This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I can earn a small commission from items you purchase (at no cost to you).
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.
Save this Recipe for Later!
Enter your info below and I’ll send it straight to your inbox to save for later.
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.
What is carb value?
Not sure, Lynn… We don’t keep tabs on carbs at this point. You can use “My Fitness Pal” or “Lose It” to calculate, though!
Can I add coconut oil to the green smoothie for each day? Looking forward to starting, Thanks!
We wouldn’t recommend doing it EVERY day, but a few times a week is nice 🙂
wow, its interesting to see that you don’t need protein powder for all smoothies, I have been using that for mostly all of my smoothies, and I am getting a bit bored with the flavor concepts so this will be a nice change
I can’t wait to try my first green smoothie, my mom told me about the site,and I am just starting out with making smoothies and I have created a few of my own as well as followed some recipes…. haven’t tried with a whole lot of veggies, just really spinach, and romaine lettuce and celery.. interested in buying a few new veggies to try.
Signed up for the July challenge and made my first smoothie tonight! Sooo yummy 🙂 I’m so pumped to try new recipes this month!
When you say frozen do you mean we can use bags of frozen fruit from the store, or do you mean I should buy the fruit, cut it up and freeze it? I signed up for the July challenge and hoping I can find fresh fruit but would be great if frozen would work.
Either way works, Lauren 🙂
I’ve been having 2 or more a day. I hope that’s okay. I would think it would be. I’m down 10lbs in my first month. This is a lifestyle change for me. After learning how the animals we eat are treated, I can’t bear the thought of ever eating meat again. Yes, I have to lose another 40 lbs., but my direction in life has changed to getting my body healthy, and to advocate for those who cannot speak, but can absolutely feel emotion. I now know unequivocally, that I can get all the nutrition -and more- that my body needs without giving one more cent to the meat industry.
Thank you.
Sounds like you are on the right track, Rebecca!
I just began my journey to a healthier me a week ago. So far so good! I made my first ever green smoothie 2 days ago, and I’m already obsessed. It’s so helpful to have such an easy way to down so much healthy food! This site is so super helpful to me, and it’s so inspiring to see everyone else’s favorite recipes, too. Makes it all feel more “doable” long-term for me. So thanks!!!
Hello ladies, I just started my smoothies and I m loving it, very good and gives me something to focus on regarding my health. I m placing one meal with smoothies and even cutting back on my meat and bread intake. So I m on my way to a healthier me!!
Good morning Simple Green Smoothies,
I drink a greenie every morning. During the 30 day challenge am i supposed to replace each meal with a greenie? Not sure I understand the tactics of the
Challenge. Help.
My daily greenie includes: 2C kale, 2 celery, parsley, one green apple, 1/2 cuke, and either 1/2 c of pineapple, mango, or banana.
Hi Susan!
The challenge is all about drinking ONE green smoothie per day for 30 days. If you do that, then you can consider yourself a rawkstar 🙂 You can replace your breakfast with a smoothie, add one for a snack, or even replace a different meal. It is totally up to you when you would like to drink your smoothie!
Can I replace unsweetened almond milk for the water?
Yep 🙂 You can always switch up the liquids if you would like!
I am a big fan of green smoothies, been drinking them for breakfast for over a year. I love experimenting with different fruits and veggies. Baby spinach is my favorite greens to add. When going ‘off the wagon’, binging on the wrong things, I replace dinner with a smoothie a day for 3 days to get back on track.
Thank you so much for actually including a shopping list for a week! You have no idea of helpful that is to me. It has been a bit overwhelming getting on with green smoothies without feeling like I have to go buy everything in stock. This is a great starter recipe.
Hello All!!! Thank you for all of your wonderful information for those of us who are newbies!!! I never was good at starting anything out slow!!! I’ve spent the last couple of days reading up on this, so I’ve had some ideas swimming around in my head….Today I may my very first green smoothie!!! Yowzer is it ever DE~LISH!!! So I wanted to share my concoction!!!
I’m soooo pleased with the outcome of my very first ever attempt at green smoothies!!! This is DELISH!!!
Kale 3 “stalks” chopped, stems and all
Baby Spinach approx a cup (I measured by the handful then added about another dozen leaves)
Parsley just a small bunch, probably about 6 “stalks” chopped
Celery 1 large stalk, leaves and all, chopped
Avocado 1/2 (would probably be better with a whole one, but I already had this one cut, I ate the other half for lunch lol)
Carrot 1 Large-grated
Banana- 2 (1 frozen)
Strawberries about 4 total berries (frozen chunks are hard to determine how many berries lol)
Coconut milk, approx 2 cups (started with 1 cup to break down the greens then added a little at a time until I reached desired consistency)
DE (Diatomaceous Earth) 1/4 c.
Honey approx 3 TBSP to slightly sweeten, use to taste.
I blended all greens (except avocado) with 1 cup coconut milk first, then added carrots, blended, then added banana, avocado and strawberries, blended till smooth, then added DE…blended and found needed more coconut milk as it got too thick, added milk until desired consistency, then blended in honey until desired level of sweetness…mostly to remove any hint of bitterness.
Yields approx 2 Qts. or one entire blenderful
May ALL things GOOD come to YOU in ABUNDANCE!!
Sounds great, Lorrie!
Wow, love the recipe. Will have to try that myself sometime
hello
how many ounce of green smoothie do i need to drink per meal?
We recommend 16 oz 🙂
I was looking for something to lose weight with that was healthy and natural. I am over weight and have a young one who i would love to play with more, but i need more energy! I’m taking a step and giving it a shot and i’m very excited (shouldn’t be too hard since smoothies are yummy!! I have heard nothing but good things.
Jessie–Thank you for sharing with us! You can do it 🙂 It may not be a walk in the park, but we are here for encouragement if you ever need it!