Healthy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

What do you do when September hits and you’re in the mood for pumpkin everything – but the temps are still in the 80’s and 90’s? You make a healthy pumpkin pie smoothie!

Once the calendar turns to September I’ll take my pumpkin any way I can get it, thank you very much.

Why this Recipe Works

This healthy pumpkin smoothie is delicious, creamy, and above all, good for you, providing loads of fiber, Vitamin A, and Potassium. It gives that pumpkin flavor in a cooling sort of way, which is great for those days when it’s still a little too warm out to be drinking something hot.

I like to follow traditional Chinese medicine when it comes to eating, and the transition from summer to fall is a significant one. We go from eating what are known as cooling foods, which support that big, outward energy of summer (yang), to warming foods, which support the quiet, inward energy of fall and winter (yin). In this way, this smoothie is the perfect way to ease your body into fall.

Is this a Whole30 Pumpkin Smoothie?

You can certainly make this pumpkin smoothie Whole30 friendly! The only swap you would make here is removing the vanilla extract. The reason that the Whole30 doesn’t allow for vanilla extract is because it has a small amount of alcohol, which isn’t allowed on the Whole30 diet.

If you love the taste of vanilla but are in the middle of a Whole30 cleanse, you can instead use a vanilla bean. They sell them at my local Costco, so check there, and you can also find them at a specialty food store, or on Amazon. I love these ones, and use them a lot in place of vanilla extract: Madagascar Organic Vanilla Beans.

In order to get the vanilla out, you take a knife and split it in half, lengthwise. Then, using a butter knife or spoon, gently scrape down the inside of the bean, starting at the top (the hooked part). You will begin to see the vanilla inside of the bean pod coming out, which is what you’ll use for the recipe.

And now you have a Whole30 Pumpkin Pie Smoothie!

The Ingredients for the Healthy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

This smoothie comes together easily, using the following ingredients:

• liquids: pumpkin puree, dairy-free milk, ice cubes, vanilla extract (see my note above about the vanilla extract)
• fruits: banana
• herbs/spices: pumpkin pie spice

How to Make this Healthy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

To make this smoothie, just place all the ingredients into a blender and blend on high for about one minute, or until smooth and creamy. If you like, you can add a shake of pumpkin pie spice to the top for an extra kick of fall flavor. Pour, serve, and enjoy!

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: Is this Healthy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie Whole30?

Answer: The only thing you’d need to do to make this smoothie Whole30-friendly is to use vanilla bean instead of vanilla extract, or just omit the vanilla completely. If you choose to use vanilla bean, see my note above under “Is this a Whole30 Pumpkin Smoothie.”

Question: Can I add some caffeine in here?

Answer: Absolutely! I’m not a huge coffee drinker anymore – I overdid it after having my kids and my adrenals got burned out – but what I used to do was to freeze leftover coffee into ice cube trays, and use these instead of regular ice cubes when I’d be craving an extra kick.

Question: Can I add my protein powder or collagen powder to this smoothie?

Answer: Yes, you can, just be sure that it’s flavorless and not something with a strong flavor like vanilla protein or chocolate protein. Or if you do use something flavored just know that the taste of the smoothie will change dramatically. Most collagens are flavorless, so I add my collagen powder to this smoothie all the time. If you’re looking for a high-quality collagen powder, I use this one.

If you are looking for more fall-inspired recipes, try my Pumpkin Chia Pudding, my Healthy Pumpkin Spice Creamer, or my Paleo Pumpkin Muffins. And if you make this recipe, let me know how you liked it in the comments!

Healthy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Recipe by Alessandra Macaluso

5.0 from 8 votes

Difficulty: Easy

Servings

2

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

0

minutes

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• 1 cup pumpkin puree

• 1 ripe banana

• 1 1/4 cup non-dairy milk, such as cashew, almond, or coconut

• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract* (see note for a Whole30 substitute)

• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

• 5 ice cubes

• Optional:

• 1 scoop collagen powder

Directions

• Place all ingredients into a high-powered blender and blend for about 1 minute, or until the consistency is smooth. It will be creamy, but if you’d like to thin it out a bit, add more milk or water by the 1/8 cup until you reach the desired consistency. Pour, top with an extra shake of pumpkin pie spice if desired, serve, enjoy!

Notes

• If you’d like to make this Healthy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie Whole30, you can either omit the vanilla extract, or use the inside of one vanilla bean. You can find whole vanilla beans at Costco, or at a specialty food store. You simply use a knife to split the vanilla bean lengthwise, then use a spoon or a butter knife to scrape out the vanilla inside of the bean. Add to the blender the same way you would add the extract, and blend.

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