5-Ingredient Green Smoothie
This is my favorite green smoothie. It is super simple, only has 5 ingredients, and you can’t even taste the green! Just greens, banana, pineapple, peanut butter, and chia seeds, this vegan green smoothie is incredibly versatile and budget-friendly.
It took me so many tries to finally make a green smoothie I could actually tolerate—and this one? I love it.
Every time I’d try my hand at a green smoothie, it always tasted too green. I realized that the key to a green smoothie that doesn’t taste like liquid spinach, is the banana and peanut butter combo. Not to mention this combo helps the smoothie feel a little more filling.
The bonus? The ingredients are all easy to find, and on the more budget-friendly side since you only need a handful.
Smoothies are a great option for a quick and budget-friendly plant-based breakfast, but sometimes you end up with way more cleanup, and time and money spent making them because the ingredient list is so long and complicated.
I wanted to simplify things with this smoothie recipe, by limiting the number of ingredients so that they remained affordable, and so that I had a simple go-to smoothie I could throw together easily with mostly pantry and freezer staples I almost always have on hand.
I’ll walk you through the simple ingredients, and the steps you can take to prep them in advance and save you time on your busy mornings.
simple green smoothie ingredients:
You’ll find the full ingredient list below—but here’s what to expect in this plant-based recipe:
Frozen Banana
Peanut Butter
Frozen Pineapple
Kale or Spinach
Chia Seeds
Plus: water (or you could use almond milk) for blending.
I stock up on frozen fruit to make smoothie-making extra easy. It is just as nutricious as the fresh stuff, and will last way longer if you don’t use it up right away.
If you don’t have frozen pineapple, feel free to use frozen mango, frozen peaches, a combination of both, or any fruit you have on hand.
You can also dice and freeze fresh pineapple. If it is in season, this is an awesome option and may even save you money.
As I mentioned above, the banana and peanut butter combo is crucial if you’re still warming to the idea of greens in your smoothie. If I want the smoothie to be extra thick, and if I’ve planned ahead, I’ll slice and freeze my bananas in advance. If you remember to do this, I definitely recommend it!
If you only have fresh fruit on hand—no worries! Use what you have, and throw in some ice cubes if you don’t have any other frozen element.
I like to use fresh greens, like spinach or kale, in my smoothies. I find that the flavor is way more mild than the frozen stuff.
Once you’ve blended your banana, pineapple, greens, and peanut butter, stir in the chia seeds.
And I know I said this was a 5-ingredient smoothie, but if you want an extra flavor boost, a dash of cinnamon is always a delicious choice.
vegan meal prep & serving tips:
I made this smoothie recipe so that it was really quick to come together on your busy mornings. With only 5 ingredients, you’re hopefully saving on a lot of prep and cleanup time.
That said, if you’re interested in saving even more time in the AM, I have a few prep tips for you.
On your meal prep day, you’re going to create individual smoothie packs by putting enough of each ingredient for one smoothie per freezer bag. You can create as many smoothie packs as you like! The best part is even if you don’t get around to enjoying all of them in one week, they’ll keep in the freezer for the next time you’re craving a fresh green smoothie.
Add the frozen fruit, or fresh fruit for freezing (pineapple and sliced bananas), to freezer bags. I use quart-sized ones.
Add fresh greens to the freezer bags. If you plan to enjoy your smoothie within 6 months, you can put fresh spinach straight into the freezer without blanching it. Again, I prefer using fresh spinach from my fridge, or fresh spinach that I’ve frozen (without blanching), because it has a milder taste than the greens you can buy pre-frozen from the freezer section of your grocery store.
Add chia seeds to the freezer bags.
I don’t add the peanut butter (or whatever nut butter you’re using) to the freezer bags. Hold off on this, and make it the one ingredient you need to work with the morning-of.
You should now have smoothie packs ready to go in your freezer that you can grab for a quick breakfast. Add the contents of the freezer pack into your blender, along with the peanut butter and some water or almond milk for blending.
I hope this recipe saves you time and makes you a green smoothie believer like me.
Be sure to follow along for more plant-based goodness on Pinterest and Instagram.
5-Ingredient Green Smoothie
Ingredients (serves 1):
1 frozen banana
1 Tbsp. peanut butter
1 cup of frozen pineapple
large handful/bunch of kale or spinach
1 tbsp. chia seeds
Instructions
Add all ingredients to your blender and blend.
Add a little water or your favorite plant milk if your smoothie needs some liquid to combine and come together. I often need about 1/2 cup of liquid, but blenders will vary. Serve immediately.
Notes:
Bonus additions: A dash of cinnamon is delicious. Also try adding 1/4-1/2 fresh avocado for a creamier texture and to keep you full longer.
You can swap out the frozen pineapple for frozen mango, peaches, or other fruit of choice.
For advanced prep: place the sliced banana, frozen pineapple, greens and chia seeds in a freezer bag and store in the freezer. When ready to prepare, dump contents into your blender, add peanut butter and water or almond milk to thin, and blend.
