These tasty smoothies for weight loss include low-calorie green smoothies and filling protein powder blends to burn fat and supercharge your metabolism. I’ve used scientifically-proven ingredients in each smoothie recipe to decrease body fat and reveal a healthier and leaner body.
Sign up for my Smoothie Challenge to get a comprehensive smoothie plan, weekly grocery lists and tasty recipes that are low in calories and get you results, naturally. If you wanna go even farther, try our 21-Day Cleanse with daily smoothies and plant-based snacks and meals.
Table of Contents
Why Smoothies Help You Lose Weight
I started drinking smoothies for weight loss when I was in my 30s. I had two toddlers and was having a hard time losing the last 10 pounds after my second kid. Didn’t help that I was stress eating after a cross-country move and always felt too tired to work out. Something had to change.
I swapped my go-to breakfast (plain bagel with strawberry cream cheese) for a weight loss smoothie loaded with vitamins, hydration and fiber. My goal was to replace a bad habit with good one— and it worked. The energy boost from the natural sugars and minerals was almost immediate and the weight loss started that weekend. No joke.
- Fiber keeps you full: Blend a variety of fruits (banana, strawberries, oranges) and leafy greens (spinach, kale, chard) together to create a high fiber drink that’ll keep you full and satisfied.
- Simple portion control: Measure out the ingredients you add to the blender to make portion control easy.
- Proper hydration curbs false hunger cues: Use 1 cup of liquid (almond milk, water, coconut water) to hydrate your cells, curb hunger and help your body function properly.
- Ideal meal replacement: Using a combination of plant-based protein (chia seeds, protein powder, etc) and healthy fats (superfoods, nut butter, coconut milk) to create an ideal meal replacement.
- Burns fat: Use ingredients that are packed with nutrients and scientifically proven to burn fat.
I started having one of these healthy smoothies for breakfast every day. I was never hungry thanks to all the fiber. It took five minutes a day. And I loved how it tasted. I became obsessed with smoothies (that’s what led to me becoming a food blogger). Now I get to teach you how to blend a smoothie to achieve your weight loss goals.
10 Fat-Burning Smoothie Recipes for Weight Loss
These fat-burning smoothies are low-calorie recipes that’ll nourish your body while boosting the metabolism. I can’t wait for you to see just how tasty and simple weight loss can be. These fat-burning smoothies are a great place to start if you want to eat more plants and nourish your body from within. Which one will you blend first?!
Meal Replacement Smoothie
343 calories | 10 g protein
This high-protein, high-fiber smoothie has an unexpected combination of oats, almond butter, banana and low-sugar blueberries to keep you full for a very long time. This is truly a filling and satisfying weight loss meal replacement on the go!
Creamy Banana Smoothie
364 calories | 18 g protein
Is it a dessert or a smoothie? This creamy, banana smoothie is healthy, tasty and packed with protein thanks to the raw cashews and homemade cashew milk.
Best Green Smoothie
203 calories | 6 g fiber
This is the best green smoothie on the internet (and for good reason). Our tropical treat is infused with spinach, yet no one can taste it— including our kids. Add a scoop of plant-based protein powder and you’ve got the tastiest weight loss smoothie.
Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie
155 calories | 9 g fiber
Beets are one of the best ingredients to blend when dealing with inflammation, which keeps our bodies from reaching their full potential. Fight inflammation head-on with this citrus-packed smoothie recipe.
Peanut Butter Smoothie
497 calories | 14 g protein
Plant-based nutrition is all about combining nutrients with flavors that make you wanna keep consuming it. This yummy chocolate-filled smoothie that uses frozen bananas has natural energy and helps burn fat, too.
Vanilla Yogurt Smoothie
371 calories | 26 g protein
If flavor is your jam, this tart vanilla smoothie is what is missing in your life. Pair it with frozen peaches, which are low in sugar and you’ve got yourself a high-protein, probiotic smoothie for breakfast.
Apple Celery Smoothie
275 calories | 19 g fiber
The green smoothie is a what you’d find celebs sipping at a 5-star wellness resort in Costa Rica. Fresh squeezed lemon juice, low-sugar green apples and fresh ginger root are all included for weight-loss benefits.
PINEAPPLE GINGER SMOOTHIE
263 calories | 9 g protein
If Venus Williams can drink this, we can too. If stronger and leaner is on your health goals, then sip this fresh ginger smoothie blended with naturally sweet pineapple.
Vanilla Matcha Smoothie
370 calories | 17 g protein
This high-protein (thanks to the addition of raw cashews), fat-burning, energy-boosting smoothie will satisfy your sweet tooth and can all be made in under 5 minutes.
What to Put in Smoothies for Weight Loss
Focus on blending ingredients that are scientifically proven to burn fat and boost metabolism, which leads to weight loss. It’s important that the calories we consume are quality calories, especially if we’re trying to lose weight, gain muscle, or just improve our overall health.
ingredients proven to burn belly fat
- Soluble fiber: Soluble fiber, found in fruits, vegetables, oats and legumes, absorbs water and forms a gel that helps slow down food as it passes through your digestive system. This helps keep you full, so you naturally eat less. Plus.
- High-protein: Observational studies show that people who eat more protein tend to have less abdominal fat than those who eat a lower protein diet. Adding a plant-based protein powder or unsweetened greek yogurt to your smoothies can be a great way to do this. If you’re doing HIIT workouts, using smoothies as a post-workout protein shake is highly effective in burning belly fat and promoting muscle recovery.
- Low-sugar foods: Using fruit as your natural sweeter is a great way to cut down on sugar (and avoid the highly processed refined sugars which contribute to belly fat). Using a combination of natural sugars and high fiber foods helps stabilize your blood sugar levels, which helps with weigh control.
- Green tea: Using chilled green tea as your smoothie base can help boost your metabolism and energy levels, thanks to the natural caffeine and antioxidant epigallocatechin gallate. According to one 10-year study, people who drink green tea regularly have nearly 20 percent less body fat than those who don’t. And EGCG, the unique ingredient in green tea, can deactivate the genetic triggers for diabetes and obesity.
ingredients to avoid when trying to lose weight
- Fruit juice: Avoid using any kinds of fruit juice in your smoothie because it adds extra sugars without the nutrients found in whole fruits. It’s much better to blend an apple, than to add apple juice to your smoothie wen trying to lose weight.
- Dairy: Milk, yogurt, protein powders that contain dairy can cause inflammation in the body… making it harder to lose weight and burn fat. We avoid these in all of our recipe below.
- Added sweeteners: Avoid honey, maple syrup, sugar, monk fruit, and stevia in your smoothies because they are high in calories and low in nutrients. Plus they can spike your blood sugar levels and train your taste buds to crave high sugar foods throughout the day.
Ingredient Combinations to Promote Weight Loss
According to studies, there’s certain food combinations that can help burn belly fat and lead to overall weight loss. We use these combinations in our healthy smoothie recipes to get the best weight loss results.
- Green apple and nut butter: Apples are chock-full of fiber, a nutrient that can help reduce visceral fat, paired with a healthy dose of nut butter can keep you feel full and aid in vitamin absorption.
- Avocados and spinach: This leafy green that can help you slim down by filling you up and giving you a healthy dose of vitamins K and A.
- Green tea and grapefruit: Blend grapefruit into your smoothie along with a chilled green tea, which contains pectin and polyphenols. Both of which have been proven to help people feel fuller and lose weight, according to a study published in Journal of Medical Food.
- Cacao and almonds: Packed with flavanols, cacao can prevent people from gaining weight, according to a study published in BMJ, and may increase energy expenditure.
- Oats and blueberries: Oats are high in fiber, helping you stay full. Toss in some berries and it’s a power combo! A study out of the University of Michigan found that rats who had blueberry powder mixed into their meals had less abdominal fat than rats on a berry-free diet after 90 days.
Weight Loss Smoothie Recipes FAQs
Swapping a meal for a smoothie can be a great way to lose weight. You’ll want to make sure your smoothie is packed with fiber, low in sugar and under 500 calories to help with portion control. Don’t add any sugars or sweeteners and choose a liquid base that is unsweetened. To keep you full, make sure your smoothie has healthy fats and protein to make it a complete meal replacement.
Look for a smoothie recipe that contains grapefruit and green tea to help burn fat. My fat-burning smoothie has these specific ingredients that boost the metabolism, plus healthy fats that are necessary for your body to break down carbs and protein.
A good smoothie with protein, healthy fat and whole-food carbs is a great combo for a healthy snack or meal that can promote weight loss. These weight loss smoothies contain a variety of spinach, mint, celery, green tea, grapefruit, pineapple and avocado.
Look for grapefruit, pineapple, mint, celery, leafy greens and herbs to help burn fat, especially around the belly. Try blending then together into a delicious smoothie to consume them easily and effectively.
The best way to get weight loss results is being consistent— and a daily meal replacement smoothie is perfect for that. Swap you typical breakfast for a fat burning smoothie to kick start your weight loss goals. This high fiber low sugar recipe is truly a healthy smoothie in 5 minutes or less.
Juicing and blending can both help with weight loss, yet only one is sustainable for the long run: smoothies. We believe committing to drinking 1-2 fat burning smoothies as a meal replacements is the most effective way to hit your weigh loss goals and maintain them for life.
Fat Burning Smoothie for Weight Loss
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup spinach
- 2 tbsp fresh mint
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- ½ cup brewed green tea cooled
- ½ grapefruit peeled and seeded
- 1 cup pineapple frozen
- ¼ avocado
- dash cayenne pepper optional
Instructions
- Place spinach, mint, celery and green tea into blender.
- Puree until smooth.
- Add remaining ingredients.
- Blend again. Best when served chilled.
Video
Notes
- The pith and peel of the grapefruit are extremely bitter but are beneficial in small amounts. To lessen the bitterness of the grapefruit, remove the fruit from the inner membranes as well as peel before using.
- Drink 1-2 smoothies a day as meal replacements to get the weight loss benefits you’re looking for.
- Adding homemade protein powder is a great way to add high-quality protein that won’t affect the delicious taste of the smoothie.
Hi.
I am unable to eat/drink grapefruit due to a certain medication that I am taking long term. What can I use as an alternative but with equal results?
Many Thanks
Tracie
Hi Tracie! You could try oranges, mangoes, peaches, pomelos, or tangerines. They would change the taste a little, and possibly the results but would be great substitutes!
I am excited to start this journey.
I got your book, ‘Simple Green Smoothies’
Thanks for sharing your Success with the Whole.
So happy for you, Ann-Marie! You will looooove all the smoothie recipes, the book has so many!
I absolutely love this smoothie! Only just started having it on a daily basis to help my fat loss journey so haven’t actually lost any weight yet but I feel so full but also so energised after this that I feel for sure it’ll help me! Plus, it actually tastes really nice! If I make a big batch at the start of the week, how long will it keep for in the fridge? Also, can it be frozen? Thanks SO so much for sharing! You’ve got a new fan ☺️
Yay Sam! So glad you’re feeling the energy from this one, it’s one of my favorites! Be sure to check out our Spring Cleanse when it gets released! It should keep a couple days in the fridge. When I freeze, I typically just put the ingredients in a freezer bag (not the liquids) and then use that to blend for the day.
i just started drinking these, i froze mind and took it out when i went to work. By lunchtime(6hrs thaw) it was kind of a sorbet consistency. Instead of drinking it, i had it with a spoon, which was equally enjoyable. I really love this smoothy as well. It hides the protein powder , that i don’t care for most day.
Love this, Kristal! I’m definitely going to try that too!
Ah fabulous, thank you both for your replies! I’ll definitely check out the spring cleanse!
You’re so welcome, Sam! I can’t wait for the spring cleanse info to come out!
You have a beautiful smile.
Thanks so much for the kind words!
I loved this smoothie – So, so good!
Grapefruit are out of season what can I use instead, grapefruit juice?
Thank you!
Hi Angharad! I would recommend oranges, mangos, pineapple or lemon, depending on the smoothie!
What is a homemade protein powder I can use?
Hi Sabrina- This is the recipe for homemade protein powder that’s on the blog!
What is a good substitute for grapefruit?
Hey Sharron – I would recommend oranges, mangos, pineapple or lemon, depending on the smoothie! If medication is the reason why you’re avoiding grapefruits, as I know it can interact with certain blood pressure medications, then I would check with your doctor before swapping for another citrus fruit, like oranges or lemons. 🙂
Hello,
Do these smoothies include a liquid like Almond milk or anything? It isn’t mentioned in the ingredients so I wasn’t sure. Thank you 🙂
Hey Ashley – absolutely! Most of our smoothies use a liquid base. Our favs to use are almond milk, coconut milk, coconut water or regular water! There are a few that use cashew milk or don’t require any extra base, because there are super juicy fruits included that will create enough liquid during blending.
You can feel free to swap our recommended liquid base for one that you’d more prefer. Just be aware that nutrition/calorie facts will be impacted. 🙂
What can I swap in for celery? I’ve never been able to eat it or use it in juice as it makes me quite sick.
Hi Colette, great question! My number 1 recommendation to swap for celery is fennel,but if you’re not into that, feel free to omit the celery. 🙂
For any other questions you may have for great swaps, check out our Rawkstar Substitution Guide
Could have 4 smoothie and 1 meal(dinner) since its recommended 5 meals a day?
Dee- Lots of people choose to drink a variety of smoothies as meal replacements within their balanced diets. Good luck and have a rawking year.
Recently been watching some doctors on video and they state that smoothies may not be as healthy as we wish them to be.
Apparently blending destroys most of the binding fibre and therefore the liver is swamped with huge amounts of fructose, too much, can’t cope and turns to fat.
What do you think?
I think you may mean juicing… Yes that is very true. You’re just getting sugar juice. Smoothies do maintain the fiber that’s in the fruit and veg.
Any suggestions for someone who can’t do almond or oat milk in smoothies?
hey just blend in oats with water and you basically have oat milk 🙂
You might try coconut milk.
Great question, Nena. You can swap out these milk choices for any liquid base you’d like. I’d check out our Dairy free recipes to help you with even more ideas. This will help you make it a rawkin’ smoothie.
what if you are allergic to Avocado, any replacement?
would love to try this smoothie.
thank you.
One swap I love to make Nicole is add in banana instead of avocado. Another option is to add in some nuts like cashews or almonds.
Fat Burning Smoothie for Weight Loss Smoothie Looks Amazing! I will definitely try it out!
Since Having Covid I’ve found it very hard losing weight! For love of god my weight kept going up! Has anyone else felt the same?
However, I’ve started using the Smoothie Diet that has great recipes and tips and I’ve found that it kept my weight stable.
Thank you for your Article!
Hey there! Funny you should mention weight gain after Covid. I have PCOS and experienced a major flare up of inflammatory PCOS after getting sick and have been looking for ways to combat the symptoms (including weight gain despite exercise and decent eating habits). I’m hoping the great anti-inflammatory and antioxidants in recipes like this also help get my metabolism and pcos under control.
Hey Kat! I’m so sorry to hear that you’ve been dealing with all this. 🙁 I hope the symptoms and discomfort subside quickly. We also have a great smoothie specifically for those dealing with PCOS that I’d love for you to check out! PCOS Smoothie
Got a kick to it from the grapefruit but I like it! I will update on weight loss in a week or two. Thank you for the recipe!