This tropical green smoothie is filled with FOUR servings of fruits and vegetables. 4 full servings. WHAT. Two servings of fruit plus two servings of vegetables. And I promise you, you cannot taste the veggies AT ALL. My husband said something along the lines of “wow, this smoothie tastes absolutely nothing like it looks!” LOL. This tropical green smoothie tastes like a delicious drink you’d have on the beach and just reminds me of SUMMER and warm weather every time I drink it! I love how this only requires 5 simple ingredients too!
This recipe was created on a whim one afternoon when I happened to be home and randomly was craving a smoothie. I probably have a “craving” for a smoothie like twice a year so I was surprised but it just sounded SO good at the moment. Specifically something very tropical with pineapple and orange flavors.
Here’s what you’ll need to make this smoothie!
Ingredients for Tropical Green Smoothie
Frozen Pineapple
Ok, so speaking from experience. Since there is NO added sugar in this smoothie and very few ingredients, it is very important to use sweet and ripe fruit! Make sure you’re pineapple tastes good. I’ve used both frozen pineapple I buy at the store as well as leftover fresh pineapple I’ve cut up myself and then frozen in individual portions. If your pineapple (and orange) aren’t sweet on their own, this smoothie won’t be either! I highly recommend using frozen pineapple for a thick, cold smoothie with the best texture.
Fresh Orange
I love using the entire orange in this recipe versus just using orange juice! Using the whole fruit (such as an apple versus apple juice and orange instead of orange juice) ensures you get the fiber from the fruit! I also used the zest from the orange (the orange peel grated-like how you would zest a lemon) for more orange flavor! Just like with the pineapple, I highly recommend you taste the orange to make sure it is SWEET before putting it in your smoothie! 😊
Spinach
Hopefully you’re not new to putting greens in your smoothies. If you are, I’m happy to let you know that if you use a mild-tasting green, such as spinach, you can NOT taste it at all in this smoothie! If you’re nervous at all, you can always start with 1 cup and then add more spinach if you want. Personally, I usually add 2 heaping cups of spinach for this smoothie for two full servings of veggies!
Greek Yogurt
Greek yogurt adds protein and creaminess to this smoothie! I used plain Greek yogurt, but if you want a sweeter smoothie than you can add vanilla yogurt instead. If you don’t have Greek yogurt or don’t prefer it, you can also use regular yogurt. However, since Greek yogurt has so much more protein than regular yogurt and you’re blending it up in a smoothie anyways, I’d encourage you to give it a try! If you need this smoothie to be dairy-free, you can use a dairy-free yogurt. There are more and more non-dairy yogurt options! Almond milk yogurt, coconut milk yogurt, and the most recent non-dairy yogurt I’ve seen in stores uses oat milk! These non-dairy yogurts tend to be much lower in protein, however.
Serving Suggestions
As written, this makes 1 very large smoothie (more like for a meal), or two smaller servings (more like a snack). Even if you split this in two, you’re still getting a full serving of fruits AND vegetables if you use the two cups of spinach! If you want, you can also omit the milk or just add a tiny bit to make a thick, creamy smoothie bowel and top it with fun toppings! I’d recommend this delicious granola, or try this grain-free granola as well!
- 1 cup frozen pineapple
- 1 medium orange plus zest of 1 orange
- ½ cup plain or vanilla Greek yogurt
- 1-2 heaping cups spinach
- ¼-3/4 cup milk of choice
- optional if you want a sweeter smoothie: honey to taste
- Simple add all ingredients to a blender (I recommend adding the spinach and milk on the bottom to blend the best) until smooth and combined! You may need to use your blender tamper or stop and scrape down the sides with a spatula until combined.
- Makes 1 large serving or two smaller servings!
This is a delicious way to get the nutrients contained in spinach! Thanks! A calcium boost, too!
Hope you like the recipe! 🙂