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.
- 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.
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 also swap out the almond milk with the plant milk of your choice, coconut milk, cashew milk or oat milk. 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.
- Adding ice cubes to the glass when you pour out the smoothie will cool down the beverage if using all fresh ingredients.
Orange Julius Smoothie FAQs
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.
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
- Mango orange smoothie
- Superfood smoothie
- Ultimate orange smoothie
- Island green smoothie
- Orange cabbage smoothie
- Chia smoothie
- Kale smoothie
- Citrus kiwi smoothie
Don’t forget to leave a comment and review after blending the Orange Julius smoothie below. I’d love to know how yours turned out!
Orange Julius Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup spinach
- ¼ cup almond milk
- 2 oranges
- ½ banana frozen
- 1 serving homemade protein powder optional
Instructions
- Place spinach, oranges and almond milk in blender. Puree until smooth.
- Add banana and blend again.
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.
- Add 1/2 tsp vanilla to make this even more reminiscent of the original Orange Julius.Â
Omg it was Soooooo good and tasted very much like the original. Made it for the fam too!
Delicious! almost like a real orange julius, but maybe next time a little more orange.
This is such a light and refreshing green smoothie to add to your rotation. So Delicious!
Just like the ones we got when we went shopping years ago. A perfect treat for this Florida girl. Managed to blend the orange first to not have any pith chunks this time, so much better!
This one’s okay. Peeled the oranges (3, since I doubled the recipe) but the bitter of the pith came through rather well, not so much the flavor of orange. The banana also came through loud and clear. I’ll try it again with cutting the peels off the oranges to see if it cuts down the bitterness and perhaps use a little less banana. Added 1/4 c chia seeds for protein (again, I doubled the recipe since I was sharing). We’re okay with chia seeds, so I don’t think that was the issue. It has potential! (Plus, we get oranges from far away, so they might not be as sweet as they are in Florida.) >.<
Delicious!!! Favorite one so far! Made one this morning & one late afternoon!
I wish I would have used 2 oranges instead of 1 1/2 because the orange flavor wasn’t very prominent. Maybe my oranges were two small. I will definitely try again. It was creamy and sweet like the Orange Julius’ of my youth. Just needed to have a stronger orange flavor
Orange Julius was always a favorite growing up and I still enjoy that wonderful flavor.
Thanks for the recipe! I thought the taste was okay, but not “Wow! I want to make this again!” It’s a great way to get leafy greens, Vitamin C, and fiber, though. And, it is a nice, more nutritious alternative to sugary morning orange juice.
Very good as I loved the orange Julius. I would add a bit more orange next time.
I only had 1 orange & I used a whole banana. It had more of a banana taste. It was still good. I would like to try it with more orange!
One of my favorites, I usually sneak in an extra orange 🙂 and protein to have as a meal replacement.
Love this combination. Very refreshing.
this smoothie so reminds of growing up and spending time in the mall. Just had to get an orange Julius! Thanks for a trip down memory lane.
pretty good, but I only used part of an orange, so made it smaller-my body doesn’t like massive if citrus boost. Used mixed greens and cashew milk.
I love this recipe and the past 3days I have velt a difference a big one I’m not so tired and I can actually go for a walk and I started back excrising I ant belive in the difference already thanks u soo much
Enjoying the variety of smoothies … definitely gives me ideas to be able to change up my smoothies a bit. Thank you!!!!!
This has been very helpful!!! I have enjoyed this challenge very much!!!!
Orange Julius smoothie: Refreshing but a bit too acidic for me and my son… probably because I can’t do banana. Banana would have cut the acid a bit. I substituted avocado and mango. Fortunately my tongue did not break out this time from the orange… like the previous orange smoothie. Yay!
Ratings:
Daughter 4
Son 4 only due to acidity
Me 3 due to acidity … more mango might have helped?