Vanilla Pumpkin Cream Protein Shake

Perfectly creamy pumpkin goodness packed with protein.

Obsessed with the pumpkin cream cold brew from Starbucks? Yep.. me too. But sometimes you need a bit of pumpkin without the caffeine and this way kids or anyone who isn’t in-love with coffee can enjoy the taste of fall too while getting nutrients in their day.

I love using pumpkin in smoothies when I’m craving a fancy drink, but don’t necessarily want the sweetness from fruit. Or sometimes I’ll even pair this smoothie with my Banana Yogurt Pancake recipe. Fruit in the pancakes and vegetables in the smoothie. These are vibes I can certainly get behind.

This was also one of the recipes I would make in my dorm room in college because it used limited ingredients and I always kept canned pumpkin in my room as it's an essential part of my daily diet.

This specific recipe can even be recreated from vanilla to chocolate flavor to coffee flavor with the change of one ingredient; the flavor of the protein powder you decide to use.

To start off, you’ll want to get ½ cup of canned pumpkin puree. Stores carry canned pumpkin year-round and I almost have to get cans every time I go. It's a great shelf stable item to keep on-hand that is tasty in so many recipes and provides a variety of nutritional benefits. I recently discovered that the 365 brand at Whole Foods is actually the cheapest canned pumpkin at any grocery store near me. Whole Foods has a rep of being extremely pricey, but I definitely recommend researching for those of you on a budget because you never know what you may find.

Next, you’ll grab ½ cup of vanilla Greek yogurt. I use the Two Good Yogurt brand the majority of the time. Yogurt helps to create an added creaminess into the smoothie blend since we will only be using 1/2 cup of liquid in this recipe. I like to use my Iconic Vanilla Bean Protein Shake as liquid, but you can certainly use regular milk instead. Dairy vs. Non-dairy is ultimately your choice, but dairy or lactose-free dairy options will encourage a better blend and allow you to use less liquid and more ice.

To add more substance to the smoothie, I encourage adding in one scoop of vanilla protein powder or if you feel inclined to change-up the taste you can use whatever flavor you would like and make it a Chocolate Pumpkin Cream Protein Shake or a Cafe Latte Cream Protein Shake.

I again use the Iconic Vanilla Protein Powder the most in my recipes as Iconic is ultimately my favorite protein powder brand that I have tried.

I always add pumpkin pie spice for additional pumpkin flavor into the smoothie. This is optional or you can even just add-in some cinnamon to increase the flavor.

The amount of ice you put into the smoothie is ultimately up to you and the type of blender you have. On my Professional Ninja I put around two trays in, but on my mini blender I had at school I would just fill up as much as I could. This ultimately comes down to knowing your preferred thickness, and your blender at home. Blending truly is an art that comes with mastering the type of blender you have at home.