A smoothie that tastes just like carrot cake with carrots, walnuts, dates, almond milk and an optional drop of vanilla. No bananas, no sugar and full of goodness!
I know I probably say this every time I make a new smoothie recipe BUT this really IS the best smoothie I’ve ever had!
This smoothie came about after I had a few carrots leftover in the fridge and decided to look for a carrot cake smoothie recipe online.
However, I wasn’t satisfied with any of the recipes already out there and so created my own.
All of the recipes I found had bananas in which:
a) I don’t tolerate well in their raw form and
b) totally transforms the taste of a “carrot cake” flavoured smoothie into something different.
So I decided to create my own with just a few simple ingredients, resulting in a thick, smooth, flavourful smoothie that is made with nothing but a few natural ingredients but tastes just like carrot cake.
Ingredients for a banana-free carrot cake smoothie
- Carrot – Obviously!
- Walnut halves – Preferably soaked overnight so they’re easier to blend and digest. These are a classic carrot cake ingredient and what’s more is that they give a wonderful creamy, thick texture to the smoothie.
- Spices – I use ground cinnamon and ground mixed spice. If you’re outside of the UK, pumpkin pie spice works in place of mixed spice.
- Dates – For natural sweetness. I recommend Mejool but any dates are fine.
- Unsweetened dairy-free milk – Almond or coconut milk are great choices.
- Vanilla extract – Really helps give it that “cake” flavour!
More Banana-free Vegan Smoothies
📖 Recipe
Carrot Cake Smoothie (No Banana)
A healthy, delicious carrot cake-inspired smoothie. This recipe is made without bananas (for those with intolerances) and will quickly become one of your favourite breakfasts!
Ingredients
- 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
- 8 walnut halves, preferably soaked overnight
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground mixed spice, or pumpkin pie spice mix
- 4 dates, chopped and pitted
- 120 ml / ½ cup almond milk or more, if needed
- optional 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Simply blend all ingredients together until smooth, adding more almond milk if needed.
- Pour into 2 glasses and serve straight away!
Nutrition Information
Yield 2 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 127Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 0mgSodium 17mgCarbohydrates 18gFiber 3gSugar 12gProtein 2g
Nancy Whelan says
OMG this is sooooo good!! Carrot cake is my husband’s favorite dessert, and we love smoothies – so this was a big hit! I doubled the recipe for two servings, used more than 8 walnut halves and about six dates per serving, more than a cup of almond milk per serving, used 1/2 t. nutmeg and 1/2 t. cloves in addition to the t. cinnamon, and instead of ice I used frozen zucchini. This is definitely going to become a favorite! :)
Aimee says
So glad you enjoyed it! Frozen courgette sounds interesting…
Stephanie Roark says
The smoothie sounded good, but 4 dates seemed a bit much, so I only added 2 and replaced the omitted with a teaspoon of maple syrup. It was amazing and tasted a little more authentic to carrot cake. Thank you for making a great recipe without bananas. :)
Aimee says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Stephanie! Thanks for the note about it working well with maple syrup :-)
Ashley says
Oooh I haven’t tried a carrot cake smoothie yet. I have done pumpkin and sweet potato though. Both are great. I love the walnuts idea but I might try it with pecans instead. :)
Aimee says
Pecans would be awesome too! Let me know if you try it :-)
Sarah | Well and Full says
This smoothie looks amazing Aimee!! Carrot cake is one of my faves :D
Aimee says
Thanks Sarah, you have to try it!! It totally curbed my carrot cake cravings…
Laura says
At last! I’m exactly the same when it comes to nanas and I have real trouble finding recipes without them so thank you! :) I’m bed bound and need carers while Mum’s at work so she makes me a smoothie every morning and puts it in the fridge for the carers to give me at lunch, we’ve been looking for new recipes for her to try (she’s usually just a shove it all in woman) so she’ll want to give this a go! Do you do many banana free smoothie recipes? Love your blog and your ice cream book :) xx
Aimee says
Thanks Laura! Yes, all my smoothies are banana-free :-) I usually use chia seeds to thicken them but sometimes nuts too. Here are my smoothie recipes so far: http://wallflowerkitchen.com/?s=smoothie Sorry to hear you are bed-bound. What other things do you tend to eat, do you have any recipe requests for easy-to-make meals? x
Laura says
Thank you, those will definitely come in handy! :) Mum’s still learning how to cook gluten free, vegan and refined sugar free whilst I also have an allergic reaction to rice flour! Bless her. It’s so lovely of you to ask! Anything high in protein would be much appreciated and if you could make it sweet then even better, major sweet tooth in this house :D keep doing what you’re doing, I love your blog and you seem lovely <3
Aimee says
thank you lovely! I will keep that in mind for my future recipes then :-) I too was once bedbound for a long stretch and it was near impossible to eat healthy. My mum’s a good cook but like yours, was not familiar with “healthier” cooking (which is really what you need when you’re unwell) so it was frustrating not being able to make things for myself! anyway, keep well and keep an eye out for sugar-free sweet things coming soon x