Cranberry Orange Cinnamon Holiday Smoothie

Smoothie lovers must try this Cranberry Orange Cinnamon Holiday Smoothie full of fabulous Fall flavors – orange, cranberry, and cinnamon combine for a deliciously unique taste in this delightful Fall or Winter breakfast treat!

What even is a holiday smoothie you ask? In my opinion, it’s a smoothie that embraces Fall and Winter produce. In this smoothie, we’re using cranberries and an ENTIRE orange. Yes, an entire, peeled, navel orange.

A holiday smoothie also makes use of some kind of spice. Cinnamon, ginger, allspice, something like that has got to be there. It’s the cinnamon that ties all this frothy goodness together here. This smoothie would be lacking without it!

If any smoothie can remind you of bread, it’s this one (weird but just trust me). Have you had cranberry bread? If you have, you’ll definitely recognize these flavors. I’ve brought that bread to life in smoothie form!

I think this smoothie would work well as a Thanksgiving morning breakfast – quick, easy, and little to no clean-up. In fact, I might do just that!

What are the ingredients in this Cranberry Orange Cinnamon Holiday Smoothie?

While this smoothie seems pretty weird at first, it basically follows the same formula as almost all other smoothies. Some frozen fruits, greens, protein powder. If you find yourself with any of th holiday produce, definitely give it a try!

Here are the ingredients I used in this smoothie and a little explanation for each:

• baby spinach greens – All the Fall flavors totally cover up any taste of spinach whatsoever. You’d only know it’s in there from the tiny green flecks!
• navel orange – It’s important to use a sweet, juicy orange so get lots of delicious fresh orange juice in the smoothie. This helps sweeten the smoothie and add more liquid.
• vanilla protein powder – For this smoothie, I prefer to add vanilla protein powder, so the smoothie can get just a little extra sweetness and flavor without having to add other things like vanilla or more sweetener.
• ground cinnamon – I honestly think the cinnamon ties everything together here. Don’t skip, or it’ll feel like you just threw random things in the blender and said, “oh well”.
• cranberries – The berry of the holidays! But for real though, this smoothie embraces the tartness of cranberries and tones them down with orange juice, banana, and cinnamon. So delicious.
• banana – Frozen banana is a classic smoothie ingredient and for a very good reason. The banana is what makes the smoothie creamy!
• unsweetened almond milk – Even though we’ve got the OJ, a little extra liquid is helpful for blending. Start with a little and add more if needed.

How do you make this Cranberry Orange Cinnamon Holiday Smoothie?

If you’re a pro at smoothies, I probably don’t need to tell you how to make this smoothie. It goes the same as any other you’ve made before. But if you want a few tips, here’s what I recommend.

Here’s how you should make this smoothie, according to me:

1. Grab all your ingredients, peel your orange, and the banana if needed.
2. Add ingredients to your blender in this order to make sure everything blends properly (if you are using a Nutribullet, reverse the order since it flips upside down!):
   • Start with greens and powdered ingredients. You want the greens closest to the blades so the other ingredients push them down and they can completely pulverize.
   • Next, add the softer ingredients, in this case the orange. This is super easy for the blades to blend and will add a ton of liquid to the smoothie, which will then help blend the more frozen ingredients.
   • Next, add the harder fruits, including the frozen cranberries and banana. Having plenty of liquid already blended up will help blend the frozen fruits easily.
   • Finally, add any extra liquid needed to blend. Usually the recipe will indicate how much, and if not, start with 1/4 cup and then go from there.
3. Blend and add any more liquid you need as you go. Enjoy it immediately!

In a perfect world, this smoothie would be a beautiful blushed crimson color, speckled with tiny greens and little bright cranberry pieces. Unfortunately, red/white fruits and green leaves make a less-than-festive brown color than I’m not too fond of, but that’s okay because it’s still delicious.

Can I use a different milk instead of unsweetened almond milk?

Yes, feel free to use whatever type of milk you like and have on hand. I would recommend any unsweetened milk, including dairy milk or oat milk. I have always used unsweetened almond milk that I get at Costco, so that’s my preference.

What kind of blender do you use?

I own both a Nutribullet and a Vitamix, and both work very well for smoothies. Pictured here is the smoothie being made in the Nutribullet.

If I’m making one single smoothie, I do like to use my Nutribullet. For thicker smoothies or double batches, I tend to use my Vitamix.

Tips for making this Cranberry Orange Cinnamon Holiday Smoothie:

Here are some tips for making this smoothie as delicious as can be:

• Find a deliciously juicy and sweet orange. This will help flavor and sweeten the whole smoothie.
• Make sure your banana and the cranberries are frozen to get a perfectly cold smoothie. You can also chill the orange in the fridge.
• Add less liquid than you think you need at first, and then add more only as needed to blend.
• Add ingredients in the right order to help blend properly and get the smoothest texture.

How do you meal prep this Cranberry Orange Cinnamon Holiday Smoothie?

Prep smoothie packs in Stasher Silicone Food Storage Bags (affiliate link!) or other freezer safe containers by adding all ingredients to the bag except the liquid. Remove air, seal and label with the date and type of smoothie. To make, dump everything in your blender and add liquid as needed.

How to store leftover Cranberry Orange Cinnamon Holiday Smoothie:

While this smoothie is intended to be a one serving meal without leftovers, if you do end up with leftovers, no worries. You can freeze them into cubes using a Souper Cubes 2 Tablespoon Freezing Tray and then reblend in the future.