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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
My absolute favorite so far for the Winter 2022 Smoothie Challenge! I am committed to following the daily smoothie this year to kickstart better habits this year!
Perfect balance of sweet and satisfying!
Very filling but not heavy so great for a meal before you are going to a fitness class, you won’t have a hungry tummy
Sorry forgot to give it a ⭐️ rating
Great balance of flavors! And with an early morning this kept me satisfied up until lunch (that never happens) I appreciate not only the delicious and healthy start to my day, but that kept me from snacking through the morning Definitely a winner!!
Yummy really good!
I usually prefer the smoothies with pineapple or citus, but I really enjoyed this smoothie. The almond and the oats really elevated the flavor and made it rich and creamy. I will definitely make again.
Very good but the rolled oats took getting use to relative to texture
Delish! I used frozen mixed berries in place of just blueberries and spinach instead of kale. Very good!
I haven’t tried a meal replacement before. This is fun to try something new!
Okay smoothie. Next time need to use fresh blueberries or double it. Could not taste the berries at all, just the kale.
I love that this is a meal replacement smoothie. I’m just not fond of the nutty taste and I think the rolled oats gives it a slight grainy texture. Still drinkable though without having to force it down.
Delicious! It blended so creamy. I used slivered almonds in place of almond butter and spinach instead of kale.
This smoothie was okay, but as with all of the others, I had to add more liquid to blend it.
Oats soaked up all the milk leaving the smoothie more like a cake. Other than that, the smoothie was good.
Yummy smoothie for sure!
I added flaxseed. This smoothie will be in my top 5!
Challenge Day 3 Kale with blueberries and rolled oats smoothie tastes very good, but mostly I taste the banana. Which is okay because I love bananas.
This one was okay. I’m not sure I cared for the consistency. Maybe it was the oats. I did add a scoop of protein powder & some hemp seeds. Used fresh blueberries & frozen banana along with a tablespoon of almond butter. I’m sure it will fill me up. It just seems so thick!
There are differences between the challenge recipe and the one on this page. I mostly wonder about the difference between whole almonds and almond butter, does it really matter? We never have almond butter anyway…
A surprising smoothie. It may prompt me to add more oatmeal into my regular daily smoothies.
I really enjoyed this quick to make smoothie!!! It was very filling and almost tasted like a blueberry pancake!!! It kept me full til lunch!
I was worried about all the blueberries in this one, as well as the oatmeal. But I was pleasantly surprised.
Theses shakes are good pre-workout, which is what I’ve been using them for.