This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I can earn a small commission from items you purchase (at no cost to you).
If you’re new to green smoothies—or just want one that actually tastes good—this is the recipe to start with. This simple green smoothie blends spinach with banana, mango, and pineapple to create a naturally sweet, tropical drink that comes together in minutes. It’s proof that healthy can be easy, delicious, and something you’ll actually want to make again tomorrow.
Table of Contents
What is a Green Smoothie?
A green smoothie is a blended drink made with leafy greens, like spinach or kale, and naturally sweet fruit such as bananas, berries, or tropical fruit. The fruit balances the flavor of the greens, creating a smooth, refreshing drink that’s easy to enjoy. Green smoothies are a quick and simple way to add more fiber, vitamins, and minerals to your day in one glass.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Everything you need to make my favorite green smoothie recipe is found in a garden, farmer’s market, or the produce section of your grocery store. I’ve found that the closer we eat to nature, the better we feel. This green smoothie recipe is a great way to start that journey.
- Fresh spinach: Baby spinach is the most mild version to use in smoothies, and also the most easy to find. I suggest using organic spinach because it’s on the Dirty Dozen List.
- Pineapple: I buy frozen pineapple at Costco in bulk to make Frozen Meal Prep Smoothie Packs. If it’s on sale, I’ll cut up pineapple and freeze it myself.
- Mango: You’ll find frozen mango next to the ice cream in the freezer section. I love how it’s already peeled and cut for you and ready to add to the blender. If fresh mango is on sale, you can always cut the mango and freeze yourself. Check out my guide on how to cut mango.
- Fresh banana: Bananas add a creaminess to smoothies that is hard to replicate. It’s magic! You can also freeze bananas to use them in green smoothies, yet the best results come from blending with a fresh, ripe banana.
- Water: The liquid base in the smoothie is water. Use filtered water to avoid any unnecessary chemicals or pollutants.
Save Recipe for Later!
Enter your info below and I’ll send it straight to your inbox to save for later.
How to Make a Green Smoothie
The only equipment you need to make this green smoothie recipe is a blender for smoothies. A juicer or food processor won’t work to get you a creamy smoothie.
- Blend 1 cup of spinach in a blender with 1 cup of liquid. Blend until all leafy chunks are gone.
- Toss in frozen mango, pineapple, and bananas in the blender. Blend on high until smooth and creamy. If you want your smoothie to be extra chilly or possibly even turn it into a smoothie bowl, use more frozen fruit. (You can freeze your favorite fruits like ripe bananas, grapes, pineapple, or berries.)
- Add in superfoods once the smoothie is nice and creamy. Chia seeds, hemp hearts, and flax seeds are all great choices.
- In order to break down the cell walls of the plants, you need to blend at high speed. You shouldn’t have any leafy chunks or weird texture in your smoothie if your blender is powerful enough.
- Drink immediately. To get the maximum amount of nutrients from a smoothie, drink it immediately after blending it.
Recipe Tips
- Following a simple smoothie method in my How to Make a Smoothie guide helps balance greens, fruit, and liquid for a smooth, great-tasting blend. Tossing in random greens can lead to bitter flavors or a thin texture.
- Frozen fruit makes smoothies thick and creamy without ice, which can dilute flavor and strain your blender. I use a fresh banana for creaminess, plus frozen mango and frozen pineapple for sweetness.
- Invest in a high-speed blender for smoothies if you plan to make green smoothies a daily habit—it makes blending faster, smoother, and easier to stick with.
Ingredient Swaps
- Banana: You can substitute it with a quarter of an avocado.
- Mango: Swap with frozen pineapple, red apple or peaches for a fiber-rich alternative.
- Pineapple: Swap with a naval orange to get that juicy citrus flavor.
- Water: Use oat milk, almond milk, coconut water or orange juice depending on your health goals.
- Spinach: Swap for kale, Swiss chard, beet greens, or any leafy greens of your choice.
How to Store a Green Smoothie
Store your green smoothie in the fridge with an air-tight lid (ex: mason jars are great) for up to 48 hours, yet I think it tastes best if consumed within 4 hours after blending. The longer your smoothie is exposed to oxygen, the more it breaks down and the nutrients deteriorate (aka: oxidation).
Green Smoothie Add-Ins
- Protein powder: You can turn any green smoothie recipe into a meal replacement by adding a serving of my Homemade Protein Powder to the blender.
- Natural sweeteners: Increase sweetness by using more natural sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, bananas, or dates. A smoothie can taste like dessert without any refined sugars.
- Chia seeds: A simple way to add more healthy fats and protein is to add 2 tbsp chia seeds. It won’t alter the taste, but drink fast or it will congeal. Some recipes suggest adding almond butter, yet that’s disgusting in a tropical green smoothie
- Collagen: Unflavored collagen is a simple way to add additional protein and support gut health.
- More vegetables: Try adding 1/4 cup frozen cauliflower for a fiber boost without altering the flavor.
More Green Smoothies
Once you try the recipe below, you’re gonna want more green smoothie recipes. It happens every day in my inbox! I love it! Here’s some of the most popular ones on my blog to try next:
- My son is obsessed with this Mango Orange Smoothie recipe.
- This Simple Kale Smoothie will surprise even the pickiest smoothie drinkers.
- I love this Glowing Green Smoothie with spinach and romaine lettuce for digestive support.
- Escape with this tropical Detox Island Green Smoothie to heal from within.
Dietary Adjustments & Substitutions
Need to accommodate a food allergy? Click the button below for tailored suggestions just for you:
Best Green Smoothie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup pineapple frozen
- ½ cup mango frozen
- 1 banana
Instructions
- Measure: Tightly pack spinach in a measuring cup.
- Add: Put spinach to blender with water. Blend together until all chunks are gone. (Should resemble green water when blended well).
- Toss: Pineapple, mango and banana to blender. I like to use frozen pineapple and mangos to chill the smoothie down and save time cutting and prepping. It’s a win-win!
- Blend: It all together until smooth and creamy. Depending on your blender, this could take as little as 30 seconds or as long as 2 minutes.
- Pour: Into a glass and serve immediately.
Video
Helpful Tools
Notes
- Try adding a serving of Homemade Protein Powder, it’s super clean and easy to make.
- Not a fan of bananas? Swap it for 1/4 avocado, additional 1/2 cup mango or 1/2 cup peaches.
- You can use 1 cup pineapple if you’re out of mango.
- Frozen fruit is recommended to chill the smoothie (and save time cutting and washing).
- Store in the fridge with a lid until ready to drink.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review for a chance to win signed copies of my cookbooks!Common Questions
You won’t be able to taste the spinach if you use the proper ratio of fruit to spinach (1½ : 1). This green smoothie recipe tastes like a mango pineapple smoothie with a hint of banana flavor.
For busy weeks, you can create Frozen Smoothie Packs that you prep on the weekend and enjoy all week, or month. It’ll only take you 5 minutes every morning to have a green smoothie ready to go. You can also blend your smoothie the night before and store it in your fridge until ready to drink.
Green smoothies are the healthiest fast food out there. Blending spinach and fruit into a smoothie is a great way to boost your immune system, increase fiber intake, and boost your energy levels. Adding kale or spinach in a smoothie has incredible health benefits with additional phytonutrients. What we eat can truly transform our body in powerful ways!
Most smoothies you buy or find online are made with just fruit and fruit juice. This makes them crazy high in sugar, which can cause inflammation and consuming excess calories. A green smoothie, on the other hand, is made with fruit and leafy greens, typically spinach or kale. They’re loaded with iron, potassium, fiber and vitamins galore.
Any blender will work, yet to get the creamiest green smoothie you’ll need a high speed blender. Check out my Best Blenders for Smoothies guide, where I reviewed countless blenders to find the best ones for green smoothies. The key is to get rid of leafy chunks, blend quickly and provide tons of value for the price. Hint: not all of them cost $400.
Can I use milk instead of water for this beginner’s smoothie? And if I don’t have mangos, can I use peaches?
I’m going to try making my first green smoothie tomorrow.
Hey Jackie— you can replace liquids with what you prefer, but milk is not one of the ones we recommend due to dairy sensitivity and all the hormones in the milk that can affect us in many adverse ways. The water is actually really good in this smoothie, yet if you prefer milk I am sure it will still taste very good. If you want it thicker, you can always add another banana or even an avocado. We are all about swapping out ingredients with what you got. Peaches sound yummy!
I’ve been having a green smoothie for about a month now, but last weekend I hadn’t gone to the store and let me tell ya, my body felt the difference! i quickly went out monday and got everything I need and got back on them Tuesday. I’m just a beginner, but am noticing the difference in how my body feels! Thank you for your website!
I know exactly how you feel! When I am on vacation and can’t get a blender or find a place to get a green smoothie, I feel it and crave it so much. It really does become a part of your life, and i think you realize that once you skip it. It’s wonderful to have you here Sandi!
Today is the fifth day in a row that I’ve had this smoothie! Boy oh boy, do I feel good! I’m pretty content with this recipe, but what would y’all recommend as the next step? I’ve loaded up on spinach, mango and pineapple so I want to be able to finish those ingredients while still mixing it up and keeping it fresh.
Keep calm and smoothie on!
Woohoo! Looks like you are probably on day 9 now— sorry for the delay. You can always freeze your spinach and try out a different leafy green for a few days. You could also try substituting one of the fruits for something else— like instead of mango do peaches or strawberries. Or what about blueberries and mango— that sounds yummy to me! The options are endless— but to keep them tasting good stick with the measurements. Have fun experimenting and I am loving your slogan: keep calm and smoothie on. So cute— I might have to make a graphic with it.
Yes, I vote for a graphci with ‘keep calm and smoothie on!’
That’s genius! 😉
Hello,
I was just wondering with these smoothies, if it is ok to have the bananas in them everyday? I have heard that bananas put on weight so I am unsure. Help!!!
Thanks in advance =)
Monica
Hi Monica. It’s important to rotate your smoothies to have a variety of fruits and vegetables. Bananas are high in potassium and add a nice flavor and creamy textures to green smoothies— which I love. If you are concerned about a daily banana— talk with your doctor. Yet I can personally say that I drink green smoothies with bananas almost every day and it hasn’t caused me to gain any weight- yet I have lost some. 🙂 Just watch what you eat all around (avoid processed foods and stick with fresh ingredients).
I tried the Beginner’s Luck today, except I didn’t have mango (forgot to buy it at the store), so I used frozen wild blueberries. I think it tastes very good with blueberries, and you get a dark purple smoothie! I also added the juice of half a lemon, and I think it gave the smoothie a bit more tang and depth. Do you guys ever add citrus juice for flavor or to preserve the color?
Hi, it is difficult to find frozen mango and pineaple in the Dutch foodstores. would it be an idea to replace them with fresh mango? Do I than need to increase or decrease the water volume?
Hey Virginia. Fresh mango would be great! We recommend frozen fruits because they are usually cheaper and easier to buy, but for you I say go with fresh ingredients. Fresh is always best. To give your smoothies a chill, you can freeze the mangos or even add some ice. I would personally decrease the water to 1 1/2 cups if you are using fresh mangos. This will make the flavor more intense and sweeter, which is always a nice perk too.
Had my first green smoothie today and it was fantastic !
Today i tried my first smoothie! I am excited to make this one tomorrow morning!
That’s great Gloria. Hope to see you around here more trying them all out. We have such a variety of flavors on our Top Recipes section now— lots to explore.
love it !!
Can’t wait to try! Sounds yummy. I am a little confused on the serving size though, is 4-5 oz a single serving? or half of that which is 2oz?
Hi Yadi. The recipe makes 4-5 cups… which is about 2 servings. (We drink 2 cups as a serving.) If it’s just for you, feel free to half the recipe. Or you can make the whole thing and keep the leftovers in the fridge for later in the day or tomorrow. Just have a lid for it and it should be good for 24-48 hrs in the fridge.
I’m also curious about what can be substituted for the banana. I guess I can just add some milk and make a thinner smoothie?
The banana sweetens the smoothie and makes it creamier. So you can add another fruit (like more mango or pineapple) to sweeten it equally and even add half an avocado to make it creamier if you want.
Hello 😉
thanks a lot for the recipes- Im gonna try this as soon as I buy the ingredients. Just one question: from Mon to Fri I have lunch at work. Is it ok if I do the smoothie at home and take it in a glass jar and drink it after 4-5 hours? Or will it lose its nutritional value?
Thanks a lot!
Mariaposita
That’s a great solution Mariaposita. If you have a fridge at work, store it in there. If not, bring a mini cooler to keep it chilled. As long as you keep them chilled, it will be good for 48 hours. Just give it a good shake before you drink because it will have change consistency over the past few hours.
what can I substitute for the banana in the beginners recipe. Thanks 🙂
Hi – thanks for the recipes!
While I didn’t make the Beginners Luck to start me off, I used your recipes to help guide me.
Was really sceptical – especially given I did 50-50 Kale and Spinach for my greens – but the banana and frozen berries I added made the world of difference!
Tried the Berry Protein Boost with the almonds and almond milk today with frozen blueberries and YUM!
Thanks for these ideas – and adding some pea protein powder keeps me going til lunch.
Very surprised. Loving it.
And I’ve learned you don’t need milk to make tasty creamy smoothies!
So glad you are enjoying the recipes Victoria. And it’s amazing how good they can be without milk— and probably make you feel better because of that too! Cheers to starting the year off with green smoothies!
Hi, I am starting this tomorrow. The Beginner’s Luck is the first step you take before doing challenge #1?
Hi Carmen. We recommend starting with the Beginner’s Luck to ease in your transition. It’s a yummy smoothie and simple to make. Feel free to change it up and try other recipes as well. The whole point of the 30 Day Challenge is to introduce you to a variety of green smoothies and to educate you on the benefits. Welcome and good luck!
I just made this and it is great!! I’m so glad I ran into your site. You’re the reason why I am taking steps to living a healthier lifestyle. Thank you so much!!!
So awesome Shantoya! Welcome aboard the green smoothie train. Cheers to our health!