Wholesome and sweet, my vegan salted caramel apple smoothie is surprisingly perfect for breakfast! Itโs made with frozen chopped apples, Medjool dates, vanilla extract, flax seeds, almond butter, vegan protein powder and more for a creamy, frothy, and delicious vegan smoothie. Itโs so satisfying even though itโs made with no banana. Instead, I explain step-by-step how to freeze apples to thicken this decadent and nourishing blend. Similar to both my chocolate sweet potato smoothie and orange cranberry smoothie options, this simple apple smoothie is an excellent vegan breakfast idea.
I love a seasonal smoothie shake up to the breakfast routine! This apple caramel smoothie is a celebration of one of my favourite fall flavours. I have a salted caramel date shake recipe in my cookbook that folks still message me about all these years later. That recipe relies on candy-sweet Medjool dates to boost the โcaramelโ flavour. You better believe we pull the same move with this caramel apple smoothie!
Apple smoothies are loaded with satiating goodness. For blending purposes, I like an apple thatโs on the tart side. Here, I used early season Zestar apples, but Granny Smith, McIntosh, Cortland or Empire are also great choices. Frozen apple chunks are the key to a frothy texture.
How to freeze apples for smoothies:
- I do not peel my apples when freezing. The skin doesnโt have a huge impact on the final flavour of the smoothie.
- Remove the core of your apples and chop into 2 inch pieces.
- Line a baking sheet (that will fit in your freezer) with parchment paper. Place the apple pieces on the baking sheet in a single layer.
- Place the baking sheet in the freezer and freeze until the apple pieces are solid.
- Transfer apple pieces to a sealable bag and keep in the freezer for up to 6 months.
I think youโre going to love this caramel apple smoothie! Perfect for fall, but also year-round if youโre a big time apple person like me. I sprinkle flaky salt on top to really boost the salted caramel aspect, but a shake of cinnamon would not be out of place either. Fans of this may also like my creamy vanilla chip smoothie with a frozen pear base!
My go-to vegan protein powder for smoothies
Sprout Livingโs Epic Protein powder in Vanilla Lucuma is so good in this smoothie! It has notes of cinnamon and warm spice that play off of the apple perfectly. This powder isnโt too sweet and blends up silky smooth.
Salted Caramel Apple Smoothie (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped frozen apples
- โ cup unsweetened soy milk
- โ cup apple cider or unclarified apple juice
- โ cup unsweetened vegan yogurt (see notes)
- 1 tablespoon almond butter
- 2 soft Medjool dates, pitted
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- 1 teaspoon flax seeds
- ยผ โ ยฝ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ยผ teaspoon vanilla extract
- flaky salt to sprinkle on top, optional
Equipment
Notes
- I do not peel apples before freezing. Just remove the core, chop into 2-inch pieces and freeze on a parchment lined baking sheet until solid.
- If your dates are on the hard and dry side, let them soak in hot water for 5 minutes or so before blending up with the other ingredients. Itโs really important to include these because they amp up the โcaramelโ flavour.
- I prefer a vegan yogurt on the tangy side for smoothies. Culina, Cocoyo or Yoggu brands are all great.
- My protein powder scoop has a total volume of 3 tablespoons!
- I drizzled my glass with a quick almond butter โcaramelโ for aesthetic purposes: 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 2 teaspoons smooth (and fluid!) almond butter, drop of vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine and drizzle on the inside of the empty glass. Thin the mixture out with some extra apple cider if necessary.
Instructions
- In an upright, high speed blender, combine the frozen apples, soy milk, apple cider, vegan yogurt, almond butter, Medjool dates, protein powder, flax seeds, salt, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Blend on high until completely smooth, about 1-2 full minutes. Enjoy immediately!
I love this recipe SO MUCH! I freeze apple cider in ice cube trays instead of freezing apple chunks & that works well for me. Instead of protein powder, I use 1 Tbsp of the chia/flax/hemp seed mix I keep on hand in the fridge. Forever grateful that you dreamt this up, Laura! :)
This is amazing! Tangy, salty and sweet, and I love how frothy it gets. I will definitely be making this throughout the fall!
So glad you liked it! Thanks for this comment and review, Coby.
-L
Absolutely delicious!
OMG! This was delicious. A real keeper!
This was SO good! The flavours are on point!
YUM โ this is so delicious! The perfect tang from the yogurt and texture from the frozen applesโฆ.so much better than the apple smoothie Iโve had in my rotation for years. Definitely swapping this one in!
Would it affect the smoothie if I left out the protein powder. We donโt use that stuff in our home. Could we just add a bit more almond butter? Thank you!
Made this morning and will definitely be making again throughout the fall! Sweet yet tangy. Froths up nicely! Thanks for the seasonal smoothie recipe!
Oh my goodness this is so delicious. It will be on repeat throughout the fall. Thank you so much.
Yum! Going to give this a try as a fan of the salted caramel shake from your cookbook!
I love this flavor, and ingredient, combination. The โcaramelโ is brilliant.