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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
Was perfect quick lunch meal replacement, used the spinach, almond milk, banana, almonds, rolled oats, half strawberries half blueberries! Feel satisfied and refreshed
A caveat or a confession, you choose. ONE: I Love CRUNCH. It requires that I chew and, especially if it’s a liquid nutrient, it seems that I am ingesting more nutritious content. TWO: I NEVER follow a recipe or a pattern. I always change something.
So, for today’s smoothie I added 2 big handfuls of spinach, 3 extra helpings of almonds and used steel cut oats instead of rolled. And, voila!!!! A wonderful crunchy, chewable treat with a taste of almond blueberry. Now excuse me while I steal another helping from my afternoon stash. Yum!
This is my favourite go to smoothie to keep me going. I love it , I do sometimes replace the almond butter with peanut butter, just for a change.
I didn’t love this one. I added the homemade protein powder powder and collagen. It tasted too much like just eating almonds, which is weird because it was only a tablespoon’s worth (maybe because I used whole almonds). I can’t explain it, but it was like licking an almond/nut. It wasn’t a complete disaster, but definitely not a favorite.
Having tried sooo many of the Simple Green Smoothies I have to say this will not be my top choice, it was missing a something for me and I did not manage to get the color to be that beautiful purple. Still niirition and refreshing
Wow, I actually enjoyed this smoothie, which is odd because I usually find blueberry smoothies tart, not today. Perhaps it was the combination of ingredients or lack of other berries or that I’m using quality almond milk (Elmhurst is only water & almonds) but today’s smoothie was refreshing, thick like a shake and very tasty. I used the recipe as written but also added a scoop of vanilla egg white protein for an extra boost.
I expected to like it more than I did. The flavor was OK but the texture was a bit congealed. I don’t know if that was the oatmeal or the pistachio nuts that I substituted for the almonds (almonds are high in oxalates.) I also used flax milk instead of almond milk.
My favorite smoothie so far from the winter 10-day challenge! Love the blueberry & almond combo.
Another great one!! Very filling with being too thick.
My favourite recipe so far. However I did swap out the almond butter with hemp seeds.
I see the recipe is different than the one I printed out a few weeks ago. It was spinach and almonds and is now kale with almond butter. I made it from my printed version before I saw this change. Since I can’t eat gluten, I left out the oats. I thought it was quite good.
Day 3 Smoothie
1. Purple is always for me!
2. Loved, Loved Loved it! (First time I had oats in a Smoothie)
3. I did not feel the need to snack. It held me until lunch.
4. I am in it to win it!
Love it !
I love learning new ways to use blueberries and other ingredients! This definitely held me over til lunch! I love all the info breakdowns that come with the recipe links
❤️Thanks!
The blueberries really make this smoothie!
Wow!!! Not too sweet. Very filling. I love the flavour of the almond butter!
I liked this one, but I made my own protein mix with the hemp, chia and flax and it seemed like a little too much with the almonds and oats. It is filling though.
First time using oats in a smoothie..pretty cool!
I had to add 1/2 tsp honey lol I am adjusting but liking everything so far! TY!