This pumpkin smoothie was one of my first experiments with pumpkin purée TEN years ago. I had a little bit of pumpkin leftover from another recipe and thought, “Hey, can I put this in my smoothie?” Yes, Beth, yes you can. And it will taste like a pumpkin pie milkshake. Forget the PSL, this is the pumpkin drink I want to be drinking. Especially if you live in the south and it’s still 80 degrees outside in October. :P
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
What’s in A Pumpkin Smoothie?
The ingredients for this smoothie are incredibly simple: pumpkin purée, frozen banana, ground flaxseed, pumpkin pie spice, milk, sweetener of choice, and vanilla extract. The frozen banana gives the smoothie an ice-cream-like texture and the ground flaxseed almost makes the smoothie taste like a graham cracker crust has been blended right into the drink. It’s magical!
Use the Milk of Your Choice
I used whole milk because it is the richest and creamiest, but you can use any non-dairy milk substitute in its place. If your non-dairy milk is already sweetened or vanilla flavored, you can reduce the added sweetener and or skip the vanilla extract listed in the recipe below.
Sweeten to Taste
The best part about making your own smoothie is that you can add as much or as little sugar as you want, and use whatever kind of sugar or sugar substitute that you like. I used brown sugar because it has a rich flavor that makes the smoothie even more pie-like, but you can use honey, white sugar, agave, stevia, or whatever you like. The frozen banana does offer some sweetness on its own, but I found the little extra sweetness really made a difference.
Pumpkin Pie Spice
If you don’t have store-bought pumpkin pie spice, you can use my recipe for homemade pumpkin pie spice here, or just sub in ¼ tsp cinnamon if needed. It’s such a small amount in the smoothie that it won’t make or break the smoothie.
Pumpkin Smoothie
Servings 1 16oz.Ingredients
- 1/3 cup pumpkin purée ($0.18)
- 1 frozen banana ($0.20)
- 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed ($0.03)
- 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice ($0.02)
- 1 cup milk* ($0.42)
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract ($0.07)
- 1 tsp brown sugar* ($0.02)
Instructions
- Add the pumpkin, frozen banana, flaxseed, pumpkin pie spice, milk, and vanilla in a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Add the brown sugar (or sweetener of choice) and blend again. Taste and adjust the sweetness to your liking. Enjoy cold.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Small Blender
- Liquid Measuring Cup
- Measuring Cups Spoons
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Video
How to Make a Pumpkin Smoothie – Step By Step Photos
Add ⅓ cup pumpkin purée, 1 frozen banana, 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed, ¼ tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1 cup milk, and ¼ tsp vanilla extract to a blender.
Blend until smooth, then give the smoothie a taste and add the sweetener of your choice to your liking. I added one teaspoon brown sugar.
Briefly blend again to dissolve the sweetener into the drink, then enjoy!
I am totally going to try this.. But i want to try Sweet Potatoe! Think that would be as tasty?
Becky – It’s this one from Hamilton Beach… I’ve had it for about 3-4 years and love it! Very inexpensive but effective.
So, what kind of blender is this? I am now intrigued…
drinking one of these now…amazing!
I’m obsessed with this. I’ve made it like 5 times this week, and I’ll be making more since I roasted an entire pumpkin and yielded 14 cups of puree. For $4.99. =]
I’ve been making this all week >.<
I can attest that the flax and *frozen* banana are key (for pie-like taste and consistency to be spot on)
I would suggest though, if you’re using regular milk instead of Soy, that you use a little less milk. I keep 2% in the house, and I found that somewhere between 1/2 a cup and 2/3 was just right for me.
Also, I got lazy with measuring out the spices and honey this weekend ;p and I added in a tablespoon of Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Butter instead. Oh.mah.gawd. Yums!
I wonder what would happen if I added some coffee ice cubes… I love pumpkin spice frappacinos. If I could make a cheaper and healthier substitute at home I would be just thrilled.. Thanks for the great idea!
I’ve made this before with a little vanilla yogurt added as well and its awesome! It just makes it that much more creamy and healthy :)
That’s a tough one, Lacey! Banana’s have a totally unique texture when frozen… you can experiment with freezing the pumpkin puree (maybe in an ice cube tray?) but I’m not sure if it will be too hard to blend after that. Other than that, I don’t know! I highly suggest trying the banana’s though, you can’t really taste them in this one!
I love this but I HATE bananas. Are there any substitutes?
This was money! I threw in some whey protein (instead of the flax seed) and used it as my post-workout drink today. Another great recipe, Beth. Keep ’em coming!
This is good, and really filling. I used vanilla almond milk and I can’t do flax (too strong on my system), but the flavor is still fine without it. Now I want to try Brent’s idea for a cheesecake-flavored smoothie too!
I am SO making this soon! We have smoothies nearly every morning and this will be a lovely change – healthy too. So glad you shared! I saw this at Grandma Loy’s Kitchen “Friday Finds”. I’ll be back. I understand the obsession with pumpkin for sure! I’m sure I’ve been dreaming about it. =)
Oh my! There are so many reasons to have a pumpkin smoothie. Thanks!
learn about diabetes
http://www.thediabetesscoop.com/learn-about-diabetes.php
I am so glad I found this blog!! Love your posts and this recipe looks SOOOOO good:)