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I’m trading in the processed sugar and dairy in the traditional Orange Julius for a smoothie version sweetened with fruit. It’s honestly still a super sweet treat, yet my healthy Orange Julius smoothie fuels my body the right way.
Raise your hand if you remember walking by the shopping mall food court and seeing people lined up at Orange Julius? And who remembers recreating the creamy orange smoothie in 7th grade Home Ec?
Table of Contents
How to Make a Healthy Orange Julius
I can’t wait for you to try this sweet treat! It definitely hits the spot for my sweet tooth and has no weird ingredients.
- Blend spinach, oranges and almond milk until smooth (I’m talking no leafy chunks floating around).
- Add the banana and blend again until smooth. It helps to use frozen banana to get a chilled smoothie. Here’s how you can freeze bananas easily.
- Add in 1/2 tsp of vanilla to make this taste even more like a traditional Orange Julius.
My healthy smoothie version is loaded with goodness and doesn’t mess around with the sweet factor either. No fake sweeteners are needed! Just make sure you use a ripe banana.
We all know oranges = vitamin C (80% of the recommended daily intake), but did you know that oranges are also full of fiber? Your digestive system will thank you for eating more oranges.
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Tips for a Great Smoothie
If the sugar is a little much for you (even though it’s 100% natural!), swap half of the banana for a quarter of an avocado. You’ll still get the dream cream texture, but not as much sugar in this healthy Orange Julius smoothie.
- You can choose from these almond milk brands, make almond milk, or swap with any non-dairy milk of your choice. You can also choose from these coconut milk brands, or oat milk brands. There are so many great options. Whichever milk you use, make sure it is unsweetened.
- When blending this orange smoothie, blend it twice to help your blender chop up the spinach as much as possible. If you don’t have a high-speed blender getting one of these blenders for smoothies is a game changer.
- Adding ice cubes to the glass when you pour out the smoothie will cool down the beverage if using all fresh ingredients. You can also pre-prep your smoothies in my frozen meal prep smoothie packs to save time.
- For more awesome tips, check out my guide on how to make a smoothie.
When is the perfect time to drink a smoothie?
- For breakfast or even on the go with a Mason jar, cute lid and straw.
- As a nutrition-packed snack that helps you step away from the vending machine!
- Before or after a workout to add that protein after and MCT oil before to fuel your body during your workout.
Anytime you need a refreshing, fruity drink loaded with fiber, vitamins and minerals, consider blending up a smoothie. It’s the healthiest fast food out there and can provide energy, fuel and promote health. Some smoothies like the Orange Julius smoothie recipe contain more natural sugar. Boost these smoothies with a plant-based protein powder to help your body process the sugar.
More Orange Smoothie Recipes
If you love green smoothies like I do, here are some more recipes with juicy, sweet orange flavor you’ll want on repeat:
If you make this orange julius smooothie, I’d love to hear how it turned out in the comment box below. Your feedback helps me and all the readers in this community. And if you’re interested in more plant-based recipes (and exclusive content), sign up for my weekly recipe newsletter.
Orange Julius Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup spinach
- ¼ cup almond milk
- 2 oranges
- ½ banana frozen
Instructions
- Place spinach, oranges and almond milk in blender. Puree until smooth.
- Add banana and blend again.
Helpful Tools
Notes
- Use at least one frozen fruit to make the smoothie cold or serve over ice.
- Another non-dairy milk can be substituted for the almond milk, such as hemp, cashew or coconut milk.
- Swap 1/2 banana with 1/4 an avocado to lower the natural sugar. Here’s how to cut avocado if you don’t know how.
- Add 1/2 tsp vanilla to make this even more reminiscent of the original Orange Julius.
- Swap spinach for any leafy green vegetables of your choice.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review for a chance to win signed copies of my cookbooks!Common Questions
The original Orange Julius consists of orange juice concentrate, milk, vanilla, sugar and ice. While it is sweeter than my version, I bet mine still tastes deliciously orange-y! My smoothie contains spinach, oranges, almond milk and banana.
It depends! Spinach is typically mild, and the orange and banana in this Orange Julius smoothie are definitely the dominant flavors. You might still get a slightly earthy taste if you’ve got a sensitive palate.
They can be! Make sure yours are loaded with only whole food ingredients (no added sweeteners). Use unsweetened, plant-based milk or water for the base. Boost your smoothies with protein and healthy fats to help your body break down the natural sugars.
New favorite green drink!
I’ve never had an Orange Julius so can’t compare it to the smoothies namesake. But it was very refreshing. I did add the ice cubes to make it colder.
Fun to have a healthy version of a childhood memory
Maybe my oranges weren’t sweet enough, but it was still good.
This was a refreshing bolt of goodness. Its not my favorite, but was still good bananas and oranges always were a favorite of mine. Even as a child I would pour orange juice in. a bowl and cut up bananas and let them soak while. I got ready for school, and then gulp them down because it tased so good. We didn’t have electric blenders in those days. They may have had them but they were for the elite I am guessing. I could remember my mother saying how could you eat that, it was great. I put spinach in it. this time, but not back in the day.
This was good but not my favorite. Actually I think its because of The oranges. Lately a lot of produce I’ve bought has not been great. Watermelons are not quite ripe even though they look and sound it. Bananas are too green, (at least I can ripen them at home) etc. My oranges were not that great.
I enjoyed this one too!
Yum! Thanks!
Very delicious and refreshing… I used orange juice instead of oranges and it was perfect!!!
I thought this was yummy but it wasn’t very orangy next time might add more oranges to over power the banana. Also I doubled the recipe and it made about the amount I normally drink just for myself. My boys were not fans of those one.
Very creamy and refreshing
Loved this one!! Always have these ingredients on hand. So delicious!
Love this smoothie. Very refreshing.
Used Kale instead of spinach, OJ 100% instead of oranges, oat milk instead of almond milk. It was really good! I think we all liked it.
Someone ate my oranges and banana…. so…
I’m sure it would have been yummy!!
This is a tasty and easy to make smoothie. I used 3/4 cup of oat milk, 1 orange, and 1/4 of a banana in addition to the cup of spinach. The banana flavor was more subtle this way, but I couldn’t detect that much of an orange flavor. This will be in my smoothie rotation.
I love the tang of citrus in a smoothie. The banana flavor does overpower the orange a bit, but it’s a delicious combination. I used 1 T ground flax seed and 1 T raw hemp seed for some protein instead of protein powder.
Yummy. I replaced one orange with a kiwi and used 1/2 avocado as well as 1/2 banana. Too bland, so I added 1/2 c frozen green grapes.
So good, added chia seed and frozen spinach.
Another great smoothie! I expected to taste more orange, but instead I tasted banana and greens.
I loved Orange Julius at the mall when I was growing up and this smoothie made me happy
Another favourite I made this one for lunch and needed nothing more