Tropical Green Smoothie — I promise this healthy green smoothie doesn’t taste healthy at all! It tastes like a virgin piña colada that just happens to be bright green and good for you.
The BEST Green Smoothie Recipe
Sometimes strange looking things taste amazing. If you close your eyes, it tastes like a beautiful, tropical, sunny beach vacation.
You’re thinking, no it doesn’t. It tastes like bitter, blended up green stuff. But I assure you, it does not. Celery, kale, mizuna greens, chard, dandelion greens, and cucumbers have very strong and dominating flavors, which is why I don’t use them in smoothies. Spinach, however, is a different story.
I find spinach to be the leafy green equivalent of iceberg lettuce; totally mild and harmless. Plus, when it’s coupled with a handful of frozen mango, pineapple, banana, almond milk, vanilla, and a bit of sweetener, you can’t even taste it.
I promise. Even though this is healthy, it doesn’t taste it. It tastes like a green Pina Colada.
The color is much more jarring than the flavor. Sometimes plants are unexpectedly bold and vibrant in all their chlorophyll-filled glory.
My 6-year old bounces off the walls after drinking one of these healthy green smoothies. Some parents claim their children get hyper after too much sugar. Well, mine can eat chocolate chip cookies and candy and not really do much. But give her one of these green smoothies, and she’s talking a mile a minute, running around the house, laughing, and giggling.
I’m glad to see plants have that effect on her. They really are so powerful.
This tropical spinach keeps me full for awhile and between the almond milk, mango, pineapple, and banana, it’s tropical, sweet, and creamy.
After drinking a green smoothie, I feel invigorated, refreshed and recharged, and my head is clear and my energy is pure. Coffee wakes me up and gives me energy, but it’s a bolt of semi-jittery energy versus clean, sustained energy.
I love that this tastes like a virgin pina colada. It just happens to be green.
What’s in This Green Smoothie?
To make this healthy spinach smoothie, you’ll need:
- Frozen spinach
- Frozen pineapple
- Frozen mango
- Banana
- Strawberries
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
- Sweetener of choice
How to Make a Green Smoothie
After you have everything in your blender canister, blend until smooth and creamy.
Since I have to wash my blender anyway, I make double the amount I need. I fill freezer-safe platstic cups with the extra portions, freeze them, and when I’m ready for a smoothie for a snack or quick breafast, nuke the cup for a minute.
It saves time not having to remake and then rewash my blender. Having them ready and grab-able prevents me from reaching for cookies, which are equally grab-able.
Can I Add Different Fruits to My Green Smoothie?
There’s no wrong way to make a healthy green smoothie. Substitute any fruit you like. I use frozen because it’s cheaper and that way I don’t have to add ice, which waters it down, but use fresh if that’s what you like. Strawberries, blueberries, mixed berry blends, peaches, and nectarines are favorites.
What Type of Milk Should I Use?
For the milk, try cow’s, goat, soy, rice, almond, coconut, Coconut Milk Kefir, or Homemade Horchata. Or add a dollop of yogurt, Greek yogurt, or frozen yogurt.
Do I Have to Add Spinach?
If you don’t like spinach, try romaine lettuce. Both are very mild and neutral when blended. I buy frozen spinach for the same reason I buy frozen fruit; it’s cheaper, and I can buy in bulk and keep it in my freezer for a rainy day.
How Should I Sweeten Green Smoothies?
I sweeten my smoothies just a bit, but it’s optional. Use agave, honey, maple syrup, granulated sugar, stevia or your favorite sweetener. Sweet Medjool dates are nature’s candy and also work well.
Tips for Making the Best Green Smoothie
A tip for bananas is that I peel over-ripe ones, break them into chunks, and keep them in a big Ziplock in my freezer, making it easy to toss a few chunks into smoothies. When blended, they add plant-based creaminess that’s unparalleled to anything else. Bananas are naturally sweet, inexpensive, and readily available. But if you don’t like bananas or are allergic, simply omit.
If you want to boost the staying power of the smoothie, add fat. Coconut oil, coconut butter, peanut butter, almond/cashew/sunflower seed, or protein powder.
Add coconut flakes, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, or your favorite smoothie add-ins’ to either the blender canister before blending or garnish smoothie with them after blending.
I add homemade vanilla extract to almost everything I make, including smoothies. Extracts like coconut extract, orange extract, or lemon extract are also fun to play around with in smoothies.
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Tropical Green Smoothie
Ingredients
- 2 cups frozen spinach
- 1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
- 1 cup frozen mango chunks
- 1 medium ripe banana, peeled (previously frozen in chunks is ideal)
- 1 cup strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or a favorite berry, optional
- 1 cup milk, cow’s, almond, soy, coconut, kefir, horchata
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- sweetener, to taste (sugar, agave, stevia, honey, maple syrup, Medjool dates)
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in the canister of a Vita-Mix or blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Serve immediately.
- Pour extra portions into freezer-safe cups and freeze for up to 1 month, thawing before serving (or microwaving for about 30 seconds)
Notes
- All ingredients and amounts are to taste. Use seasonal fruits or vary the quantities of fruits, to taste. I use frozen fruit and prefer it to fresh because it keeps the smoothie cold, without adding ice which waters it down. Frozen is cheaper and I can buy in bulk and keep in the freezer and use when needed.
- Optionally, consider adding a scoop of protein powder, dollop of yogurt for extra protein; add fat for staying power such as coconut oil, coconut butter, peanut butter, almond/cashew/sunflower seed/Cookie Butter. Blend with juice to increase the amount of Vitamin C.
- Add coconut flakes, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, or your favorite smoothie add-ins to either the blender canister before blending or garnish smoothie with them after blending.
- Recipe is vegan (use vegan milk, avoid honey), gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free as written. Take care any ingredients used and added optionally are suitable for your dietary needs.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I’ve been making green smoothies for a little while now, and am wondering about your use of frozen spinach. I have only ever used fresh.
Are you using a block of spinach, and breaking that up in the blender?
Have you also tried freezing your own spinach fro the garden?
I just buy a bag of frozen spinach and rip off a softball-sized chunk and put it in the Vita with everything else. Super, super easy. I live in an urban condo, no garden. It’s soooooo much cheaper for me to use frozen and more convenient!
I have also been wondering about this you just made me super excited and will try frozen. I always bought fresh but it would go bad quickly and I already use frozen fruit which I love so will try frozen spinach :).
I actually prefer it frozen because that way the smoothie is already nice and cold!
Popping over from Nikki’s link party. This looks absolutely amazing! I love the vibrant green colour =) Thanks for all the substitution ideas, especially to make it nut-free/dairy-free. Lovely photos too!
Thanks for stopping by from Nikki’s. Love her :) And glad you like this post and the ideas!
I love juicing! Thank you for the great recipe!
That is a seriously green smoothie!!! I love it though! I use spinach all the time in smoothies, but I must not use enough to get that awesome color! I need to try the mango and pineapple next time!!!
And using frozen actually gives more vibrancy than fresh I think!
Wow, that is the most incredible green I’ve ever seen!!! Love smoothies, and like you I hate the cleanup. But I’d risk it for this kind of energy boost :)
And it’s not even doctored up :) It’s all plants, all real!
Smoothie (vitamix) cleanup isn’t bad…it’s the Juicer cleanup that is atrocious. I love juices but that cleanup is just insane! Thanks for stopping by, Dervla!
I am going to have to try one of these. I could really use that kind of energy boost. Sugar doesn’t do anything for me either, so maybe this will. I’ve been dragging a little with the endless winter weather here. By the way, the color of that is amazing!
You and I are sugar-immune. I mean that honestly, too. I think some people’s bodies process it exceptionally well and they aren’t as effected :) I for example though cannot process salt. At all.
I can’t process salt either. I have actually at least temporarily stopped eating out because every time I do I feel terrible for a day or two after because the food is so salt laden, even when I ask for no salt. It’s kind of a bummer :(
Ah, green smoothies. :) You said it right, there is no wrong way to make one! I agree, spinach is the way to go, as are frozen bananas and other frozen fruit. It’s been getting much warmer out lately, which makes for warmer workouts, which makes smoothies extra refreshing! I’ve been rolling with a spinach/banana+peach+strawberry combo all week.
Gorgeous color! My smoothies usually turn out greenish and by that I really mean brown. My kids are so grossed out by the color they don’t want to drink it! I need to try this and change their minds!!
I think sometimes fresh spinach is more prone to doing than than frozen? I don’t know why that happens…some sort of oxidation reaction, like how an avocado or banana turn brown after being exposed to air…who knows. But yes, this one is nice and vibrant and my 6 y.o. and hubs ask for it!
I’ve been making a similar smoothie lately, minus the banana, and it is my new favorite. And I can’t wait to hear more about your juice cleanse! I’ve been thinking about doing that myself, but it’s a little bit scary. Because, well, I love food. :)
It’s been a very long 3 days..I won’t lie but I am almost done! :)
This smoothie is gorgeous – but green is my favourite colour, so I’m slightly biased. ;)
Maybe if I swapped healthy smoothies for my usual late breakfast biscotti, I could be ready for swimsuit season!? :P
I didn’t know green is your fave color! Well, how convenient that it’s a healthy color :)