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This insanely tasty tropical kale smoothie recipe was originally created for my #1 best-selling recipe book, Simple Green Smoothies. Over the years, I’ve craved it more and more, and even started growing my own kale to use in smoothies.
This smoothie tastes like sunshine, and will cause you to fall in love with green smoothies.
I’m sure you’ve noticed kale’s rise to fame over the last decade. It went from an unidentified leafy green to the top dog of the produce section overnight. Kale comes from the cruciferous family (along with cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, and more). Kale is a supercharged superfood, because it is loaded with vitamins A, B6, C, and K, calcium, potassium, copper and manganese.
People typically identify kale by it’s sharp taste, and tougher texture, yet if this is you, then I’m gonna ask you to give it another try.
Kale Smoothie Ingredients
This recipe takes me back to my California roots through its tropical ingredient list:
- Orange: 92% DV of Vitamin C
- Pineapple: 761% DV of Vitamin C
- Mango: Vitamin C… and a natural sweetener.
- Chia seeds: The omega 3s and 6s in the chia seeds, as well as the protein boost, help turn that natural sugar into energy as your body processes it.
- Kale: This Top Superfoods List is a great way to boost your fiber intake + help your body process the natural sugar found in the fruit ingredients.
Easy Ingredient Swaps
If you want to turn this smoothie into a great pre or post workout beverage, then swap the water with coconut water, aka nature’s gatorade. Add even more superfood goodness by swapping the chia seeds with a plant-based protein powder, like my homemade protein powder recipe.
Tips for Blending a Kale Smoothie
While this kale smoothie recipe uses Lacinato kale, any kale will work. I highly recommend removing the stems of the kale before blending to eliminate as much bitterness as possible. You can compost the stems or even feed them to the backyard chickens. To tenderize kale leaves, wash them in water, then gently massage the leaves with your fingers.
When blending kale, tear it up into smaller pieces before tossing in the blender. Blend with just the liquid + kale first, until no chunks remain. Then add the remaining ingredients and blend again. This 2 blend method helps the kale break down quicker, especially if you’re using a non high-powered blender.
Kale Smoothie FAQs
Smoothies can be great for you, if you focus on using whole food ingredients. Ditch the added sugar and processed foods and use real whole food. Fresh or frozen kale can be used (both have great nutrition!). Just make sure to swap up your leafy greens to ensure your body gets well rounded nutrients.
Yes! Just make sure to wash it well and massage with your fingers before adding it to the blender. Also, de-stem the kale to ensure those tough stems don’t end up as chunks in your smoothie.
I love the mild flavor of Lacinato kale, yet curly kale is typically the easiest to find at the grocery store. I would stay away from Tuscan kale as it is a bit spicier. If the first kind of kale you try isn’t your fav, look for another kind!
More Kale Smoothies
Whether this is a new ingredient for you or a staple in your fridge, here are some more great smoothies that use kale:
- kale mango smoothie
- kale banana smoothie
- pineapple kale smoothie
- kiwi smoothie
- coconut oil smoothie
- fruit and vegetable smoothie
- ginger pineapple smoothie
- cherry smoothie
Really, swap out the leafy green in any green smoothie with kale. It might just become your go-to smoothie ingredient too! Let me know your thoughts about this smoothie by leaving a rating + review below once you blend it.
Kale Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup kale
- ½ cup water
- 1 orange peeled
- ½ cup pineapple frozen
- ½ cup mango frozen
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
Instructions
- Blend kale, orange and water until smooth.
- Add remaining fruit and blend again.
Notes
- Use at least 1 frozen fruit for a refreshingly cold smoothie.
- Swap kale with the leafy green or your choice.
- Swap in coconut water if you need natural electrolytes.
- Depending on how big and juicy your orange is, start with a little less water and gradually add more as needed to easily blend.
I swapped in coconut water for the water to be sure I disguised the kale for my smoothie blending kiddos. Not a hint of kale plus I’m pretty sure I had extra kale in there. Sweet but delicious!
I love spinach, but not a fan of kale yet, so I did the one half of each. Worked pretty well for me.
I haven’t had the best of luck with kale smoothies in the past, but this one is delicious (and blends super well for all you texture people )! Highly recommend!
Very creamy. Interesting to taste how different the taste is compared to the spinach smoothies we started the challenge with
What a fun combination! My daughter was super excited about the pineapple and mango combo. We really enjoyed this smoothie and there were no complaints about the kale.
Good way to eat kale, I will add this to one of my favs.
I Love Day 3 smoothie. I will add this one to my list.
One of my favorites! Kale smoothies are the best with oranges and tropical fruits.
Good smoothie and a nice way to get kale and chia in, I was pleasantly surprised by the creamy texture as well!
I took baby steps and did half kale and half spinach. It was refreshing. Thank you for expanding my taste bud horizons.
I did not enjoy this one as much as I did the previous too. I used baby kale, I found this one extremely citrusy overpowering, maybe from my orange?
I tried it! Still don’t like kale! LOL I’ll take all the other leafy greens for the win
Love the bright flavor of orange in this. I like kale so thought it was very refreshing and delicious!
Hi. Excellent smoothie. Massaging the kale makes a HUGE difference. Also added a dollop of honey because I was not used to so much kale, but will definitely make again. Thank you.
Did 1/2 kale & 1/2 Spinach super hydrating and delicious
Very mild, but good!