Sure, I know a spinach smoothie doesn’t sound that appealing, but when made right it can be beyond delicious. With hundreds of 5-star reviews, it’s time for you to see why this is the best green smoothie recipe.
Are you wondering why anyone would be excited to drink something as green as this? I hear ya— I’ve been right where you are. And so have 1 million+ others who’ve blended this smoothie in our free 7-day smoothie challenge.
Drinking this daily smoothie is what helped me get the body and energy to do some incredible things, such as run 47 miles of the Grand Canyon, ride motorcycles through Morocco, publish two best-selling recipe books and create a backyard garden for my kids. This daily habit has kept my kids healthy when we didn’t have health insurance, energized us in between school and sports and nourished us so we don’t need to take vitamins.
When I created this green smoothie recipe…it changed my life in more ways than I ever imagine. It was love at first sip for me, my two kids and over 1 million others who were scared of spinach smoothies.
I’ve published an entire recipe book on Simple Green Smoothies, and then went on The Doctors to blend a few green smoothie recipes live on stage! I was nervous with all the cameras and lights, but I knew I had to share green smoothies with the world! They truly are magical for your health.
Are green smoothie recipes healthy?
What we eat can truly transform our bodies and our lives in powerful ways. Especially with this smoothie recipe as I’ve seen in the lives of so many of my friends, family and community online. Blending spinach into a fruit smoothie is a great way to boost your immune system, as well as naturally energize you.
Most smoothies are made with just fruit and liquid, which is high in sugar and can cause inflammation. A green smoothie, on the other hand, is made with fruit, plant-based liquid and leafy greens.
This recipe is full of iron, potassium and vitamins galore— and tastes like a tropical treat from all the island fruit. Yet the best part is how simple as well as quick it is to make! You only need 4 ingredients and all of them can be found at your local grocery store (they don’t cost a fortune either!). As I say all the time— I’m all for making healthy eating affordable so it’s sustainable.
A green smoothie can taste just as good as a regular smoothie, and also have incredible health benefits.
How to make a spinach smoothie
All you need to make a tasty green smoothie is a blender, fruit and leafy greens. The right ratio of spinach to fruit makes it sweet, as well as helps you reap all the health benefits of a green smoothie. The key is to use recipes that actually taste good and follow my simple tips below.
Ingredients you’ll need:
- fresh spinach
- frozen pineapple
- frozen mango
- fresh banana
- Blend 1 cup of spinach (or another leafy greens of your choice) in a blender. Adding leafy greens to your smoothie boosts the phytonutrients and fiber, which then slows down the absorption of sugars into your body.
- Next, add 1 cup of liquid and blend well (until all leafy chunks are gone).
- Toss in fruit, such as frozen mango, pineapple and bananas in the blender.
- Next, blend again until smooth and creamy.
- Serve smoothie immediately for maximum nourishment.
Can you taste spinach in the smoothie?
You wouldn’t be the first to look at this recipe and say “No way!” Green! Spinach! Yuck! Yet don’t walk away! These bright green smoothie recipes will actually delight your taste buds. You’ll even have an extra pep in your step when you realize how great you feel!
Even kids LOVE this green smoothie recipe! I started blending this smoothie in my daughter Clare’s kindergarten class four years ago. Now every year, I visit her school to blend this recipe with each new class. That’s how delicious this recipe is!
Not sure if your blender can handle the greens? I’ve created The Ultimate Blender Guide, where I reviewed countless blenders to find the best ones for green smoothies. The key is to get rid of leafy chunks, blend quickly and provide tons of value for the price. Hint: not all of them cost $400+. 🙂
Top 5 Smoothie Blending Tips
- Follow the 60/40 formula. When you’re making your first few green smoothies, don’t just throw things in the blender. Chances are, it’ll taste nasty if you wing it right out of the gate. To save you a few smoothie-fails, bust out those cute lil’ measuring cups to learn how to make your own green smoothie.
- Blend in stages to avoid leafy chunks. Chewing your green smoothie is no fun! To get a “smooth” green smoothie experience, blend up your leafy greens and liquid-base first. Then add your remaining fruits and blend again.
- Ditch the ice and freeze some fruits. Want your green smoothie to be extra chilly? Freeze your favorite fruits like ripe bananas, grapes, pineapple or berries. You can also freeze your leafy greens in a freezer-safe bag. Just make sure to add your frozen greens straight to the blender.
- Use raw natural sweeteners. Add naturally sweet fruits to any smoothie that tastes bitter or a bit too “green.” My favorite naturally sweet fruits are bananas, mango, apples, pears or pitted dates.
- Make smoothies ahead for the perfect fast food. Life is crazy busy— especially in the morning. That’s why we think green smoothies are the healthiest fast food for people who are constantly on the go. You can smoothie prep, or even blend the night before and store it in your fridge.
More healthy smoothie recipes
- My son is obsessed with this Mango Orange Smoothie recipe
- Try this tropical Pina Colada Spinach Smoothie to head to the beach asap
- Want to boost your metabolism? Then this is a great fat burning green smoothie recipe
- This kale smoothie will surprise even your taste buds
If you have any questions about the green smoothie world, feel free to join the Smoothie Challenge Support Group.
Best Green Smoothie Recipe
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 smoothie 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
The best green smoothie recipes are full of iron, potassium and vitamins galore AND tastes like a tropical treat from all the island fruit. There’s no need to be scared of a spinach smoothie when it tastes like this— just read the reviews to see what I mean.
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh spinach
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup frozen pineapple
- 1/2 cup frozen mango
- 1 banana
Instructions
- Measure: Tightly pack spinach in a measuring cup.
- Add: Put spinach to blender with water. Blend together until all chunks are gone. (Should resemble green water when blended well).
- Toss: Pineapple, mango and banana to blender. I like to use frozen pineapple and mangos to chill the smoothie down and save time cutting and prepping. It’s a win-win!
- Blend: It all together until smooth and creamy. Depending on your blender, this could take as little as 30 seconds or as long as 2 minutes.
- Pour: Into a glass and serve immediately.
- Store: In the fridge with a lid until ready to drink.
Notes
*Not a fan of bananas? Swap it for 1/4 avocado, additional 1/2 cup mango or 1/2 cup peaches.
- Category: Smoothie
- Method: Blending
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: green smoothie, spinach smoothie recipe, green smoothies
Refreshing, tropical, delicious
★★★★★
Good and healthy start to the new year!
★★★★
Easy, delicious, basic ingredients. A good one to get started with.
★★★★★
Had my first smoothie of the year! Feels so good to get back into this! Hope to stay on track! Very filling!
I enjoyed this smoothie. I added chia seeds and used mango flavored unsweetened coconut water.
★★★★★
One of my favorites
This was my very first SGS & is still my favorite. I add protein, collagen & chia seeds to make it a meal. Always delicious!
This smoothie was easy to make and pretty tasty as well!
★★★★
It is the BEST GREEN SMOOTHIE a great tropical recipe, I added avocado and vanilla protein to mine and made it a meal replacement. So good.
★★★★★
Delicious!! My kids love this one!
★★★★★
Family favorite! Sweet and delicious
★★★★★
This smoothie was a big winner in my house today! So delicious, and boosted with protein smoothie boost to keep me full all morning.
★★★★★
This smoothie is so creamy and delicious!
★★★★★
Beginner’s Luck is my favorite recipe! Love the flavor combinations.
★★★★★
Absolutely delicious! My 16 yr old daughter loved it too!
★★★★★
THE PERFECT GREEN DRINK TO INTRODUCE YOUR TASTEBUDS TO THE JOY OF SMOOTHIES! This is always my go-to smoothie recipe for me and my twin 4 year old daughters. I keep the ingredients stocked in my freezer and always know they’ll blend together to make the perfect green smoothie. So delicious!
★★★★★
When is the best time to drink this
Beginner’s Luck Smoothie is refreshing and easy to whip up. Very smooth. Added a trio of seeds: hemp, chia and flax, plus MCT oil for a satisfying meal replacement.
★★★★★
Lived this Beginner’s Luck smoothie! I couldn’t believe how much the sweet taste of the fruit came through. I really expected it to taste somewhat bitter from the spinach. It was very filling and refreshing! Really loved the tip on blending the spinach with the water first. I have made smoothies with leafy greens before, but never had one as smooth as this one. Blending the greens first really made a big difference!
★★★★★
Considering it’s my first smoothie with greens, it wasn’t pretty but sure was delicious! I made it with Swiss chard instead of spinach because I have a grow wall full of it
★★★★★
I used only 1/2 a banana and power green blend. Delicious!
★★★★★
Tasty! I doubled the recipe to share with my husband. I only had one frozen banana and the bananas I bought yesterday are too green so I subbed 1 of the bananas with an orange. So good!!!
★★★★★
First smoothie of the year…. YUM!
★★★★★
Bright, creamy and refreshing. I love this one. I can see adding a bit of lemon juice and some protein powder to make it a meal.
★★★★★
This is one of my favorite green smoothies!!!
Exceeded my expectations! I used frozen mango & pineapple and that made it nice and frosty!!
★★★★★
My all time fav recipe, and the green smoothie my daughter always request because she knows the ingredients are always on hand! Easy to make, and delicious!
★★★★★
Delish!
★★★★★
Delicious way to start my day & New Year!!!
★★★★★
I was really surprised by how delicious this is! I never made a smoothie with water before. It works!
★★★★★
I love the taste!
I made a double batch for another smoothie tomorrow.
★★★★★
Our favorite! My kids are doing the 10 Day Challenge with me and this is the perfect start. They slurped it up in minutes.
★★★★★
My daughter and I made the Beginner’s Luck this morning and enjoyed it! We are excited to start a healthier lifestyle incorporating raw fruits and veggies more.
I enjoyed this smoothie. Simple in preparation and in flavor. The only change I made was to add 1 Tablespoon of chia seeds which do not change the flavor in any way, just the protein and fiber content.
★★★★★
This is a great smoothie to start off with, and I love the name! When I made it this morning, it wasn’t as good as when I have made it in the past, I think perhaps my mango and pineapple weren’t as sweet as they have been (both frozen, different brand). Next time I’ll let them defrost a little before blending and maybe add some microplaned fresh ginger. The color was a nice, bright green and made me feel happy!
★★★★
This is the most delicious smoothie! It is definitely my favorite! I replaced the spinach with kale and it was still refreshing to drink.
Super tasty! Love it!
★★★★★
So delicious my 2 year old grandson almost drank it all. Tomorrow I’ll do 1.5 of all ingredients.
★★★★★
Tastes great…went with ll frozen fruits . Really refreshing and filling. Great start to 10 day challenge and a New Year.
★★★★★
Love this smoothie – made this one with extra spinach and added meal replacements to it too!!!
★★★★★
Totally recommend this green smoothie recipe! I used a whole bag (8 oz) of spinach instead of just one cup, and it still has great flavor!
★★★★★
This was delicious! The banana makes it a little sweeter which I love and the flavors worked together perfectly. If I wanted to, could I do 2 cups spinach instead next time?
For sure! You can also use less fruit if you want. This is just our baseline to get people started, yet you can tweak the heck out of this recipe!
Tastes great…went with ll frozen fruits and used half a banana. Really refreshing and filling. Great start to 10 day challenge.
★★★★★
Use fresh fruit not frozen with coconut water…
Can i just use frozen mangoes without adding the other fruits? And soymilk instead of water? Thanks!
Of course! That sounds really good 🙂
Since I’m on the keto diet, 34 grams of sugar is totally unacceptable for me.
Donna— you can double up on the spinach and cut down on the fruit here. I hope you try it so you can give your body tons of vitamins and minerals that it needs to thrive. Also, eating a plant-based diet can immensely help with long term weight loss, energy and longevity— and allow you to enjoy a fruit smoothie. Check out my plant-based meal planner if you’re at all interested: https://simplegreensmoothies.com/meal-planner
Thank you for suggestion replacing. Banana with avacado. I don’t like bananas so wasn’t able to make many smoothies they all have the ingredient. Will try it.
Avocado to the rescue! Hope you enjoy it— and you can also swap with frozen peaches. They seem to help make the smoothie creamy and not alter the taste too much. 🙂
So good! You can’t taste the spinach at all.
★★★★★
I know!!! Isn’t that awesome?! I love drinking my greens. 🙂
Can I use frozen spinach instead?
Hey Erin! You can def use frozen spinach, just check the label to make sure it contains just spinach and no salt, preservatives, or other yucky additives. 🙂
Delicious! (Did it with 1/2 avocado instead of the banana) So good that my 13-year old son made one for himself and now my picky eater has had all kinds of good greenage today!
★★★★★
That’s awesome, Holly! 🙂
Is it healthy to use OJ instead of water to add some Vitamin D and up the Vitamin C?