Pineapple Cucumber Smoothie

A refreshing and sweet pineapple cucumber smoothie.  The smoothie comes together in only 10 minutes using just 5 ingredients (unless you add milk or count water).  The frozen pineapple and kiwi add a sweet yet sour flavor.  While the cucumber is mild, it makes the smoothie very refreshing. 

For more pineapple smoothies, try my spinach pineapple banana smoothie, pineapple beet smoothie, orange carrot ginger smoothie, or island green smoothie.

Jump to:

• Ingredient notes
• Frozen vs fresh ingredients
• Variations
• New to adding greens to your smoothie?
• Storing green smoothies
• Related recipes
• Recipe
• Comments

Ingredient notes

Cucumber - I prefer using an English cucumber; they have thin skin and tiny seeds, so they don’t need to be peeled or de-seeded. If you use a regular cucumber, then peel and de-seed it before adding it to the pineapple cucumber smoothie.

Pineapple - Frozen pineapple will create a thicker smoothie, while fresh will create a thinner consistency.  If you substitute with fresh pineapple add ice cubes to chill the smoothie.  Since fresh fruit will add more liquid, start with 1 ½ cups of water if substituting the frozen pineapple for fresh.  If the smoothie is too thick water can always be added back.

Kiwi - No need to chop up the kiwi, just peel it and throw it into the blender. If you want to skip the kiwi, you can add half the juice from a lime for a little tang.

Banana - The ripe banana adds sweetness and acts as a binder. You can substitute it with half of an avocado, this substitution will reduce the sweetness of the pineapple cucumber smoothie.

Spinach - Fresh spinach can be substituted with kale.  De-stem the kale, and tear it into bite-size pieces before adding it to the smoothie. If you are using baby kale (it has small leaves with tender stems) then there's no need to tear apart or remove the stems. If you're looking to change up your greens in smoothies, try an arugula smoothie with pineapple and oranges.

Water - The water can be substituted with dairy-free milk, which will make your cucumber pineapple smoothie creamier. Coconut water can also be used instead of water.

Frozen vs fresh ingredients

I use a combination of frozen and fresh fruit in my smoothies.  Using frozen pineapple drastically cuts down on the amount of prep work.  While using a fresh banana and kiwi, 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 blander than its fresh counterparts.  So I prefer a combination of the two!

Variations

• Try adding freshly grated ginger.
• Use lime or lemon juice instead of the kiwi.
• Substitute half of the frozen pineapple with mango.

New to adding greens to your smoothie?

If you’re new to adding greens to your smoothie and not sure 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 over time slowly increase the amount as you get used to them.

Storing green smoothies

Store your leftover pineapple cucumber smoothie in an air-tight container with a lid in the refrigerator and consume it within 24 hrs.  I’m a big fan of reusing cleaned-out peanut butter jars for all sorts of storage: overnight oats, freezing, meal prep, and even smoothies.  Plus they come with a lid!

I hope you enjoy this spinach cucumber pineapple smoothie! If you like the recipe, feel free to rate it and leave a comment.

Related recipes

• Dairy-free mango smoothie
• Island green smoothie
• Arugula smoothie
• Pineapple beet smoothie
• Chocolate banana smoothie
• Pineapple banana smoothie
• Carrot orange ginger smoothie

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