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When your sweet tooth strikes at 3pm — or let’s be honest, at breakfast — this cinnamon date smoothie is your secret weapon. Medjool dates (nature’s caramel) bring rich, deep sweetness, warm cinnamon and vanilla turn it into a cinnamon roll in a glass, and blended rolled oats thicken it to a milkshake consistency. No added sugar, no banana needed, no sugar crash — just five ingredients and five minutes between you and the coziest sip of your day.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Date Smoothie
- It tastes like dessert, works like breakfast. Warm cinnamon, caramel-y medjool dates, and a splash of vanilla — basically a drinkable cinnamon roll that also happens to be a legitimately balanced morning meal.
- No banana needed. Almost every date smoothie out there leans on banana. Not this one — rolled oats do the thickening, so you get pure date-cinnamon flavor with a milkshake texture. (Banana skeptics, this is your smoothie.)
- Naturally sweet, zero added sugar. Dates bring caramel-like sweetness plus fiber — 11 grams in this glass — so the sweetness comes with staying power.
This one lives in my breakfast smoothies rotation — the blends built to actually carry you through a morning. If cozy-sweet is your flavor family, my warm chai smoothie is the spiced cousin of this recipe, my banana oatmeal smoothie is sippable oatmeal comfort, and my vanilla protein shake keeps it classic and creamy.
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Ingredients You’ll Need
This cinnamon date smoothie is simple, but knowing exactly what to grab makes it even better:
- Medjool dates: The soft, caramel-like variety — found in the produce section near the bananas or with the refrigerated dried fruit. They’re the star, so quality matters (more on picking the right dates in the questions below).
- Rolled oats: The thickening secret that replaces banana. Grab rolled oats (old-fashioned oats), not steel-cut or quick oats, for the creamiest blend.
- Ground cinnamon + vanilla extract: The cozy factor. Use pure vanilla (or vanilla bean powder), never imitation — it’s the difference between warm bakery flavor and candle-aisle flavor.
- Non-dairy milk: Cashew, almond, or oat all work. Check my favorite almond milk brands and oat milk brands — bonus points for “no added sugar” and 5+ grams of protein per serving. Or make almond milk at home.
Storage Tip
Store leftovers in an airtight jar in the fridge up to 24 hours. Shake well before drinking — natural separation happens — or re-blend for a few seconds to bring back the creamy texture. The oats will thicken it as it sits, so a splash of milk can loosen it back up.
How to Make a Date Smoothie
- Blend the oats first until powdery — this is the step that gives you milkshake-smooth instead of gritty. (You can also pre-soak the oats in your non-dairy milk for 10 minutes and blend them with the liquid.)
- Add the dates, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon and blend again until completely creamy. Pits out first — I learned that one the hard way.
- Pour over ice to chill it down. Since there’s no frozen fruit here, the ice does the cooling — and pouring over it (instead of blending it) keeps your blades sharp and your flavor undiluted.
Recipe Tips
- Soak dry dates. If your dates feel dry or brittle, soak them in warm water for 10-15 minutes before blending. Soft dates = silky smoothie; hard dates = sad little chunks. This one step is the difference-maker with a standard blender.
- Make it a protein smoothie. Add a serving of protein powder and this becomes a breakfast that holds you until lunch — the dates’ sweetness completely covers any protein powder taste.
- Dial the sweetness. Watching sugar? Start with one date, taste, and add from there. It’s much easier to sweeten up than to walk it back.
- Warm-spice upgrade: A pinch of nutmeg or cardamom alongside the cinnamon takes this from cinnamon roll to chai-bakery territory. Highly recommended on cold mornings.
Cinnamon Date Smoothie
Jen HansardVideo
Ingredients
- ½ cup gluten-free rolled oats
- 3 medjool dates pitted
- 1 ½ cup non-dairy milk ex: cashew, almond, or oat
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup ice optional
Instructions
- Blend the oats in a blender until powdery.
- Add the milk, dates, vanilla and cinnamon and blend until smooth, 45 to 60 seconds.
- Pour over ice, if using, and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
- Prep Tip: If your dates are dry or firm, soak them in warm water for 10 to 15 minutes so they blend smoothly. Double-check that each one is pitted.
- Lower Sugar: Start with 1 date and add more to taste. An extra pinch of cinnamon adds warmth without more sweetness.
- Protein Boost: Blend in a serving of homemade protein powder with the milk and dates.
- Storing: Best fresh, but it keeps in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 24 hours. The oats will thicken it, so shake and add a splash of milk before drinking.
Nutrition
Common Questions
Absolutely — dates are one of the best natural sweeteners for smoothies. They blend into a rich, caramel-like sweetness (no refined sugar needed) and bring fiber along for the ride, so the sweetness comes with staying power instead of a spike-and-crash.
Medjool dates, no contest. They’re naturally soft, moist, and caramel-flavored, so they blend beautifully — usually no soaking required. Drier varieties like Deglet Noor work in a pinch but need a 10-15 minute warm-water soak first, and their flavor is milder. Whatever you use, remove the pits!
One to three, depending on what else is in the blender and how sweet you like it. Start with one, blend, taste, and go from there. This recipe uses three because the dates are the star — there’s no other fruit competing.
You just found it — this recipe is banana-free by design. Blended rolled oats do the thickening instead, so you get a milkshake-thick smoothie with pure date-and-cinnamon flavor. If you want banana in there, half a frozen one adds extra creaminess and sweetness — just know it’ll taste banana-forward.
Yes — this is one of my favorite breakfast smoothies for sweet-tooth mornings. The oats and dates bring fiber and slow-burning energy, and with a scoop of protein powder it’s a complete, balanced breakfast that tastes like dessert. Sweet craving handled, morning fueled, everybody wins.
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I made this smoothie tonight. I really am impressed with dates. Never really had them. I love the almond butter and grapes smoothie. This one was tasty but the cinnamon was too strong for me and I love cinnamon. The oats were a little chalky but maybe its bc I used old fashioned oats. I dont know what they meant by rolled oats in the recipie. The dates were super sweet. I cut the recipe by one date and cut one tsp of cinnamon and cut a 1/4 of Oatmeal. I will absolutely make it again. My suggestion is too add things in slowly until you find the sweet spot, lol! Good job guys and keep the recipies coming!
Looks amazing! Love the use of dates.
Delicious! So yummy!! I’ve been waiting all day to make this and just finished blending. The cinnamon taste is so amazing and I did not add any ice either. It’s cold where I live and it’s perfect right out of the blender at the temperature of the almond milk. Thanks, Jen! Delish!
So awesome Corrinne!!
Yum! I made this as soon as I read the email. I love the taste of cinnamon in my smoothies, and this was amazing! I will say I didn’t even add ice because I wasn’t in the mood today for cold, and I still enjoyed this recipe. Thank you!
Love that you enjoyed it Angela! Stay warm!
This smoothie blend was not pleasant for me. I do enjoy eating dried dates! A thank you for your creation experiment it was simply not a pleasant experience for me
Oh no Anita! If you try it again, def post again to share what you customized to make it work for you – we’d love to know!