Carrot Cake Smoothie

I can always use an extra helping of veggies, and my secret weapon to consuming them is to add them to this carrot cake smoothie.

Carrots are a great bridge between flavors, and when paired with bananas, sweet potatoes, walnuts, dates and a hint of cinnamon, all the notes hit for a well-balanced drink that’s easy to make and a hit with the whole family.

Carrot Cake Smoothie Flavor Profile

I want something called a carrot cake smoothie with it taste like carrot cake, and all the familiar flavors are present here: sweet and earthy carrots, vanilla, cinnamon, and walnuts (which may or may not be in your version of the cake).

It’s topped off with bananas, sweet potatoes, and dates for some natural sweetness. Optionally, you can also add some maple syrup if you like your smoothies even sweeter.

While you can sometimes find canned mashed sweet potatoes at your local grocery store, I find it just as easy to make my own. To do this, I preheat the oven to 225°F, take 3-4 sweet potatoes and wrap them in foil. Then bake them on a baking sheet in the oven for 40-50 minutes (they’re done when a fork lightly pierces the skin through the flesh). Unwrap the potatoes, allow them to cool to room temperature, then cut in half lengthwise and place the mixture in a bowl. I use a fork to mash everything up, or you can put all the meat in a food processor and beat it for 30 seconds to make it a very smooth puree.

Can you substitute mashed pumpkin for mashed sweet potatoes?

The short answer is yes! I had canned mashed potatoes on hand for this recipe, although I often make my own whole yams and keep the mashed frozen for veggie burgers or as mashed potatoes for my shepherd’s pie.

Sweet potatoes naturally taste sweeter than pumpkins, and that’s why I love this sweetness, here mixed with earthy carrots, mashed pumpkin is more readily available in stores.

You can substitute the mashed sweet potatoes for canned pumpkin on a one-for-one basis, but you can increase (or add) the maple syrup. Taste briefly before serving and if it’s not sweet enough for you, add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon and mix again.

A note on carrots

You can use raw carrots, blanched carrots. You can grate them yourself or buy bags of grated carrots in the produce department. You can even search the frozen food section for sliced or grated carrots.

If you don’t like the earthy taste of raw carrots and want to grate and blanch them yourself, just follow this simple guide.

Chop or grate the carrots on a box grater or in a food processor.
Place a bowl of ice water on the counter.
Bring a pot of water to a boil on the stove and blanch for 30 seconds.
Drain the carrots and place them in ice water to “shock” them, stopping the cooking process.
Strain again and pat dry.

Do this ahead of time with a whole batch of freshly grated carrots. You can store portioned, chilled and dried blanched carrots in small containers in the freezer, or blend them into smoothie packs to have a full batch of ingredients ready for you.

Tips for making the best smoothies

Want to learn the top tips for making the perfect smoothie? Freeze all ingredients beforehand. All of them! Even the nuts. In my experience, when everything is evenly cold, it mixes better. And don’t use ice.

I like making smoothie packs, but you can also freeze the ingredients in bulk and just portion what you need. If you find you have a lot of leftover puree, I portion it into small silicone ice cube trays that hold about 1 ounce in each cube. After freezing them, I take them all out and keep them in a freezer bag until needed. They will keep in the freezer for about 6 months.

Keeping everything refrigerated overnight gives me a creamier textured smoothie, as opposed to times when I’ve used a mix of frozen and fresh ingredients. If you want even more smoothie-making tips, check out 5 Additional Tips for Making Better Smoothies!

Now for skipping the ice. The only frozen items you want in your blender are your food ingredients. Ice cream just takes up a lot of space, leaving less room for the good stuff. It also waters down your blend and doesn’t make the smoothie as flavorful.

The best milk for smoothies

I call for vanilla oat milk in this recipe because I think it makes the richest, creamiest smoothies, but if oat milk isn’t what you’re using what you have on hand.

Almond milk adds a nice nutty flavor to smoothies.
Regular cow’s milk is a typical substitute and adds body.
Yogurt, both dairy and non-dairy, can add a tangy flavor or extra sweetness and can be substituted for the milk in the recipe.
And despite what I’ve said before about ice, water or even coconut water is also an acceptable liquid.