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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 the tropical taste and how it fuels my body and my mind not to forget. You feel so much more energetic. And you know you do good to your self and the planet.
I ❤️ it! Can wait for the next one
This one has a tropical taste for sure, like a vacation for breakfast!
Yummie! I also add a teaspoon spirulina! There is no “too much” Green 🙂 good start
Ooohh spirulina is a great addition to this one, Kevin!
Nice combo, but a bit sweet for me … next time maybr I’ll cut the fruit in half and add more spinach
Hi Diane! Adding more spinach as a swap for half the fruit would work great!
This is a too sweet for me. Next time I would use half the amount of fruit. I did add chia, hemp and flax seeds as my protein. I am going to make the homemade protein powder using these seeds.
Great job adding chia, hemp and flax seeds to up the protein. You can definitely tweak the fruit in it to make it better for you!
Very good flavour! And I like the creaminess because of mango
So glad to hear you loved this one, Silvia!
This recipe is amazing, it is so simple to make and tastes great, my boyfriend who hates spinach, couldn’t even tell it was part of the recipe when he tried a sip. great recipe.
Yayyy! We love to hear that, so glad you both enjoyed it, even if he hates spinach! It’s def hidden in this one!
This is so quick and easy. I feel its a light drink, which is absolutely fine with me. I had prickly pear cactus water and used that which was delicious. I had it for breakfast and will make this OFTEN!
Hi Alison! I bet the prickly pear cactus water made it that much better!
Delicious
Yay!! Glad you loved this one, Louise!
Recipe for homemade protein powder please
2 T Hemp powder
1 T Chia seeds
1 T Flax seeds
Mix and grind
Hi Nancy! You can find the homemade protein powder recipe at the blue link!
I made cranberries from scratch. I used 2 tablespoons of that with the spinach, a seeded lemon and a few slices of green apple. I blended it up with cold water and was putting it into my container. The neighbor ask if she could try some. I pulled out two double shot whiskey glasses. (WE don’t drink alcohol at all but the glasses are good for measuring different things.). So, I said to the neighbor,”You want to do shots hahaha?” I poured the shots of my mixture and she loved it. I wound up making her a glassful of what I had. She bought a smaller model of smoothies makers, and now she likes to do shots with my smoothies, and then the ones she likes, she goes home and makes it with her smaller smoothie maker.
Love that so much, Laura! Smoothies are best shared for sure!
Hi! In reading the “DRINK GREEN SMOOTHIE IMMEDIATELY” section, the photo below it is of jars filled with the ingredients… which are we ‘allowed’ to store in a closed container for up to 48-hrs, the completed/blended smoothie or the ingredients (minus liquid)? I need to pre-make smoothies for my husband to enjoy at work and would love to make a couple at a time if possible! Any prep helps tremendously 🙂
Just joined your challenge to help motivate me to get these started! Thank you!
Hey Kris! The photo of the mason jars filled with ingredients (pre-blended) is what I do when I make prep ahead smoothie packs. I can put everything (except the liquid) in mason jars and freeze until I’m ready to blend. Then I just add the liquid to the mason jar and allow it to thaw for 30 minutes or so before putting in the blender. If you wanna blend smoothies so your husband can drink them at work, I would blend the entire recipe and store in an airtight container (I love mason jars). When he’s about to enjoy it for lunch, he can get it out and shake it well. Then open and drink. If you’re adding any protein or superfoods to the smoothies, the longer they sit together like this, the more strong their “distinct” flavors become. So the smoothie won’t taste as good as freshly blended.
My mom likes to blend a big batch and freeze in plastic containers (like a large yogurt container). Then she puts it in the fridge to soften and then sit out for a bit an hour or two before she’s ready to have it so it’s a good temp. I don’t think they taste as good though, but to her, saving time is more important. 🙂
Found it very challenging to access the 10 day free smoothie challenge once you moved onto something else on your site. Started doing screenshots of each page to hopefully save something useful. Am I missing something obvious or are you pushing people to purchase something? If I liked the “free challenge”, I would be back to buy something.
Am I going to have to find my way back to this comment section to read a response or will I get an email response?
Hi Michael! Unless you emailed us directly at hello@simplegreensmoothies.com your response will be via comment response here. If you’re needing help just reach out to that email above, we’d love to help!
Hi Michael! The Smoothie challenge dashboard is sent to you via email! You should be able to click the link in your email and it will take you directly to the Smoothie Challenge dashboard! If you’re having issues or didn’t receive the email reach out to hello@simplegreensmoothies.com!
How many ounces does this make ?
Hi Angela! It typically makes around 16 ounces.
The non-stop ads are ridiculously frustrating. Never mind – there are sooo many other recipes to choose from.
Hi D! I completely understand, I hope you come back and check us out some other time!
Some of us can’t help but tinker (lol)…could you advise on adding carrots to this (I’m guessing frozen would be a good idea?)
I’ve not had carrots OR a green smoothie yet, so thought I’d ask first. Any adjustment needed to liquid or other ingredients?
I’ll try this with double pineapple rather than mango (trying to keep it a little bit low fodmap)
I’m guessing adding small amounts of ginger and / or honey are not bad ideas?
Can’t wait to give this a try – thanks for this! 🙂
Hi Steve! In our Strawberry Carrot recipe, we use fresh carrots and it works out well! If you’re adding carrots, you may want to also add some extra water to thin it out some. The double pineapple will work out great! Honey and ginger are definitely good additions to a smoothie! Let me know how it turns out!
delish!
It truly is delicious Amanda! I’m excited to see what you think of our other Healthy Fruit Smoothies on the blog, you should def check them out!