My Favorite Green Smoothie

I can only assume the smoothie pictured is not this one, because mine turned out to be the exact texture and color of wet cement (more almond milk fixed the texture). The artist in me can only guess that the pairing of purple berry juice and green spinach makes the unpleasant gray-brown. It was pretty yummy, though :)

Nailed it! I just watched my 8 year old down a half a head of bok choy, then smile. My 4 year old followed suit. Ha-ha. I am smiling ear to ear

I just started making smoothies a few weeks ago. This by far is my favorite smoothie that I have made. I couldn’t believe how delicious and refreshing it was and so healthy too. I followed the recipe as written but used unsalted and unsweetened peanut butter instead of salted. I will definitely be making this smoothie again. Not sure why but my smoothie was not green but brown though the color of the smoothie is not really a big deal. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I am a relatively new vegan and have bookmarked your site.

I have been wanting to make a green smoothie for about a year now but have been too afraid of the taste. After making this treat just twice, I am totally converted. Not only is it delicious but It keeps me full all morning. Awesome find!

Quick question hoping you can answer. I found this recipe this morning before leaving for work and while I had everything on hand, the banana and fresh berries aren’t frozen. That being said, our office refrigerator is JUST that, no freezer. Any experience with these not being frozen? Should I run down to the Walgreens and grab a bag of ice? Another guy in office and I went in on a Ninja Pro Blender and I’d like to make the most of the farmers markets that are going to begin in downtown Chicago but what will the fruits/veggies not being frozen due to the texture of the shake? Guess I could try and find out, but figured I’d ask while I was here!

I made it, I tasted it, I liked it…but, it was not green. I added 2 big handfuls of spinach and the color was purple.

I love all kinds of green smoothies. I was late today and ran out the door with just enough time to blend up this recipe. :-) I added about 30 grams of fresh spinach, but I was so busy and won’t be able to eat again till 6pm.

what kind of blender R U using, would this work in a personal blender ?

I’ve been shaking every day for years now and i think i’ve put together the most amazing, most nutritious, super shake. And i want to share it with everybody.
It contains frozen berries, coconut water, a knob of organic ginger, a tablespoon each of flax seed and chia seed, bee pollen, maca powder, ashwagandha powder, and a teaspoon each of chlorella, spirulina, and wheatgrass powder. I also reserve my avocado pits and put one in my smoothie, if i happen to have one. (tons of benefits). I then put into my extractor and whiz for about a minute. A bit over the top, but i will guarantee you will have AMAZING results.

W

you could also use coconut water instead of almond milk, it tastes amazing!!!

Delicious recipe as always!

Delish! I had make a few changes due to not having all the ingredients at the right temp. Here’s my version – room temp banana, fresh spinach that I froze, canilla almond coconut milk, organic frozen berries supreme (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, & strawberries)!, organic crunchy peanut butter. I didn’t have flax seed on hand.

Thank you for sharing the recipe. I am definitely making this again!

Someone suggested using avocado for a creamier texture. is that a substitution or an addition to the recipe? How much?

help! My blender broke. What kind do you use? There are so many to choose from but most with poor reviews. Thanks for your help

Thanks for this recipe. I’ve been making green smoothies for 10 years and I recently came across your recipe while trying to mix it up a little. Love it. So simple. My husband, 1 year old daughter and I are eating your smoothie recipe now at least once a day. I’m like you in that I need a green fix every 12 hours. Thanks!

Excellent – I love this! I think I could drink it every day!

Best green smoothie I’ve ever had!! I never thought I’d actually enjoy a greens smoothie!

Quick question…when you’re measuring 2 cups of spinach, do you squish it down and pile as much in? Or loosely put it in?

Thanks!

This was my first time venturing outside of my normal kale-and-fruit smoothie…. and I was amazed at how good this was. I had kale, so I used that instead of spinach, and chia seeds (just because I already had some soaking), and, wow, this was so yummy! I then took some of this mixture, and added cocoa powder, so it was a like a berry-peanut-butter-cup smoothie! Yum, again! Thanks for this great recipe.

This is positively outstanding. The first time I made it, it wasn’t very good at all, and I had to doctor it up a lot to make it drinkable. I think it’s because I put too much spinach and my frozen berries weren’t all that sweet.

I decided to give it another try this morning but with a few twists: I used fresh peanuts instead of peanut butter because the hubster polished off the small jar of PB that I bought just for this purpose. I measured the amount of spinach, and instead of flax seeds, I used two teaspoons of berry burst Metamucil fiber (psyllium husks). I think that the Metamucil really kicked up the sweetness of my berries. It was outrageously, dangerously delicious!

You are my hero!

SOOO YUM!
I’ve been on a healthy smoothie bender for a while now and recently decided to experiment using peanut butter. Gave this recipe a whirl to see what all the fuss was about… and it’s TRUE! My ingredients: unfrozen banana, all blueberries (frozen), 1-2 tsp peanut butter, 2 big handfuls of baby kale leaves, NO seeds, NO milk or milk sub at all (just a bit of cold water to blend) and a handful of ice cubes. It turned out green like the picture and despite no milk or milk variant, it was incredibly delicious. It’s like the blueberries and kale cancel each other out and all you taste is a creamy banana / faint peanut butter flavour. Def my new fave green smoothie! PS: Next time I will make sure the banana is frozen as you can’t beat that thick texture in a smoothie to help fill you up.

I love this one, I have hundreds of recipes on my smoothie blog, you mind i I add this one?

I have been making almost the exact same smoothie for the last few years. I use kale instead of spinach, chia seeds instead of flax( after reading up on chia),and I now use almonds and either walnuts or sunflower seeds instead of peanut butter. I also put in a tablespoon of Greek yogurt for the probiotic effect but it can be left out.

I had to make a couple of substitutions because of allergies – vanilla coconut milk rather than almond and mango sub’d for the banana – and it turned out great! Good morning boost, and I love peanut butter in everything.

We’ve been making green smoothies that taste more fruity lately and wanted a change. This one is delicious! Great for my middle schoolers in early morning when they’re not hungry for breakfast but need something to carry them through until lunch! Thanks!!

I made this today with blueberries instead on mixed berries, and I ended up with a purple smoothie instead of a green smoothie. Should this happen?

But I just want to add that your blog is amazing and so far everything I’ve tried from it has been great! Only this smoothie didn’t work out. :-)

I just tried making this smoothie and I don’t know where i went wrong but it was really not tasty in any way! I followed the recipe to the letter, except I couldn’t find vanilla almond milk so used regular unsweetened. Would that make a big difference? It was kind of sludgy brown colour and tasted sludgy brown too! So I added more spinach to make it greener but then it tasted even worse. I’m afraid all those lovely ingredients ended up down the sink :-( I must have gone very wrong somewhere!
I’ll try the grapefruit green smoothie next and hope for the best!

I just discovered the power of the smoothie….and your website is very helpful….thank you

I just discovered the power of the smoothie….and your website is very helpful….thank you….thank you

This is really good. My kids kept asking for more. Thanks for the delicious recipe.

Love this smoothie, but no matter what berries I use it never looks green. What combo did you use in the one you photographed for the post? I actually find this with a lot of green smoothie recipes – they look so vibrant and green in blog photos but come out brown(ish) when I make them. Just curious! Tastes great.

Thank you! I LOVE this smoothie. Unfortunately, I have a banana intolerance and get sick from raw bananas. Any suggestions on what to substitute it with? I love the taste of this smoothie, makes me wish I could eat a banana without getting sick :(. Any help would be much appreciated!

Hi Dana!
I cant wait to try this recipe, can you tell me where I can find natural PB? or what brand you use, will be perfect!
thanks

Definitely my new favourite smoothie too. I was skeptical of 2 cups of spinach but it’s really good! I couldn’t taste the spinach at all. I used 2 tbsp of hemp protein powder instead of the flax but I think next time I will also add the flax

this sounds really good. However, drinking it every day is a very bad idea. Spinach has a lot of oxalic acid in it and drinking everyday can lead to kidney stones. If you’re going to drink green smoothies everyday it is recommended that you rotate your greens doing a different green everyday to prevent the buildup of oxalic acid. Also, spinach draws lead up from the soil so if you have lead in the soil where it is grown which can even happened with organic spinach you do not want to be giving this to your children everyday.

Tried to make it again today. Layered it differently so the spinach would blend last buuut its still brown. How the hell do you turn it green like in the pictures cause im starting to think that wasnt a picture of the actual smoothie

I have NEVER posted a comment, even though I always look to see what others have to say, but I tried this recipe several months ago because of the enthusiasm of your readers. I just had to make my way back to the comment section to tell you that I have been enjoying this green smoothie almost daily since then! I shudder to say that I don’t really like vegetables and I have to force myself to eat fruit. I continue to try to find ways to eat healthily, but I am inconsistent, at best. I have tried to make smoothies over and over, but they are just too “fruity” for me. THIS SMOOTHIE IS AWESOME! The peanut butter and banana are just yummy, and the rest of the ingredients don’t even play in except for the incredible health benefits! THANK YOU!! This motivates me to continue the search for really healthy foods that taste wonderful! Thanks for a great site and a great smoothie!

Yum! This was my first time making a green smoothie and it turned out great! The banana added just enough sweetness and creaminess to balance the tartness of the berries. I told my sister to try this with her eyes covered and she couldn’t even taste the spinach! What a great, healthy way to incorporate some greens at breakfast or in between meals!

Love this! I’ve just bought a nutribullet and trying to find lots of tasty recipes and this works perfectly for a morning blitz of goodness! Protein, antioxidants and iron = today is going to be a good day! I couldn’t even taste the spinach so added more! I’ll be having this for breakfast every morning now, thank you!

I just made this today after yesterday I was browsing your blog for recipes :) I loved this smoothie. It really did taste like a banana peanut butter milkshake! I used my magic bullet and mixed the spinach and milk first then added the rest of the ingredients. Yum! My one-year old son and almost 3 yr old daughter loved it too! Thanks

AWESOME. My new favorite. Wouldn’t change a thing. Thanks!!

This green smoothie was amazing!! I felt so good after drinking it. Thanks for sharing this recipe! Im addicted now :)

I found this recipe via Pinterest. I just tried it out with my little one today, and we both loved it! Thanks for sharing :)

What can you use to substitute the peanut butter? I forgot it at the store :(

Wow. I will be making this many more times. My new favourite!

I’m so addicted to this smoothie I’ve had it for breakfast every morning for the last 6 weeks!! Love love love it! Thanks so much!

I tried this recipe but didn’t notice I needed to use natural peanut butter. I used Jif. I also really got into the “heaping” part of the Tbsn, so it was way too thick and too much peanut putter taste. I will try again when I pick up the natural peanut butter.

This sounds absolutely wonderful. I have recently been trying to reduce calorie intake for atleast two days out of the week. Would this be a good choice since the calorie count is quite high for one meal? I agree it is very healthy ingredients. I can’t wait to see if I should be reducing calories on this one.

So glad I found this recipe! I have been on the search for TASTY and healthy, green smoothies for months and I finally found one. I admit, I was a little scared of the end color (almost black after I added the blueberries lol) and hubby definitely gave me wonky eye, but it was the most delicious smoothie I’ve ever had! Thank you! I’m excited to have discovered your blog!

Just wanted to say thanks. I didn’t try “the original” yet, because I didn’t have peanut butter… Use almond, and maca powder instead of flaxseed meal… Anyway, I love that I just ate spinach and kale in a smoothie as breakfast. And my 18 month old loved it too :)

PB taste was a bit too much for me so will cut back to 1 1/2 to 2 tsps next time. I added 1/4 cucumber, a handful of kale and 1 tsp. fresh ginger. Yummy.

I love this smoothie! In an effort to remove all additives and processed foods from my diet, this smoothie has become my go-to breakfast option. Mine never comes out quite as green as your picture (it might have something to do with subbing chia seeds for the flaxseed or the berries?) but it always tastes delicious and really keeps me full all morning long. I also use all natural almond butter instead of peanut butter.

Absolutely love this recipe, which is quite similar to smoothies I like to make. The natural peanut butter cinched it for me!
I added 1 thing that also made this particularly yummy: 1 tsp of unsweetned cocoa. Very yummy!

Could I use all natural peanut flour instead of peanut butter?

Wonderful! Very skeptical husband and two young children loved it as well!

Have been researching all ways to eating healthy and came across this recipe and tried it this morning. I used frozen blueberries and unfrozen banana and it was just the right temperature for my taste. Most delicious smoothie I ever had. It will be my “go to” smoothie.

Tried the original green smoothie as per the recipe, absolutely delicious and I feel full 2 1/2 hours later.
Thanks

Thank you sooooo much!!! I’ve just tried this smoothy and it’s just the best one ever! How something so healthy can taste so good??!! Super delicious!! Thanks for sharing!! :)

Just made this! It’s AMAZING!!! Certainly not the prettiest color but I’ve never had something so tasty before!

In my green smoothie, I use peaches in place of the berries, and add a spoonful each of chia, hemp, and ground flax seed.

Thanks for the recipe- I love the taste and have been making this smoothie all the time! Superficial question though- mine always turn out an unappealing shade of purple-y gray, even when I’ve added less berries or more spinach. Anyone else notice this? Or is there anything else that could be throwing things off?

Omg it looks delicious but unfortunately I don’t have any spinach on hand and I was wondering if lettuce would be ok for this smoothie.

I just tried this recipe today (followed everything exactly) — and LOVED IT.

I was initially apprehensive about drinking something that looks so scary, but glad I tried it. I made 4 portions of the ingredients and they are now in the freezer — I’m all set for the rest of this week!!

Great smoothie! I just purchased a Ninja kitchen system and was a little bummed with my first smoothie….(I was still thinking juicer, which it is not!) I tried your smoothie, well, a version of it with what I had on hand….All organic items: Kale, no stems; 1 Tbl Almond butter (w/salt); 1 tsp flax seeds; handful of frozen mixed berries; 1 small banana; 1/2 scoop Chocolate flavored Spirutein, Vanilla almond milk….OMG, it was delicious!! Thank you for sharing your recipe to inspire others!!

Weird question for you.

Other than some minor potential nutrient loss, is there any reason you couldn’t use frozen spinach?

Also, this recipe uses flax seeds – but I see some of your other recipes use chia seeds. From what I remember, they both “gel” – would they be interchangeable? Or does one thicken more than the other?

Thanks for the great recipe. :)

This was amazing! I’ve been making smoothies for 1 week now, all organic , berries, greens, nuts, goji berties, you name it. They’ve been gross. I spent so much money at whole foods that I forced myself to drink them each night. But this, oh, heavens! I cannot eat spinach due to health issue, so for greens I used sunflower micro greens, pea tendrils and mâché rosettes. I measured nothing and it was so delish my little doggies had some (and my previous concoctions had them backing away, so that’s saying something) and I could barely stop guzzling it down long enough to take a photo to post on Facebook. Absolutely hands down the best smoothie I’ve ever had!

Hey Dana! This is Brie (Beran) Tickel! I heard about your blog from my dad then from yours, I love it!! I just spent half an hour reading it. It’s so funny, I’ve been making an almost identical smoothie for a couple years-my kids love it, too! Good to see you’re happy and doing well!

I have to say, this green smoothie recipe was 100% spot on! I just found your blog about 30 minutes ago and I am already hooked. I love your approach to minimalist baking and being vegan myself, it’s great to see so many vegan options in the archive! My first attempt at a spinach smoothie a few months ago was a complete fail and I’ve been a little afraid to try a spinach and ground flaxseed combo again…but I wasn’t disappointed this time! I think I’ll even add a little more flaxseed to my next one. I used 1/2c unsweetened chocolate almond milk and 1/2c B12 fortified unsweetened almond milk and I skipped the PB. Then I stuck it in the freezer for 10 minutes to get even thicker! Thanks so much for a delicious smoothie recipe that I can feel good about. Can’t wait to try some of your other recipes.

ohmygoodness! i love love LOOOOOOVE your website. truly love at first sight. beautiful. elegant. simple. stunning. and best of all: inspiring.

sweet souls. thanks for sharing your gifts with the world.

this is my absolute favorite green smoothie recipe. i can’t wait to try some recipes from the free eBook. you’ve already made my life a little brighter! :)

I had never really tried green smoothies, but I was curious to see what this one would be like (especially after seeing the amount of fiber!). It is delicious! I’ve been making it since the beginning of the week, and I’m now trying to find other recipes so I don’t get tired of it.

I thought I still had some flax, but couldn’t find it. I had a jar of wheat germ (don’t know how I even ended up with that), so I’ve been using that instead. I also made a mistake with getting sweetened almond milk instead of non-sweetened. It’s making the mixture a little too sweet, but I think that’ll be fine with the non-sweetened version. I also put in some kosher salt into it since I didn’t see any salted organic peanut butter at the store.

All in all, great recipe!

I really really want to try this, however I was planning on making it and then take it with lectures with me. Do you think it will keep it a cool bag for a few hours before I drink it?? x

I usually don’t comment on blogs, like ever, but after trying this green smoothie I just really had to tell you how great it was. I don’t see myself going back to anything else for breakfast, and now I can’t wait to try the black bean brownie. Thank you so much!

This was freaking awesome!!
I made two servings, but only used 1 banana and 1/2 cup strawberries.

I have yet to try this, sounds like a healthy PB&J smoothie :) I love green smoothies, and one of my very favorites is exactly this one, but with cacao or cocoa powder instead of berries for a chocolate peanut butter smoothie :) so good, so filling, and definitely tastes way naughty! I love that the chocolate overpowers both the color and the flavor of the spinach, so I can drink a pretty green liquid Reeses for breakfast :) Peanut butter (or PB2 for less calories) with the fresh ground flax or chia makes it so filling

I altered this recipe a bit based on what I had, and it wasn’t particularly good, so I’m wondering what it was that killed it. I used kale instead of spinach, lowfat milk instead of almond and Jif instead of natural peanut butter, so I’m wondering which you think might have been the problem. Does kale tend to be more bitter than spinach in smoothies? Maybe it was the sweetness of vanilla almond milk that was missing? I had to add some ice cubes because it turned out super gloppy, even with a bit extra milk. Thanks for any advice!

Oh, I will try this.

Although I also do one with baby spinach (prefer this in smoothies as opposed to normal spinach), one banana, one apple and just one decilitre of cold water, it’s really nice and fresh in the morning!

Omg sooo good! I made this tonight and it is awesome!!

I love this green smoothie recipe. I usually do juicing, but I must try this smoothie!

I do a similar smoothie but without the berries… I can imagine they would be pretty awesome in there though and extra antioxidants! Yay :)

I had to return with better news. I couldn’t stand to drink this for breakfast so I put it in the fridge and promised that it would be a snack even if I didn’t like it. It was sooooo much better cold! I made another this morning (I bought a huge container of spinach so had to!). I weighed the spinach (2 cups = 56 grams = 2 ounces) and discovered I’d packed it too much yesterday and probably put in 3 cups.

S, I’m still modifying the recipe with 2x the fruit, but I can now say I like this! And I may even love it. I’ll find out after I drink it later today–it’s back in the fridge to get cold!

Thank you! I have been looking for a good green smoothie lately and have more flaxseed than I know what to do with and the smoothie was killer. I love your blog, thanks for sharing!

Hello! New reader here, just found you from Iowa Girl Eats! What are the benefits of flaxseed meal or varieties of flaxseed?

I have to disagree about the taste–it was strongly spinach! I doubled the berries and added more milk and its only slightly spinach-y now. I love spinach but hadn’t had it in a smoothie before. Maybe you can hide a bit in, but 2 cups did not work for us!

Is there any good substitutes for bananas, as I am allergic and can’t find a way to make a good smoothie.

Made this for breakfast this morning! I used almond butter instead of peanut butter and it was almost too “almondy” for me. I will stick to the original next time and use peanut butter!

Yummy! I do a berry banana one and banana pb but haven’t tried combining them! And I always add so many berries that it isn’t green… Or maybe I don’t add enough spinach! Got me craving a green smoothie even though its cold and rainy!

I make one almost exactly like this, but with almond butter instead of peanut butter. I love that I can cram a ton of spinach into it too!

I am sure this green smoothie tastes fantastic. But about two months after I started making green smoothies with two of the same ingredients, I started developing calcium oxalate crystals (kidney stones are made of these). BE VERY CAREFUL to stay away from peanut butter, spinach, and berries if you are susceptible to kidney stones or bladder issues, or if you have health issues such as chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, arthritis, or Crone’s. They are very high in oxalates, and can cause some people to flare up.

How much do you love these?!? I start everyday with a similar one – instead of spinach I substitute Kale. Also peanut butter – how interesting…I’m curious to know what this adds to it. May just have to try that little addition tomorrow morning. Thanks for glorifying this green smoothie. My kids shake their heads at it each morning, but yous looks BEAUTIFUL!

Yum! My favourite green smoothie is pretty similar, minus the berries (only because they’re expensive so I like to eat them fresh!). Its so nice to have something to grab and go, with hidden veggies too.

My first time visiting your blog. Can’t wait to try this recipe tomorrow before heading out the door!
Thanks!

This sounds really delicious, Dana. I love the idea of masking all of that spinach with peanut butter and banana!

This is a nice change from some of your recent more decadent recipes. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a lover of all things sweet and rich but my waistline isn’t :)
My boyfriend and I make tons of smoothies and this is almost exactly our favorite recipe. You can also substitute the berries for mango chunks, or almond butter for peanut butter (if you’re allergic) and it’s equally delicious. Thanks bakers! You rock!

This is pretty much exactly my fave version as well! I usually do almond butter instead of pb, though. Such a great way to kickstart the morning!

I just made this, it’s awesome. Just subbed chia seeds for flax. Keeper recipe and likely my go to for brekky moving forward.

This is definitely a favorite combination of mine as well! Look at those fiber stats! Pretty stellar!

I have never mad a green smoothy, which is just crazy because I LOVE all vegetables. Seriously, I am a freak about them! I need to give this a try!

I seriously adore green smoothies!! These look fantastic!

I love this!
Quick question- would it throw off the balance to use cow milk? I’ve heard that it’s a big no no to use it in smoothies with fruit because it ferments as you digest it. Thoughts?
Thanks!