I remember making this date smoothie the day before I gave birth to Sidney. Tony and I were bored out of our freaking minds, and I wanted to make something with dates because I had heard that they were a great way to naturally induce labor and shorten labor time. Not sure if that’s an old wives’ tale because my labor was 36 hours, but I digress.
I whipped up this tahini date smoothie and immediately knew it had to go on the blog. It’s OUTRAGEOUSLY DELICIOUS, slightly nutty thanks to tahini, and reminded me of my brown butter snickerdoodle cookies that are infused with sweet vanilla and cinnamon flavor. I couldn’t get enough!
Wanna know the crazy part though? There’s a secret veggie hiding inside that you won’t even taste or see. I promise! This smoothie is nut-free, high in fiber, and packed with fruit and veggies — making it perfect for you OR the kiddos!
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Ingredients in this date smoothie recipe
While I’m a big fan of bananas in smoothies, this tahini date smoothie recipe is made without banana and is still perfectly sweet and delicious thanks to dates. It’s easy, creamy, and a great fiber-rich breakfast or afternoon snack to make. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Medjool dates: be sure to remove the pit or buy pitted Medjool dates. These will sweeten the smoothie!
- Milk: I prefer almond milk to keep the smoothie dairy-free and vegan, but light coconut milk would also be delicious.
- Frozen cauliflower: you read that right! The frozen cauliflower gives this date smoothie the perfect, thick texture, plus a boost of fiber to help you feel satisfied.. You will not be able to taste it — promise!
- Tahini: a wonderful nut-free option that adds a delicious creaminess to the smoothie. I love this brand!
- Flavor boosters: the combination of vanilla and cinnamon gives the smoothie that true snickerdoodle cookie flavor.
- Toppings: make a yummy smoothie bowl or just top your glass with a drizzle of tahini, sprinkle of cinnamon, and your fav granola (or try my best-ever homemade granola recipe!)
Simple ingredient swaps
As with any smoothie recipe, there are tons of ways to make this your own!
- Try a new seed or nut butter: feel free to swap the tahini for cashew butter or peanut butter! Any nut or seed butter will work well and add creaminess.
- Choose your milk: you can use any milk you’d like in this smoothie — dairy or non-dairy.
- Add extra cookie flavor: instead of vanilla extract, you could try adding a 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract to make the smoothie really taste like a cookie.
Optional date smoothie additions
Here are a few nutritional boosters you can try adding to this date smoothie recipe:
- Flaxseed meal: one of my favorite ingredients to add to smoothies for a little boost of fiber and minerals. It’s especially great for nursing mamas as flaxseed can help increase milk supply. Usually, a tablespoon is plenty! Here’s a brand I love.
- Chia seeds: add a tablespoon of chia seeds to your smoothie for a boost of healthy fats and fiber.
- Hemp seeds: feel free to throw in those hemp seeds lurking in your cupboard for a boost of healthy fats, omegas, and minerals.
- Oats: add about 1/3 cup of rolled oats to your smoothie for an additional thickness & heartiness. Do not use steel cut oats as they will not blend well.
- Organic spinach: if you’re looking to get more greens in your smoothie, try adding a few cups of spinach. It may turn the smoothie a slightly off-putting color, but you won’t be able to taste the spinach at all.
- Greek yogurt: add a boost of protein with a scoop of Greek yogurt (or your favorite dairy-free yogurt). You may have to reduce the almond milk to 3/4 cup in this smoothie when adding yogurt.
- Protein powder: another great way to add some protein is by blending in protein powder or collagen peptides. I recommend a plain or vanilla flavored protein powder in this recipe. Here is a great plant-based option.
- Cacao powder: add a delicious, chocolate-y flavor to the smoothie, along with a great source of antioxidants by blending in cacao powder. I recommend 1/2 tablespoon to start.
Tips for making this date smoothie recipe
Here are a few of my favorite tips for making this date smoothie creamy and delicious:
- Yes, add the cauliflower. Using frozen cauliflower instead of ice helps keep the smoothie cold and thick without watering it down or making it hard to blend.
- Add more liquid. Don’t be afraid to add more liquid if your smoothie is too thick or won’t fully blend. High-powered blenders tend to blend frozen ingredients much better, so if you have a regular or personal-size blender, you may need to add more milk.
- Start low, go high. Start the blender on low speed, then gradually increase the speed to high to help blend all ingredients. End with the blender on low speed.
Don’t forget to soften your dates
Dates are naturally very sticky, so make sure to soften them so that they blend easily. You’ll simply soak your pitted dates in 1 cup of warm water for at least 5 minutes before adding them to your blender.
Meal prep this healthy date smoothie
Yes, you can make this easy smoothie ahead of time to enjoy later! I have three amazing methods for prepping and storing smoothies right in your freezer. You’ll learn the ice cube tray method, the mason jar method, and the freezer pack method. Get all of my tips and tricks here!
More smoothie recipes you’ll love
- Get Your Greens in Smoothie (the best green smoothie!)
- Good Morning Coffee Lover’s Smoothie
- Almond Cherry Smoothie (my favorite smoothie ever!)
- Knock You Naked Peanut Butter Strawberry Banana Smoothie
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
Get all of my smoothie recipes here!
I know you guys are going to love this tahini date smoothie recipe! It makes the perfect breakfast or quick afternoon pick-me-up. Enjoy! xo.
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Snickerdoodle Tahini Date Smoothie
Ingredients
- For the date smoothie:
- 3 pitted large Medjool dates (¼ cup packed pitted Medjool dates)
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or sub light coconut milk), plus more to thin smoothie if necessary
- ¾ cup frozen cauliflower
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- Optional smoothie add-ins:
- 1 tablespoon cacao powder
- 1 scoop your favorite protein powder
- 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
- ¼ cup gluten free rolled oats
Instructions
- First soak your pitted dates in 1 cup of very warm water for at least 5 minutes. This will help them soften up and perfect for blending. While the dates are soaking you can get all your other ingredients out, measured and ready.
- Next add all ingredients to a high powered blender: pitted dates, almond milk, cauliflower, tahini, vanilla extract and cinnamon. Feel free to add any optional add-ins to your smoothie if you’d like. Blend until smooth, adding more almond milk to thin, if necessary. Pour into a glass and enjoy! Serves 1. Feel free to double the recipe to serve 2.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on March 12th, 2020, and republished on February 25th, 2026.
This is perfect.
Unfortunately this tasted like cauliflower and I had to choke it down (I hate wasting food)! Next time will just use bananas!
So sorry to hear that! I’ve always found cauliflower in smoothies to have a very neutral taste (especially with the dates). Let me know how it goes with bananas!
This is delicious! I never would have thought of putting frozen cauliflower as the frozen base of a smoothie!
Such an easy way to get some veggies in!
A delicious diversion from my usual morning, green smoothies. I used only two dates because that is all I had, and added extra cinnamon and a scoop of vanilla chai protein powder. Yum!!!
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
Wow! Like it so much! So delicious and creamy. 😋
Glad you’re enjoying this recipe!
This smoothie is so good and tastes unlike any others I’ve tried! The cauliflower is surprisingly very creamy and the flavor is so tasty. Favorite smoothie ever.
Yay! I am so glad you gave this recipe a try and it turned out amazing for you!
I love this recipe as is, but today I replaced 1/2 of the milk with my cold unfinished coffee (mom life), added hemp seeds and truvani vanilla protein powder, and WOW – tastes just like a jamocha shake! It was SO delicious!
Are you using cauliflower florets or rice?
You can use either, just make sure they are frozen! Enjoy!
Drinking this smoothie now as I’m typing this and it is INCREDIBLE!!! I added vanilla protein powder and it really made it taste like a snickerdoodle.
This is by far one of the best smoothie I’ve ever made in my life. I would say it ties with the “chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie” on the blog. This snickerdoodle smoothie is so, SO good, and one thing I especially love about it is that it is super filling. I love having it for breakfast for that reason. You won’t regret making it!!
I’m so thrilled you love both of them!! If you love those, you need to try my new Tahini Chocolate Coffee Date Shake, too 🙂
My fiancé and I have made this smoothie every day this week. It’s THAT good!!!
I struggle getting veggies in in the first trimester and this smoothie was a great way to do that without causing my stomach to turn. Great use to shelf-stable things I tend to have on hand like dates, tahini, etc.
Omg. I left out the cinnamon and added the cocoa powder. So. Good. I added a teeny pinch of sea salt. Delicious flavour and the texture is perfect. I don’t have a high powered blender so probably could have soaked the dates a bit longer to avoid a couple date chunks at the bottom.
Made this tonight! Did not have cauli though so had to use oats and chia for that creamy heft. It turned out good! I’m excited to try with the cauli next time.
Glad it came out great and that you enjoyed it, Julie! ☺️
THE BEST SMOOTHIE IVE EVER ENJOYED! My goodness, Monique! This was a knockout! I added primal kitchen vanilla protein, but otherwise kept the recipe the same. Fantastic!!!
Oh I’m SO GLAD! Thanks, Marisa!
Delicious and easy! Made as is and was very happy. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Yay! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Jessica 🙂 Thanks!
This is delicious – really tastes like a snickerdoodle and a fun morning treat. I love sneaking in more veggies to my morning
Literally one of the best, if not THE best, smoothie I’ve ever had. I have made it with vanilla and chocolate protein powder before, and I prefer the vanilla with the flavors in this smoothie.
I got so excited about this smoothie, I forgot I already commented last month! 🤣
HAHA love that! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
One of the best smoothies I’ve had!
Yay!! I’m SO happy you loved it, Jinelle!
Yummy. I opted for vanilla protein powder as an add-in.
Love adding protein powder to this one! Glad you enjoyed it!
This smoothie was absolutely delicious! My family went crazy over it!
Yay!! So glad to hear! 🙂
Such a Great smoothie!! I added ground flax, plant based vanilla protein powder, nutmeg and cacao powder. So yummy and nice for change without banana.
All great additions! So glad you loved it 🙂
Perfect as always! The only item I added was flax seed. Can never go wrong with your recipes!
Amazing! So happy you loved it 🙂
So satisfying! I almost always have a banana in my smoothies so this was a nice change of pace. Can’t wait to make this again because it was such a treat.
So glad you enjoyed!
Made it for breakfast this morning. DELICIOUS!!!! The cauliflower made it so smooth and creamy! I added unsweetened cocoa powder and flaxseed meal and loved it!
So glad you loved it!!
What did you actually put in this one in the photo? Looks like it has chocolate or coffee in it cuz it’s brown.(?)
The tahini and cinnamon give it a tan color!