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Coconut oil has some amazing health benefits such as increasing metabolism and endurance— which is great if you need clean fuel while on the go. Coconut oil in smoothies is a quick + easy way to give your body these incredible benefits, and it also helps your body process the other whole food ingredients in smoothies as well.
Once I started adding coconut oil to my smoothies… I never turned back.
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Healthy Benefits of Coconut oil
Adding a tablespoon of coconut oil to your smoothie can help curb your appetite. I use coconut oil smoothies in my 21-day cleanse and the results are incredible. I love coconut oil: not only does it help clear up my skin, help keep me regular, plus keep my hair shiny – it also balances out the carbs in smoothies, and helps the body absorb the protein. Plus, it helps all those precious vitamins and minerals from the plants absorb into your body.
Non-food uses for coconut oil
I use coconut oil for much more than just smoothies. It’s the main ingredient in my homemade deodorant and toothpaste recipes, a great + simple furniture polish, anti-chaffing ointment before a long run, as well as a great eye make-up remover. Seriously, coconut oil works on everything…
Did you know that you can even make your own coconut oil? Just follow this fun recipe by BlackFoodie.Co to learn how. If you’d rather go the store-bought route, don’t let the price tag on those fancy little boutique jars fool you.
I get mine from Costco in a giant tub for less than $20. The same coconut oil in smoothies can be used all over your home as a natural solution.
Boosting Smoothies with Superfoods
Coconut oil belongs to the superfood family, because of its health benefits in cooking, baking, and in smoothies. This is one of the healthy fats actually helps your body process the carbs from that smoothie you just drank, for longer lasting energy, without the sugar crash.
I love boosting smoothies with superfoods, especially those high in healthy fat and/or plant based protein. Chia seeds, hemp hearts, flaxseed, avocados, and almonds are all easy boosters with incredible health benefits.
Plant powered protein
Because plant powered energy is so important to me, I created my own homemade protein powder, the cleanest + best complete plant protein that can be added to smoothies. This super charged superfood blend gives any smoothie an extra 10 grams of protein and 4 grams of healthy fat.
Coconut in Smoothies
Smoothies benefit from coconut in a variety of ways:
- Coconut water is nature’s gatorade, and a great smoothie liquid base. Blend your next pre workout smoothie with coconut water to give you a great electrolyte boost.
- Fresh (or frozen) coconut flesh is a delicious smoothie ingredient, while dried coconut flakes can be added as a pretty topping for serving. Add some coconut flakes to your next smoothie bowl too!
- Coconut milk is also a delicious smoothie liquid base, with a completely different flavor profile, as well as healthy fat benefits too.
- Coconut oil in smoothies is obviously a fav ingredient as well. If you don’t like the taste of coconut oil, yet still want its benefits, then try adding MCT oil like I do in my healthy fats smoothie. Just remember, a little goes a long way!
With the 4 different ways coconut can be added to smoothies, it’s not a shocker that we’re a little crazy for coconuts here at Simple Green Smoothies. If you’re new to green smoothies and want to make the creamiest, most delicious smoothies at home, learn how to make a smoothie with my easy guide.
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More Tropical Smoothie Recipes
Looking for a refreshing drink to start your day? Check out more of my tropical smoothies:
If you make this coconut oil smoothie, 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.
Coconut Oil Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup kale fresh
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup pineapple frozen
- ½ banana
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, unrefined
- 1 serving homemade protein powder optional
Instructions
- Blend kale, water and coconut oil until smooth.
- Next add the remaining fruits and blend again.
Helpful Tools
Notes
- Use one frozen fruit to make smoothie cold.
- Can use a refined MCT coconut oil that will blend easier too.
- Swap 1/2 banana with 1/4 avocado to lower the natural sugar in this smoothie.
- Using one of my recommended blenders for smoothies will give you the creamiest smoothies in the shortest time.
- Save time by prepping and freezing ingredients in advance with my frozen meal prep smoothie packs guide.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review for a chance to win signed copies of my cookbooks!Common Questions
No, not when used correctly. One tablespoon blends smoothly into the fruit and greens, adding richness without an oily texture. When paired with pineapple and banana, the flavor stays light and tropical.
You can use solid coconut oil straight from the jar. Blending it with the liquid and greens first helps it emulsify evenly, especially if your blender is high powered.
Yes. Coconut oil helps slow digestion and balance the natural sugars from fruit, which can prevent energy crashes. You can also swap part of the banana for avocado to lower sugar even more.
Yes. MCT oil blends easily and offers similar energy benefits, especially for workouts. Start with a small amount since MCT oil is more concentrated than coconut oil.
I loved adding coconut oil to my smoothie! So good!
How do I use Costcos organic coconut oil in a smoothie. I heated it up a bit & mixed it with water ,& some juices. But it clumped up in my bottle. What did I do wrong??
Hi Joe – I hear you. Coconut oil starts to firm back up when it’s in the super cold smoothie. Are you using frozen fruits or adding ice? I would recommend drinking it quickly and/or using room temperature or refrigerated fruits rather than frozen fruits. Good idea to melt it first! 🙂
Any tips on blending the coconut oil?
Coconut oil seems to blend better if it’s not been refrigerated. Storing your coconut oil in your pantry will help keep it at a better temp for blending or even baking so that it doesn’t clump up.
Smoothies to lose weight
That would explain how I could sleep in the bed next to my fiancé who had COVID and work as a nurse exposed daily and never test positive. On the weekend I always added coconut oil to my coffee twice a day! Who knew! Now it’s going in my smoothie
What a testament to the powers of coconut oil Suzette! Stay healthy and thanks for caring so well for others. We’re grateful for you!
The kale was a bit strong to me— so I’d swap with spinach next time. Yet overall I did enjoy the smoothie and appreciate getting in more healthy fats to help with my skin. Can i swap with mct oil in this or would it mess it up?
You can swap the coconut oil for 1 tsp of mct oil since it’s more concentrated. If you’re not used to mct oil you might start even smaller since it can irritate your digestive system if you use too much.
Can the pineapple be substituted for something else
For sure Gina! I’d suggest mango or frozen peaches… with a squeeze of lemon to still add some sweetness and cut back the kale taste. Citrus helps the kale flavors not be so strong, yet you can def modify like I mentioned above. Cheers girl!
Super good, this will definitely be one of my go-to’s!
I made a few alternations:
> 1/2 water & 1/2 oat milk (I wanted to see if I could make it creamier, either way I’m sure it’s fine)
> I also added juice from half of a lime and 1/4th tsp of vanilla extract (I got this trick from another smoothie recipe, I had my boyfriend try it with this addition and without, and he really enjoyed the lime and vanilla, it helps bring out the coconut-pineapple flavor!)
> 1 tsp of ground flax seed and 1 tsp of ground chia seed (for the added nutrition)
Thank you for this recipe!
Those sound like great tweaks, LeAnn! I bet it tastes awesome. Thanks for the tips! 🙂