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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.
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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.
I see several who have not received the shopping list, check your spam file as that is where mine ended up.
Thanks, Beverly! 🙂
I did not receive the grocery list. Can you please send it?
Thank you,
Kay
Hi Kay!
Please contact us through the link below so we can help you out!
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/contact
Thank you Simple Green Smoothies for replying to my earlier post about not receiving the shopping list…..
..I did just find the shopping list in my spam file…..I had already gone shopping earlier today and find that I already have or had gotten everything your list had on it. except pears and raspberries this before seeing your list……….I also made my first green smoothie yesterday….spinach, carrot, mango, blueberries, 1/’2 scoop rice protein powder and almond milk drank 1/2 yesterday, finished it this morning.
Look forward to officially starting the challenge on Jan. 1st.
Glad you got the list and had most of the ingredients! Can’t wait for tomorrow 🙂
I did my first green smoothie yesterday. My Nutribullet could not handle a full recipe so I had quite the production my first time. It turned out great though – I just had a mess to clean up 🙂 I have now separated the recipe and bagged up the ingredients and put them in the freezer for the rest of this week. I am going to use this as my meal replacement for breakfast and just whip it up for my ride into work. I did the Almond Joy today and it is so tasty. I am glad I came across this site.
Sounds like a great plan, Susan!
What do you mean by tightly packed when referring to spinach ..I don’t understand it . Expound more please. Mercelyne .
Hi Mercelyne,
It means we measure it in a measuring cup, pack the spinach into it, and then dump it unto our blender pitcher. Hope this helps!
I signed up for the 30 day challenge on 12/26/13 received verification but haven’t received the shopping list…..is there some way to access the list.
Beverly,
Contact us through the link below so we can help you out 🙂
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/contact
I just signed up for the 30 day challenge starting this week. Hen will I receive my grocery list? I received an initial email but there was no link to “confirm” my participation in the challenge. I just want to make sure I receive the emails so I can participate!
Lindsay,
Contact us with the link below so we can help you out:
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/contact
I just signed up for the 30 day challenge. I’ve never had a green smoothie before. I guess I didn’t read the recipe and got kale instead of spinach. Will that make a difference?
Hi Jen!
You can definitely use kale instead of spinach! Pretty much any leafy green can be substituted for another. The only thing about kale is that you may want to blend it with the liquid first for a bit before adding fruits. It is a bit tougher to blend than spinach 🙂
When can i expect the shopping list for the January challenge?
Hello! I am so excited to have stumbled across this page. I just had bariatric surgery, so I was searching for a Smoothie “home” to call my own. I got my Blendtec and I am ready to tackle a healthier 2014. Question – since I do have the Blendtec, can I use ice? Would I substitute any of the water? Or just add ice to the recipe above? Also – what about protein powders? I was thinking of the Isopure (no flavor) and just add a scoop to your recipes. Is that ok? Thank you so much for this AWESOME website <3
Hi Luma!
Not too sure about Isopure—don’t have any experience with it. If you like it and trust it then go for it 🙂 We don’t mind adding a bit of protein here and there. You can add ice if you’d like, too. We prefer to freeze some of our fruits to keep them from going bad, and just adding those for a chill. If you use ice, then you may want to reduce the amount of liquid you use in the recipe. Hope this helps!
You will love it
Chia seeds: How much water do I soak them in and for how long?
You can soak 2 tablespoons of chia seeds in 6 tablespoons of water for 5-10 minutes.
Hi
Me and my wife are on green smoothies already, we use what is available. Frozen vegitables is a good source and provide the coldness. I also love to plant some vegitables but only the ones that grow like weeds.
Jen myself being a “spiritual man” I would love to meet your husband if possible. I am in Namibia so it is only the Atlantic deviding us.
If you are using a vita mix you can let it blend for 5 mins on high speed to make a warm soup blend. If you don’t have you could warm it slightly but not past about 112 degrees. Good luck. Stay with it and you will be rewarded
Ok, so its cold, I’m in Victoria, BC, can you ladies also come up with a warm green smoothie? Most of my fruits and ingredients are cold from the fridge, but at this time of year I just can’t fathom a cold drink of any kind. Well, except beer, but that becomes room temp. 😉
Love the paper straws! I’m too nervous to get a glass straw for fear of dropping it in the sink. My husband insists on the fat straws from McD’s, and well they are perfect for smoothies!
We love the stainless steel straws too! Just make sure to get a straw cleaner so you get all the green gunk out. 🙂
As far as warm, try making a green smoothie with all room temperature fruits that you normally store on the counter. I also like to use a little knitted sleeve on my mason jars, so the glass is not cold on my hands during the winter.
I do a protein shake once a day, and in that shake I use a powder called ” Dynamic Greens. It is a proprietary blend of organic super fruits and vegetables. My question is ” Which in your opinion is better, the organic powder or the fresh greens and fruit.”
thank you
Larry Anderson
Fresh is always best! But if you can’t get access (maybe you’re on the road), you can explore other options. Just listen to your body.
You may be able to buy mango, blueberries, strawberries, and pineapple “frozen” at GFC, Sams club, Tesco, Cosco, or BJ’s