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Vanilla Date Smoothie

The BEST Date Smoothie is an easy treat naturally sweetened with dates and banana, with a hint of vanilla for a healthy and delicious breakfast or snack!

head on view of healthy vanilla date smoothie in a glass with items surrounding.

Why We Love This Recipe!

Just look at all those beautiful speckles of blended dates!

Dates naturally sweeten smoothies with their vanilla-caramel flavor and make for a refined sugar-free treat that’s healthy and delicious!

Vanilla date smoothie is a perfect sweet treat any time of day! Whether for breakfast, snack or after the gym, it’s decadent and so easy to make!

After my workout today, I came home and made myself this date smoothie, and as always, it was a perfect sweet treat for a job well done!

side by side photos of dates in a box and pitted on a plate.

Earlier this month, I picked up this big beautiful box of dates from my local farmers’ market. How could I resist?!

These are Medjool dates, the extra fancy ones, and they are the most tender, soft, sweet, and caramel flavored dates I’ve had in a long time.

Fresh dates are simply the best! They are sweet and ready to be put to good use like this smoothie, Raw Vegan Brownies, or Kale + Date Salad.

If you have some dates and frozen bananas on hand, I suggest you treat yourself to a simple and wonderful smoothie!

top down view of ingredients used for healthy date smoothie recipe.

Date Smoothie Ingredients

This date smoothie recipe requires only 5 simple ingredients!

  • Unsweetened almond milk – You can use your favorite plant milk – cashew, oat, soy, coconut, etc.
  • Frozen banana – adds creaminess and is good for gut health.
  • Ice cubes – can be optional.
  • Medjool dates – are best with they are fresh and soft.
  • Vanilla extract – complements the dates and banana, adding a delicious layer of flavor.
top down view of date smoothie ingredients in a blender cup.

How To Make Vanilla Date Smoothie

Making a date smoothie is as easy as 1 – 2 – 3!

  1. Combine the dates, banana, vanilla, ice cubes, and plant milk into a blender cup.
  2. Blend until smooth, about 1 – 2 minutes. Add a splash of extra almond milk as needed.
  3. Pour into serving glass and enjoy.

You may have visually small pieces of dates within the shake, and that’s ok. Even with those bits of date, I didn’t have much trouble using my straw, only having to clear the bottom of it maybe once or twice. Those little chunks are caramelly and delicious!

Smoothie Tips

  • Soft dates blend best in smoothies. To soften dates, soak them in the milk for 5 – 10 minutes to help soften them before blending. Alternatively, let them soak in warm water for a few minutes.
  • Add cocoa powder. Turn your smoothie into chocolate goodness by adding 2 – 3 teaspoons of cocoa or cacao powder.
  • Add protein powder. Bulk up the nutritional profile by adding a scoop of protein powder. Vanilla and chocolate-flavored would be terrific additions.
  • Add a dollop of nut butter. You can opt to add a tablespoon or so of your favorite nut butter for extra creaminess and a healthy dose of protein. Those with nut allergies can use sunflower butter.
side angle view of healthy vanilla date smoothie in a glass with items surrounding.

Date FAQs

Do dates blend well?

Yes, especially if they are fresh or softened before blending. It also helps to use a high-speed blender, but soft dates should blend well no matter the wattage of your blender.

How do you soften dates in smoothies?

If your dates are a little older or dried out, you can soften them before blending by adding the dates to the milk and let them soak for 5 – 10 minutes to soften (or soak them in warm water for a few minutes). This will help them blend better and make for soft bits of goodness.

More Healthy Smoothie Recipes!

Whether in a bowl or in a glass, you can never have too many smoothie recipes to try!

top down view of healthy vanilla date smoothie in a glass with items surrounding.

If you try this date smoothie recipe or have a question, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.

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Vanilla Date Smoothie

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 6 reviews

Date smoothie is an easy, sweet treat naturally sweetened with vanilla and banana for a healthy and delicious breakfast or snack smoothie! Vegan  + wfpb recipe.

  • Author: Julie | The Simple Veganista
  • Prep Time: 5 min
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 1
  • Category: Breakfast, Smoothie
  • Method: blender
  • Cuisine: Vegan

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (use your favorite non-dairy milk)
  • 1 medium frozen banana
  • 45 ice cubes (or another frozen banana)
  • 23 medjool dates, pitted (soft and fresh is best)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional add-ins:

  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1 tablespoon nut butter (peanut, almond, cashew, sunflower etc.)
  • 23 teaspoons cacao or cocoa powder

Instructions

Combine ingredients into a blender cup and blend until smooth, about 1 – 2 minutes, depending on your blender. Add a splash or two of extra almond milk as needed, especially if adding protein powder.

Serves 1

Notes

Use soft dates: If your dates are a little older or dried out, you can soften them before blending by adding the dates to the milk and let them soak for 5 – 10 minutes to soften. This will help your dates blend better and make for soft bits of goodness.

For the protein powder, I’ve been using the Garden of Life Raw Fit lately. I love the fact that Garden of Life has a few protein powders that don’t contain stevia. I prefer to sweeten my shakes/smoothies with fruits and personally don’t care for the stevia aftertaste. I’m not on a weight management program but do love the high protein amount in this powder. The Raw Fit contains 28 grams of protein, which is half my daily recommended amount. For me, one shake a day is a perfect treat! If using protein powder, you may like to add 1/4 – 1/2 cup more of milk or water.

Updated: Date Smoothie was originally published in June 2014. It has been retested and updated with new photos and helpful tips in March 2021.

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19 Comments

  1. You can also add peanut butter.






  2. I love your vanilla date smoothie it is one of my favorites, but are you trying to kill us. There is 44g of sugar yet recommended grams of sugar per day is 24g.
    How is this healthy? I am so sad, I do love my sweets and started making smoothies for my health. I do appreciate you putting in vitiman counts and sugar, salt and all the other good stuff.
    So now I will have to make this smoothie once in a while.

  3. My dad sent me a huge box of dates and I was looking for ways to eat them when I came upon your recipe. LOVED it!






  4. This was so good!!!! I ended up adding some peanut butter and I’m adding this as my go-to dessert drink. Since I had it for breakfast I even added my protein and called it a meal! :)






  5. Faith Zavala says:

    Absolutely heavenly! Made this for my breakfast protein shake and added the optional scoop of vanilla protein powder.
    We don’t have access to fresh dates so I used 3 dried dates and soaked them in the milk as suggested. Definitely making this one again! Tastes just like an old fashioned vanilla milkshake but with the slightest hint of banana. I can’t get enough of it!






  6. Amazing! I added 2 scoops protein/collagen powder, some chia seeds, and 1 T peanut butter! This is delicious.






  7. Shelby Taylor says:

    Been eating dates lately because supposedly they help shorten labor lol. Don’t care for them by themselves though. Came across this recipe and WOW! It’s the best date smoothie I have tries so far, and I have tried a few. Didn’t have protein powder so just made it without. Didn’t really change anything. Used 2 bananas instead of the Ice. Thanks for the recipe! Will definitely keep!






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