This Spinach Smoothie is one of my favorite green smoothie recipes. It calls for simple ingredients that you probably already have on hand, and you can’t taste the spinach at all!
It’s the kind of smoothie you could enjoy practically every day, because it’s so quick and flexible. I’ll even show you how to make freezer bags for below, so you can prep these ahead of time for a faster morning. They are perfect if you like to meal prep for the week!
Benefits of Spinach
Wondering why you might want to include spinach in your smoothies?
- Spinach contains several important vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, vitamin A, calcium, folic acid, and iron.
- It’s also a good source of antioxidants, which may help to protect against oxidative stress and damage.
- Spinach is high in nitrates, which may help to temporarily lower blood pressure levels and promote heart health. (Similar to beet juice!)
- Eating spinach more than twice weekly may help to lower risk factors for breast cancer.
- Spinach is rich in carotenoids, particularly zeaxanthin and lutein, which may help to promote eye health and protect against age-related macular degeneration. (A common cause of blindness.)
Worried about eating too much spinach? Those who are prone to developing kidney stones may want to limit their spinach intake, since it’s a source of calcium and oxalates. The data isn’t clear on how much dietary sources contribute kidney stones, so this is just something to point out, if you want to discuss it with your doctor.
Spinach is also a good source of vitamin K1, which helps with blood clotting and may interfere with certain blood-thinning medications. You may want to discuss your intake with your primary health care provider, to be on the safe side.
Ingredients You’ll Need
What’s in a spinach smoothie?
- Frozen banana (here’s how to freeze bananas)
- Spinach
- Nut butter
- Milk of choice
- Hemp hearts (or protein powder)
- Cinnamon
The spinach flavor is so mild that it blends right in with the other ingredients. You really won’t be able to taste it! I prefer to make this smoothie with peanut butter lately, but it’s also delicious with almond butter. When you use almond milk or oat milk in this recipe, it’s vegan and dairy-free, too.
Adding a nut butter to this smoothie makes it ultra-creamy, almost like a healthy milkshake. But the only sweetness comes from using a banana, so make sure you freeze the banana when it is very ripe, with lots of black spots on its skin. (And be sure to peel the banana before you freeze it.)
Don’t like bananas? If you prefer to make a smoothie with no banana, try swapping it for 3 to 4 pitted Medjool dates, instead. They add a natural sweetness, without any banana flavor. I especially love them in my favorite chocolate smoothie.
How to Make the Best Spinach Smoothie
1. Start with the greens. If you don’t have a very powerful blender, I recommend starting off with just the spinach and milk. Blend those together, until the spinach is pulverized, so you won’t have any chewy leaves in your final drink.
2. Blend. Once the spinach is broken down, you can add in the frozen banana (cut it into coins for easy blending), nut butter, hemp hearts, and cinnamon. Blend again, until the smoothie is very smooth and creamy.
Note: I recommend starting with only 1/2 cup of milk for this recipe, because bananas vary so much in size and I don’t want your smoothie to turn out too runny in texture.
For a large banana, I usually have to add another 1/4 cup of liquid to the blender, to make it blend smoothly. It’s always going to be easier to add liquid to a smoothie, rather than trying to make it thicker later with ice, which will dilute the flavor greatly.
3. Enjoy! This smoothie will have the best taste and texture when you serve it right away. I love the slushy-like texture!
If you need to store leftovers, they will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days, but the texture will not be the same.
How to Make a Freezer Bag (Smoothie Meal Prep)
If you’d like to make this recipe in advance, I suggest making a smoothie bag that you can store in the freezer, then blend together shortly before drinking it.
Here’s how:
1. Add the peeled banana, spinach, hemp hearts, and cinnamon to an airtight container or storage bag. (I like to use reusable silicone bags to reduce waste.) You can add the nut butter at this point, too, but it’s a little messier to try to get in and out of the bag later, unless you can sandwich it between your ingredients, like the spinach leaves.
2. Seal the container and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
3. When you are ready to make the smoothie, dump the contents of the bag into the blender, and add in 3/4 cup milk. (You’ll start with more milk for this frozen version to help with blending.) Add in a big spoonful of nut butter, if you didn’t add it to the bag, then blend!
The smoothie is ready to serve right away, for a faster morning without much measuring or mess to clean up.
Expert Tips & Common Questions
Is raw or cooked spinach better? If you are concerned about the oxalate found in raw spinach, cooking it may reduce the oxalate content by 30-87%. The oxalic acid found in spinach can also interfere with nutrient absorption, so cooking the spinach and breaking down that acid may also help improve the absorption of iron and calcium.
With that being said, raw spinach is very convenient (especially when you buy it prewashed) and can be frozen, to help avoid food waste, so either version will work in this smoothie recipe.
Keep in mind, if you use cooked spinach, it will shrink quite a bit, so you won’t want to use a full cup of cooked spinach in this recipe or the flavor will be too concentrated. Start with a 1/4 cup or 1/2 cup of cooked spinach, and adjust to taste as you go.
Can I use frozen spinach? Store-bought frozen spinach is usually blanched before being frozen, so this is an easy shortcut if you’d like to use cooked spinach in your smoothies. Just keep in mind that you’ll want to start with a smaller amount of the frozen spinach, since it’s so concentrated compared to fresh baby spinach. In this case, you’ll probably want to use a little more liquid for blending, too.
What else can I add to this smoothie? Feel free to get creative with this one! You can add more frozen fruit, like strawberries, blueberries, or pineapple, and you can also add more filling elements, like chia seeds or greek yogurt, if you’d like to. Just keep in mind that adding more fiber will also mean that you need a little more liquid to blend.
For more smoothie inspiration, check out my Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie, Oatmeal Smoothie, and Coffee Smoothie.
How do I thicken it? If you end up adding too much liquid to this smoothie, you can thicken it by adding a handful of ice cubes, which will slightly dilute the flavor, or you can add a little extra frozen fruit, like more banana, or even some frozen mango.
Do I have to use milk? Nope! You can use water or orange juice as the liquid, instead.
Spinach Smoothie
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup almond milk , plus more as needed to blend
- 1 to 2 cups baby spinach (see notes)
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter (or almond butter)
- 2 tablespoons hemp hearts
- 1 frozen banana , sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- If you don't have a powerful blender, start by placing the milk and spinach in a blender. Blend until the greens are totally pulverized, for the best texture. (You can skip this step if using a high-speed blender.)
- Add in the rest of the ingredients, and blend until very smooth. You may need to add up to a 1/4 cup more milk or water to help everything blend smoothly, depending on the size of the banana you use. The riper the banana you use, the sweeter this smoothie will be. If you need to add sweetness, you can always add a pitted Medjool date, or a splash of maple syrup, or honey (if not vegan), and blend again. Serve right away for the best taste and texture.
- Leftover smoothie can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 48 hours, but the taste and texture will change over time. Be sure to check out the freezer bag tips in this post, for another make-ahead option.
Notes
Nutrition
I hope you’ll enjoy this spinach smoothie recipe soon, and please leave a star rating and comment below to let me know how you like it!
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite smoothie combination?
I just made this! It is absolutely yummy! Love your blog. Thanks for all you do. Love your book too
Mmmm this sounds good! Can’t wait to try it! Although I have a question…. your note says to soak the almonds and chia seeds for easier blending, but the recipe does not call for almonds; it calls for almond butter. Is this a mistake or am I missing something?
Yep, that was a mistake! Thanks for catching that– I’ve updated it. 🙂
mmm just made this with a frozen banana instead of the dates and PB instead of the almond as I didn’t have either at home. I also added some protein powder…very tasty! Thanks!
I make something very similar to this after my workouts!
Hi! This sounds really good and I have been obsessed with different shakes these days. Is it possible to use avocado in place of the almond butter to make it nut free?
Thanks for another great recipe 🙂
Love you and your recipes. Just ordered your book. My husband and I are always using your recipes. :). Congrats on the book!!!!
Made this this afternoon. DELICIOUS! Thank you for posting this!
Made this today and it was so delicious! My 2 year old was gobbling it up as well! Thanks for such great recipes! Keep up the good work ☺
WOW!! Sooo delicious, thanks Megan for another amazing recipe!! I did 1 1/2 dates and 10 drops of liquid stevia. I will definitely be making this on a regular basis!! Can’t wait for my toddler to try it, I’m sure he will love it too 🙂
UPDATE: I think it’s safe to say I am obsessed with this shake. AND my 16 month old loves it too — finally a way to get him to eat spinach!! YAY!!
So yummy! I have this on an almost daily basis now. Tastes almost as good as a dessert but is a great way to get your greens! Thanks for another wonderful recipe.
Delicious! Made it this morning. Thanks, Megan!
I added PB2 and banana. Great idea to soak chia seeds!
Delish and love getting some spinach in such a dessert Smoothie!
heavenly
Do you make your own almond butter for this or do you have a recommended almond butter that has little sugar? I loved Barney butter but then saw it had added sugar.
I just got your cookbook and fell asleep reading it dreaming about all the recipes I will try. Super excited 🙂
Thank you sooooo much! I just started the Dr. Oz Total Ten diet and the recipes on his site are really limited. This sounds delish and I wont even be cheating! Wish me luck!
P.S I must find this book everyone is talking about … o_O
I hope you enjoy the shake! You can find even more healthy recipes in my cookbook here: http://amzn.to/1TFB4rC (Amazon currently has 25% off one book using the code 25OFFBOOK today!)
Love this idea!! What can we sub for the mejdool dates as I am trying to reduce my sugar?
Delicious! Drank it while preparing the overnight Chia Pudding….can’t wait for breakfast 🙂
You could say I’m a smoothie snob and I can’t tell you how many bad smoothie recipes are out there, and it’s not so much the flavor combo, but the quantities of liquid to make it a true smoothie. There are many watered down versions that are hard to enjoy. Megan has the science down. I like a smooth thick, easy to drink through straw smoothie and I haven’t encountered a recipe in her book or site where the results aren’t right on the mark! First time making this creamy almond spinach, quite simple and surprisingly delicious, will Def make again. I subbed 1 tbsp coconut sugar as my nifty ninja is not a fan of dates, (I’ll stick to stuffing them with almond butter or filling with goat cheese, wrapping in bacon and baking!) I also ground my chia seeds first, eliminating the need to brush my teeth after consuming, those seeds get stuck! thank you detoxinista for dedication to this space and the perfect smoothie;)
So very yummy!!! And it’s true that there’s no spinach taste in this whatsoever. The cinnamon and vanilla give it a nice fall-like flavor.
This is the first smoothie that I have ever made. I could never understand how something can look green and still taste good. Thanks to this smoothie I now get it! 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe.
I love smoothies and make them all the time, and this might be my favorite ever. It tastes like cookie dough!
This was delicious! I need something more grounding as smoothies go, and this fit the bill. I used pumpkin seed butter and it worked out great.
This is so delicious!!!
I made this with cashew butter and it is really yummy! It’s super creamy and you totally don’t notice the spinach
This was amazing! I used 5 dates for a sweeter shake.
I added 1/2 cup uncooked GF oats. Had no almond milk so blended some raw cashews with water to start with.
What can I add to the spinach so my body will absorb the calcium? I have osteoporosis and need all the calcium I can get. Thanks for your help. I love your recipes!!
Enjoyed the smoothie. I added ground flax, 1/2 cup blueberries and a piece of ginger.
Ooh, I love the ginger addition. Glad you liked it!
I loathe bananas and usually use frozen diced pears as a replacement. For me they blend better than dates.
So easy and tastes great! I’ve made this the past two days for my morning snack. Thanks for another winner!
Love this recipe for a new green morning smoothie. I don’t have hemp hearts so I subbed chia seeds. It turned out great. When I make one, I always make on to freeze too (great tip!).
Tasty! I used beet greens instead of spinach since that’s what I could pick from my garden. Worked just fine. I loved the addition of the cinnamon. Both my husband and I found this to be a filling breakfast. I made in a traditional blender and had no issues.
This smoothie is delicious and very healthy. My teenage daughter and I really enjoyed it. I used fresh spinach, almond milk, and peanut butter. It’s wonderful to have a protein-rich easy and quick breakfast with greens included that I know will start us off on a good day.
Sorry…forgot to rate the recipe!
LOVE this smoothie recipe! Have not found a smoothie recipe on here that I didn’t enjoy but this one is perfectly light and refreshing for a midmorning snack.
forgot to rate!!
I made this last night, and my daughter (who generally shies away from anything “green” or with “green stuff in it”) drank this down and said; “Mom, where did you get this recipe?” I told her and her reply was; “Thank them!!!” She loved it. I’m so happy : )
I love your blog Detoxinista! Bless you. I am trying to make more sustainable choices for my household and improve my digestion too. I always return to your recipes again and again. Thank you.
Tasty, easy and full of healthy things. I am aiming to start every day with a smoothie this week and this was a great start!
Just made this for lunch and it was delicious! Used too much peanut butter which is my lesson for next time but otherwise so so good! Glad to add this to my smoothie recipe mix.