Name: Green Smoothie Recipe - make it your own!
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1 handful spinach ( (about 1 ½ cups)); 1 handful kale ( (about 1 ½ cups)); 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and diced ((other apple varieties are fine, too)); 1 cup cold water, or your choice of milk; 1 cup tropical frozen fruit mix ((strawberries, pineapple, mango)); ½ cup ice

Recipe Overview

Why you’ll love it: A delightful breakfast or a happy snack, this easy-to-make green smoothie with apple, spinach, kale, and tropical fruit will have you feeling marvelously refreshed. I’ll show you lots of ways to make your own custom smoothie.

How long it takes: 5 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: high-powered blender
Servings: makes 6 cups

Two stemmed glasses, each with two red and white striped straws. Each glass is filled with green liquid and topped with fresh strawberries.

A Smoothie Sipper

Imagine yourself lounging on a chaise, surrounded by white sand and palm trees, with the sound of ocean waves gently lapping the shore.

Or imagine yourself post workout, sweating, with tired muscles.

Now imagine yourself holding a frosty glass filled to the brim with a soothing green smoothie, filled with refreshing flavors of apple and tropical fruits.

Get your blender whirring and enjoy a green apple smoothie today!

Overhead view of an empty blender, surrounded by bowls of spinach, kale, tropical fruit, and green apples.

Refreshing Green Smoothie

Lots to love. You’ll love the flavor of this green apple smoothie. It’s so refreshing to your body and soul, and it won’t fill you up with empty calories, fat, or artificial sweeteners. This green smoothie is loaded with the green leafy vegetables your body needs to stay healthy, and fruit to add fiber and nutrition, and it’s only 51 calories per serving (one and a half cups).

Easy to make. A green smoothie is a breeze to put together, less than five minutes hands-on time, especially if your greens are pre-washed and ready to be used.

A big green healthy hint! Always have bags of spinach, kale, or other greens in the fridge, pre-washed and ready to go. I find that if I wash the greens shortly after I get home from the store, I tend to incorporate those healthy greens in everything I cook, including smoothies. It’s just so much more convenient when the greens are washed and I can grab a handful or two to add to a salad, sandwich, wrap, stir fry, or whatever I happen to have going.

Ingredient Notes

Greens: For this smoothie, try a mixture of spinach and kale. They are mild flavored greens that work well in a smoothie.
Apple: A Granny Smith apple is green so the color blends in with the smoothie but any apple variety works.
Water or Milk: It’s up to you. Yogurt is fine, too, but you may need to use less ice or add a bit of water to thin it down especially if you use Greek yogurt.
Tropical Frozen Fruit Mix: There are several different kinds of frozen fruit mixes. The one I used for this smoothie has pineapple, strawberries, and mango.
Ice

How To Make A Green Smoothie

Blend the greens and apple with water. Stuff a handful of kale, a handful of spinach, and a chopped Granny Smith apple into your blender, and add a cup of water. You can also blend all of the ingredients all at once, as pictured, but blending it in steps like this will be a little easier on your blender.

Overhead view of a white blender filled with greens and chopped green apples.

Add fruit and ice. When that mixture is smooth, add a cup full of frozen tropical fruit and a handful of ice.

Overhead view of a blender filled with greens and frozen tropical fruit.

Process until smooth. Blend until your smoothie reaches the desired consistency.

Overhead view of a green smoothie in a glass, garnished with a red strawberry and a slice of green apple.

Serve. Pour your frosty green beverage into a tall glass, and enjoy!

Green smoothie drink in a stemmed glass with two red and white striped paper straws.

Blenders

You’ll need a great blender for a super creamy smoothie. I’ve used and liked Blendtec or Vitamix, but I’ve also heard good things about Ninja blenders which are a more affordable option.

Overhead view of two green drinks with red and white straws. A bowl of cut up green apples are also pictured.

Customize Your Smoothie

It’s easy to swap out ingredients. Consider this super simple green smoothie recipe a starting point and create your own wonderful green concoction!

Fruit to use in a green smoothie

This green apple smoothie recipe is made with a tart Granny Smith apple and a frozen tropical fruit blend. Tropical fruit blends consist of frozen pineapple, mango, banana, and papaya. There are variations depending on which brand you purchase. The options for fruit in a smoothie are nearly endless! Here are some ideas:

any variety of apple
bananas (bonus points if they’re frozen bananas) See the tip below.
peaches
papaya
mango
pineapple
blueberries (be sure to try my blueberry smoothie, too)
strawberries
blackberries
raspberries
citrus (lemon, orange, lime, grapefruit, or tangerine)

Frozen Bananas

Have a few extra ripe bananas on the counter? Peel them, break them into chunks, and put them into a freezer bag, ready and waiting for your next smoothie. Bananas add so much natural sweetness and give the smoothie a super creamy texture. Learn more about freezing bananas.

Vegetables and greens to use in a green smoothie

Add green leafy vegetables to your smoothie: Kale, spinach, mild arugula, collard, or Swiss chard are good choices. Stay away from spicy or bitter greens like mustard greens or radicchio, unless you’re a green smoothie veteran.
Broccoli, cauliflower, or celery: Make sure you have a powerful blender for these!
Fresh herbs: Parsley or mint add unique flavor, loads of nutrition, and play nice with the fruit flavors.
Avocado: A ripe avocado is a healthy addition to your smoothie. It will give your smoothie a creamier texture with a subtle flavor.

Add protein to a green smoothie

Want to make your smoothie more of a power drink? Add protein!

Use any kind of milk: Add whole milk, half and half, non-fat milk, soy, coconut milk, almond milk, etc. instead of water.
Add yogurt: Either plain Greek or regular yogurt can be added. The smoothie will have a thicker consistency and you may need additional water or less ice.
Add cottage cheese. If you want, take a look at my cottage cheese smoothie recipe made with peaches (but you can substitute other fruits).
Add grains: Try a half cup of uncooked rolled oats or a half cup of cooked quinoa.
Protein powder: Add a scoop of your favorite protein powder.
Nuts and seeds: Nut or seed butters (peanut, cashew, almond, sunflower, etc), flax seed or ground flax seed (flax meal), chia seeds.

More green smoothie add-ins

Coconut oil
Spices: Try cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, or a sprinkle of cayenne if you’re feeling daring. I love freshly grated ginger root, too.
Sweeteners (honey, agave, sugar):I don’t think they’re necessary but if you’re new to green smoothies, you could ease in this way.
Vanilla extract
Flaked or shredded coconut (avoid sweetened coconut)

Make a smoothie bowl

Make the green smoothie a little thicker. Add more ice or more frozen fruit, and substitute a cup of Greek yogurt for the water. Blend this mixture well and pour into two serving bowls. Add toppings of your choice, like fresh fruit, coconut, nuts or seeds, or a sprinkling of your favorite granola. An extra dollop of Greek yogurt on top would be great.

Two green smoothies in stemmed glasses with red and white straws. Also pictured are strawberries, green apples, and a striped linen.

Storage Tips

Store leftover green smoothies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. You’ll want to give the mixture a good shake to mix it up again before you drink it.

Make-Ahead Ideas

Option 1: Make a big batch of green smoothies and pour the mixture into freezer safe serving size containers, or pint sized canning jars. Don’t overfill the jars because the mixture will expand slightly as it freezes.

Take a frozen smoothie out of the freezer and put it in the fridge the night before you want to drink it. It should be mostly thawed by morning. Give it a good shake and enjoy!

Option 2: Freeze the mix pre-blended if you prefer. Place all ingredients except liquid ingredients into a freezer bag. Label and pop into your freezer and just pour into the blender with milk or water and blend when you’re ready to enjoy!

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