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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.
I love your green moustaches. It sure “BEETS” the white ones that the movie stars display. (smile)
Hahaha. Love this! 🙂
Hi, I wondered if you can freeze the fresh spinach in bags that you but from a supermarket? I don’t have anywhere near by that sells spinach and when I do buy it I end up wasting loads as it goes off x
Absolutely, Karen! You can keep all your greens in a zip bag and toss right into your blenders. You can also do it with fruits too that are about to spoil. 🙂
I began one month away to start making green smoothie to add more variety and nutrients in my diet. Each time, I fall into a routine so your challenge will keep me excited 🙂 I do not use a cup but rather a handful portion, like for my green leaves or frozen stuff I simply use my hand or at leat a tbsp for chia seeds. Is you cup portion kind of similar of a handful portion?
Thanks 🙂
Hi Virginie! Not sure how many handfuls we use, probably close to 2 huge handfuls to get 2 cups of greens. And yes, at least a tablespoon of chia seeds or two is great. 🙂
Hi Ladies,
I was wondering if it would be fine to make the smoothie the night before to drink in the morning to save on time?
Heck yea, Robyn! You can make them and keep sealed in a tight fitting container for up to 2-3 days. Just remember to give it a shake before you drink! 😉
How often do I drink the smoothie for the 30 day challenge? Do I eat regular lunch and dinner? I can not wait to start the challenge in January 2014.
Hi Vanessa! The challenge is to just drink one green smoothie a day 🙂 You can have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or as a snack! The rest of the day you can eat normal meals.
I am going to start drinking green smoothies for breakfast before my morning workout. Since I would be using this as my breakfast would you suggest that I add anything extra to boost the protein or anything?
Hi Adrienne! Why don’t you try just a normal recipe for a couple days and see how you feel during and after your workout? Leafy greens are PACKED with protein! However, if you notice that you are feeling like you’re missing some nutrients during or after your workouts, then you can try adding some protein (i.e. almonds, almond milk, hemp protein powder, nut/seed butters). Hope this helps!
What can I use as a sub for the bananas?
What if you tried using extra mango in its place for this recipe?
Am I able to refridgerate the 2nd portion to have for lunch? I am very excited to get started!!
You can, Stephanie!
So I’ve been making trying out a new green smoothie recipe everyday for the past 2 weeks and this week has just been full of unsuccessful ones so I was really hoping that today would be different. I tried out this Beginner’s Luck recipe and I was in love at first sip! It is so delicious I drank an entire mason jar of it without even realizing. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe 🙂 I will definitely be having it again soon
Hey there,
Do y’all ever do anything with aloe juice?
I love these recipes but I want to try getting more aloe in my diet and I wonder if it would be good in a smoothie.
Thanks 🙂
We did try it and weren’t fond of the taste, but thought that it had some pretty good nutrients. Try it out and let us know what you think! We were hesitant to recommend it to people if they weren’t going to enjoy the taste.
Can I use almond milk in these smoothies?, also can I replace spinach with kale?
Yes and yes. Here are some articles that give you more options with liquids and leafy greens:
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/dairy-free-smoothies
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/leafy-greens
Are these smoothies supposed to be meal replacements or just extra supplements? There doesn’t seem to be any protein to stick with you for any length of time and do you recommend more than one per day. It seems also a lot of fruit for more than one per day.
Hi Joan,
You would be surprised how much protein is in leafy greens! It is one of their top nutrient categories. They can be meal replacements or snacks.
I made this tonight. It was my very first green smoothie & I have to say I was pleasantly surprised! Very tasty!
Is there another option to replace the bananas? I simply HATE everything about them: the taste, smell, etc – lol …
Thanks so much ladies! LOVE this site and thoroughly enjoyed “meeting” you both! 🙂
Check out this post :: https://simplegreensmoothies.com/challenge
You can pretty much sub in anything sweet you like. 🙂
I sooo agree with you. But this smoothie was still pretty good. I have a little bullet so I was tasting as I added each ingredient one at a time, it was fabulous until the banana. Next time I’ll try adding more mango (I didn’t read far enough down to see that suggestion) I also added a couple of basil leaves. Yummy
do you ever blend greens like mustards, turnips or collards?
Sure 🙂 Maybe not as often… You can check out our favorite greens to blend in this article (though there are more than just this list!):
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/leafy-greens
Since the serving size is 2, can you store the other serving for later and if so, what do you do, freeze it or just put in the fridge? Also, do you have to blend it in the blender again?
As you can tell, I’m a newbie;)
it says this recipe Makes two servings for 5 days.
what’s the best way to store it, after made, so it doesn’t spoil?
fridge? freezer?
thanks! 🙂
Hi!
The five days is talking about how if you buy everything on that small shopping list then you will have enough ingredients for 5 days worth of 2 serving smoothies— one smoothie each day 🙂