Every 4th of July, first day of fall, and almost any other day I asked, my grandma would bake her famous apple pie. With its golden flaky crust and fresh fruit filling smothered in cinnamon, the recipe probably looked fairly similar to just about every family’s recipe, but her oven must have worked a little magic because it always tasted just a smidgen sweeter and juicer than every other slice I sampled.
However, Grandma started slowing down the past few years. Aging knees and a knotted back began catching up to her, so she spent less time putzing around the kitchen and more hours napping in her favorite armchair. We all understood, and we crunched our way through the bags of fresh crisp apples for snacks instead.
But… When my friend Dorothy visited Apple Hill for her birthday and spent all afternoon picking fresh fruit from the trees, then came home and made a gorgeous pie of her own, I caved. I wanted a bite of apple pie!
Because I (a) lacked Grandma’s recipe and (b) thought it would be pure torture to turn on the oven during our random 95°+ fall heat wave, I went with the next best thing…
A Skinny Apple Pie Smoothie! With the same flavor as the filling, this refreshing drink is a fun way to curb your pie cravings. Even better, you only need 4 ingredients and it’s ready in less than 5 minutes—easy as pie!
Sorry, I couldn’t resist…
Moving on from that corny joke… Like I mentioned, this healthy smoothie consists of 4 ingredients: applesauce, milk, cinnamon, and ice. That’s it! I opted for nonfat milk, but any variety will do. Cow’s milk, soy milk, almond milk, rice milk—you name it. Just use whatever you already stock in your fridge; no need for a special trip to the grocery store!
For the applesauce, I used Mott’s unsweetened snack cups. I always keep these on hand for when I mix up my favorite chocolate truffles because I can never finish off one of the larger jars before the applesauce starts to mold. One of these snack cups is almost ½ cup—just about a teaspoon or two shy—and that’s good enough for me. Don’t open another one just for that last little bit!
To keep the recipe simple, I just used ground cinnamon. If you love the spice as much as I do, feel free to use more! I sometimes go crazy and double it, but I love cinnamon as much as chocolate. And that’s a whole lot. You could also add in a shake or two of nutmeg, if you’re feeling adventurous!
With my favorite blender 80 miles away in our storage locker, I only had my parents ancient one at home. Boy oh boy… It took me 7 whole minutes to finally break down all that ice! But if you own something newer than 30 years old, it should only take a few moments to blend the drink until it’s smooth.
Then pour in a glass, top with homemade cinnamon Greek yogurt whipped cream, and slurp through a straw to your heart’s content.
Because every apple pie deserves whipped cream!
This smoothie tastes just like its namesake! The recipe is easily doubled to serve more.
- Add everything to a blender in the order listed, and pulse until smooth. Drink immediately.
Notes: Any milk (1%, 2%, whole, non-dairy) may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
For a sweeter smoothie, add your favorite sweetener to taste.
For a fun treat, top with homemade skinny cinnamon Greek yogurt whipped cream!
What a lovely ode to grandma! I once tried to make an apple pie smoothie in my ancient blender and when it wouldn’t blend, I stuck a wooden spoon in it to push the ice down…while it was on. For the record – that’s a terrible idea unless splinter smoothie is what you’re looking for. THIS skinny apple pie smoothie sounds amazing – definitely going to give it a try in my new fancy blender!
(PS. I love how you said “putzing around the kitchen” – that’s the name of my friend’s blog: Just Putzing Around the Kitchen!)
Ohmygosh Sarah, you have me literally in stitches!! A splinter smoothie… We must be twins because I’m 100% certain we used the same ancient blender! It works if you’re trying to blend two liquids together, but anything else, and you might as well throw it in a ziplock bag and hit it with a rolling pin. 😉 I love that name for a blog!! Just as much as I love the word “putzing.” I wish we used that verb more often, especially because spell check thinks it doesn’t exist!
I wish we were having a heat wave instead of freezing our tushies off. Regardless, this smoothie looks tasty and refreshing I will drink it while I shiver uncontrollably. I need to start drinking more smoothies and eating less desserts, anyhow. 😉 Pinned!
Thanks Jen! Oh my goodness, don’t even get me started about eating less desserts… I swear I eat one with every meal, even breakfast. I need to start drinking more smoothies and eating more fruit too!
I’m in love Amy!! And of course you need whipped cream!
Thanks Dorothy! 🙂
I am definitely craving one of these apple pie smoothies right now, they look and sound so delicious! The best thing about the recipe has to be how healthy and quick it is and how little ingredients it needs! Thanks for sharing it.
Thanks Thalia! When it comes to smoothies, the easier it is to make, the more likely it is I’ll drink it! 😉
Hi Amy! This sounds delicious. I wondered have you tried this smoothie using a vanilla protein powder? I think it might taste like apple pie with ice cream!
I haven’t tried that, but it sounds like a brilliant idea Tanya! I’d love to hear how that turns out if you try it!
Hi Amy! I tried the apple pie smoothie with the following: 1 cup of unsweetened cashew milk, 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce, 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder, and a heaping 1/4 tsp cinnamon, some ice cubes and blended away. It made a larger serving but it was delicious! Definitely making this one again!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Tanya, and thank you for telling me what worked! 🙂
I made these today and weren’t all that great tasting.
I’m sorry the smoothie didn’t turn out like you expected Nae; that must have been disappointing. What didn’t you like about the taste? I’d love to work together to figure out what happened so we can make sure it tastes better next time!
Could you do this with fresh apples? Looks delicious!
I haven’t tried Megan, so I’m not entirely sure how that would turn out. You may need to adjust the amounts of ice and milk. I hope you enjoy the smoothie!
This apple pie smoothie looks divine!
Thanks! I’d love to hear what you think if you try it! 🙂
Amy;
Hi,I am going to make your skinny apple pie smoothie this morning and last night my mom made a crab apple sauce,and I am going to use it in your apple pie smoothie along with the vanilla protein powder and the ingredients in your recipe to make this smoothie in my blender.
I will let you know how how I enjoy your smoothie,and I will make one for my mom too.
Kim