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My favorite green smoothie recipe is really a simple and healthy alternative to a tropical energy drink. I’ve made this smoothie almost every morning to boost my energy levels and nourish my body for the past 12 years. With over 1,900 5-star reviews, I can’t wait for you to blend it and vote (by leaving a review) to let me know if you think it’s the best green smoothie.
Health Benefits of a Green Smoothie
Green smoothies are a delicious and convenient way to improve your health. Packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber, a green smoothie offers a wide range of benefits. Here’s a few of the benefits I’ve experienced:
- More energy from the natural fruit sugars blended so it’s easily absorbed
- I rarely get sick (my immune system is stronger thanks to the vitamins in the ingredients)
- My digestive system is happy with all the fiber and hydration
- My skin is glowing. Adding spinach to a smoothie boosts the phytonutrients and fiber, which then slows down the absorption of sugars into your body and makes it officially a “green smoothie”.
- My kids are growing strong and healthy (they’ve been drinking green smoothies since they were little as you can see from the photos below).
I’m in my early 40’s and have two teenagersโ so life has worn me down a bit. ๐ Green smoothies keep me energized and fueled so I can still go after my bucket list adventures, like:
- Run 47 miles across the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim (I’ve done this 5 times now)
- Complete a 7-day motorcycle adventure race in Morocco (I slept in floors in random houses each night)
- Hike Angelโs Landing in Zion National Park with my family (that was intense!)
- Complete a 4-day backpacking trip with my son in the Rocky Mountains last summer (my toenail still hasn’t grown all the way back)
I don’t share my adventures to brag. I share them to help you see what is possible when you nourish your body with fruits, vegetables and the best green smoothie recipe that we’ll get into now.
Best Green Smoothie Recipe Ingredients
Everything you need to make this recipe is found in a garden, farmerโs 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. Here’s the ingredients you’ll need:
- 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 of drinking green smoothies.
- 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.
- 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!
- 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 to filter my water.
Should I use Fresh or frozen fruit in a Green smoothie?
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 Make a Green Smoothie
The only equipment you need to make this green smoothie recipe is a high-speed blender for smoothies. A juicer or food processor wonโt work to get you a creamy drink youโll want to make over and over. Check out my list of the top 10 best blenders for smoothies. Once you have a high-speed blender, you can successfully make the best green smoothie recipe by following the steps below.
- Blend 1 cup of spinach (or other leafy greens of your choice) in a blender with 1 cup of liquid. Blend until all leafy chunks are gone. You can follow my leafy greens guide for help.
- 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 shouldnโt have any leafy chunks 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. 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 smoothie 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.
Beginner Blending Tip
When youโre 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 won’t taste as great if you wing it right out of the gate.
Best Green Smoothie Recipe 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: If you are wondering how to make a smoothie sweeter without processed sugar, explore my list of the best natural sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, bananas, or dates.
- 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.
- Collagen: Unflavored collaged is a simple way to add additional protein and support your gut health.
- Banana swaps: Don’t care for bananas? You can substitute it with a quarter of an avocado.
- Mango swaps: If you don’t have any mango, a full cup of frozen pineapple or peaches will work.
Common Questions
You won’t be able to taste the spinach if you use the proper ratio of fruit to spinach. This green smoothie recipe 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 myย 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.
Green smoothies arenโt inherently fattening. Theyโre packed with nutrients and fiber. A basic blend of spinach, mango, pineapple, banana, and water has about 203 calories per serving. To keep them light, avoid added sugars and high-calorie extras like sweeteners or full-fat dairy. Stick to whole fruits, veggies, and water for a healthy, balanced drink.
6 More Green Smoothie Recipes
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.
- Try this vitamin-C packed Blueberry Spinach Smoothie to recharge the body.
- Boost your metabolism with these Fat-Burning Smoothies For Weight Loss.
- 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.
Best Green Smoothie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 cup water
- ยฝ cup pineapple frozen
- ยฝ 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. Itโs 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.
Equipment
Video
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.
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 โค๏ธ 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 ๐ good start
Ooohh spirulina is a great addition to this one, Kevin!
Nice combo, but a bit sweet for me โฆ next time maybr Iโll 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, couldnโt 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 ๐
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. ๐
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 โfree challengeโ, 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! ๐
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!