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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Hi there!
This smoothie looks great and I can’t wait to try it! Which frozen berries did you use in your photos here to get the green color?
Thanks! :)
I used strawberries.
How did your smoothie come out so beautiful and green? Mine is grey with specs of green in it and I followed the recipe with the exception of using fresh fruits and spinach that I pre-froze in a bag.
You know sometimes my smoothies come out like you’re talking about…gray and murky. The taste is fine, the color just isn’t that pretty.
I find that when I add certain fruits (especially berries of any kind) + greens, I get that shade you’re talking about. Berries will tend to do that. With pineapple and bananas and spinach, I always get vibrant green.
Enthusiastic follow-up now that I’ve made one batch.
Even my boring “fridge is empty” combo was good (just bananas, spinach, a little almond milk, a little maple syrup, a little vanilla). I froze half, and I think it was even better the second day — I think the flavors developed a bit even tho it was frozen for much of the time.
This week I’ll go tropical, which I bet will be out of this world — and THANKS A MILLION! I love that I’m having spinach for breakfast …
Glad you’re loving spinach for breakfast and the smoothie! :)
I appreciate the recipe — hand trouble means that I need the convenience of frozen fruits/veg — so thanks very much. I’m a little surprised, tho, that you suggested substituting romaine, which is far less nourishing than spinach.
For those who can’t quite get used to spinach, may I suggest instead that they use far less spinach / far more fruit the 1st time they make a tropical green, and then gradually alter the ratio (= up the spinach).
Thanks again.