Spiced Orange Cranberry Smoothie

Created by Laura Wright
5 from 5 votes

This fresh and fruity orange cranberry smoothie is perfect for breakfast with hearty oats, vegan protein powder, almond butter, whole orange, and pear. This blend is accented with warm spices and vanilla for full flavour. No banana or yogurt!

A head-on shot shows two glasses of orange cranberry smoothie, garnished with little orange slices on the rim.

This fresh and fruity vegan orange cranberry smoothie is perfect for breakfast with hearty oats, vegan protein powder, almond butter, whole orange, and pear. The smoothie is accented with warm spices and vanilla for full flavour. Ready in 10 minutes from start to finish! It’s a fun and festive option if you find yourself looking for new vegan breakfast recipes.

An overhead shot shows frozen peeled orange segments and frozen chunks of pear.
An overhead shot shows ingredients for a smoothie: frozen orange segments and chopped pear, vegan protein powder, spices, orange zest, vanilla extract, nut milk, rolled oats, and cranberry sauce.

We get one of my favourite combinations in this cranberry orange smoothie recipe! I love the fragrant orange and tart cranberry flavour at work in this vegan breakfast idea. I find that there’s always leftover cranberry sauce after Thanksgiving, and since I’m not a leftover Tofurky sandwich kinda gal, this smoothie is a top notch way to use it up. Craving something savoury? Check out this recipe for Leftover Mashed Potato Waffles.

If you’re wondering: yes, you can use fresh or frozen cranberries in this smoothie instead of cranberry sauce! I would opt for ¼ cup and I’d add a pitted date or two to the blend to make up for the sweetness. If using frozen cranberries, you may need a few extra splashes of milk. 

This breakfast smoothie does not require banana for that frothy and creamy texture. I freeze segments of peeled orange and chopped pear ahead of time for this smoothie base. The orange delivers the orange flavour (obviously! haha) and the pear gives us a creamy and mellow sweetness. The little scoop of oats helps to fortify the lush texture of this blend as well.  

More banana-free smoothies:

Hope that you give this festive vegan breakfast idea a try if you’re in the mood for something refreshing and light! Sometimes I reach a breaking point with all of the rich and sweet holiday food and just really crave something fruity and tart. This orange cranberry smoothie definitely does the trick!

An up close, overhead shot shows a freshly blended orange cranberry smoothie in a blender jar.
An overhead shot shows a smoothie being poured into a glass that had a bit of cranberry juice in the bottom. The result is tie dye-like stripes.
A head-on shot shows two glasses filled with an orange cranberry smoothie mixture. the glasses are garnished with little orange slices on the rims.
An overhead shot shows a hand using a straw to stir up a smoothie.

Orange Cranberry Smoothie (Vegan)

This fresh and fruity orange cranberry smoothie is perfect for breakfast with hearty oats, vegan protein powder, almond butter, whole orange, and pear. This blend is accented with warm spices and vanilla for full flavour.
5 from 5 votes
A head-on shot shows two glasses of orange cranberry smoothie, garnished with little orange slices on the rim.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings 2

Ingredients

  • 1 ¼ cups non-dairy milk
  • ½ teaspoon orange zest, optional
  • ¼ cup orange juice
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ cup rolled oats
  • 1 scoop vanilla vegan protein powder, optional
  • 5 tablespoons cranberry sauce
  • 1 tablespoon almond butter
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • tiny pinch of salt
  • 1 large orange, peeled and frozen in segments
  • 1 large ripe pear, cored, chopped and frozen

Equipment

Notes

  • I created this recipe with holiday times (and leftover cranberry sauce) in mind. You could certainly use fresh cranberries instead if you prefer! I would substitute ¼ cup and I’d add a pitted date or two to make up for the sweetness. You may need a touch more liquid to get the blender going!
  • The frozen pear and orange are what help to thicken the smoothie. Don’t forget to prep this part! I just lay all the fruit pieces out on a parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer and freeze until solid. Then, I transfer the frozen fruit to resealable silicone bags.
  • I poured a tiny bit of cranberry juice and dolloped a bit of extra cranberry sauce into the bottoms of the glasses before pouring the smoothie. Gives you a little “tie dye” effect.

Instructions

  • In an upright high speed blender, combine the non-dairy milk, orange zest (if using), cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, oats, protein powder (if using), cranberry sauce, almond butter, vanilla, salt, frozen orange segments, and frozen chopped pear. Blend on high until completely smooth, about 1 minute. Enjoy!
24/11/2023 (Last Updated 03/10/2024)
Posted in: autumn, beverage, breakfast, creamy, gluten free, oil free, quick, snack, sour, sweet, vegan, winter

2 comments

5 from 5 votes (3 ratings without comment)

Recipe Rating




  • satpreet

    5 stars
    im so happy about this recipe! i have some disordered eating stuff i am recovering from, so i can’t really chew in the morning. shakes are my go to, but my usual recipe felt too cold in the winter.

    i decided to go out on a limb and try this – and it is so warming because of the fruit and the spices. it’s a pleasure to drink. thank you!

  • Autumn

    5 stars
    This is so yummy!! Thanks for the inspiration :)