Celebrate autumn and the holiday season with a pumpkin milkshake! This delicious frozen blended treat features homemade pumpkin ice cream.

pumpkin milkshake topped with whipped cream and cookie

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It’s supposed to be coziest time of the year. Autumn for much of America means the return of sweaters, boots, and scarves.

With this pumpkin shake, you can enjoy the flavors of autumn in a cool beverage!

Milkshakes are super easy to make. They generally only require two ingredients: ice cream and milk.

If you want take it a step further, add a few tablespoons of malt powder to transform your milkshake into a malt (or malted shake)!

Homemade Pumpkin Ice Cream

I highly recommend making your own pumpkin ice cream. The recipe linked is real deal churned ice cream made with milk, cream, and eggs.

Homemade ice cream is relatively simple to make. However, this specific recipe does require use of an ice cream machine.

Not in the mood to make ice cream? Ben & Jerry pumpkin cheesecake ice cream and Jeni’s pumpkin cake roll ice cream are great store-bought options.

Milkshake using Vanilla Ice Cream

Don’t have the time or energy to make homemade pumpkin ice cream? No problem!

You can easily make an equally delicious pumpkin milkshake using store bought vanilla ice cream, canned pumpkin puree, and ground spices.

Shortcut Version

Vanilla Ice Cream Pumpkin Milkshake

4 scoops vanilla ice cream (about 1.5 cups)
1/3 cup milk of choice
1/3 cup pumpkin puree (80 g)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice mix
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Equipment

Ideally, it is best to use a high-speed blender to mix the milkshake together. Add all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth and creamy.

An immersion blender (also known as hand blender or stick blender) is another good option.

If you don’t have either blenders, push up your sleeves and use a sturdy spatula and a mixing bowl to combine the ingredients together.

pumpkin milkshake topped with whipped cream and biscoff cookie

Ways to Garnish or Enhance Milkshake

The pumpkin milkshake is rich and decadent as is! However, you can always make it more exciting!

Top with whipped cream and garnish with a crunchy component. Graham cracker sheet, Biscoff cookie (speculoos), or a shortbread cookies are great options.

For the ultimate treat, rim the serving glass with melted white chocolate or caramel. Roll the sticky glass in sprinkles like in this brownie milkshake.

Turn it into a boozy adult milkshake by adding 1 to 2 oz of liquor. Suggested pairings include:

Bourbon, whiskey, or dark rum
Coffee Liqueur (such as Kahlua or Baileys)
Pumpkin Spice Liqueur (Trader Joe’s sells one or plenty of options at big box beverage stores like Total Wine & More and BevMo.)
Pinnacle Pumpkin Pie Flavored Vodka

More Pumpkin Dessert Recipes