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Let’s be honest: some mornings you’re lucky if you remember to put on deodorant, let alone whip up a fresh and nourishing green smoothie from scratch. That’s why frozen meal prep smoothie packs are my secret weapon. I’m talking about prepped, stored in the freezer, ready-to-blend smoothies to save your time, sanity, and sad spinach from dying a slow death in your fridge.
If you love smoothies but hate daily messes, wasted produce, or chopping pineapple at 7am (who doesn’t?), follow along. Your future self is gonna love you for this!
Benefits of Meal Prep Smoothies
Smoothie prep doesn’t have to be complicated or chaotic. All you need are a few tools—measuring cups, wide-mouth mason jars or freezer bags, a Sharpie, your favorite fruits and greens, and a handful of go-to smoothie recipes. Stick with a few tasty recipes with overlapping ingredients so you’re not buying out the entire produce aisle. Cut your mango into chunks (frozen mango or pineapple works great), and label each jar or bag with the recipe name and what liquid to add later—because let’s be real, you won’t remember.
- Smoothie prep packs save you a ton of time. No more chopping, measuring, or searching your fridge for ingredients every morning—just grab a pack, blend, and go. It makes busy mornings feel way more manageable.
- They also help you save money. When you prep in bulk, you can buy produce in larger quantities (especially at places like Costco or Sam’s Club) and use it before it goes bad. That means less food waste and more bang for your buck.
- Freezing ingredients also keeps produce from spoiling, especially those leafy greens or delicate fruits that always seem to wilt before you get to them. Smoothie packs help cut down on food waste significantly.
- They reduce decision fatigue, too. You don’t have to think about what to make each day or worry about having all the ingredients on hand. Just grab, blend, and you’re good to go.
- And finally, they make it easier to stick with healthy habits. When something is convenient, you’re more likely to follow through. Smoothie prep packs take away the excuses and make consistency a whole lot easier.
Recipes for Frozen Smoothie Packs
Decide which recipes you’ll make for the week and have them on hand. I’ve included 7 green smoothie recipes I recommend starting with below— and I’ve even made you a grocery list. If you don’t just want green smoothies, check out the Smoothie Challenge recipes and grocery list to smoothie prep the rainbow.
Frozen Meal Prep Smoothie Packs
Ingredients
- 5 cups spinach
- 2 cups kale
- 3 bananas
- 3 oranges
- 2 cups mango
- 2 ½ cups pineapple
- 2 cups strawberries
Instructions
- Slice or cut fruit into chunks. You can also cut fruit into smaller pieces and freeze ahead of time on lined baking sheets or use packaged frozen fruit. This will help keep the fruit and leafy greens from freezing together in a large clump and the smoothies will blend more easily.
- Label bag and jar lids with recipe name and date. Be specific. You might also want to include how much of which liquid you will need to add before blending since we do NOT add liquid to smoothie packs.
- Measure out the ingredients and pack into jars or bags.
- Remove as much air as possible from bags and jars when sealing closed. Pack fruit and greens tightly into the jars and screw on the lids.
- Place in freezer. Don't pack too tightly together. There should be some air circulation to help the contents to freeze quickly.
When ready to use
- Remove smoothie pack from freezer. Add liquid to container or bag (which helps defrost the fruit slightly). You can also thaw for a few minutes on the counter or in warm water. The fruit and greens will come out of the jar/bag easier too.
- Pour into blender and blend until smooth.
Equipment
- freezer
- measuring cups
- quart sized jars or bags
- permanent marker
Video
Notes
- Smoothie packs will keep for several months in the freezer but are the very best quality when used within 2-4 weeks.
- This sample prep guide uses naturally sweeter fruits. To lower the natural sugar in a smoothie, swap 1 banana with 1/2 an avocado.
- Store smoothie packs away from foods with strong odors. Glass jars offer the best protection against odors.
- Pick smoothie recipes with similar ingredients for bulk purchasing and to save money.
Nutrition
Make-Ahead Smoothie Tips
I don’t love spending my weekends in the kitchen. I’d rather be outside, yet I also know when I don’t prep my smoothies, I either skip them completely or end up with a waffle in the toaster… or driving through Starbucks for an overpriced breakfast. That’s why I swear by smoothie prep. It’s one big mess, one time—and then the rest of the week, I’ve got delicious, nourishing smoothies ready to go with zero chaos. Total game-changer. Here’s how to make it even easier:
- Buy frozen if you hate chopping. I get frozen pineapple, blueberries, strawberries and mango at Costco and never look back.
- Label your jars. Future you will not remember if it’s “Mango Spinach Smoothie” or “Best Green Smoothie.”
- Set a time that works for you. Don’t stress if it’s not Sunday. Monday night, Friday morning, whatever—just pick a window and roll with it.
- Batch it like a boss. Make a week or a month of smoothie packs at one time. Trust me—you’ll never regret having a freezer full of grab-and-blend options when life gets chaotic.
Costco Frozen Smoothie Packs Demo
If you’ve got freezer space and want to save money, watch my video below making 36 frozen smoothie packs for $48 using Costco produce. Watch it if you want to see exactly how I made a month of smoothies with a $50 Costco haul, using mostly organic ingredients. This is a smart way to stock your freezer, save money, and never skip your daily smoothie again. Here’s the bulk grocery list to do this:
- Organic Power Greens: $5.99 (24 oz)
- Organic Spinach: $3.89 (32 oz)
- Oranges: $13.99 for 24 (needed 20)
- Organic Bananas: $1.99 for 8 bananas
- Frozen Pineapple: $7.99 (80 oz bag)
- Fresh Mangoes: $4.49 for 6
- Organic Frozen Strawberries: $9.99 (64 oz)
How to Use Frozen Smoothie Packs
When you’re ready to use your meal prep smoothie pack, remove from freezer. Add liquid base to container or bag (which helps defrost the fruit slightly). You can also thaw for a few minutes on the counter or in fridge overnight. This helps the fruit and veggies come out of the container more easily. Pour into a high-speed blender for smoothies and blend until smooth.
Common Questions
Smoothie packs can last up to 3 months in the freezer when stored properly in airtight bags or containers. For best taste and texture, aim to use them within 4–6 weeks.
Yes! You can add things like chia seeds, cashews, flax, spirulina, or protein powder directly to the pack. Just be sure to label it so you know what’s already in there.
Not necessarily. You can blend smoothie packs straight from frozen if you have a high-speed blender. Otherwise, let the pack sit out for 5–10 minutes or run it under warm water to loosen it up.
Wide-mouth mason jars and quart-size freezer-safe bags (silicone or Ziplock) work great. Bags save space, while jars are reusable and eco-friendly—pick what fits your lifestyle (and freezer).
Freezing smoothie ingredients helps preserve nutrients, especially compared to letting produce sit in the fridge for too long. While there may be a tiny loss, it’s minimal—and way better than tossing wilted greens.
Great idea, thanks for sharing. I will begin prepping tonight, so that I will be able to make my smoothies a little faster in the mornings! This too will help me to get my measures more accurately, so I make one smoothie instead of two! lol
Great idea!!! I know what I’ll be doing on Sundays while preparing dinner!!! Thanks for the tip!!!
I really like the freeze method.. saving time is what makes this possible for me… my sunday afternoons are chopping and freezing for the week, I am now 3 days ahead of what I need. I hope to be 7 soon. great tips. thanks Stacey
You can do it, Stacey! Seven days ahead would be great!
I’ve been freezing my smoothies for several years and it works great for me. I make enough for the week and pour them into paper cups, add a “lid” of sticky wrap and pop them in the freezer. They transport well to work straight out of the freezer and by mid morning they are thawed to a slushy state. I just give the smoothy a quick stir and enjoy! The frozen smoothies are perfect for my busy schedule.
Awesome, KathyLemmon!
My husband & I swear by our morning smoothies! To make the process easier, (and cheaper!,) we often look to the “bargain bin” of fruit at the grocery store. The stores near us have a shelf where bananas/mangos/oranges, etc that are starting to go brown, or are getting very ripe are marked way down. We stock up on this fruit when it’s on sale and chop it up & freeze it on cookie sheets when we get home. Once the fruit has been flash frozen, we transfer it to containers we keep in our freezer for frozen smoothie fruit that can be quickly added to our blender in the mornings. Using this method, we’ve been able to regularly buy organic bananas for 30-39 cents per pound!
Great idea, Julianne! Thanks for sharing!
This may seem like a silly question. You said to write the liquid amounts on the front. I’m assuming this means you don’t put the liquid in the jars when you freeze them? I realize it would freeze, but if you’re going to thaw them a bit before blending, do you think it would be a big problem? I’m trying to save as much time as possible in the morning. Thanks
Hi Shauna,
I would still keep the liquid separate. Fruit will thaw a bit quicker than liquid will. Plus, you don’t need to the fruit completely thawed before blending. Hope this helps!
You could also measure out the liquid you need in advance and store that in the fridge. Then in the morning, you just grab your bag or jar from the freezer, your liquid from the fridge and throw it all in the blender.
Hi guys just started the 30 days smoothie challenges i would like to know what is the best time in the day to drink our smoothie ?? thanks good job
Anytime, really. Lots of people drink them for breakfast so they can start their day on the right foot, but others drink theirs for lunch, dinner, or even as a snack!
Thanks for the great tips. Do the fruits and greens lose any of their nutritional value after being cut and then does the the freezing process degrade them at all? I live in a cold climate most of the year so would prefer to defrost them in the fridge overnight before blending but am concerned i’d be losing some of the nutrition.
Hi Andrea,
You’ll be losing a bit of nutrition, but not much! We think it’s worth it to freeze produce to help it last longer and make it more affordable!
Hey guys, I have a quick question about the nuts/seeds within fruits.
For example, with apples, should you de seed it prior to putting it into the blender?
What fruits should you take the nuts out of?
Thanks in advance, just want to know which are not good to consume health wise
Hi!
There really is no generally rule one which you need to take seeds/nuts out of, and which ones you don’t. We usually core apples so there are no seeds, but we hear of others that just toss the whole thing in (my grandpa eats apples whole). Most fruits should be deseeded before blending.
You should not eat the seeds of apples. The seeds may contain trace amounts of cyanide according to Michael T. Murray, who wrote “the complete book of juicing”. There are some others that you should not eat as well. You can google the fruit to find out which you can and can’t eat.
You would have to eat thousands of apple seeds to have any effect. Thats my understanding and i’ve been juicing and blending them for years.
I just wanted to say thanks for all the useful info in this post. A friend and I started our green smoothie challenge January 1 2014 and I never stopped. When the April challenge started we started a Facebook group and invited friends to join the challenge. We are approx. 8 -10 Strong at the moment and everyone is really getting into the spirit of the challenge. We share any tips we can with everyone including these wonderful ideas. Thank you again.
So glad you’re enjoying it, Amy!
What size canning jars were used for this?
1 quart, or 32 ounces!
Hi,
How does everyone feel about blending smoothies for the month and then freezing them? That way you just pull the finished product out and take it with?
We don’t personally do it, Dana, but we’ve heard of others doing it… Not sure how well it works.
It’s great! I use plastic bags, then Just grap and go. Or take out of the freezer, get in the shower and by the time I’m ready, so is the smoothie. Within about 20 minutes i put my straw in and drink it from the bag. That way You can get all of it and don’t dirty a glass. Double bonus. Another bonus, you can just clean the blender once a month and not daily.
Hi Dan – I live near Edinburgh, Scotland and most of our fruit is imported/expensive so the advice on freezing unused fruit rather than binning is really useful. My difficulty is the ‘cup’ measures your recipes suggest – in UK we tend to use grams/ounces.
The online interpretation of US cup = 8 UK fluid oz (liquid) and 8 UK oz (solids). Made my first green smoothie yesterday (delicious) but had difficulty getting the lid on my blender over tightly packed ingredients!! Ended up eating it with a spoon. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Joan!
The liquid measurements are right, but I’m not sure that 1 cup of solids equals 8 ounces of solids… It’s tough, because none of us are too familiar with UK measurements. A cup of fruit is about one large handful, if that helps at all…
Hi Joan, I also live in the UK, and until recently struggled with the US cup to UK grams/ounce conversion.
I picked up a cup measuring set in Dunelm Mills which have been very useful. If you don’t have a Dunelm near you, then maybe a cook shop will have them, or perhaps you can get a set on-line. Good luck.
I have been banking fruits in my freezer by processing say an entire bag of red grapes at once by de-stemming them and washing them, then measure out 1 cup and seal it into a snack sized zip-top bag. When my hubby and I cut up pineapple, we do two at a time and measure and bag the same way. Mangoes we buy 5-6 at a time and clean them all at once, bagging and freezing the same way.
Buy the fruit in season or on sale and get it into the freezer before any goes bad. Then, we keep an inventory on a white board of how many cups of each fruit we have. If we run out of snack sized bags, the sandwich size works fine too. I buy bananas 2 or 3 bunches at a time and when they get to the perfect ripeness, we peel them all and lay them out on a cookie sheet covered in plastic wrap then set the whole thing in the freezer. You can then stand the frozen bananas in a gallon sized zip-top bag and get a dozen or more in a single bag, then you can just pull out the number needed and break them into 3-4 pieces before adding to the blender.
For things that need roasted before adding to smoothies, we roast a bunch at a time then let them cool and measure into the amount need for the recipe (1/4 cup of beets or 1 cup of sweet potatoes) then freeze.
The small rectangular reusable plastic containers like Gladware (but I always buy store brand) work great too and are great for things like avocado, grapefruit sections, peeled kiwi, etc. They are see-thru and stack-able. The size I like best is the one that holds just over a cup.
If something calls for a teaspoon of lime juice, I squeeze all the juice I can out of the lime and use what I need that night, then measure the rest into a small “baby” muffin latex pan and freeze, then pop out the frozen 1 teaspoon disks and bag them in a snack size zip-top bag labeled and ready to go. No waste, and easier next time.
I don’t process all the fruit the same day, just as I am using a particular one or as it becomes ripe. I have been known to cut a pear from top to bottom in quarters and throw the whole pear with core and stem removed into a sandwich sized bag. The one thing I have not found in pre-frozen bags that I wish I could is pomegranate seeds. Those are so messy!
We love our smoothies to be easy and quick as an after work snack to hold us so we have time to cook a healthier dinner without snacking on empty calories because we are starving after work.
If the fruit is pre-measured and in the freezer, there is no excuse for skipping your smoothie (and why would you want to?)!
I never considered getting the smoothies ready like you show here ahead of time, I just measure and rinse the greens, let them drain, use the markings on the side of the blender to measure the liquid, then add the greens and the rest is a piece of cake! 5 Minutes or less and it’s “Smoothie Time!”. Which in our house, is like yelling dessert or ice cream.
Thanks so much for the Simple Green Smoothie website, you have changed mine and my husbands life for the better! We eat so much more produce now and less gets wasted too.
Blessings to the whole Simple Green Smoothie crew!
Hi!
Thanks for sharing all your tips! It’s neat to see how other people prep for green smoothies, and all the ways that work to make green smoothies easy and nutritious. We’re glad you are a part of our community, and hope you keep giving valuable input like this!
Karen it’s not just pomegranate seeds buts but I found target has an antioxidant mix that is (if I remember correctly) cherries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberry and pomegranate seeds. It’s the actual target brand. Not organic but could work in a pinch.
Sorry. Forgot to add they were frozen.
Can glass bottles be placed in the freezer? I thought they would crack.
Hi Dianne! Be sure to look if they are freezer safe. A lot of times, jars will say whether or not they are safe. Most Ball and Kerr jars are freezer safe.
Thank you for your quick reply, I live in Sydney and have never heard of that brand. I will check it out on the internet.
Can glass bottles be placed in the freezer. I thought they would crack.