This thick and creamy tropical green smoothie is filled with healthy produce and will leave you feeling energized.
Tell Me About this Tropical Green Smoothie
Tropikale… tropical + kale. See what we did there? There’s nothing fancy about this homemade green smoothie. No strange ingredients or chalky protein powders, no added sweeteners, dairy, or nut butters either. You just need some familiar produce and a blender, plus a little almond milk to smooth it out. Here are some details:
- Texture: Thanks to the frozen bananas, this smoothie is wonderfully creamy and thick.
- Flavor: The green drink tastes mostly like sweet pineapple. We also add a lot of kale, but this addition does not overpower the tropical flavors of banana and pineapple. (Honestly, you can’t really taste it.)
- Time: Smoothies are pretty quick. Set aside about 5-10 to gather your ingredients and make the smoothie in your blender.
Best Blender to Use
To process frozen bananas into a smooth consistency, you need something high-powered. This blender is a favorite option for smoothies. And if you have a Ninja Chopper, which also works as a blender, that works too.
Choosing the Right Ingredients
You need just 4 ingredients for this green smoothie: almond milk, frozen bananas, pineapple, and kale. We call this group our “magic formula” because it acts as a wonderful starting point for other flavors and additions.
- Frozen bananas are a must. A lot of smoothie recipes include frozen banana because it thickens the drink without the need for ice. We do this with my orange creamsicle smoothie and chocolate peanut butter protein smoothie, too. With frozen banana, you have a creamy texture but with ice, you have a sometimes off-putting icy texture. Peel the bananas, break or slice into pieces, then freeze. If you’re looking for a smoothie made without bananas, we love this berry smoothie.
- Pineapple is a must, too. The pineapple is where all the flavor lies, so we don’t recommend using a different fruit.
- Liquid. We usually use unsweetened almond milk. Coconut milk or coconut water, soy milk, or cow’s milk are fine replacements.
- Greens. Feel free to replace the kale with spinach. You can use either green in my glowing skin smoothie, too. And if you have any leftovers, you can add kale to my creamy butternut squash mac and cheese for dinner!
- Other flavors and add-ins. Feel free to add some fresh blueberries or sliced strawberries. You can even replace some of the frozen bananas with chunks of frozen mango. And/or instead of almond milk, use orange juice.
Tropikale Energy Smoothie
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: serves 2
- Category: Drinks
- Cuisine: American
Description
This simple and satisfying green smoothie is made with just 4 ingredients and comes together quickly. Feel free to halve the recipe to make 1 smoothie.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 medium bananas, previously peeled, sliced, and frozen
- 2 cups fresh pineapple chunks
- 2 heaping cups kale
Instructions
- Make sure you have a strong, powerful blender that will blend up the kale and frozen bananas.
- Add all of the ingredients to the blender in the order listed. Blend on high for at least 3 minutes or until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the blender as needed. Add more milk if it’s too thick. Serve and enjoy.
- Cover and store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 8-10 hours.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Blender or Blender/Chopper Combo
- Almond Milk: We usually use unsweetened almond milk. Coconut milk or coconut water, soy milk, or cow’s milk are fine replacements. You could also use orange juice, which would add a lovely citrus flavor. Smoothie tastes creamiest with milk, though.