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My favorite green smoothie recipe is really a tropical energy drink in disguise. With over 1,300 5-star reviews, it’s time for you to see why blending spinach into a smoothie is a tasty morning habit.
I know a green smoothie doesn’t sound (or look) very appealing at first sight, but it can be beyond delicious. I’ve blended this recipe in kindergarten classrooms (and the kids ask for seconds)! I’ve made it for my teenage daughter’s volleyball friends and they chug it down. I drink this green smoothie recipe almost every morning to boost my energy levels and nourish my body.
Table of contents
Benefits of a Green Smoothie
Drinking this green smoothie is what gave me the body and energy levels to do some incredible things in my late 30’s after having two kids. I’ve run 47 miles of the Grand Canyon, rode a motorcycle across Morocco in a 7-day race, hiked Angel’s Landing and created a backyard garden for my kids.
This simple green smoothie is great for beginners because it’s naturally sweetened with fruit (no added sugars) and loaded with greens and protein. Some of the benefits I’ve noticed when I drink a green smoothie every day are:
- More energy from the natural fruit sugars
- Don’t get sick (my immune system is strong thanks to all the nutrients)
- My digestive system is happy with all the fiber and hydration from a green smoothie
This daily habit has kept my kids healthy when we didn’t have health insurance, energized us in between school and sports and nourished us so we rarely get sick. And when we do, we can usually bounce back with some of my own natural remedies.
My kids started drinking green smoothies when they were 2 years old. Now, they’re teenagers and still drink them. Here’s some photos of them over the years (they have no clue I put these on here!).
When I created this green smoothie recipe, it changed my family’s life in more ways than I ever imagined. It was love at first sip for me, my two kids and 1 million others, who were intimidated by spinach (just like me!). Since them, I’ve published a best-selling green smoothie cookbook and shared my recipes live on The Doctors TV Show…twice!
Best Green Smoothie Ingredients
Everything you need to make a green smoothie is found in a garden, farmer’s market or the produce section of your grocery store. The closer we eat to nature, the better we feel. This smoothie recipe is a great way to start eating healthier foods. Here’s the ingredients we’ll be blending:
- 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 one of the Dirty Dozen. The right ratio of spinach to fruit makes it sweet, as well as helps you reap all the health benefits.
- Frozen pineapple: I buy frozen pineapple at Costco in bulk to make Frozen Smoothie Packs. If it’s on sale, I’ll cut up pineapple and freeze it myself.
- Frozen mango: You’ll find this 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.
- Fresh banana: Bananas add a creaminess to smoothies that is hard to replicate. It’s magic!
- Water: The liquid base in the smoothie is water. Use filtered water to avoid any unnecessary chemicals or pollutants. I like using a Berkey Water Filter that I keep on my countertop.
Fresh VS frozen fruit
I prefer using frozen fruit because it chills down your smoothie without using ice, which can dull your blender blades overtime. I use fresh bananas in my smoothies because I like how creamy they make it.
How to Blend a Green Smoothie
The only equipment you need to make a green smoothie is a high-speed blender for smoothies. A juicer or food processor won’t work to get you a creamy drink you’ll want to make over and over. Once you have a blender, you can successfully make the best green smoothie recipe following the steps below.
Blend spinach with liquid base
Blend 1 cup of spinach (or another leafy greens of your choice) in a blender with 1 cup of liquid. Adding spinach to your smoothie boosts the phytonutrients and fiber, which then slows down the absorption of sugars into your body. Blend until all leafy chunks are gone.
Beginner Blending Tip
When you’re making your first few green smoothies, follow my Green Smoothie Formula to get the perfect blend. Don’t just throw spinach and kale in the blender. Chances are, it’ll taste nasty if you wing it right out of the gate.
Add frozen fruit to blender
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 be a smoothie bowl, use more frozen fruit. You can freeze your favorite fruits like ripe bananas, grapes, pineapple or berries.
How to sweeten a smoothie
If the smoothie isn’t as sweet as you would like, add in some natural sweeteners like bananas, mango, oranges, honey or pitted dates.
Scoop in the superfoods
Once the smoothie is nice and creamy, you can add in superfoods. Chia seeds, hemp hearts and flax seed are all great choices. You can turn any smoothie recipe into a meal replacement by adding a serving of homemade protein powder to any smoothie recipe.
Blend smoothie on high speed
In order to break down the cell walls of the plants, you need to blend on high speed. You shouldn’t have any leafy chunks in your smoothie if your blender is powerful enough.
Drink green smoothie immediately
To get the maximum amount of nutrients from a smoothie, drink it immediately after blending it. The longer your smoothie is exposed to oxygen, the more it breaks down and the nutrients deteriorate. This is called oxidation. To minimize this, you can store your smoothe in the fridge with an air-tight lid for up to 48 hours, yet I think it tastes best if consumed within 4 hours after blending.
Green Smoothie Recipe Variations
It’s easy to swap ingredients based on what you have on hand. If you’d like more green smoothie recipes, check out these popular ones below:
- My son is obsessed with this mango orange smoothie recipe.
- Try this tropical pina colada smoothie to head to the beach asap.
- Want to boost your metabolism? Then this is a great fat burning green smoothie recipe.
- This kale smoothie will surprise even your taste buds.
Best Green Smoothie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup pineapple frozen
- ½ cup mango frozen
- 1 banana
- 1 serving homemade protein powder optional
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.
- Store: In the fridge with a lid until ready to drink.
Equipment
Video
Notes
- 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).
Nutrition
Common Questions
You won’t be able to taste the spinach if you use the proper ratio of fruit to spinach. This green smoothie tastes like a mango pineapple smoothie with a hint of banana flavor.
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. A kale or spinach smoothie has incredible health benefits with additional phytonutrients. What we eat can truly transform our bodies and our lives 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, vegan milks and leafy greens, typically spinach or kale. They’re loaded with iron, potassium, fiber and vitamins galore. If you’re not sure which leafy greens to use in your smoothie, check out my Ultimate Leafy Greens Guide for Smoothies.
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.
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.
When will i receive an email on what to buy for the april challenge?
Hi Antoinette— You will get the first email the friday before the challenge begins, which gives you all weekend to shop and prep for the week.
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!