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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.
Thanks so much for the 30 day smoothie challenge. I used to drink smoothies all thru the year, and it is a credit to me maintaining my trim figure. I have been de-toxing for years! I had high blood pressure and I ‘ve returned back to green smoothies. I no longer have cravings for sugar or coffee!!!! It was extremely hard to get off the coffee. Thank you for sharing your recipes!
Really great to hear this, Sannimaria! Thanks for sharing how green smoothies have helped you—encouraging!
Hi, I’m signed up to start the next 30 day challenge this July and I’m excited! However, I have an allergy to pineapple and I notice several of your smoothie recipes, including this starter one, include pineapple. What fruit can I substitute for pineapple in this or any of the other recipes and still maintain the intent behind the flavor/nutrient combo? Thanks!
Hi Dafina-Lazarus Stewart!
You can really use anything else that’s sweet and juicy. With this specific recipe, there was no real nutritional intent other than it being fruit that’s great for your body! Here’s a list of things that might work: kiwi, doubling up on mango, grapes, berries, and more.
Awesome, thanks for the tip! 🙂
are you meant to do one of these and still eat healthy ,or one one of these and cut out a meal?
Thanks
Lisa
Hi Lisa!
The goal is to drink one green smoothie a day in place of a meal or snack, and to keep eating normally the rest of the day 🙂
Hi, I’m new to green smoothies. I know it’s best to use fresh or frozen fruits but can I use canned fruits? Will it effect my smoothies?
Question..this is my first smoothie..im a newbie. Does the pineapple have to be fresh or can I use canned???
We prefer fresh or frozen, Carrol 🙂
Carrol did you ever get a reply to your question? I was wondering the same thing about canned food.
We don’t recommend using canned, Shirley 🙂 We would rather use fresh or frozen.
I am just starting out on the green smoothie plan. My daughter and son-in-law have been on them for about 2 years now. They bought a Vitamix at our local kitchen store and they used my son-in-law as the “poster child” for Vitamix because he lost so much weight and felt so much healthier and energetic. Before that he was the typical beer swilling, hamburger eating guy. He has converted a number of people over to the smoothies now. We live in an area where there are plenty of huckleberries which I pick and freeze every summer so these are added daily to any smoothie that I make.
Awesome to hear, Sheila! Welcome to the green smoothie world 🙂
Hello, I just wanted to add that I got two of my coworkers doing the challenge, one started several months ago and has been going every since and the other is doing the month of May with me and she got her fiance to do it as well, also tried them out on her 5 year old step-daughter and she hates veggies, but absolutely loved the green smoothies. The first one I had my coworkers try was “beginners luck”. So thank you, I’m continuing to spread the word, I got back on the green smoothie challenge to help kick my candy addiction and I am currently 2.5 weeks candy free, 🙂 LOL! Thank you Jen and Jadah for this awesome website and support to help make my life greener and healthier! You two ROCK…! 🙂
Way to spread the green smoothie love, Jamoya! Keep it up, and keep blending those green smoothies.
Is this a one person-one meal recipe? I’m very new and don’t want to seem dumb. I’m desperate and feel like I found your site for a reason.
Hiya, this is a 2 person’s recipe. I thought it was a one mans recipe too and ended up making a bit too much! But don’t fret, i just poured the rest into a jar and put it in the fridge for the next day, yum. Just halve this recipe and youve got a single serve 🙂
Im new to the green smoothie craze. I’ve been making a lot of fruit smoothie’s but never a green smoothie. What are the benefits? And what are some great recipe’s
Hi Chris!
Here’s a page full of recipes:
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/recipes
This page talks all about why we love green smoothies 🙂
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/how-to-make-a-smoothie
I’ve been doing the 30 day challenges for a year now and LOVE IT! But… My daughter is pregnant and her iron is low. What smoothies would you suggest for her. (she not particularly fond of fruits and veggies)
Check out this article, Dana!
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/smoothie-pregnancy
that’s my meal replacement smooth for breakfast 1 banana 1 apple 1 pear 1 carrot 1 stalk of celery 1″ ginger 2 table spoons of flax seeds and the greens are 3 cups of spinach or kale or a full head of romaine only the romaine has a earthy taste that’s why i m asking because i like to rotate my greens.
i wonder if i can mix spinach or kale with romaine, would i get the same nutrition value and there is not a nutrition conflict.
Hi Sharon!
Feel free to mix leafy greens if you’d like 🙂 We prefer to stick to one leafy green at a time just to make it simpler, but it’s ok to mix.
that’s my meal replacement smooth for breakfast 1 banana 1 apple 1 pear 1 carrot 1 stalk of celery 1″ ginger 2 table spoons of flax seeds and the greens are 3 cups of spinach or kale or a full head of romaine only the romaine has a earthy taste that’s why i m asking because i like to rotate my greens.
i wonder if i can mix spinach or kale with romaine, would i get the same nutrition value and there is not a nutrition conflict.
Hi!
What can you recommend as a substitute for avocado?
Depends what you’re using avocado in, Michelle 🙂 If you’re using it in a smoothie, then 1/4 cup of coconut oil will do!
i wonder if anybody tried a green smoothie with a full head of a romaine lettuce, i tried and i got this earthy taste , can anybody tell me how can i get rid of it.
Hi Sharon.
Maybe add a banana, some carrots and an apple.
Romaine lettuce is definitely more bitter. That’s why it’s great to start with spinach for a more mild taste. Or try half and half. And I always add a banana to sweeten things up. 🙂
I’ve been making veggie/fruit smoothies for about 2 months now but I am really excited about taking part in the 30-day challenge. I do have to admit that I drink my smoothie all in one sitting (32 ozs), usually at breakfast. It’s filling enough to hold me over until lunch time and I don’t feel as overly full (and guilty) as I used to when I was eating bagels,etc. Love reading other participants posts too. It’s more fun in a group. :o)
Hi, is it okay to drink the green smoothies on an empty stomach at breakfast? I ask because I’m pre-diabetic and I worry the sugar content may play havoc with body. Should I be eating protein first? Anything you would suggest? B
Hi Bea!
You know your body better than we do. Tons of people drink green smoothies for breakfast and love it! Here are a couple articles you may find helpful:
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/plant-based-protein-powder
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/low-sugar-fruits