The Perfect Green Smoothie
This perfect green smoothie is deliciously cold, creamy and refreshing! You only need a handful of wholesome ingredients like leafy greens and fresh fruit, and 5 minutes to blend a delicious, nutritious, incredibly satisfying breakfast or snack!
Start your morning off with this bright, nutrient-rich green smoothie! This is my go-to smoothie recipe when I’m looking to load up on plenty of fruits and vegetables in one meal. Think of this as the foundation recipe that you can easily adapt to make your own. Use your favorite fruits, greens and add-ins, and it totally tastes like dessert. It’s thick and frosty, perfectly sweet and loaded with fresh produce. There’s not much better than sipping on an ultra-thick, cold, creamy drink on a hot summer morning!
Love this smoothie! The pineapple gave it such a delicious tropical flavor!
— Jessie
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Quick & easy to make: Grab your blender and some simple ingredients and you can have this shake whipped up in 5 minutes.
- Good for you: It’s filled with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that fuel you for hours!
- Perfect for busy mornings: Dump everything in a blender, blend and you have a great on-the-go breakfast.
- So delicious: The consistency is luscious, thick, and creamy and with the sweetness from the banana, it tastes so flavorful.
Ingredients needed
The ingredients needed for this green smoothie recipe are quite flexible! Feel free to customize it with what you’re craving and happen to have available. This is my favorite combination of fruits and veggies for a tropical flavor that is SO delicious.
- Banana: Use a very ripe frozen banana to add natural sweetness and make this green smoothie super thick and creamy.
- Frozen fruit: Any frozen fruit works great! For this recipe, I typically like the tropical flavor of either pineapple or mango, but even berries would be delicious.
- Spinach: One of my favorite ingredients to add to any smoothie because you can’t taste it, yet it’s high in fiber, as well as vitamins A, C, and K.
- Milk: Use any milk you prefer as the liquid base, but to keep this vegan and dairy-free, use non-dairy milk, like almond milk, cashew milk or coconut milk. You could also swap with juice!
- Sweetener: Feel free to add more sweetness by blending in a bit of honey, maple syrup, agave, stevia or another preferred sweetener.
How to make this recipe
Here are the steps for making the best green smoothie! Follow the order for adding the ingredients for best results. Here’s how:
- Add the liquid: In a large high-powered blender, add in the liquid ingredients first. This helps to keep the greens, fruit and any other ingredients from getting stuck under the blades. Also, the swirling of the liquid will pull everything into the blades for a smoother blend.
- Greens & fruit: Add the greens next, then the fruit. The frozen fruit added on top of the greens will push them down closer to the blades and prevent them from sticking to the sides. (The photos do not show ingredients added in the best order.)
- Blend: Start blending on low speed and gradually increase to high. It may be necessary to blend on high for up to about 1 minute or slightly longer to fully blend and combine all ingredients. If you like a thinner smoothie, you can add a bit more milk, just a little at a time.
- Enjoy: Pour the smoothie into one large cup and enjoy!
Helpful tips
Here are some tips for the perfect green smoothie that will have the texture and taste that you like best!
- Frozen fruit: For a thick, frosty consistency, be sure to use frozen fruit. You can even use frozen greens! Buy extra ripe bananas, peel and chop for easier blending, then store in the freezer in a large ziplock bag.
- Ice cubes: While you can use ice cubes to add thickness, it will water down the flavor some. We recommend using all frozen fruit instead.
- Measuring greens: When adding your greens, a handful is about 1 cup and if you’re using spinach you can pile it on because the flavor is so mild.
- Blending tip: Start the blender on low speed, then gradually increase to high speed to properly blend all ingredients. End with the blender on low speed.
- Make it sweeter: The banana will naturally sweeten the mixture, but if you’d like it sweeter, add a packet of stevia, 1/2 tablespoon of honey, pure maple syrup or 1 to 2 Medjool dates.
Frequently asked questions
Yes! You can vary your ingredients, so you’re getting a wide variety of fruits and vegetables in your diet. Green smoothies are also packed with antioxidants and immune-boosting nutrients.
Our go-to green vegetables to add to shakes in terms of taste and nutritional value include spinach, kale, romaine lettuce, zucchini, cucumber and avocado (technically a fruit but more commonly used as a vegetable).
Green smoothies are nutrient-rich, and depending on the ingredients will make you feel full longer. Monitor the mix-ins and aim for ingredients that are low in calories and high in fiber and protein while still adding in some healthy fats.
Variations
There are so many different ways to change the flavor of your green smoothie and add extra nutrients by using a variety of add-ins. Here are some options:
- Protein: For a boost of protein and a creamy texture, add in about 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt, plain or flavored. Just be sure it doesn’t have too much sugar! Or add 1 scoop of your favorite protein powder.
- Greens: Spinach is your best option if you’re new to green smoothies, however if you’re ready to experiment, try kale, collard greens, Swiss chard, romaine or green leafy herbs like cilantro, parsley and fresh mint. You can even use mostly spinach with just a small amount of kale.
- Fruit: The options are endless! If you’re not a fan of bananas, apples are a great alternative for a naturally sweet taste. Some of my other favorite fruit options are strawberries, blueberries, kiwi and peaches. I also typically add 1-2 stalks of celery and about 1/4 of a cucumber to up my green intake.
- Healthy fats: For even more staying powder, consider mixing in 1/2 tbsp to 1 tbsp of chia seeds, ground flaxseed, hemp seeds, peanut butter or almond butter. You could even add in 1/4 of an avocado!
- Other add-ins: Try blending in some celery (about 1 stalk), cucumber (about 1/4) or frozen cauliflower (up to 1 cup) for extra nutrients! You won’t be able to taste the cauliflower at all, and the celery and cucumber will add a refreshing flavor.
More healthy breakfast recipes
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The Perfect Green Smoothie
Ingredients
- ½-¾ cup almond milk or coconut milk
- 2-3 cups baby spinach leaves
- 1 frozen ripe banana
- 1 cup frozen pineapple chunks or mango chunks
- Optional: stevia, honey, agave or other preferred sweetener, as needed for extra sweetness
Instructions
- In a large, high-powered blender, add the ingredients in the order listed.
- Start blending on low speed and increase to high.
- Blend on high speed for 50-60 seconds until mixture is smooth.
- If necessary, add in more milk to thin the smoothie. I like to use just 1/2 cup to start, then add more to get the consistency right, if needed.
- Pour into a large glass and enjoy!
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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This was such a welcomed change to my usual berry/spinach smoothie! I just happened to have everything on hand and I am so glad I switched things up!
Such a quick, delish, refreshing smoothie!
So delicious! I added some avocado for extra creaminess.
You definitely should give them a try!
Love this to get in extra greens and you can’t even taste them!
Made the smoothie as written and OMG this is literally the BEST green smoothie I’ve ever had!
I’m making this on repeat! It’s so good!
Love this smoothie! The pineapple gave it such a delicious tropical flavor!
I love green smoothies and while the weather here is cold.. actually cold is the wrong word.. insanely FREEZING (high of -8 on Monday) I still love my smoothies especially because I can blend and go!! Sitting down for breakfast doesn’t happen during the week if I want to get my workouts in! Thankful that green smoothies can keep full and focused all morning!
I agree. They are perfect for me to take on the way to work and they do keep me really full too.
These are GREAT tips! I’ve made green smoothies for YEARS and this is just how I like to make mine. I don’t tolerate fruit that well, but I have found that freezing cucumber cubes and kefir into cubes makes for the PERFECT replacement!:) I just use acai powder to increase the antioxidants that I’m missing from whole fruits and it has no sugar. Plus, it makes for a really frosty, creamy treat. If I could just stop adding so much liquid! I always make that mistake and end up with a watery smoothie. Frozen greens work well too, if you’ve ever tried using frozen spinach or kale:)
Love your tips! I will definitely have to try the acai powder.
I love green cocktails, but it is difficult for me to drink them in the winter… I prefer chewing things at this time 😉 Though I would like to add them in January a little to be cleared after New Year’s holidays! Unfortunately, my blender broke so everything that I can – lick lips, looking at these remarkable cocktails 😉
I’m with you…. they are hard to feel like drinking in the winter!
Such amazing tips! I remember trying spinach in a smoothie for the first time a few years ago and being completely shocked that I couldn’t even taste the greens. Perfect way to get some extra nutrition in 🙂 Buuuuuut it’s a little too chilly to be thinking about smoothies right now… Grrr Canada.
Yes, I do believe -40 temps is a bit too cold!