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If you love green smoothies AND want to maximize your time and money while making them, then this smoothie prep tutorial is for you! I love buying fresh, in-season produce, yet I don’t want it to go bad before I use it all in my daily smoothie. Meal prep smoothies get me through busy seasons with ease.
Meal prep smoothies are my jam! I love doing smoothie prep in batches so I make one mess at a time and get a week (or month) of ready-to-blend smoothies for my efforts. Today, I’m sharing all my tips and tricks to make smoothies for the week as well as giving you a sample menu and shopping list to get started!
Table of Contents
How to Meal Prep Smoothies for a Week
First, gather the following items: measuring cups, quart bags or canning jars (I like wide-mouth jars best!), a permanent marker, your favorite fruit and leafy greens and either my blog or the Daily Blends Smoothie App. These items will make meal prepping smoothies a breeze. Next:
- Decide which recipes you’ll make for the week and have them on hand. Feel free to use my free 10-Day Smoothie Challenge recipes.
- 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 helps keep the fruit and leafy greens from freezing together in a large clump, plus the smoothies blend more easily.
- Label bag or jar lids with recipe name and date. Be specific. You might also want to include how much of which liquid gets blended with each smoothie pack (to have when you’re ready to blend).
- 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 leafy greens tightly into the jars and screw on the lids.
- Place in freezer. Don’t pack your bags/containers too tightly together. There should be some air circulation to help the contents to freeze quickly.
When you’re ready to use your meal prepped smoothies, remove smoothie pack 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 warm water. This helps the fruit and greens come out of the container more easily. Pour into blender and blend until smooth.
Prep smoothies for the week, month, or quarter, whichever length of time fits your time and lifestyle (and space!) best. I took the 7-day Smoothie Challenge inside Daily Blends Smoothie App for recipes and prepped for an entire month!
Tips for Make Ahead Smoothies
- Pick recipes with similar ingredients and buy in bulk. This saves money and cuts down on the number of ingredients needed.
- Buy seasonally! Choosing ingredients that are in season (or better yet, local!) also cuts down on cost. Food has the highest nutrition when harvested during its rightful season. Plus, it just tastes better.
- Help your future self by labeling! Know what that prepped jar needs for the liquid base so that when you are ready to blend, you are prepared.
- Set aside time to prep. Whether it’s on the weekend, Monday morning or Thursday evening, make time for prep. This helps you set yourself up for success.
- If you don’t like to or have time to chop up fresh ingredients then buy frozen! I love getting frozen pineapple and mango from Costco to save myself time. Frozen ingredients are picked at height freshness then flash frozen to preserve as many nutrients as possible.
Have any more tips for meal prepping smoothies? Drop a comment below and let us all know!
Smoothie Prep Menu
If you’re looking for some make-ahead smoothie recipes to get started, try out this plan:
- Beginner’s Luck Smoothie
- Clear Skin Smoothie
- Mango Spinach Smoothie
- Vegan Tropical Smoothie
- Spinach Banana Smoothie
- Island Green Smoothie
- Chia Seed Smoothie
For this round of meal prep smoothies, I stuck with tropical smoothies that have similar ingredients so that I can buy in bulk. Here’s the shopping list to prep the above seven smoothies:
| 7.5 cups Spinach | 3 Bananas |
| 1.5 cups Mango | 1 Avocado |
| 1 Lemon | 2 tbsp Chia Seeds |
| 4 Oranges | 2.75 cups Coconut Water |
| 3 cups Pineapple | 2 cups Water |
If you want to simplify your shopping list further, swap coconut water for regular water (which you don’t need to purchase), and you can meal prep smoothies for a whole week with eight ingredients.
For this list, I would pick up my supplies at Trader Joe’s and opt for frozen mango and pineapple, while choosing fresh for the remaining ingredients. Since avocado is only needed in one recipe, I’d just add it into a few other smoothies for a healthy fat boost.
Common Questions Around Smoothie Prep
Yes! While smoothies start to lose some nutrients about 15 minutes after blending, you can definitely blend one the night before. Just give it a good shake before you start to drink.
Yes! Simply add your fruit and veggies and leafy greens to a mason jar or freezer-safe container and freeze! When you’re ready to make a smoothie, thaw slightly on the counter then dump into your blender along with the liquid of your choice and any superfood boosts you want and blend. This is a great way to make sure your ingredients don’t go bad.
Yes! The key to a meal replacement smoothie is adding in protein and healthy fat. These two components will help you get full and keep you full longer.
Make Ahead Smoothies
Did you know that you can even freeze already blended smoothies? For real! Make sure you use freezer-safe containers and leave space when filling them, as liquid expands when frozen. Put in the fridge the night before you want to drink, carefully defrost in warm water or just toss it into a cooler if you’re taking it with you.
I love smoothie prepping blended smoothies for road trips. They act as ice packs for snacks and are perfectly chilled but defrosted when I’m ready to enjoy them.
Meal Prep Smoothies
Ingredients
- 5 cups spinach
- 2 cups kale
- 3 bananas
- 5 oranges
- 3 mango
- 1 pineapple
- 2 cups strawberries
Instructions
- Decide which recipes you'll make for the week and have the recipe on hand. Feel free to use my free 10-day smoothie challenge recipes. For this sample guide I'm using my original Simple 7 Smoothie Guide.
- 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 gets blended with each smoothie pack (to have when you're ready to blend).
- 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 base 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.
- If hoar frost forms on the fruit and greens, it is still perfectly safe to consume. It can be rinsed off with lukewarm water.
- 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.
SO going to start prepping ahead, so that when I go back to work in Sept. I can still do this.
I am hooked! Loving how I feel.
You’re a rawkstar, Jamie!!
Hi! I am REALLY REALLY new to this…like I haven’t blended my first smoothie yet (I will be today)! These smoothies are for 2 servings. Dumb question, but should we drink the whole thing (both servings) throughout the day? 🙂
Hi D,
WELCOME! We’re so excited to have you blendin’ with us! And not a dumb question at all…it’s really all about what works for you. Personally I love blendin’ the entire recipe, I use the first serving as a breakfast meal replacement https://simplegreensmoothies.com/meal-replacement-smoothie and then I place the second serving in an airtight container, like a mason jar, in the refrigerator to have as a quick healthy snack option later in the day. If I don’t enjoy my second serving, I add a little bit of lemon juice and keep the blended smoothie for up to two days (separation is natural, so just give it a quick shake before enjoying). If I know I won’t have the second serving, I just cut the recipe in half.
You can use your smoothie as a quick snack like I do any time of day, or as a meal replacement for any meal. Just know when enjoying your smoothie at night, it gives you a great energy boost, similar to a cup of coffee!
And if you’re new to green smoothies, check out our favorite recipe for those new to blendin’ leafy greens…Beginner’s Luck!
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/best-green-smoothie
Please reach out with any questions, we’re always here!
Cheers!
Love the idea of prep-ing – why didn’t I think of that. I have recipes,ingredients and the machine, but when it is time to work my plan, I just fall because I don’t have time or desirous to put the plan in action. Thank you from a lazy juicer. Now, I can prepare ahead of time and just put everything in the machine – THANK YOU, THANK YOU. Now I can actively join the 30 day challenge and complete it.
Hi Glenda,
We’re so excited to hear this will help you be successful in our 30-Day Challenge! Thanks for blendin’ with us!
Cheers 🙂
Please help! I am new to green smoothies. I was very adventurous and bought, pre made and froze all of the recipes in the recent email. Not realizing, I placed kale with stems in the blender and not blending them well has left my smoothies gritty/leafy. I continued on with my quest of making smoothies. They are now all made and frozen. This has led to my concern of eating the smoothies rather than drinking them to their full enjoyment. In order to fix this epic mistake, should I let them defrost and blend again or adding something like more liquid then blending is better ? Thanks in advance!
Hi Kristi,
Cheers to being adventurous! We’re so excited to have you blendin’ with us! Re-blendin’ and adding more liquid are both great options to help breakdown those kale stems. Here are a few more tips on how to save a smoothie fail…
I am curious if I can use a juicer? Or can I just use any kind of blender? I can’t really afford a Vitamix right now.
I have a nutri-ninja bullet. It costs much less than a full blender, you could even use a regular blender. The problem with juicers is that you aren’t getting all the vitamins from the skins etc. that your body needs. There is a lot of nutrition left over in that pale you have to dump. I hope this helps! FYI I don’t know where you are located but Walmart just had the ninja blender things for only 40.00 🙂 as of two days ago
Great answer, Lindsay! Thank you so much for your support!
Thanks for sharing, Cassandra!
I blend greens + liquid first anyway and I have a high-powered blender. I find it still gets them a tiny bit smoother AND waiting to add the frozen fruit means the smoothie comes out a bit colder than if I blend it all together.
Hi I’m new to green smoothies but can’t wait to try them! I love the idea of prepping beforehand but was wondering if you have to freeze them? Could they be stored in the fridge instead and if so how long before they should be used (to be blended and already blended ones to be consumed)?
Hi Amanda,
Thanks for reaching out! We’re so excited to have you blendin’ with us! Blended green smoothies will keep in the fridge for up to two days in an airtight container. We suggest adding a small amount of lemon juice to help preserve their green goodness! Separation is natural, so give you smoothie a quick shake before enjoying!
If you’re not planning on freezing your prepped smoothies, we suggest keeping your ingredients separate, it will help them last longer, than mixing the greens + fruits ahead of time.
Cheers 🙂
Hello, great info BTW, thank you! I was wondering what blender you use that fits the mason jars??
Hi Kristie,
We use a 32oz mason jar to store our smoothie ingredients before blendin’, but we pour it’s contents into a blender to mix it all up. We’ve heard from some of our SGS tribe that they can attach their mason jar right on to the blender’s base…we suggest reaching out to the individual blender company to see if their blender is a safe + proper option.
Is the quart size 2 servings or one ?
Thanks,
Susan
Hi Susan,
Thanks for reaching out! Our recipes yield about 4-5 cups (32oz – 40oz), and we recommend one serving to be 2 cups (16oz). We find we’re able to fit a full recipe (about 2 servings) into the quart-sized jars and bags if we pack the greens tightly. If you’re having trouble fitting an entire recipe in the container, feel free to use less fruit or add a fresh banana when you blend it. 🙂
Cheers!
I use a Smart Stick style Blender for my smoothies! I loosely fill a 16 oz cup with greens and add the liquid. Blend it up then add my frozen fruit and protein powder (I use “Unjury” recommended by my Dr. *21g protein per scoop). One more good blend and I’m done! Cleanup is a breeze with a cup of hot soapy water then a clean hot rinse. If I’m on the go then I can toss the cup (but I usually wash them and reuse them). Have a Smooth Day!
You Are Amazing…Remember That!
Hi Dina!
Thanks for reaching out. So happy to hear you found a blender and go-to smoothie combination that works for you! 🙂
Cheers!
My interest in making smoothies ahead of time is due to not having a blender where I want to be consuming them, but do have a freezer. I wonder if the nutrient content is at all comparable when blended before hand and then stored in mason jars and frozen then thawed just before drinking. Any input on this method of premaking green drinks?
Hi Iris!
Thank you so much for reaching out! I have done some research on this and have found that there isn’t that much of a difference, from frozen to fresh. So feel free to do what works best for you! 🙂 Give your green smoothie a nice shake before consuming!
For weight loss I’ve been making smoothies with spinach, green apple, protein powder, juice from one lemon, ground flaxseed, and Gatorade for the liquid base. I pour the blended smoothie into the Gatorade bottles and freeze the bottles overnight. I hit the gym, bringing the frozen bottles. (One bottle of Gatorade results in 2 bottles of smoothie). I am doing intermittent fasting, so I wait until I finish the workout to drink the cold slushy smoothie. It helps me lose weight. It’s like a reward for dragging my lazy behind into the gym. Guess this isn’t good for everybody, but it’s working for me.
Hi SmoothieNewbie,
Thank you so much for sharing! Simple Green Smoothies is all about finding what works for you, + we love hearing how our community incorporates green smoothies into their lifestyle. Rawk on!
Have you tried adding coconut water to your smoothies? It’s like a natural sports drink!
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/dairy-free-smoothies
Cheers 🙂
can you recommend a good protein powder for the weight loss?
When I start with all the ingredients frozen, I have found that I need to add more liquid to blend to a consistency I like. Definitely not a big deal, but just a tip for anyone trying this for the first time!
Great tip, Sarah!
I’m going shopping today and am excited to be starting the cleanse! How do you keep the bananas from browning while freezing? Have you tried coating them with lemon juice?
Hi M,
Coating the bananas slices in lemon juice prior to freezing is a great way to prevent browning!
Whoops! I guess I should’ve read the comment right before mine! Lol
Hi Erin,
🙂
I’m loving your website! I like to prep anything ahead that I can and love your suggestion of mason jars.
I haven’t seen it mentioned anywhere so I thought I’d share a game-changer for preppers.
THE BLADE/COLLAR FOR MOST BLENDERS FITS RIGHT ONTO A STANDARD MASON JAR! You can prep and blend all in one vessel!
Hi Erin,
That’s a great tip! We’re all about making the green smoothie life as easy as possible! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
If you prep all your smoothie ingredients (except for the liquid, which is added just before you blend it the smoothie) in regular mouth Mason jars (and then store the jars in the freezer), you can screw your blender blade onto the top of the jar and blend the smoothie right in the jar…and then drink it out of the jar. (fewer dishes to wash = happier me!)
Hi Kathirynne,
Great tip! Thank you so much for sharing!
Cheers 🙂