This healthy gingerbread smoothie is packed with all the classic flavors of gingerbread. With molasses, ginger, and cloves, this recipe is packed with anti-inflammatory ingredients and is an iron-rich smoothie.
For this Christmas smoothie, I wanted all the flavors of classic gingerbread cookies, but in a way I could feel good about eating everyday. With this gingerbread smoothie, you get all those great flavors, but also some benefits!
If you love smoothies that taste great but also can boost your morning routine, check out my anti-inflammatory smoothie, apple oat smoothie, or pear smoothie.
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Why You'll Love This Iron Rich Smoothie
Molasses is not only a sweetener, but also a high source of iron, selenium, and copper. Blackstrap molasses is particularly high, but does come with a more bitter taste.
You'll love this gingerbread smoothie because:
- Easy - A 5 minute breakfast, snack, or dessert.
- Fun for the holidays - A perfect Christmas smoothie!
- Anti-Inflammatory - Packed with pain-fighting spices.
- Source of non-heme iron - Molasses, and blackstrap molasses in particular can help to boost this.
Combined with the anti-inflammatory properties of cinnamon and ginger, you get a delicious smoothie recipe that tastes like a creamy gingerbread milkshake, especially if you add a little decadent topping of whipped cream.
Pair this with my air fryer hash browns for a vitamin c boost that aids with absorption.
Ingredients
- Frozen riced cauliflower - You can find this at Trader Joe's or Costco, and many grocery store frozen vegetable sections.
- Protein powder - To balance the sugar from the molasses and maple syrup, I recommend adding a favorite protein powder. I use a migraine-friendly protein powder.
- Molasses - For recipe testing, I used Grandma's molasses. You can absolutely use blackstrap molasses, but they have very different flavors. Blackstrap molasses has a higher mineral content, so is great for boosting iron, but is also more bitter. Start with 1-2 teaspoons if you plan to use this and see how you like it.
- Milk - I used 2% dairy milk in recipe testing, but you could substitute your favorite milk.
- Spices - I combined ground ginger, cinnamon, and cloves for this recipe in higher amounts because I wanted a really strong flavor of gingerbread.
A full list of the ingredients is at the bottom in the recipe card.
Substitutions
- Frozen cauliflower - This is added for thickness to the smoothie. You could substitute this with ¼ cup rolled oats, which will help thicken the smoothie, but it would remove the hidden vegetables. Another substitute that would add more sweetness is chopped, frozen apple or pear.
- Molasses - This was added for that classic gingerbread flavor. You could use all maple syrup, but this does change the flavor.
- Dairy free - Use a dairy free milk like hemp milk or flax milk.
This recipe is naturally gluten free.
A note on spices - I went heavier on the spices compared to other recipes just because I really wanted to the gingerbread flavor to shine through. My recipe testers agreed that the bolder flavor was preferred!
If you have an issue with spiciness from ginger, I'd recommend starting with ½ the suggested spices and taste testing before adding more.
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Dessert Variation
This would make a fantastic healthy gingerbread milkshake with just a topping of real whipped cream and cinnamon, or crushed gingersnap or gingerbread cookies. You can serve this as a dessert!
How to Make A Gingerbread Smoothie
This gingerbread smoothie is really easy to make in just two simple steps.
- Step 1: Combine all the ingredients into a blender, starting with the frozen cauliflower. Top off with the spices.
- Step 2: Blend till smooth. Taste and adjust any spices or sweetness. See variations below for a dessert option!
If you plan to use blackstrap molasses for a higher iron content, you may need to increase the sweetness with maple syrup to counteract the bitter taste. This change will require a little more taste testing.
Equipment
A reliable, good quality blender is recommended to make this recipe the best it can be.
- Vitamix - Vitamix is great and lasts a very long time, with reliable repairs, if needed.
- Ninja - Very popular with some readers.
- Nutribullet Ideal if you plan to only make dishes for one person. I don't love that you can't use a blender tamper to mix a thicker smoothie.
Storage
This smoothie does tend to keep better than some of my other smoothies without yogurt. It was great in my fridge for at least 3 hours.
If you plan to keep it longer, I'd recommend putting all the ingredients except the milk and molasses in a ziplock bag in the freezer. Then add the frozen ingredients with the milk and molasses before blending.
This cuts down on your time measuring everything out.
Gingerbread Smoothie FAQ's
Absolutely raw ginger can be added to smoothies, but it does add a different flavor. Dried ginger tends to have a more concentrated flavor than fresh, and I also find it to be less spicy. I love to use fresh ginger for wellness shots and dried for smoothies with a specific flavor, like this gingerbread smoothie.
Gingerbread is referring to the classic cookie flavor we're trying to recreate. This usually includes other spices in addition to ginger like molasses, cinnamon and cloves.
When making a non-heme iron smoothie, it's best to pair it with a vitamin c source for absorption. For this gingerbread smoothie, we use cauliflower as a source since it pairs well with out iron-source of molasses. To boost the iron content, adding nut butters like almond butter (not HYH) or sunflower seed butter would be a great addition.
Cozy Drink Recipes
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Gingerbread Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup frozen riced cauliflower
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 tablespoon unsulphured molasses*
- 1 cup milk (any kind)
- 1 scoop protein powder
- 1-2 teaspoons maple syrup
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a high speed blender. Blend till smooth. Taste and adjust any spices or add more sweetener before blending again. Can also blend about ¼ cup of ice to thicken without losing too much flavor.
Notes
- Molasses - This recipe was tested with Grandma's unsulphured molasses and Plantation blackstrap molasses. They are very different because blackstrap molasses is more concentrated and therefore more bitter. This also means it has higher iron content with less sugar. If you want to use blackstrap molasses, I recommend starting with 1-2 teaspoons and blending - see if you're ok with the taste. Add more as you like it!
- Sodium - Blackstrap molasses is higher in sodium if that is important to you. True molasses has less.
- Protein powder - I used Sprout Living Pumpkin Seed Protein.
This may be a new favorite for me. I’ve been using it the last few days through a particularly bad attack, and I’ve actually wanted to drink it, which is a win. I can also say using Apple to sub for cauliflower works great with a little bit of ice. Thanks Alicia!
What can I use in place of riced cauliflower? It doesn’t agree with me.
Thank you, April
Very festive. I think that apples or pears would work with this recipe in place of riced cauliflower . Maybe add some ice with fruits, if not already frozen.
Hey April - I give subs in the post above under "substitutions"! Hope that helps.
I’ve made this and it was delicious. The ginger gives it a great kick. Love this for a delicious way to get in protein that feels like dessert.