So often here, I find myself explaining a recipe like this: “I know that it sounds like a weird combination of ingredients, but it’s SO good!” Well, I’m at it again with this Spring Thaw Smoothie. Carrots, citrus, cinnamon, ginger, peanut butter (!!), banana, coconut butter, non-dairy yogurt, and sea salt combine forces here. Sounds strange. It’s great though, trust me!
I almost called it the Bunny Hop Smoothie because of the carrot and it being so close to Easter, but all the connotations of thawing in the sunshine felt appropriate. I have a pretty patch of snowdrops in my backyard with a little crust of snow still surrounding them. Their tender buds just barely emerge when the sun comes out. It’s honestly how I feel in these early days of Spring! Gently shaking off the “crust” of Winter and turning my face toward the sun as much as I can. I really love this time of year.
We’re still getting perfect citrus these days, so I had to use some in this smoothie. Something about the acidity of orange and lemon combining with the sweetness of the banana, earthiness of the carrot, the warm spices, and creamy peanut/coconut butters and tart non-dairy yogurt. It all just works! It’s a great seasonal transition smoothie. Still a bit warm, but definitely bright.
If you aren’t doing it already, I really recommend the practice of “seasoning” your smoothies. In this Spring Thaw Smoothie, I add a pinch of sea salt and a squeeze of lemon. The salt and acid lift up all of the other flavours perfectly and help them to almost “sparkle” on the palette. Plus the minerals in sea salt can help with the overall hydration factor of the smoothie ;)
I have so much more smoothie inspiration in this roundup of Vegan Smoothies. And if you don’t like banana in your blends, I recommend trying frozen pear as a substitute, which I explain further in this Creamy Vanilla Chip Smoothie recipe.
My Favourite Vegan Protein for Smoothies
I recommend boosting this smoothie with Sprout Living’s Epic Protein in the Vanilla Lucuma flavour! Not overly sweet, mixes in silky smooth, and no weird ingredients. Use code: thefirstmess for 20% off!
Spring Thaw Smoothie
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
- ¼ cup non-dairy plain yogurt (see notes)
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon coconut butter
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 small orange, peeled
- 1 medium carrot, chopped (about ½ cup chopped carrot)
- ½ banana, preferably frozen
Equipment
Notes
- You could add a scoop of plain vegan protein powder to this smoothie to make it extra satiating. My personal favourite is Epic Protein by Sprout Living (I’ve been drinking it for years!). My 20% of discount code with them is: thefirstmess.
- My favourite non-dairy yogurt here in Canada is by Yoggu. In the US, Anita’s or Culina are my top picks.
- A teaspoon of chia, flax or hemp seeds would be great for a little seedy boost :)
- If I had ground cardamom on hand, I would have added a pinch here.
Instructions
- In an upright blender, combine the non-dairy milk, yogurt, peanut butter, coconut butter, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, sea salt, the peeled orange, chopped carrot, and banana. Blend this mixture on high until completely smooth and creamy. Enjoy immediately!
This smoothie is soooo good! I love it with added cardamom. I didn’t have coconut butter so I did 1 tablespoon peanut butter and 1 tablespoon almond butter and it worked great. I’m not really a smoothie person but I’ve made this a couple times already.
I also wish I could make this a candle it smells so good. haha
This is the second smoothie recipe of yours I’ve tried, Laura, and you keep hitting it out of the park! Such a delicious mix of flavours. Will definitely be making this regularly.
Ridiculously good! I woke up at 4 a.m. looked at the clock and thought “only two more hours before I get up and make that smoothie”. Have had it 3 times this week.
I forgot to add the orange and this was still delicious! The cardamom is a nice addition. Will be trying it again, hopefully remembering to add the orange!
This is my new favorite smoothie! I took your advice and added cardamom. It holds up very well if you save half to drink later.
thank you, such a creative set of ingredients, i wouldn’t have put this together, so thank you for putting it together in this smoothie and knowing that it works!
I didn’t have coconut butter but otherwise followed the recipe as is, and it is delicious! Love the subtle combination of flavours, and adding some oats made for a truly fulfilling breakfast. Thank you for yet another great and original recipe :)
This is SO good! We made this for breakfast recently and my one year old said “More! More!” I’m putting the ingredients back on our list to have it again this week!
It looks spectacular, I definitely need to make it <3
Just made this for my family for breakfast this morning, and used shredded coconut for the coconut butter which added a nice texture! Also added hemp seeds to the blend, and topped with granola. We all loved it!
Wow! I’ve made this two mornings in a row now and Laura’s statement is right, this is unexpectedly delicious! I will say, I’ve made it once with vanilla protein powder and once exactly as the recipe says and I think the protein powder overpowers the delicate flavors happening here. I don’t have coconut butter so I used frozen coconut meat—delish! Oh, and the added cardamom was a great suggestion!
This looks delicious! I don’t have coconut butter to hand, any suggestions for an alternative? Would coconut oil be weird?
Hi Rachel – I just made this and didn’t have coconut butter either. I didn’t sub it with anything, but did add flax, chia, and protein powder. It was delicious, and such a nice alternative to my usual green smoothie!
Wanted to add rating! Sorry!