How to Make the Best Tropical Green Smoothie {gf + vegan + paleo}

Babes! Today I’m going to show you how to make THE best tropical green smoothie. We’re using nutrient dense kale, green apple, pineapple, ginger, lemon juice, and coconut milk. Besides being super tasty it is also 100% gluten free, vegan, paleo friendly, and naturally sweetened.

A quick note on this recipe! The original version of this post was published back in 2017. Since then I’ve re-tested the recipe, updated the photographs, and the content. I’m republishing it for you today to enjoy! I hope you continue to make and love this tropical green smoothie. xo

I am definitely a all-year-round type of smoothie girl, but when the weather finally starts warming up they become more regular in our breakfast / snack rotation. How about you guys? Do you rock smoothies the whole year around or just when the the snow melts + sun starts shining?

No matter what time of year I am blending up a smoothie, I always makes sure it’s healthy and nutritionally balanced.

I don’t always add veggies to the mix, but if the flavors are going to work I will throw something green in the blender. If not a green leafy vegetable a few pieces of bright orange carrot like in this Probiotic Turmeric Mango Citrus Smoothie are always good.

Green smoothies have been having a moment in the spotlight for awhile now and for good reason.

When they are made with healthy and wholesome ingredients, and ACTUALLY TASTE GOOD (aka not like grass 😝), they are worth obsessing over.

We are currently crushing on this healthy tropical green smoothie made with tasty + good-for-you ingredients. It’s basically the queen of the green smoothie party that is happening in our kitchen right now.

I mean, check out that crown 😉

How to make the best tropical green smoothie

As long as you have a decent blender, this smoothie is a BREEZE to make. The best quality of a Vitamix or any high speed blender is it’s ability to turn any fruit or vegetable into smoothy, creamy, smoothie BLISS.

If you do not have a high speed blender but still want to live your best green smoothie life these tips from Simple Green Smoothies are where it’s at.

Here are the step by step instructions to making this smoothie:

1. Prep all of the smoothie ingredients: peel and cut the pineapple (or for a time saving short cut, buy some pre-cut pineapple at the grocery store!), cut the apple, peel and thinly slice a little chunk of ginger, wash a handful of kale, juice a lemon (or squeeze it right into your blender container), and pop the top on a can of full fat coconut milk.
2. Add a few pieces of ice to your blender along with the rest of the ingredients and blend everything UP! Vitamix recommends adding the ice and harder-to-blend ingredients first so they are closest to the blades. Then the blades can grab onto those ingredients first and you won’t end up with any weird chunks in your smoothie.
3. Depending on your blender you may need to use a tamper, or add a tiny bit of water at a time to get things moving smoothly.
4. Pour into 2 glasses and serve!

Ingredients in this tropical green smoothie

The flavor of this tropical green smoothie is super well balanced. It tastes sweet enough that you could drink it every day without feeling like you’re going overboard on the this-is-so-healthy-it’s-boring train, but it also tastes healthy enough that you don’t feel like you’re going overboard on the this-is-supposed-to-be-healthy-but-tastes-like-candy train.

I think it’s the magic ginger + lemon combo.

Ya feel me?

The perfect mix of sweet + tart ingredients combined with the soft creaminess of full fat coconut milk makes this tropical green smoothie recipe one that you’ll come back to again and again.

The wholesome and tasty ingredients are:

• Green kale – You can substitute another dark leafy green like spinach
• Banana
• Green apple
• Fresh pineapple
• Ginger
• Lemon juice
• Coconut milk
• Water
• Ice
• Hemp seeds
• Tiny pinch of sea salt – Trust. I add just a smidge of sea salt to all of my smoothies + blended drinks. It doesn’t make the smoothie taste salty, but it does round out all the flavors in the most perfect way.

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What makes this tropical green smoothie healthy

A lot of times smoothies will be so over filled with sugar that they qualify more for dessert than breakfast or a snack. This creamy and delicious green cup of goodness is made with such wholesome and well balanced ingredients that it will satisfy your cravings and also nourish you from the inside out without an excess of sugar.

The mix of fruit and veggies brings gut healthy fiber, vitamins, and minerals to the table. The full fat coconut milk adds some good-for-you fat that will help keep your blood sugar balanced and keep you satisfied long after you’ve finished drinking it!

Dietary modifications

This smoothie is already 100% gluten free, vegan, dairy free, paleo friendly, and made with Whole30 compliant ingredients.

Typically smoothies are not recommended as a part of a Whole30 protocol, as they can be total sugar bombs and also don’t always offer the same satiety that chewing your food does. This one is actually pretty well balanced, but the choice is up to you. You can read more about what’s in the Whole30 “Can I Have…” guide here.

A few notes on the recipe + some substitutions

• If you want to save yourself some time in the morning this smoothie can be made the night before and stored in the refrigerator until your ready to enjoy. Just give it a good shake before drinking!
• Don’t have kale on hand? You can easily substitute another green like baby spinach!
• To keep fresh greens on hand at all times for green smoothies store them in the freezer! Prepped and washed kale that has been thoroughly dried freezes perfectly in the freezer to use for smoothies whenever the craving strikes. You can also easily pop a clamshell of baby spinach into the freezer to have at the ready for smoothies, too!
• You can substitute frozen pineapple for fresh pineapple. If using frozen pineapple you may want to skip or reduce the amount of ice in the recipe.
• The pineapple can be swapped for for mango, or even peaches.

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