My mom went through a phase of eating half a butternut squash for dinner. I must have been in middle school at the time. I remember it because she usually just ate whatever my brother and I were having (spaghetti), and then all of a sudden she started preparing something separately just for herself. She split the squash in half and roasted it, and then put a pat of salted butter in the cavity and drizzled the whole thing with maple syrup.
Yum, right? Too bad my 11-year-old self preferred Ragu Old World Style.
Of course these days I love butternut squash, and I’m always looking for new ways to eat it.
Or in this case, drink it.
Unless you’re my mom, and you’re going to eat half a squash as your main course, you probably often find yourself with leftovers. This butternut squash pomegranate smoothie is a great way to use them up the next morning for breakfast.
Butternut squash is incredibly healthy. It’s a great source of dietary fiber, which makes it an ideal choice for breakfast because it will keep you full until lunch. But more to the point, it adds a pretty orange hue and subtle sweetness to the start of your day 🙂
I wanted to give this smoothie a sort of “harvest pie” flavor, so I added pumpkin pie spice; gluten-free oats; and a spoonful of pomegranate molasses, which has a juicy, tart-sweet taste. If you don’t have it, just use 1 teaspoon of regular molasses.
Oh! And if you don’t have any leftover butternut squash, you can totally use canned pumpkin (the plain kind, not pumpkin pie filling) or mashed sweet potato.
Cheers!
Butternut Squash Pomegranate Smoothie
2015-11-06 01:48:08
Serves 1
This easy, delicious smoothie is the perfect start to a cold winter morning. If you don't have butternut squash on hand, you can use canned pumpkin or mashed sweet potato. If you don't have pomegranate molasses, you can substitute 1 teaspoon regular molasses.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup cooked mashed butternut squash
- 1/2 large banana, peeled and frozen
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
- 1 tablespoon gluten-free oats
- 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon)
- 4-5 large ice cubes
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
Instructions
- Combine the butternut squash, banana, almond milk, pomegranate molasses, oats, pumpkin pie spice, and ice in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass and top with the pomegranate seeds.
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Kristen @ A Mind Full Mom says
Totally love your creativity in this smoothie–can’t wait to try!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
That sounds like a fantastic combo!
Liz @ I Heart Vegetables says
This is so creative! I’ve been loving pomegranate seeds lately but I’ve never gotten pomegranate molasses!
Virginia says
Do you know nutritional values?
Lucy Baker says
Hi Virginia, I’m not exactly sure, but by my calculations, 1/2 cup cooked butternut squash is about 50 calories, 1/2 banana is about 60 calories, the almond milk is another 60, Pomegranate molasses is 60, and the tablesponn of oatmeal is 20, so I would say 250 calories before you add the 2 tablespoons of pomegranate seeds. (Which I think are only about 10 calories or so per tablespoon.) I hope this helps!
Kate M says
Thank you for this recipe! I got it off of a Buzzfeed article, and normally I work my way through the smoothie list… but this one, I have made multiple times. Taking extra to share with the bro’s at work!
Lucy Baker says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! It’s one of my favorites for the winter 🙂