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I believe that any time is a great time for a smoothie, especially when you’re trying to turn it into a meal replacement smoothie. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, snack, post workout fuel, late night munchies, etc— you name it!
Our bodies have some vicious cravings (and also need) vitamins and minerals all day long. Leafy greens and fresh fruit in a blended smoothie always makes for a great option.
I use the meal replacement smoothie recipe below to power my day with whole foods and plant protein, and now you can, too!
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Yet at certain times of day, our body needs different things to thrive. Let’s take actual meals, like breakfast, lunch and dinner. These meals are super important— and can be easily swapped for a green smoothie. You just have to know the right way to do it, which we talk about below.
Health Benefits of a Meal Replacement Smoothies
A smoothie can be a meal replacement if using the correct ingredients. I drink meal replacement smoothies for breakfast or lunch most days. Sometimes it’s because I’m in a hurry and just want to down something asap. Other times it’s because I’m trying to slim down (usually after vacation). Swapping a meal with a smoothie can benefit you in these ways:
- You’ll be more energized thanks to all the fresh, raw ingredients
- They’re super quick to make and drink
- You’re hydrating your body
- Less bloating than usual when eating a meal
- It’ll help with weight loss
How to Turn a Smoothie into a Meal
The key to replacing meals with smoothies is including healthy fats AND proteins. Healthy fats and proteins are the way to go if you want to power up with a green smoothie meal replacement. This combo will keep you feeling full and give you the energy you need to cruise right through ’til your next snack or meal. Below are our favorite options for smoothie meal replacement boosters:
Pick a Plant-Based Protein
Plant-based proteins keep your body full and give you tons of energy. They also help repair your muscles, which is perfect for that post-workout buzz. Oh, kale to the yeah!
- Hemp hearts
- Chia seeds
- Homemade protein powder
- Rolled oats
- Tofu
Pick a Healthy Fat
Healthy fats protect your heart, keep your energy levels up, boost metabolism, and lower bad cholesterol levels. So please don’t skip the fats. They’re actually really, really good for you! And the ingredients below make your green smoothies extra creamy.
- Avocado
- Coconut oil or MCT oil
- Almond butter or other homemade nut butter
- Chia seeds (yep, here they are again! These babies are loaded with healthy fats and protein, making them a great everyday booster)
Examples of Meal Replacement Add-Ins
Smoothies can be the perfect fast food by adding healthy fats and plant-based protein. Use one of these meal replacement booster combos in your next green smoothie. The boosts are measured to work with all 250+ of our smoothie recipes.
- 2 tbs chia seeds + 2oz silken tofu
- 2 tbs hemp hearts + ¼ avocado
- 2 tbs plant-based protein powder + 1 tbs coconut oil
- 1 tbs almond butter + 2 tbs rolled oats
- 2 tbs chia seeds + 1 tbs coconut oil
Meal Replacement Smoothie FAQs
Any time is the right time for a smoothie! Personally, we love drinking ours in the morning for a great start to the day. But besides drinking a smoothie as breakfast, lots of rawkstars drink their smoothie for lunch or dinner, as an afternoon snack, or as a healthy dessert.
In case you’re planning on having your smoothie in the evening–most of our smoothies provide a great energy boost similar to a cup of coffee. So if you’re looking for a pre-bedtime green smoothie recipe, we’ve got you covered: Sleep Well Smoothie.
The MOST important thing when blending any meal replacement smoothie recipe is to include healthy fats AND proteins. This combo will keep you feeling full and give you the energy you need to cruise right through ’til your next meal or snack.
If you swap out a meal (or two) each day with a smoothie, there’s a good chance you’ll lose weight and also have more energy. This is due to the increased nutrition and decrease in overall calories. What’s even better than a smoothie is a green smoothie. When you add in leafy greens you’re adding fiber and phytonutrients… yet very few calories. My smoothies recipes are made with nutrient dense foods that curb cravings and keep you full longer.
I have a Plant-Based Cleanse that includes two smoothies a day, plus snacks and meals to help you lose weight, yet more importantly understand how to nourish your body so the weight falls off without ever feeling hungry.
15 More Meal Replacement Smoothie Recipes
Smoothies for Breakfast
- Vegan Smoothie Bowl
- Cinnamon Date Smoothie
- Chocolate Weight Loss Smoothie
- Vanilla Protein Shake
- Creamy Banana Smoothie
Smoothies for Lunch
Smoothies for Dinner
- Berry Protein Smoothie
- Blackberry Smoothie
- PCOS Pumpkin Smoothie
- Strawberry Smoothie
- Avocado Banana Smoothie
Don’t forget to rate + review this recipe once you’ve made it. I want to know how yours turned out as well as if it filled you up!
Meal Replacement Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup kale or spinach
- 1 cup almond milk unsweetened
- 1 cup blueberries frozen
- 1 banana
- 1 tbsp almond butter or raw almonds
- 2 tbsp rolled oats
- 1 serving homemade protein powder optional
Instructions
- Blend kale and almond milk until smooth in a high speed blender.
- Add remaining ingredients, and blend until smooth.
Equipment
Video
Notes
- Use a frozen fruit to make smoothie cold
- Swap out almond milk for any non-dairy milk you prefer
- Homemade protein powder is what I use for my meal replacement smoothies
Love it. The almonds add a little nutty flavor, which is something different and tasty!
Another winner! Love the purple color and the hint of almond butter taste.
Mine came out a very interesting black! looked nothing like the photoI closed my eyes to taste and found it doesn’t taste the way it looks
Very tasty. Not too sweet.
Menh, not much flavor and banana in a smoothie for the third day in a row? Not my favorite.
Glad you gave it a blend Anne! Def try adding more berries next time if that helps. Experimenting with a recipe to make it work for you is def allowed here at Simple Green Smoothies! 🙂
Simply delicious!!!
Love the color! This was very good, I used raw almonds instead of almond butter and added a scoop of grass-Des Collagen Peptides.
I’ve never been a fan of kale but this recipe is a combo I love! You wouldn’t know the kale is there and you get so many healthy benefits from it along with all the other nutritious ingredients in this one. And it keeps me full for hours. The perfect breakfast or lunch for me ❤️
Third day in and so far my least favorite… Almond milk and oat flavor seemed to be really strong and overall flavor a little flat. Also noticed that the recipe in the challenge email is different from what’s shown here in the blog – spinach vs kale, almonds vs almond butter, 1/2 banana vs 1 banana… maybe the almond butter and extra banana would have helped? Maybe next time I’ll sub out the almond milk and add some cinnamon as mentioned in a previous review.
You’re ideas are great ones S.T.! And adding a bit more banana is a great way to make a smoothie smoother + sweeter.
This is an excellent meal replacement! Blueberries are low glycemic and packed with antioxidants. I altered it by using half a banana instead of a whole banana and added a cup of spinach in addition to the cup of kale. I love cinnamon, so I added a teaspoon of cinnamon. I feel full and have not “crashed” after drinking it like I do with more sugary smoothies. If your taste buds haven’t adjusted yet to less sugar and more greens, stick with the original recipe. But if you’re craving something that tastes less sugary, you might like the adjustments I made.
My wife is having oral surgery. This will be a big help in preparing her liquefied meals. Thank you.
Honestly my first smoothie in a while and my first meal replacement smoothie, it was so much better than I expected! I was a little bit worried about the spinach (as I said I don’t usually drink smoothies and never with spinach) but you don’t taste it at all! And is nice I’m getting some veggies cause I struggle with eating them. I used chocolate almond milk (didn’t have any other) and replaced the almond butter for 2 tbsp chia seeds and the outcome was great. Delicious and fast! Serving was a little less than 500 ml.
So awesome Nani! Way to get back on the smoothie train! We always say that chocolate almond milk is better than no almond milk at all. Starting with what you have and taking small steps toward where you want to be is the best way to build healthy habits. Glad you gave this a blend! 🙂
One of my favorite smoothies!
Ours too, Kelly! Glad you love it.
Hello! I am looking to try and lose some weight (those last few pounds from having babies will not come off and I would like to fit in my clothes a bit better!). A lot of your recipes, though, all for almond butter and almond milk, which is a severe allergy for myself as well as my kiddos. I was wondering what I could substitute it for? We can’t do peanuts either or any tree nuts but these sound super delicious and I would love to try them!
Hi Kathryn! You’re def not alone when it comes to avoiding nuts. We have lots of rawkstars in our community that do the same. Any of our tropical-leaning recipes are great with plain water, coconut water or coconut milk. For other types of smoothies (like those with berries, or savory flavors etc.) you can swap in other liquids like plain water, oat milk or soy milk. Plus, depending on the recipe, you can use fruit juices as well. Just be sure to look at the ingredients to ensure it’s juice only (without added fillers or sweeteners) and know that it can up the sugar content for the recipe overall. Happy blending!!
Hi Jen – I’ve been using your recipes for 5 months now and have lost 35 lbs! But I’m wondering, in this post, can I mix and match the meal replacement combinations you recommend? https://simplegreensmoothies.com/meal-replacement-smoothie
Also, I’ve read some bad things about coconut oil. What are your thoughts please?
Thank you!
Polly
Holy spinach, Polly! That’s so awesome!!! Congrats on you’re success! To answer your questions… You can totally mix and match the clean protein and healthy fat options listed in this post. Blending with variety keeps those taste buds interested for sure. 🙂 With regard to coconut oil, there are a lot of opinions out there. We feel that it’s helpful to us and talk more in detail about that in our Coconut Oil Benefits post. If you have further concerns, don’t hesitate to check with your healthcare provider to see what’s best for your body. xoxo
Loved it!!!
Yay!! So glad, Alicia!
I needed something to keep me going for the day where I was hungry but didn’t actually have an appetite for food. I tweaked the recipe only by using unsweetened oat milk along with pea protein & hemp protein. It’s delicious! Filled me up and I don’t feel gross. At least I know my body got some nutrients today!
Using unsweetened plant milk is a total rawkstar move, Holly. 🙂 So glad this worked out well for you and that you’re feeding your body good things this way!