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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.
Hi I want to try this smoothie but I’m allergic to pineapple what can I use as a great substitute?
Hi Nadine, I’m guessing pineapple adds acidity to the mix, so I’d say go with kiwis, they’re green as well! 😀
This was a fantastic smoothie! Both my 3 year old and 20 month old loved it. I also added some non fat Greek yogurt and chia seeds
CHEERS!
Made my first green smoothie… Yum yum. Was a Lil nervous but it was wonderful. Something I can stick with for sure. A couple questions…how tightly is tightly packed? And is it supposed to be so frothy?
Hey Janelle.
It should be creamy, especially with two bananas. Were any of your ingredients frozen? If not, that helps. 🙂
We think the more the merrier with greens. 🙂
I made this but substituted some of the ingredients because I have hypothyrodism and so I can’t eat spinach. I did 1 apple, 1 banana, handful of lettuce, handful of blueberries and raspberries. Turned out tasty! (:
Ooh sounds great, Miri!! 🙂
Awesome! I already make this smoothie, but add kale in it as well. 🙂
Awesome, Debra! I heart kale!! 🙂
I made my first green smoothie today I would have liked it if was thicker
Oh no worries, Sally! Definitely check out our recipes page :: simplegreensmoothies.com/recipes and find one you like. Or try adding a tad less liquid and see if that makes things a little thicker. 🙂
This sounds delicious! I will definitely try this. Thank you for the recipe and the challenge!
Absolutely, Laureen! And so happy you’re here!! 🙂
Instead of water, can I use silk almond milk?
Instead of water can you use silk almond milk?
Yes Courtney! Feel free to use any liquid of your choice!! 🙂
Im going to try this for 30 day and see how this works and exactly on February 16,2015 I’ll get back to you
Woohoo! Keep us posted, Brandi! 🙂
Wondering if I could get week one, I am just starting out! Thanks so much
Hey Laurie. 🙂
Thanks for reaching out to us. Here are the links to Week 1 + 2 + 3 on our website (which are valid links until January 31st).
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/challenge
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/challenge
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/challenge
Cheers!
Hi! I am interested in trying this recipe but I am allergic to bananas! What can I substitute it with? ☺
I just joined! Any way I can get the last few weeks to play catch up!?!! Soo excited to try Green Smoothies!!!
Hey Katie. 🙂
Thanks for reaching out to us. Here are the links to Week 1 + 2 + 3 on our website (which are valid links until January 31st).
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/challenge
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/challenge
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/challenge
Cheers!
Can I get week 1 & 2 please.
Hey Diana. Yes! 🙂 I have resent Week 1 + 2 to your inbox. 🙂
How about the spectrum coconut oil, can I use that brand?
That’s a great brand.:)
I have found the unsweetened coconut milk, but the coconut flakes is sweetened can I still use it. I live in Killeen and Wal-Mart and HEB are the only stores we have. I am very active as far as loosing weight, I lost a lot when I was doing the JJ Smith smoothies but it seems I’m stalling so I was wondering if there is something I’m doing wrong. I have two smoothies a day like I normally do. You also mention not to buy the coconut oil at Wal-Mart, but ordering it on line is very expensive, Walmart have the spectrum for $6.99 is that a good brand? You also mention that two teaspoon of coconut oil in the smoothie can shed the weight am I right? I really enjoy your smoothies and I would like to continue doing so. You also mention you use the hemp protein, but I use the garden of life raw protein is that ok to use?
Hey Lissette.
We prefer to use unsweetened coconut flakes. For every 16oz smoothie we would suggest 1 protein or 1 healthy fat to add to your smoothies to make it a meal replacement.
Here are our favorites.
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/plant-based-protein-powder
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/healthy-fats
I haven’t used Garden of Life, but I know a lot of rawkstars in our community use it. Our co-founder Jadah lost 20+ lbs by drink 1 green smoothie a day (16oz) + her normal lunch and dinner. Results may vary, depending on how active you are. But the leafy greens and fresh fruit are awesome fuel for your body.
Can you send me week 1 and 2?? Please !! Im ready to try this :O)
Yes I can. 🙂 I have resent Week 1 + 2 to your inbox at 9:28pm CST.
Can i also get weeks 1 & 2?
Yes! 🙂 I have resent Week 1 + 2 to your inbox. 🙂