Tropical Island Green Smoothie

The smoothie is adaptable, use only pineapple or just mango.  Use spinach instead of kale, or skip the lime if you don’t like it or don’t have it on hand.  Use the island green smoothie recipe to get more greens into your diet by adding it to your breakfast or for an afternoon snack/pick-me-up.

For more refreshing smoothies, try my pineapple cucumber smoothie or cucumber mango smoothie. If you’re interested in adding different vegetables, try my beet and pineapple smoothie or carrot ginger orange smoothie.

Recipe features

• Sweetened with tropical fruits!
• Quick and easy to make with bright flavors!
• Use frozen pineapple to cut down on prep work and to have a chilled refreshing tropical smoothie recipe!

Ingredient notes

The delicious recipe only needs a few ingredients to whip up this healthy smoothie.

Coconut water - Instead you can use water or half water and half coconut water. For more recipes with coconut water, try our pineapple slush recipe with orange juice.  It can also be made with plant-based milk, try it with unsweetened plain almond milk, soy milk, oat milk, or cashew milk.

Kale - Use fresh kale that has been pulled from the stem and torn into pieces.  It shouldn’t be wilted and discard any slimy bits.  The kale can be substituted with fresh spinach, Swiss chard, or even romaine. Want to add new greens to your smoothie? Try arugula in smoothies that pair the peppery greens with pineapple and oranges.

Frozen pineapple - This can be replaced with more mango.  If you use fresh pineapple I would suggest using another frozen component to make the smoothie cold and thick.

Frozen mango - This can be replaced with more pineapple and the same goes here: if you use fresh ripe mango make sure to use another frozen component in the smoothie to make it cold. For another smoothie with frozen mango, try a cherry mango smoothie.

Banana - Ripe bananas help with binding and give the island green smoothie a creamy texture.  Instead of a banana try ½ of an avocado.  Substituting with the avocado will make the smoothie less sweet.

Lime - Fresh lime juice adds a wonderful tangy flavor. It can be left out or try adding fresh kiwi (peel before adding to the smoothie).

Frozen vs fresh fruit in smoothies

I use a combination of frozen and fresh fruit in my smoothies.  Using frozen pineapple drastically cuts down on the amount of prep work and adds a tropical flavor.  Using a fresh banana and kale (or spinach) gives the smoothie some fresh components so it doesn’t have the texture of a slushy.  Frozen fruit (while in its frozen status) can be more bland than its fresh counterparts.  So I prefer a combination of the two! 

New to adding greens to your smoothies?

If you’re new to adding greens to your smoothie and unsure if you’d like it, start with spinach.  It has a milder taste than kale and it’s easier to cover up with fruit.  You can also try adding half the amount of greens, then slowly increase the amount over time as you get used to them.

Using pineapple (like in this island green smoothie) is also a great way to cover up the taste of greens in smoothies. The sweet tropical fruit can be found in a lot of recipes, adding a bright slightly tart flavor.  Kale and baby spinach are commonly found in green smoothies, but add your favorite greens or give swiss chard, romaine lettuce, or collard greens a try.  If you're feeling adventurous, try an arugula smoothie that pairs the peppery greens with fresh squeezed orange juice.   

Tips

• If using fresh pineapple or fresh mango, use frozen bananas to have a chilled smoothie.
• If you are using all fresh fruit, try adding ice cubes to make it cold (this may dilute the smoothie).
• Try adding fresh ginger, simply peel and grate into the blender.  Add to taste.
• To make it less sweet, use more greens or reduce the recipe's suggested amount of fruit.  You may need to decrease the liquid if you use less fruit.
• Reduce the coconut water and make it into a smoothie bowl, top it with chia seeds, fresh fruit, and granola.  Start with ½ cup of coconut water or dairy-free milk, then add more to get a thick smoothie bowl consistently.

Instructions

If you have a high-speed blender, you can probably add everything at one time and blend until smooth.  If you don't and your blender has difficulty breaking down kale, add the greens and liquid first.  Puree and then add the frozen fruit, ripe banana, and lime juice, and pulse to break up the frozen fruit.  Then blend until smooth.

Can I make green smoothies in advance?

You can make the tropical island-inspired green smoothie a day in advance, but there may be some liquid separation so give it a good stir before consuming.

Another option is to portion off the greens, mango, and pineapple in a freezer-safe bag. Then when you're ready to make it add them along with the banana, coconut water, and lime juice to the blender and blend until smooth. You can add the banana to the freezer bag, but skip adding the liquid to the freezer bag. I prefer to leave the banana out to add more fresh components to the smoothie.

If you are freezing all fresh fruit for the tropical green smoothie, to prevent the fruit from freezing in one clump flash freeze it on a lined baking sheet. Once frozen add it to the freezer-safe bag and write on the bag the amount of liquid and any other ingredients needed to finish the smoothie. When prepping this way and everything is frozen for the smoothie, I like to let partially thaw before I blend it with the liquid.

Storage

The smoothie is best if served immediately, but leftover smoothies can be stored in an airtight jar with a lid in the refrigerator for 24 hours.  Give it a stir before serving.

Related recipes

• Carrot orange ginger smoothie
• Spinach pineapple banana smoothie
• Mango smoothie without yogurt
• Vegan chocolate banana smoothie
• Arugula smoothie

As always, I hope you enjoy this recipe for a delicious tropical smoothie with fresh greens! If you like the recipe, feel free to rate it and leave a comment.