A smoothie is the perfect quick meal and I know you’ll love my spiced Fall version. There’s nothing quite like this amazing sweet potato smoothie. It is naturally sweet, spiced with cinnamon and extra creamy because of the banana and vegan yogurt I hide in there. This is the recipe to use when you have leftover sweet potato puree or baked sweet potatoes.

I truly do have an obsession with making smoothies. Anytime I think I’ve found a favorite one, I start thinking of something else and it changes seasonally. And Fall is when I eat sweet potatoes in really large amounts. I’m talking daily.

I really just love the subtle sweetness of sweet potato. You can pair it with so many things. I have a simple recipe for how to make quick roasted sweet potatoes and I like to bake some extra now just for this smoothie.

When I initially decided to make a smoothie with sweet potato, I reached for my Vegetarian flavor bible. It’s a great book to get some flavor pairing inspiration. The list of flavors that go with sweet potatoes is endless. It includes everything from apples to bell peppers, chilies, coconut, ginger, honey and so on.

But I knew I wanted my sweet potato smoothie recipe to be easy, sweet and simple. I wanted a short ingredient list with pantry staples. All easy ingredients to blend in a small blender, like a NutriBullet or a Ninja.

What I ended up with was this banana sweet potato smoothie with cinnamon, maple syrup and yogurt that tastes like sweet potato pie. It’s an amazing, inexpensive, creamy smoothie. If you add some ice, it’s also a lot like a sweet potato shake. And bonus points – this is a vegan recipe!

How to prepare sweet potatoes for a smoothie

This is the one part of this recipe that needs some planning. In theory, you can eat sweet potatoes raw, but that can cause stomach upset. I shudder at the thought, so I never use raw potatoes.

I prefer roasted potatoes to cooked sweet potatoes because baking deepens their sweet, caramelized taste.

I usually bake halved sweet potatoes for lunch or dinner. Since I bake them without oil, I store some for smoothies in the refrigerator.
To freeze, I remove the skins once the potatoes have cooled. I then slice them in chunks. I portion those in bags, lay them flat in a single layer, then freeze them. I use frozen sweet potatoes in a smoothie without thawing.
You can roast sweet potato cubes instead. First peel raw potatoes. Slice them into cubes, lay out on a baking sheet and bake at 400°F (200°C) until golden and soft, just like you would bake whole or halved sweet potatoes. Cubes might be easier to freeze and portion, since they’re smaller.

You can use cooked or steamed sweet potatoes in this recipe too, if that’s what you prefer.

For a super quick recipe, you can use canned sweet potato puree. (Just don’t use sweet potato pie filling.)

Substitutions

Milk: This recipe uses unsweetened almond milk, but any type of milk works. I like almond milk because it’s very neutral in taste. You can use vanilla flavored almond milk, any other dairy-free milk like soy milk or oat milk. Or you can use regular milk.
Yogurt: I am using dairy free soy yogurt. It’s creamy and slightly tangy. You can use other vegan yogurts, like coconut that pairs nicely with sweet potato. Regular Greek yogurt is perfect for this too.
Banana: If you don’t like bananas, you can add some extra bulk with cauliflower. It’s surprisingly plain and easy to hide, just don’t overdo it.
Cinnamon: Cinnamon in smoothies is my favorite thing in the world and I always add some. It takes any smoothie to the next level. You can use less or skip it if you want. Ground cardamom or vanilla extract are lovely too.

Additions

Orange juice: I love to add a splash of orange juice to add some acidity and extra sweetness to the smoothie.
Dates: If you ever wondered how to make a smoothie sweeter, adding pitted dates is the way. You can use dates instead of maple syrup.
Protein: You can easily turn this into a protein smoothie with some protein powder. Use vanilla protein powder for a regular sweet potato smoothie. Or get some chocolate protein powder to make a chocolate sweet potato smoothie instead. If you do that, a pinch of cocoa powder would be wonderful too.
Oats: For a bulkier, hearty smoothie mix in some quick cooking or old fashioned oats.
Nut butter: Any kind of nut butter, especially almond butter, pairs well with sweet potato.

More of my favorite Fall recipes

Quick baked sweet potatoes (My tried and true easy recipe for countless meals.)
Cinnamon pumpkin brioche bread (The best thing you could ever bake.)
Apple oat smoothie (A filling, thick apple cinnamon smoothie that is beyond delicious.)
Quick pumpkin orecchiette (A quick weeknight dinner that uses canned pumpkin puree.)
Vegetable barley soup (A hearty and filling soup that is packed with vegetables.)
Warming fresh ginger and chamomile tea (This will keep you warm all season long.)

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