milk work nicely too if you want it lighter. A little honey ties it all together.

From there, it’s as direct as tossing everything into the blender and letting it run for about a minute, until it’s completely smooth and velvety. Pour it into a glass and enjoy it right away — it’s so fresh, creamy, and naturally sweet, you’ll never want the store-bought kind again.

Yield: 2 people
Prep: 3 minutes

Ingredients

2 medium bananas, ripen and peeled
2 cup (480 ml) milk, chilled, see note below
1 tbsp (15 ml) honey

Method

Add all the ingredients to a blender. Blend on high speed until smooth without any banana bits. Serve immediately to prevent separation. Garnish with a slice of banana if you desire. Enjoy!
Optional: Add a drop of vanilla extract if you desire intense vanilla flavor.