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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
- 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.
- 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
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.
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.
This smoothie is so yummy! I will be using this recipe again.
Glad to hear you’ll be making this one again, Deb! The ultimate compliment!
Light and Refreshing lacked a flavour punch.
I agree, this one is super refreshing, Yvonne!
Super creamy, super easy, super delicious. My go-to green smoothie from here on out. Thank you!
So glad this one made your go-to list, Nicole!
So delicious and filling. This smoothie gave me abundant energy to get through my busy morning.
This one is so refreshing and you’re right, definitely gives you energy!
Sooo delicious and easy! If it wasn’t for the nice green color you would not even know this smoothie was full of healthy greens. Just add a little umbrella and you will be in tropical paradise. I really enjoyed it
Tropical paradise for sure, Kathryn!
A green smoothie with NO earthy taste! Yes! This green smoothie was delicious. I like icy cold smoothies, so frozen fruit was perfect.
The frozen fruit is definitely a game changer to make it ice cold without being too watered down!
I wasn’t sure that I would actually love this, but I did! I think what made the difference for me was prepping my smoothie mixture the night before. The pineapple, mango, banana and spinach worked well together to provide me with a bit of sweet flavor and nourishment at the same time.
Prepping before can be really beneficial, makes me stick to it if I’ve already prepped it!
This Smoothie is tasty with all the flavors well-incorporated…doesn’t taste like veggies…it just tastes delicious and refreshing! Yum!
The fruits definitely hide the spinach flavor in this one, Daria!
Excellent, this has always been my favourite smoothie
It’s a favorite in my house too, Joan!
DELICIOUS! I’m reviewing on behalf of my husband as I’m making these for him to get more greens/fruit in his day! He said it was fantastic. I added an extra half a cup of milk, and I think for tomorrow’s I won’t freeze the banana since he noted it was super cold for a while. I could probably have added another half cup of liquid to thin it out a tad more and perhaps it wouldn’t have stayed as frosty? He loved the flavor though! I used lettuce since that’s what I had from our CSA this week 🙂
Love that you’re reviewing for both you and your husband! I like to use non-frozen bananas sometimes too, Kris. It gives it a little more creaminess.
Very good! Used vanilla a protein shake for my base instead of water. My husband is doing this challenge with and said it was very good with the shake.
I bet the vanilla base made this one that much better, Michelle!
I’ve been making this smoothie for YEARS, but I always used frozen banana. Realized today it makes SUCH a difference to use a normal banana – so creamy and so delicious!
You’re so right, Alanna! I’ve made it both ways but the non-frozen banana always wins!
This was a great smoothie! I added a little bit of cinnamon and used a couple tbsps of hemp seeds in place of the protein powder. Very tasty, I will make this regularly!
I’ll have to take your suggestion and try this one with cinnamon next time, Michelle!
Great basic smoothie recipe. If you don’t know where to start, this is a great place to start!
Yes! You’re so right, Kim. I love recommending this one to those wanting to get into green smoothies!
Loved this for the first day. Not too sweet but just enough sweetness. I left out the protein powder because mine is chocolate flavored and I wanted to taste the tropical flavors. Otherwise made just like the recipe. Very good.
You’re so right. This one is a great start to day 1, Rosanna!
The Best Green Smoothie is absolutely delicious. Sweet and creamy. A great smoothie to start the 7-Day Smoothie Challenge of November, 2023. This recipe will be a go to smoothie for me in the future!
Yay! So glad you’re off to a great start, Eileen!