This vegan pineapple spinach smoothie recipe is packed with delicious tropical flavors. It’s perfectly sweet without any added sugars and has a beautiful bright green color.
You can’t beat the light, fresh taste which is wonderfully vibrant and refreshing!
Skill: Easy | Time: 5 min | Servings: 2
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Are Pineapple Green Smoothies Vegan?
Plenty of pineapple smoothie recipes are vegan; there are even options at chain-operated smoothie shops. Unless they contain dairy, honey or other non-vegan ingredients, you should be fine (it’s always best to check!).
However, buying smoothies can be very pricey. Considering how easy and delicious they are to make at home, I highly recommend it! When making a smoothie you also get to control all the ingredients to ensure your smoothie is fully vegan and fits your taste preferences.
Ingredients to Make a Spinach and Pineapple Smoothie
This recipe uses five simple ingredients to create a refreshing, tropical and vibrant green smoothie. Loaded with flavor from pineapple and banana while offering some greens (and nutrition) from spinach and cucumber.
- Pineapple: As the star ingredient, you’ll need some fresh pineapple. You can also use frozen pineapple chunks to save time and create a colder smoothie; perfect for those hot days when you want a light, cold drink.
- Spinach: For a nutrition boost and beautiful green color in this smoothie, I use spinach. You can use any other leafy green in smoothies; kale is another popular option.
- Banana: Some banana adds extra tropical flavor, natural sweetness, creaminess and bulk to the smoothie. As with the pineapple, you can use fresh or frozen banana. If you use frozen pineapple and frozen banana, the smoothie will be significantly thicker, and you may need more liquid to blend. Frozen banana has a stronger flavor, so I use fresh in this recipe because I want the pineapple flavor to shine through.
- Cucumber: This ingredient is optional, but I find cucumber incredibly refreshing. With a mild flavor and high water content, it’s tasty when added to a smoothie, especially one that has a lighter texture.
- Coconut water: Coconut water provides a naturally sweet flavor and creates a deliciously tropical-tasting smoothie. If you don’t have (or don’t like) coconut water, regular water works great. You could even blend in about 3 tablespoons of shredded coconut for that tropical flavor (only with a high-speed blender, otherwise the smoothie will have more texture).
How to Make This Recipe: Instructions and Tips
Smoothies are quick and easy to make, and this one only requires a few simple steps.
Step 1: Prep Ingredients
If using fresh pineapple, cut away the outer skin, remove the core and chop your remaining pineapple into chunks. If using frozen pineapple, simply measure the amount directly; add a couple extra pieces for maximum flavor if the frozen pieces are quite large!
You may need to wash your spinach. Wash the cucumber too and cut a piece that’s approximately 3 inches long. Then, peel your banana and you’re ready to blend.
Step 2: Blend into a Smoothie
Once you’ve added the ingredients to your blender, blend on high speed until no visible flecks remain.
If using frozen pineapple and banana, the smoothie will be thicker so you may need extra liquid (coconut water) to blend thoroughly.
If the pineapple and banana are fresh, you may want to add an ice cube or two for a nicely chilled smoothie. You could also pour the smoothie over ice to serve!
Step 3: Create Juice (Optional)
If using fresh pineapple, fresh banana and a high-speed blender, the final texture of this smoothie is very reminiscent of a juice. It’s light and easy to drink through a straw. The texture is one of the things I love most about this pineapple spinach smoothie!
However, if you don’t have a high-speed blender, you may have some flecks of ingredients that haven’t fully blended. This is perfectly okay if you like that texture, but you can also easily create a juice. Just pour the smoothie into a nut-milk bag and squeeze to remove the juice from its leftover pulp.
When creating a juice this way, nutritious fiber is removed. I prefer to keep the fiber in my smoothies whenever possible, but it’s completely up to you and what you prefer to drink!
How to Serve this Recipe: Create a Balanced Vegan Meal
This recipe is meant to be a fun beverage or even a snack. It mainly provides carbohydrates from fruits, along with some micronutrients in the fruits and veggies.
If you want a balanced snack that keeps you feeling full, consider pairing this smoothie with something that contains plant-based protein and/or healthy fats. Nuts and seeds are a great choice.
You could even blend some hemp seeds into the smoothie for that protein and healthy fat boost!
How to Store Leftovers
This smoothie recipe is meant to be consumed the same day it’s made. However, you can refrigerate leftovers in an airtight jar or bottle for up to two days. You’ll likely need to stir the ingredients before drinking if it’s sat in the fridge overnight. If it’s in a jar, simply shake it before drinking.
If you make this recipe, please rate and comment below to help others benefit from your experience!
Spinach Pineapple Smoothie
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups pineapple , cut into small chunks (fresh or frozen)
- 1 cup spinach , lightly packed (fresh spinach)
- 1 medium banana
- 3 inch piece cucumber (7.5 centimeters)
- 1 cup coconut water (or regular water)
Instructions
Step 1: Prep Ingredients
- If using fresh pineapple, cut into small pieces and remove the skin. Add to your blender. You can also use frozen pineapple.1 ½ cups pineapple
- Lightly pack a measuring cup with spinach and add to your blender.1 cup spinach
- Peel a banana and add to the blender.1 medium banana
- Cut a few inches off a medium-sized cucumber and add to blender.3 inch piece cucumber
- Measure coconut water and add to blender.1 cup coconut water
Step 2: Blend
- Blend the smoothie ingredients on high speed until thoroughly pureed. I don’t like texture in smoothies, so I blend until there’s no flecks left (but you can blend to your preference).
- Serve your smoothie cold!
Step 3: Create Juice (Optional)
- If you want to turn this smoothie into juice, without a juicer, place the pureed smoothie into a nut-milk bag and strain the juice. Leftover fiber will be strained out, effectively creating a delicious green juice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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About Nicole Stevens
Nicole is a vegan Registered Dietitian (RD) and founder of Lettuce Veg Out.
She helps people thrive on a vegan diet with balanced recipes and easy-to-understand nutrition science.
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