My Wife’s Vegan Pumpkin Smoothie

No added sugar, no dairy, and affordable.

Oh, and perfect for fall 🍂

Count me in!

My wife’s pumpkin smoothie is delicious, nutritious, and easy to make in any blender (but a bit creamier in your Vitamix).

I’ll give you the ingredients and recipe right below then review the smoothie. When you’re done making this one, check out all of her smoothie recipes (with my reviews, of course).

Vegan Pumpkin Smoothie Ingredients 🎃

Here’s everything you’ll need to make this pumpkin smoothie…

1. 1 can of pumpkin puree. This is the star of the show and a major source of sweetness for this sugar-free smoothie.
2. 1.5-2 very ripe frozen bananas 🍌. It’s always a good idea to buy extra bananas, let them ripen beyond eating, and freeze them. In warmer seasons, frozen bananas are perfect for smoothies. When it gets colder, use them in banana bread (instead of freezing them). These very ripe frozen bananas add some natural sweetness and thicken the smoothie.
3. 1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats. OF rolled oats add some weight to the smoothie and give you a slow-burning boost of natural energy.
4. 1 cup unsweetened almond milk. I’m usually an oat milk guy, but almond milk and pumpkin flavor go well together. Switch to sweetened almond milk if you want more sweetness, like if you’re making this smoothie a dessert.
5. 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Here come the fall spices. Cinnamon always goes well with pumpkin.
6. Dash ginger, cardamom, and nutmeg. These three spices are just “to taste.” Don’t overdo them; they’re background singers for the cinnamon. For adding tiny amounts of ginger to smoothies, my wife uses a ginger powder. Just one quick dash of each is all you need.
7. 3/4 tsp vanilla extract. Vanilla extract is (apparently) an essential dessert-minded smoothie ingredient. After tasting this pumpkin smoothie, I can’t disagree.
8. A handful of ice cubes 🧊. Gets the smoothie nice and cold without adding flavor.

Making Your Pumpkin Smoothie

Add all that stuff to a blender and enjoy!

It’s that easy.

I’m not a food blogger so I won’t bore you with pointless details and anecdotes.

This is just a really good added-sugar-free pumpkin smoothie.

This recipe makes enough for two smoothies, so bring a friend over and rock their world.

Enhance Your Smoothie Recipe

If you’re like me, you want your smoothies to reach their highest potentials. No delicious flavors left out, no possibilities left unexplored.

Every smoothie recipe can be better.

For example, a tropical pineapple mango smoothie would taste better in Puerto Rico, you might add chocolate chips to a peanut butter smoothie, and a milkshake (which is just an ice cream smoothie, right?) tastes better with french fries.

And this vegan pumpkin smoothie has one possible addition that makes a world of difference: Coco Whip made by So Delicious Dairy Free. It’s the pinnacle of vegan dessert toppings. It’s everything whipped cream should be. It has many imitators, none rising to match it’s flavor and consistency.

If you add Coco Whip to your pumpkin smoothie, you might need a spoon or reusable straw to enjoy it. Or, like me, you can eat all the Coco Whip off the top first.

Keep Coco Whip in the freezer, thawing it for 10 minutes before use.

Here are some other additions you might make to your smoothie…

1. 1 tbsp maple syrup for extra, natural sweetness. Add to blender with main ingredients.
2. 1 cup dairy-free vanilla ice cream instead of frozen bananas would make this a pumpkin milkshake.
3. 1/4 cup chocolate chips. Stir them in after blending.

My Review: Vegan Pumpkin Smoothie

When I enjoy a smoothie, there are a few things I look for. Now, I’m not exactly a food snob, so bear with my breakdown and assessment. Here are the places this smoothie wins: flavor, texture, thickness, complexity, and cost. There weren’t any downsides to this smoothie.

Flavor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rich, creamy pumpkin is the first impression, and it gushes over me in almond-crested waves. The smoothie is perfectly sweet. Not sweet enough to ignite a sugar binder, but naturally pumpkin-sweet, propped up a bit by subtle banana. Though I might not have guessed there was banana in it, at all. My mouth is left watering with a playful lingering of fall spices. I want another sip.

It’s not quite dessert-rich pumpkin pie, but it certainly makes you think of it.

Texture ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Easy drinking as all the flavors melt into the creamy smoothie, and now I know why they’re called smoothies. The flavor and creaminess are perfectly in tune, covering my mouth in velvet pumpkin. Another sip, and I already peek at the blender to see if there’s enough for me to refill shortly.

Thickness ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Smoothies should be able to be drank through a straw, if you’ve got one (and a reusable one, right?). Too thick and you need a spoon. Too liquidy and the essential flavors are washed away. I saw none of that with this recipe. The thickness was just right, though if you like a thicker smoothie, cut some of the almond milk.

Complexity ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Not all smoothies need to be complex, but you want flavors to play with each other and create an affable impression. The small cast of fall spices and ginger here did just that. They complemented the pumpkin beautifully, lingering in between sips and fading just in time for your next sip to amend their departure.

Pumpkin Smoothie Cost (2 smoothies) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Smoothies are not always inexpensive treats. Fruit is expensive, especially summer-smoothie fruits like berries. And while this vegan pumpkin smoothie required some spices and vanilla extract, it was affordable.

Here’s a cost breakdown of this pumpkin smoothie recipe…

1. 1 can of pumpkin puree: $2.79
2. 1.5-2 very ripe frozen bananas: $0.30
3. 1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats: $0.22
4. 1 cup unsweetened almond milk: $0.50
5. 1/2 tsp cinnamon: $0.11
6. Dash ginger, cardamom, and nutmeg: < $0.25
7. 3/4 tsp vanilla extract: $0.24
8. Total cost: $4.41

So, your vegan pumpkin smoothie shouldn’t cost more than $4.41 (or $2.20 per smoothie!). We also usually shop at Whole Foods, so I used those prices to come up with these numbers. Also, this recipe makes two smoothies, so you can share your creation or save one for later!

I’ll pay $4.41 for two smoothies any day. Have you bought a smoothie at a restaurant or juice bar lately?! You’ll have a hard time getting one for less than $10. And that’s a small size with a counter-tipping option at the end 😵‍💫.