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This spiced persimmon smoothie blends sweet persimmon with banana, pumpkin puree, and warm pumpkin pie spice for a thick, creamy fall breakfast. You only need 5 simple ingredients and 5 minutes, and it works with any type of persimmon you have on hand.
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Making smoothies with in-season fruit is one of my favorite ways to enjoy more fruit while keeping my grocery budget low. Love pumpkin? You’ll also like my pumpkin pie smoothie, and for more ways to use persimmons, try my persimmon salad or persimmon muffins. Thank you to Shannon Hicks for developing this delicious recipe!
Quick Glance
- Recipe Name: Spiced Persimmon Smoothie
- Why You’ll Love It: A thick, creamy, warmly spiced smoothie that tastes like fall in a glass.
- Time and Difficulty: 5 minutes, easy.
- Main Ingredients: Persimmon, pumpkin puree, banana, pumpkin pie spice, and plant-based milk.
- Method: Add everything to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Texture and Flavor: Thick, creamy, and sweet, with warming spices.
- Quick Tip: Freeze ripe persimmons ahead of time so your smoothie comes out thick and cold.
Table of Contents
What Makes This Persimmon Smoothie So Good
Being from California, smoothies are a year-round breakfast for me. While smoothies like my chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie are delicious in any season, I love filling my blender with fresh, seasonal fruit. Persimmons are at their peak in fall and winter, just like the citrus in my mango orange smoothie and orange creamsicle smoothie.
- Seasonal and simple: Just 5 ingredients, including a sweet persimmon at its peak.
- Well-spiced: Sweet persimmon pairs perfectly with warm pumpkin pie spice.
- Wholesome: Persimmons bring fiber and beta-carotene, which your body uses to make vitamin A, so it’s a satisfying way to start the day.
- Any persimmon works: Use firm Fuyu or very soft, fully ripe Hachiya persimmons.
- A reader favorite: It has a 5-star rating from 28 readers.
Persimmon Smoothie Ingredients
You only need 5 simple ingredients. You’ll find the full amounts in the recipe card below.
- Persimmon: Both Fuyu and Hachiya persimmons work well. Fuyu persimmons are ripe while still firm, and Hachiya persimmons should be very soft and almost pudding-like before you use them. Pull off the leafy top before blending. There is no need to peel it.
- Pumpkin puree: Use canned or homemade pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling, which already has sugar and spices added.
- Banana: Ripe, spotty bananas give the smoothie natural sweetness and a creamy texture. Use a frozen banana for an extra thick smoothie.
- Pumpkin pie spice: Use store-bought or my homemade pumpkin pie spice mix. Cinnamon on its own works too.
- Plant-based milk: Any creamy, unsweetened plant-based milk works, like almond, oat, soy, or homemade cashew milk.
Have extra persimmons? Bake them into my vegan persimmon bread or persimmon cookies, or cook them down into persimmon jam.
Add-ins and Substitutions
Smoothies are easy to customize. Here are a few ideas to make this persimmon smoothie your own:
- No banana: Use another persimmon or a different fruit, like apple, pear, pineapple, or kiwi.
- Lighter smoothie: Use water or coconut water in place of the plant-based milk.
- Other spices: Use cinnamon, or a mix of nutmeg, cloves, ginger, allspice, or cardamom. A little fresh ginger or ¼ to ½ teaspoon of ground turmeric adds a warm, golden touch.
- Extra creamy: Blend in a spoonful of vegan yogurt or almond butter.
- Sweeter: Taste it first, then add a drizzle of maple syrup or a pitted date if your fruit isn’t very sweet.
- Chia seeds: A spoonful helps thicken the smoothie.
- Vegan protein powder: Makes it more filling, so it holds you over until lunch.
- Smoothie bowl: Reduce the plant-based milk to ½ cup and add more only as needed to blend. Top it with granola, nuts, seeds, or sliced persimmon. My peaches and cream smoothie bowl has more topping ideas.
How to Make a Persimmon Smoothie
Step 1: Add everything to the blender. Add the frozen persimmon, pumpkin puree, banana, pumpkin pie spice, and plant-based milk to a blender.
Step 2: Blend until smooth. Blend until completely smooth and creamy. Add a splash more plant-based milk if it is too thick to blend.
Step 3: Pour and enjoy. Pour the smoothie into a glass and enjoy it right away.
PRO TIP: Use a high-speed blender if you can. It blends frozen fruit into a silky smoothie much faster, and you will need less milk.
Toni’s Recipe Tips
- Freeze your own persimmons: You’re unlikely to find frozen persimmon at the grocery store, so let the fruit ripen at home, then freeze it for future smoothies. Hachiya persimmons are so soft that they are easier to puree first, then freeze in an ice cube tray.
- Ripen firm persimmons: Place them in a paper bag on the counter for a few days to speed things up.
- Use plain plant-based milk: Lightly sweetened milk is fine, but flavored milks can overwhelm the fruit and spices. I prefer plain, unsweetened plant-based milk.
- Taste before you sweeten: Very ripe persimmons and bananas are sweet enough on their own most of the time.
Make Ahead and Storage
- Best fresh: Smoothies are best enjoyed right after blending.
- Fridge: Cover leftovers tightly and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. The texture will be less creamy, but it will still be delicious. Shake or stir before drinking.
- Freezer: Freeze leftover smoothie in an ice cube tray, then re-blend the cubes with a splash of milk.
- Smoothie packs: Portion the sliced frozen persimmon and banana into freezer bags so breakfast is ready to blend.
Persimmon Smoothie FAQs
Yes, both work. Fuyu persimmons are ripe when they are still firm, so you can use them right away. Hachiya persimmons need to be very soft and almost pudding-like before you use them, or they will taste bitter and astringent.
No. The peel is thin and edible, so just pull off the leafy top, slice the persimmon, and add it to the blender.
Let them ripen fully, remove the tops, and slice them. Freeze the slices in a single layer, then move them to a freezer bag. Very soft Hachiya persimmons are easier to puree first and freeze in an ice cube tray.
Yes! Use another persimmon or a different fruit, like apple, pear, pineapple, or kiwi. The smoothie will be a little less creamy.
Persimmons pair well with other winter fruit, like oranges, mandarins, and pomegranate seeds, and with tart fruits like raspberries or strawberries.
More Fall Smoothies and Drinks
Vegan Breakfasts
Sweet Potato Smoothie
Vegan Drinks
Vegan Pumpkin Spice Latte [Hot or Iced]
Vegan Breakfasts
Ginger Fruit Smoothie
![completed Turmeric Golden Milk [Haldi Doodh] in a white cup against a white background](https://plantbasedonabudget.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/NR-Golden-Milk-Plant-Based-on-a-Budget-1-2-378x378.jpg)
Vegan Drinks
Turmeric Golden Milk
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Spiced Persimmon Smoothie
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Ingredients
- 1 frozen persimmon sliced, leafy top removed
- ¾ cup (185 g) pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling
- 1 ripe banana fresh or frozen
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 ½ cups (360 ml) plant-based milk plus more if needed
Instructions
- Add the frozen persimmon, pumpkin puree, banana, pumpkin pie spice, and plant-based milk to a blender.
- Blend until completely smooth and creamy, adding a splash more plant-based milk if needed.
- Pour into a glass and enjoy right away.
Notes
- You’re unlikely to find frozen persimmon at the store, so ripen the fruit at home, then slice and freeze it for future smoothies.
- Hachiya persimmons are very soft when ripe, so they are easier to puree first and freeze in an ice cube tray.
- Use plain, unsweetened plant-based milk so the fruit and spices shine.
- Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 24 hours, or freeze them in an ice cube tray to re-blend later.
Delicious and healthy breakfast..or snack…or dessert! Yum!
Right?! So yummy!
Love this smoothie!