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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.
Hi if I want to try your beginner smoothie and don’t have a juicer can I use a blender to try? Does a blender take away the nutrients? Will it be smooth? Thanks
Hi Bri! We’re all about blending here! We don’t juice, and none of our recipes are designed specifically for juicing 🙂 There are people who juice that use our recipes, though, which is totally fine.
Are all your recipes easily halved for a one person serving or do you suggest making the 2 servings and just saving until the next day?
You can easily halve them, Linda 🙂 You can save the second for the next day if you’d like, too!
I want to try the next smoothie challenge but had a quick question
For the fruit portion can I use canned pineapple or pears that’s packed in its own juice but draining the juice of course
Hi Renee!
Our preference is to use fresh first, frozen second, and canned only on a NEED basis. Hope this helps!
Thanks for the quick response! I made my FIRST smoothie using the beginners luck formula above. I used blueberries in place for the mango because I didn’t have any. My two year old son was curious so I gave him a drink and he loved it!! His exact words were “mmmm tasty!!” I was so overly excited and almost in tears!! He’s a bit behind in the talking department well other then the usually momma and daddy. So for him to say the word tasty was huge for me! 🙂
I just had to come back and share this exciting news with y’all. I will defiantly be trying the other recipes.
Renee, your story is adorable! Love that even a 2-year-old can enjoy green smoothies too! 😉
Thank you for the 21 day ,and the 30 challenge, you all are awesome.Before I found your website my intake of fruit and veggies was almost nil.
Now its min once a day at the most twice. I feel better and the color of my skin is better. Now if only there was something for the lines and wrinkles (lol) Seriously, most of my co workers have been sick and I believe that the changes I have made and continue to make have helped me from not catching the flu. Love the receipes
So awesome to hear, Kimi! Thanks for sharing with us 🙂
I have a question. How many grams is a “cup” of spinach, or pineaple or banana? Do you just do it randomly? if so, how big are the cups you use, or what is their volume?
A cup of spinach is about a medium handful 🙂 Here is a good resource for conversion:
How many servings of fruits/veggies are in a smoothie?
Each smoothie serves two people, so there are about 1.5 cups of fruit and 1 cup of leafy greens 🙂
If you liked the beginner recipe just do the 30 day smoothie. The recipes are so simple and its not anything you have to go out of your way to buy. So glad i found this site. Will be doing the cleanse as soon as i finish my 30 day smoothie challenge
When does the next 30 day challenge begin?
We have them quarterly, so the next is planned for April 🙂
I notice a lot of your recipes are measured out for large benders. We only have a Nutribullet. Any suggestions on how to properly scale down the recipe or is it not necessary?
Hi Jessica! Just cut everything in half 🙂 Each recipe is meant for two servings, so if you cut everything in half then it will make one serving. If you need another, then just blend it twice!
What are some suggestions you can substitute for pineapple?
Thanks!
Anything sweet and juicy, Kelsey 🙂
hi,
i will start on my smoothie today. can i still join the thirty day challenge?
You can!
Hi, I was wondering, since I don’t have any mangoes could I just substitute it with another fruit?
You sure can 🙂 Something juicy that is slightly sweet would do the trick! Peaches maybe? It’s up to you!
This comment was submitted twice, evidently! Please delete this one. Thanks.
I’ve been making and drinking the green smoothies for two weeks, plus now, but I was told that ingesting too much fruit isn’t good–that the fructose can cause health problems. Please comment on this. Thanks. This is the first comment I’ve made on this subject!
Well yes and no. Technically yes too much fruit will give you health problems. But too much fruit is like having 15 servings of fruit. You will be totally fine as long as you also have starches and dairy throughout the day.
Thanks for the help in answering this, Dylan 🙂 It’s true, that too much of ANYTHING is not good for you, but you have to figure out what too much is. We encourage people to drink one green smoothie a day, which ends up being half of each of our recipes (each recipe makes two servings). This is nowhere close to too much fruit 🙂
When a recipe calls for coconut milk, do you use canned on carton?
Great question! We use the cartoned version.
Hi. How much is 1 cup(in grams) for this recipe? or how much do you use in your smoothies(in grams)?
Love your site by the way, thanks for all the info!
Here’s a good tool for cup to gram conversion 🙂