This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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 ladies – I’m brand new and looking forward to starting tomorrow! A quick question: I don’t like mango and wondered if I could substitute berries for mango in the beginner smoothie. Is there something you might recommend instead? Thank you!
Hi Rachel,
Yay! We’re so excited to have you blendin’ with us. Not a fan of mango, no worries, we’ve got you covered – double up the pineapple in this recipe or swap in papaya, kiwi, or berries.
Cheers 🙂
Thank you! I am *very* excited 🙂
You’re so welcome, Rachel!!
I was doing this combo and just recently found out that bananas with citrus is a bad combo. food combining is something I’m just now learning about.
Hi Nancy,
Thanks for reaching out! We are not professional nutritionists, but all the research we have done suggests that blending fruits and veggies together is no different than eating fruits and veggies together–like a salad! Hope this helps!
I made the beginners luck smoothie today. I actually added about a third cup of cherries and I had a mixed bag of fruit (strawberries, pineapples, mango, peaches). It came out a dirty looking color I am sure because of the cherries. It tasted pretty good. My son and husband enjoyed it with me. Just wanted to say also that I have a random blender/mixer from Walgreen’s that I purchased about a year ago. I was nervous about the vegetables but everything mixed well. So no need at this point to go out and spend more money. My husband and I are up for the 30 day challenge. The next one does not start until October but we will be starting our own in a few days to see how well we do. Thanks for an awesome informative site!
Hi Territha,
Thank you so much for reaching out + sharing your story, we love hearing from our community, so thank you for taking the time to let us know how you enjoyed our Beginner’s Luck recipe! Cherries + dark berries will change your green smoothie from green to brown, red, or purple, but will still be delicious + packed with nutritious fruits + leafy greens.
We definitely agree, no need to run out + buy an expensive blender, any blender is perfect for making green smoothies! If you don’t have a smoothie powerhouse, we suggest blending your liquid base + leafy greens first, then add the rest of your ingredients. Adding at least one frozen fruit helps breakdown any remaining leafy greens!
We can’t wait for you to join our October 30-Day Challenge!
Cheers 🙂
So I heard that eating a lot of bananas can make you constipated is that right?
Had my first delicious green smoothie. The beginner smoothie was yummy. I am sold. Cheers to green!!!
Hi Don,
YAY!! We’re so excited to have you blendin’ with us! Reach out with any questions, we’re always here! 🙂
What is the sugar content in your smoothies? I tried another belly fat plan and the smoothies seem to have increased my waist size!
How do I know if it is not too much?
Hi Janette,
Thank you so much for reaching out!
Concerned about the amount of sugar? Three great resources for tracking calories + sugar content are Self Nutrition Data, and the phone apps: My Fitness Pal and Lose It.
Our smoothie recipes make about 4-5 cups (32oz – 40oz). Each smoothie has 3 cups of fruit in it, and it is recommended that an adult has 1.5 to 2 cups of fruit a day. When you drink 16oz of our green smoothie recipe you will be meeting, or just under your daily intake for fruit. If you feel like that is too much fruit, feel free to do 2 cups of fruit in each smoothie with 3 cups of leafy greens. Or reach for a low-sugar fruit option!
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/low-sugar-fruits
Hope this helps!
Hey!
Wondering of any ideas/alternatives to avoid using juice in my green smoothies? I personally don’t see the nutritional benefit of it so hoping to not sacrifice texture or flavor if I opt out of using juice.
Hi Kayla,
Not a fan of juice, no worries, swap any recipe with fruit juice for another liquid base you enjoy more! Here are a few of our favorites…
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/dairy-free-smoothies
Hi i started on green smoothie for two. Weeks now and i enjoy it. I lost 6pounds I’m going to keep drinking. It tastes good
Hi Donna,
We’re so excited to have you blendin’ with us! How have you had your weight loss success? Are you using your green smoothies as a meal replacement, or simply adding a green smoothie to your regular diet?
Cheers to health, happiness, + leafy greens! 🙂
Hi I’m using it as a meal replacement oh and i wrote that wrong i meant to say it’s has stopped my ankle from swelling. I drink it for breakfast. And lunch and have s regular dinner
Hi Donna,
Wahoo! That’s great, we love hearing how green smoothies have helped you lose weight + prevent swelling! Cheers to health, happiness, + leafy greens!
Does green smoothie makes your ankle from swelling
Hi Donna,
Thanks for reaching out! I personally haven’t experienced or heard members of our community experience ankle swelling. We’re green smoothie lovin’ rawkstars all right, but we’re not doctors or nutritionists. We suggest you talk with your doctor about any health concerns— I’m sure they can help you decide what is best for you and your body.
Cheers to health + happiness!
stumbled on ur site yesterday and cnt get my eyes off it. keep up the good work. i would like to know when tge next challenge will be coming up cos i wld love to join. am nigerian .
Hi Dmma,
We’re so excited you found us in this busy internet world! We’re currently in the July 30-Day Challenge, it’s not too late to join us. We still have 10 days of delicious recipes + shopping lists to share!
Sign up here…
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/challenge
Our next challenge will kick-off October 1!
Hmmm….i just blended half an avocado, half lemon juice (squeezed it!), one banana, 3 kale and 3 spinach leaves (relatively large), 3 small carrots, half a cup cucumber, half zucchini and one banana…
quite yummy…I can’t even taste cucumber, kale or any of those green veggies..
It tastes creamy…I plan on adding some purple grapes to the other serving i have placed in the fridge tomorrow since i cannot finish it up…It made my dinner.
Hi Kiki,
Thank you so much for reaching out! Was this your first green smoothie?
Hi Guys,
This is my first time with the challenge, I tried blending a couple months ago and it was horrible, I used ginger (wow, talk about potent) anyways, I read you stated I should use and I made a delicious smoothie which I loved I did, spinach, cucumber, watermelon, apple and kale in coconut water. It was the bomb….can’t wait to see my results in the next 28 days.
Hi Leonette,
We’re so excited to hear you’re back to blendin’ green smoothies! Your recipe sounds delicious! Blendin’ with cucumber has been my summer obsession, it’s so refreshing on a warm day! Keep us updated on your journey throughout the next 28 days, and reach out with any questions. We’re always here!
purchased the recipes cards, have not received them yet.
Hi Pat,
We’re so sorry your recipe cards haven’t made it to your inbox, sometimes technology is not on our side. Send a quick message to our team at the link below + we’ll get them to you right away!
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/contact
Cheers!
I purchased the recipe cards and i have not received them.
Hi Josephine,
We’re so sorry your recipe cards haven’t made it to your inbox, sometimes technology is not on our side. Send a quick message to our team at the link below + we’ll get them to you right away!
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/contact
Cheers!
What about diabetics? I know they have to watch the amount of fruit consumed.
Hi Jackie,
Thank for reaching out to us. Since we are not doctors or nutritionists, we suggest that any member of community with health concerns to speak to their healthcare provider to confirm that green smoothies and the natural sugars are okay for their eating plan. Here is a link to our favorite low sugar fruits.
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/low-sugar-fruits
Hope that helps.
I can’t wait to start this!!!!
Hi LaToya,
Thanks for reaching out! We’re so excited to have you blendin’ with us! Let us know what you think of our green smoothies! We love hearing from our SGS tribe!