I started making this smoothie after we had something similar at great coffee house (Deep Creek Coffee Company) we visited during our trip in Southern Utah. If there’s one thing I crave more than anything else while traveling, it’s fresh fruits and veggies (which always seem to be scarce)!
Luckily for us, this particular coffee house offered some really great freshly made smoothies. We ordered their Einstein Smoothie which they made with berries, spinach, and Greek yogurt. I loved that they called it the Einstein Smoothie because it’s packed with all sorts of goodness to start your day off on the right foot.
You’ve got a serving of greens you don’t even know you’re drinking because it tastes berry deliciousness. It’s packed with antioxidents from the berries, and if you can have dairy, the Greek yogurt gives it lots of protein. It’s a really addicting combination because the first thing I did when we came home was to start making it for ourselves.
You can definitely make this with coconut milk or coconut yogurt if you can’t have dairy. But if you can have dairy… let’s talk about Greek yogurt for a minute. Greek yogurt is most wonderfully creamy, and it’s the only yogurt I can eat by the spoonful, plain with no added sweetener (it’s that good). Until recently, we didn’t have very many options available here in our small town, and most of them were thickened with things like guar gum.
A true Greek yogurt is drained to create it’s thick creamy texture, not thickened with extra ingredients. I’ve been using the Wallaby brand (full fat) which has a whopping 19 grams of protein per cup! While true Greek yogurt is a little bit more expensive because it’s costlier to make, it’s more than worth the extra money. Plus when you add it to your green smoothies, it becomes a well rounded breakfast with the high protein content.
When layering the ingredients for a green smoothie into the blender, it’s best to start with the easiest to blend ingredients, and finish up with the greens on the top. For this smoothie, I start with the yogurt and coconut water before adding in the berries and finally the greens. If you don’t have high powered blender, another thing you can do is blend the greens with the liquid in a smoothie recipe before adding anything else to the blender.
While this smoothie is all kinds of amazing, it’s not a very good keeper. I’ve tried making it the night before and then drinking it for breakfast, and there’s no doubt it looses a lot of it’s magic. There’s something about any smoothie with banana in it that never tastes as good 8 hours later. Fortunately it’s really easy to make, (10 minutes tops) especially if you’re using frozen berries.
Print
Berry Green Smoothie
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 7 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cups chilled coconut water
- 2 ripe bananas, peeled and quartered
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups frozen wild blueberries, 1 – 10 ounce package
- 2 cups frozen strawberries, 5 ounces or 1 cup frozen raspberries
- 1 cup Greek yogurt, or coconut yogurt for dairy free and Vegan
- 2 cup washed baby spinach, 2 ounces
Instructions
- Place the ingredients into a high powered blender in the order listed.
- Blend starting on low and working up to high speed, and blend until completely smooth.
- Enjoy within 1-2 hours for the best flavor.
Notes
You can use fresh of frozen berries for this recipe, but frozen berries are much cheaper for a good part of the year.
After a little while of drinking green smoothies, you might find yourself wanting to add in more greens. Taste the smoothie as is, and if you think you might want more spinach, feel free to throw in another cup (an additional 1 ounce).
- Prep Time: 10 mins
Berry Green Smoothie
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: about 2 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup chilled coconut water
- 1/2 ripe banana, peeled and quartered
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup frozen wild blueberries, 1 – 10 ounce package
- 2/3 cup frozen strawberries, 5 ounces or 1 cup frozen raspberries
- 1/3 cup Greek yogurt, or coconut yogurt for dairy free and Vegan
- 2/3 cup washed baby spinach, 2 ounces
Instructions
- Place the ingredients into a high powered blender in the order listed.
- Blend starting on low and working up to high speed, and blend until completely smooth.
- Enjoy within 1-2 hours for the best flavor.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
Hi, Kari
Thanks for the nice smoothie recipe. It’s really simple. I’m a big fan of berries and bananas in my smoothie. I really enjoy them together 🙂
Me too, they’re such a classic combo that never gets old!
I can not eat bananas. Is there something else I could use instead? Or would it still taste good if I just left bananas out without substituting?
You can leave the bananas out, but maybe sub in something like a few pitted dates for added sweetness. I hope you enjoy the recipe, and be sure to let me know how it goes, or if you have anymore questions!
Since you state it loses its flavor after 8 hours, isn’t this a large quantity to make? Wish the recipe was made for one-person servings.
The recipe make around 7 cups which goes quickly in our household, the two of us drink it for breakfast or a light lunch. I added in a single serving recipe below, (something I’ve been working on in my smoothie recipes) that makes 2 cups which is a normal 16 ounce serving size if you bought it at a smoothie shop. I hope you enjoy it, and let me know if you have any more questions! 🙂
looks delicious and definitely kid friendly. I like the use of vanilla. Saw it on a smoothie roundup.
The vanilla really round out the flavors, and I’ve found it helps people who are new to green smoothie love them right off the bat!