15 Cozy Non-Alcoholic Fall Drinks

These are the non-alcoholic fall drinks to enjoy from the first cool morning in September through Thanksgiving — cozy coffee swaps, pumpkin smoothies that taste like pie, and warm evening sips the whole family can have. Every one is made with real ingredients, sweetened naturally (honey, dates or maple syrup), and tested in my own kitchen (on two teenagers who are brutally honest).

I sorted these by the moment you’d actually want one, because there’s a difference between what I want at 6am before a trail run and what I want at 9pm when I’m cold and the couch is calling. Pick your moment, grab a mug, and let’s sip into the season.

How to Choose a Fall Drink

Most fall drinks fall apart in one of three places: they’re built around booze, they take 30 minutes, or they only work when it’s cold out (hi, Oklahoma, where it’s 110° on Tuesday and 74° on Wednesday). Here’s how I pick:

• Need caffeine? Start with the morning coffee section. All three are homemade café swaps sweetened with coconut sugar or maple syrup instead of pumps of syrup, and two of them are done in 5 minutes.
• Need breakfast? Go to fall smoothies. These are the only ones on the list with fruit, veggies, and enough staying power to count as a meal. Four of the six use pumpkin, squash, or sweet potato, so they’re your best bet for actual fall produce.
• Winding down? Warm evenings — every drink here is caffeine-free, and most take about 5 minutes on the stove or in the blender.
• Feeding a crowd? The crockpot apple cider makes 16 servings and holds on warm for hours. It lives in the evening section, but it’s the one I’d make for Friendsgiving.

One more thing: almost every recipe here is dairy-free by default, made with oat, almond, or coconut milk. If that matters to you, my dairy-free smoothies roundup has 22 more.

Cozy Fall Coffee Drinks

The drive-thru fall latte is delicious and I’m not going to pretend otherwise. But once you make one at home with real espresso and a natural sweetener, the drive-thru version starts tasting like the syrup it’s made of. These three are my rotation from September on.

Fall Smoothies That Taste Like Dessert

This is where the actual fall produce lives: pumpkin, butternut squash, sweet potato, apple cider, and dates. These are the smoothies that keep me full through a morning of work or a long trail run, and they taste like pie, cinnamon rolls, and wassail. Four of the six have spinach in them and nobody has ever noticed.

Warm Fall Drinks for Cold Evenings

Everything in this section is caffeine-free, so it’s safe for 9pm couch dates and for the kids. Most take about 5 minutes in a saucepan or a high-speed blender, and one takes all afternoon in a crockpot (and makes your house smell like a candle store, in the best way).