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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 green vegetables, 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 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
- 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. A juicer or food processor won’t work to get you a creamy smoothie.
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. Here are some of my favorite oat milk brands and almond milk brands to buy.
- Spinach: Swap for kale, Swiss chard, beet greens, or any leafy green vegetables 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
Here’s some of the most popular green smoothie recipes on my blog to try next:
- My son is obsessed with this mango orange smoothie recipe.
- This tropical 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.
If you make this best green smoothie recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out in the comment box below. Your feedback helps me and all the readers in this community. And if you’re interested in more plant-based recipes (and exclusive content), sign up for my weekly recipe newsletter.
Dietary Adjustments & Substitutions
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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 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.
This is one of my favorite green smoothies!! It’s so delicious and refreshing.
The name is definitely right for this one, April!
This is my go to smoothie. It tastes delicious, fresh and light. It was the first one I tried 10 years ago when I found Simple Green Smoothies.
You probably knew it as the beginners luck smoothie back then?! Glad you’re still rawkin’ with me, Mary!
Perfect blend of healthy & sweetness. My teenage kids love it too!
It’s always a win when you can get teenagers to love it, Tina!
I absolutely love this smoothie! It is such a great combination with the right amount of sweetness.
This one is definitely sweet and tropical, Stephanie!
Very simple, delicious, nutritious, and easily customizable!
So many options to make swaps for this one, Lynda! You’re so right.
This is a delicious smoothie and an easy way to get greens into my diet!
The best way to sneak in some greens for sure, Vanessa!
I love this smoothie, I try to make as often as possible!! I also love to use coconut water sometimes instead of regular water!
Coconut water is soooo good in this one, Mary Ann!
I make Jen’s Simple Green Smoothie frequently. The ingredients are straight forward, easily found in any grocery store or market (frozen or fresh). Blend away and you’re ready to fill your tummy with goodness. Taste… yummy! Enjoy.
This one is definitely simple and easy, Frank!
I love this smoothie and I make it all the time!
This one is definitely on repeat in my house too, Anna!
Fantastic..Super healthy and delicious. Love her other varieties especially avocado and banana with spinach ( I even substituted kale.)
Yeah! Those are all great swaps, Beth!
Really does burn weight away!
Love to hear this one is workin’ for ya, Sam!
I love this smoothie and everything about it! I make it at least once a week.
Yeahh! I love to hear this ones a fave, Kristy!
This is one of the first smoothie recipes I tried and it has become one of my favorites! I’ve made it so many times I have it memorized. It’s easy and delicious!
You’re so right, Susan! This one is like “old faithful” in my house as well.
This is an amazing smoothie recipe! This smoothie tastes great! For those who want more greens in their diet, but do not like greens or bitter-tasting green smoothies, this is the recipe for you. I could not even taste the spinach in it. (In fact, I made this smoothie a second time and added a lot more than 1 Cup of spinach, and I still did not taste it.) Highly, highly recommended!
Awwww! So glad you loved it and that you even added more spinach the second time— way to go Jendria!
What can I use instead of mango and pineapple?
Hi Abi! Peaches are great in this recipe as well, if you want to swap those instead!
I really look forward to trying this. It was great meeting you at the airport. The smoothie looks great. 🙂
Awwww! It’s so nice to see your comment here Devin! I hope you’ve recovered from the trip and enjoyed the recipe. Hope to see you around Norman!
Hi Devin! Did you give this one a go? Love to hear how it turned out!
& thank you for a great website & all the useful information herein. I’m always amazed how people so kindly & freely give out all this information & health tips. God bless you ️
Thank you KK— I really enjoy what I do because I hear so many success stories from those how make my recipes. It’s a very rewarding job I have! Thanks for your comment and suggestions on the recipe too— I love the additions like moringa and chlorella. Def will amp up the green!
Thanks so much, KK! Just glad you’re here rawkin’ with me!
Chlorella, moringa powders are a great way to boost the vitamin + mineral content of green smoothies!
Great idea, KK! I’ll have to look into that.
I can’t wait to try these recipes
Hi Georgette! I hope you enjoyed this one!
I appreciate that you list your website at the bottom of the printed recipe. Thanks for a great web site!
Hi Cindy! Thanks so much, glad you’re rawkin’ with me!