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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
The only equipment you need to make this green smoothie recipe is a blender for smoothies. A juicer or food processor won’t work to get you a creamy 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.
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
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.
- 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.
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.
I’ve become interested in green smoothies because my doctor tells me I have a fatty liver and need to eat a lot less meat. However, I wonder if the smoothies can be beneficial to me because I’ve had a sleeve gastrectomy for weight loss and my stomach doesn’t hold very much, so I can’t drink much of a smoothie at one time. I’ve gained some weight again a few years since my surgery from eating too much of the wrong types of food. Another concern is that I take a water pill each day, along with potassium and other medications. Will the efficacy of these medications be affected by the green smoothie?
Hi Valerie!
Thanks so much for reaching out. Welcome to our community!
Since we are not health care professionals, we recommend speaking with your doctor to determine if green smoothies are a good choice for you at this time. Everybody is so different, and they will be better equipped to help you decide what is best for you, personally :).
so is this beginner luck -just like 10 day smoothie cleanse? I was just about ready to do???
Hi Karri!
Thanks for reaching out! We personally don’t smoothies as part of a cleanse or restrictive diet :). We usually have one serving of green smoothie a day (2 cups or 16oz), but still consume regular meals. If you’d like, you can use your green smoothie as a meal replacement for up to two meals per day. Just be sure to add some healthy fat + protein! Here are some of our favorite combos :).
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/meal-replacement-smoothie
As an extreme sportman (well at 51 I think that I am), after a 2 hour run, can I trow in 2 spoons of protein powder in my smoothie? BTW, great work you are doing, keep it up. Its making me younger!!
Hi Gary!
Thanks for reaching out! You can absolutely add protein powder to your smoothie :). Some healthy fat wouldn’t hurt either! Here are some of our favorite combos:
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/meal-replacement-smoothie
Nice recipe. I love smoothie.
Hi Mary,
Thanks for blendin’ with us + sharing your love for our Beginner’s Luck Green Smoothie!
Cheers!
Thank you for this, you really made me happy. I made smoothies by myself before but I think with group it’ll be easier because I have a lot of questions to ask.
Thanks once more, lots of love!
Hi Edina,
We’re so excited to have you blendin’ with us! Please reach out with any questions!
I have a ninja can I just throw all the ingredients in at once
Hi Nikki,
Oh, KALE YEAH! We love rawkstar blenders that make enjoying green smoothies super simple + delicious!
I have recently discovered your website and have bought myself a fancy new blender! I’ve also bought all the ingredients for a few of your smoothies including this beginners green one!
I was just wondering, since I am in the UK, we don’t measure using cups so what would be the equivalent? I often get confused trying to work out how much to use!
Thanks
Hi Georgina,
Blending on the other side of the pond? We’ve got you covered! Check out our Rawkstar Conversion Guide here…
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/app
Hope this helps!
I sooo hate greens and the thought of a green smoothie did nothing for me. But always one for a challenge forced myself to put a pack of spinach in my shopping basket this week. Took it out yesterday morning but chickened out for a berries smoothie. Took the plunge this morning……absolutely loved it, now looking forward to my afternoon slump for the second serving. Thanks :0
Hi Jill,
Wohoo!! Cheers to being adventurous + trying new things!!
Keep us updated on your green smoothie journey!
I usually put in about an inch of ginger, good for the digestion I’m told, is that something you would agree/recommend with your smoothies?
Hi Paul,
Yum! We love adding ginger to green smoothies. Not only is it a major immunity booster, but we also love the hint of spice it adds to our favorite recipes!
Check out our favorite ginger recipes here…
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/immune-system-booster
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/strawberry-watermelon-smoothie
I came across your book on Amazon lastnight which brought me to your site 🙂 I was so inspired by the thought of adding “just one good thing” to be able to help get me back on track! Not a bunch of rules and menus to follow…just simply “crowding out “SAD” with good!” I was at Walmart at 1 a.m. buying a blender and the ingredients for your “Beginner’s Luck Green Smoothie” lol It tastes amazing! So I just wanted to stop by and say thanks so very much for caring enough to share with others <3 ~ Andrea in NC
Hi Andrea! Thank you so much for buying our book + blending with us! We are so happy to have you a part of our community of leafy green lovers! Please let us know what recipe is your favorite in the book and if you do the 10-Day kickstart, let us know how it goes! Keep in touch!
Just started making the smoothies in women world’s
I would like to know what is the best Protein to use and is there any other beside powder ones .i have Raw protein can I use Vega One smoothie mix with it
Thank you
Judy
Hi Judy,
We love adding plant-based protein options to our green smoothies! Learn more about our favorites here…
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/plant-based-protein-powder
Orgain organic plant-based protein powder is my favorite – and beginning April 7th it’s $6 off at Costco! Thank you Jan and Jen for introducing me to this marvelous place!!!
Can I use a non fat yogart in my smoothie? And i also like to use organic soy milk. Is that a good idea or should i use water?
Hi Lisa,
Of course you can, it’s all about finding what works for you + your body!
Personally we avoid adding dairy + soy to our recipes, so you won’t see either on our site or in our book. If you didn’t know, dairy is the #1 undiagnosed food allergy and can be pretty tough on your digestion. Small amounts of organic, non-GMO soy are fine (like tamari and tempeh) but we recommend staying away from highly-processed unfermented soy products which can interfere with nutrient absorption and leach nutrients from your body. Soy milk, soy burgers, and soy ice cream are all in this category. Two great alternative to soy milk are unsweetened almond milk and coconut milk. We love them both!
Looking for other liquid base options + to boost the protein in your green smoothies? Check out these two links below…
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/dairy-free-smoothies
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/plant-based-protein-powder
Hope this helps!
I saw your article in Womens World magazine and have been making your smoothies for almost two weeks. I also bought your book awesome.
Question…I am drinking one smoothie a day in place of a meal, not so much to lose weight as not to gain due to the extra calories. I need to watch my sugar also and was wondering if you have certain fruits or smoothie recipes that contain less sugar. I currently dilute the liquid coconut water by using I cup of plain water and one cup of coconut water to reduce the sugar. Any other suggestions?
Hi Lynn,
Thank you so much for reaching out! We’re so excited you saw our article in Women’s World! Concerned about the sugar content of our recipes? 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. You can also swap in low-sugar fruit options. Learn more below…
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/low-sugar-fruits
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/
Hope this helps!
Ok I am going to try this newbie receipe today, on my way to do groceries actually.
Newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and need to get healthy. Have a problem with textures so hoping I can just drink my fruits and veggies. 🙂
Thanks for the receipe. I’ll let you know how it goes. 🙂
Hi Monique,
We’re so excited to have you blendin’ with us! Reach back out + let us know what you think of our Beginner’s Luck Green Smoothies!
Cheers 🙂
Hello there!
I have recently developed a banana and date allergy (sadness); however, this is by far my most favorite smoothie!
Do you have any suggestions of what I can replace the banana with that will still make it delicious?!?
Thanks!
I am really glad I found your site … very new to all this.
I wI’ll try the beginners luck green smoothie actually have all the ingredients.
What I am most looking forward to is juicing beets … how do you prepare them do you peel them? Do you leave the leaves on? How small should the chunks be … I understand they are tougher then most to juice or blend.
Thanks
Hi Lisa,
YAY! We’re so excited to have you blendin’ with us! We love blendin’ with beets! No need to peel, simply give your beets a good scrub. I cut my beets into small cubes prior to blending, but if you have a lower power blender you can also grate them to ensure your green smoothie is smooth + creamy! Does the idea of adding raw beets to your blender sound scary? You can also steam or roast them prior to blending!
Learn more here…
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/anti-inflammatory-smoothie-recipe
And don’t toss your beet greens! Beet greens are the perfect addition to your green smoothie. They include a wide variety of nutrients, but make their claim to fame with tryptophan. Tryptophan is the culprit of all those Thanksgiving Day naps, but more importantly helps with better sleep cycles.
Check out this beet green recipe here…
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/cherry-beet-smoothie