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Chai-Infused Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

If you’ve been reading lately, it should be obvious that fall is my favorite season and I cannot wait for it to get started. Unfortunately, temperatures in California are still in the triple digits, so baking a pie is out of the question. That’s why I decided to get creative and make a compromise. A really delicious compromise. It’s a frosty and refreshing smoothie with all the wonderful flavors of a spiced pumpkin pie. You’ve got to try this one.

The blend of flavors here is absolutely killer, which makes perfect sense. Chai tea is all about classic spices of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. And what about a pumpkin pie? Yup – cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. So when we add this chai tea directly into our pumpkin smoothie, all the earthy notes of the tea come through and blend into the bright pumpkin pie flavors.

But In addition to tasting like a pumpkin pie in a glass, this smoothie is also incredibly healthy. You’ll get plenty of antioxidants from the tea leaves, spices to brighten your mood, a few million % of your daily Vitamin A from the pumpkin, and it’s made with only real One Ingredient foods.

Pumpkin_Chai_Smoothie

Makes: 1 big ol’ smoothie

Ingredients:

  • 2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 teaspoon (teabag) chai tea
  • 3 tablespoons pumpkin puree
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 frozen bananas

Pumpkin_Chai

Step One

First, combine all the ingredients except the banana into a blender (almond milk, chai tea, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla) and blend until the tea has completely broken down.

Note: yes, we’re directly adding the tea leaves right into the smoothie. I’ve done this before for chocolate chai tea pudding and it works really well. If you’re using loose leaf tea (as shown in the background), this is no problem. If you’re using a teabag, simply break it open and pour into the blender – Tazo or Peets are great brands for this.

Step Two

Once this mixture is fully blended, then add the frozen bananas – preferably in small chunks for even blending. Adding the bananas last will minimize their time in the blender, and keep the drink as frosty as possible. If you want a thicker/thinner smoothie, simply add more almond milk or frozen banana at the very end.

Garnishing with some homemade coconut whipped cream wouldn’t be a bad idea…

Pumpkin_Chai_Top

22 Comments

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  1. As a resident of Southwest Florida who desperately misses fall, thanks for this recipe!! Question: Taste-wise, does it matter if I use white vanilla instead of regular? My mom encouraged me to try to try white vanilla but I’m true to traditional.

    • Wh-wh-WHITE vanilla? I have never heard of such a thing! *going to research now* but as far as your question, sure… why not try it? 🙂

  2. This looks great! Pumpkin pie in a glass! I’ve never tried blending tea leaves right into my smoothies before, but that’ll clearly have to change. I do earl grey shortbread and orange earl grey muffins both of which have the tea leaves right in the recipe, so I’m sure it would work great in a smoothie as well. Thanks for the inspiration, I’ll be trying this shortly!

    • Hi Katie! Ooh, I’ve never thought of baking with tea leaves. Earl grey muffins?! That suddenly moved to the top of my “must try” recipe list 😀

    • Thanks, Joshua! I did use unsweetened almond milk. Thanks for pointing that out (and I just updated the post to reflect this).

  3. I made this with only 1 banana on hand, and happened to have cooked sweet potatoes in the fridge — a decent substitute for the second, absent banana!

  4. This is a really great smoothie! Thanks for sharing. I definitely needed something to represent a dessert. I added some cinnamon to give the illusion of added sweetness. 🙂

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