Green Smoothie Bowl

We are huge smoothie fans since they are a great way to pack in tons of fruits, veggies, and nutrients BUT sometimes we want something to chew. Enter these Green Smoothie Bowls!

They are thick, creamy, and unlike many smoothie bowls, these green smoothie bowls will keep you full and satisfied with 18 grams of protein. Make them even more filling by adding your favorite granola, nut butter, seeds, nuts, and fresh fruit toppings.

Why You’ll Love Green Smoothie Bowls

• Nutrient dense: This green smoothie bowl is packed with vitamin A, C, and K and also contains iron, folate, manganese, bromelain, calcium, and potassium.
• Vacation in a bowl: Acai and smoothie bowls are one of my favorite things to eat on vacation. This tropical green smoothie bowl takes me right to the beach.
• Versatile: This smoothie bowl can be made with a variety of fruit, veggies, nuts, seeds, and toppings making it perfect for any dietary needs and preferences.

Looking for more smoothie inspiration? Don’t miss our Blueberry Banana Smoothie, Mango Spinach Smoothie, and Tropical Kale Smoothie. All make delicious smoothie bowls as well with less liquid.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Here is everything you need to make these green smoothie bowls.

• Frozen mango and pineapple: To get a really vibrant green color, you want to choose light colored fruit like frozen mango and pineapple. Peaches would be another good option. Darker berries will create a more brown tinge to the smoothie bowl.
• Banana: Bananas add sweetness and help to create a thick and creamy texture. If you don’t love bananas, add more mango, pineapple, or some frozen peaches.
• Baby spinach: Of all the greens, baby spinach has the most mild flavor. Kale or other greens also work but the “green” flavor will be stronger.
• Almond milk: Use any milk you like in this recipe including almond milk, soy milk, oat milk, coconut milk, and cashew milk. Or swap in water or coconut water.
• Greek yogurt: To make these smoothie bowls more filling and nutritious, Greek yogurt is a great option. It adds protein, calcium, and fat depending on what type of yogurt you choose. Swap in avocado or coconut yogurt for a dairy-free option.
• Protein powder: Smoothie bowls naturally lack protein, so I usually add protein powder to make them more filling. For a natural protein, use yogurt, nut butter, chia seeds, flax seeds, or protein rich toppings.
• Toppings: Toppings are essential to add texture to your smoothie bowls. Consider adding granola, peanut butter, chia seeds, flax seeds, shredded coconut, fresh fruit, or any other toppings you like.

How to Make Smoothie Bowls

Smoothie bowls couldn’t be easier to make!

1. Blend the fruit

For this smoothie, I like to start by blending the mango, pineapple, and banana until it forms a thick, creamy base. If you don’t have a high-powered blender, I recommend blending the spinach, yogurt, and milk first.

2. Add greens and liquid

Next add the spinach, milk, yogurt, and protein powder. Start with a small amount of milk and add slowly until it is blended, but still thick enough to eat with a spoon.

Taste the smoothie and adjust the sweetness if needed with a touch of honey, agave, or maple syrup.

3. Toppings

Pour or scoop into your bowl and add all your favorite toppings!

How to Make Thick Smoothie Bowls

The key difference between a traditional smoothie and a smoothie bowl is the thickness. Smoothie bowls should be thick, creamy, and eaten with a spoon!

The most important thing to remember to make a thick smoothie bowl is to use frozen fruit with a small amount of liquid. Fresh fruit has too much water and won’t stay thick.

Another thing that can make a big difference is using a high-powered blender (like Vitamix, Blendtec, or Ninja) with a tamper to push down the ingredients. They can blend the ingredients without needing extra liquid.

If you don’t have a high-powered blender, a food processor can work better.

Best Smoothie Bowl Toppings

The best thing about smoothie bowls is all the toppings! Think about ways to add texture, crunch, and flavor.

• Fresh fruit: Add sliced bananas, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, kiwi, mango, pineapple, or any other fruit you have on hand.
• Nuts: Add crunch with cashews, almonds, pistachios, walnuts, or peanuts.
• Seeds: Boost the nutrition with chia seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, or sunflower seeds.
• Nut butter: Add a swirl of peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, or coconut butter.
• Crunch: Add granola (traditional or grain-free), crunchy cereal, or shredded coconut.
• Sweetness: Add some chocolate chips, cocoa nibs, or carob chips

Variations and Recipe Ideas

There are so many ways to change up these smoothie bowls.

• Smoothie bowls without bananas: If you aren’t a fan of bananas, consider swapping in more mango, pineapple, or peaches. You can also use frozen cauliflower, but you may need some maple syrup or dates for sweetness.
• More veggies: If you want to up the veggies in this recipe, consider adding some frozen cauliflower rice, frozen zucchini, Persian cucumbers, or kale. You may need to add some pure maple syrup, dates, or agave to counteract the vegetable flavor.
• Add healthy fats: Consider using full-fat yogurt for healthy fats. You can also use avocado for a dairy-free option.
• Extra nutrition: For extra nutrients, you can add spirulina, chlorella, maca powder, greens powder, or other vitamin powders.
• Different fruits: For a bright green smoothie bowl, it’s important to use light-colored fruit like pineapple, mango, banana, peaches, kiwi, cantaloupe, peeled apples, or papaya. If you don’t mind a brownish color, you can also add berries.
• Dairy-free and vegan: Swap in coconut yogurt or soy yogurt for Greek yogurt.

Meal Prep Green Smoothie Bowls

There are a few different ways to prep smoothie bowls depending on your needs.

• Smoothie bags: Measure out the pineapple, mango, banana, and spinach and add to a ziploc bag or small container so it’s ready for the blender. Then when it's time to eat, add the yogurt, milk, and protein powder and blend.
• Smoothie ice cubes: Blend everything except the milk in a high-powered blender. Then pour into ice cube trays to freeze. When it's time to eat, blend the frozen smoothie cubes and milk.
• Fully frozen bowls: Make the bowls and freeze individual bowls in freezer-safe containers. Take them out of the freezer 10-15 minutes before eating to soften.

Are green smoothies good for you?

There is a lot of controversy about whether or not smoothies and smoothie bowls are healthy. While they are packed with tons of nutrients and vitamins, they can also be high in sugar (mostly natural) and lack protein.

Let’s look at some pros and cons:

Pros of Smoothie Bowls:

• Nutrient-Dense: Smoothie bowls often contain a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, making them rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. By adding protein powder, yogurt, or nut butter, they can also be high in protein and healthy fats.
• Energy Boosting: They can be a great source of natural sugars and carbohydrates, providing a quick energy boost.
• Portion Control: Eating a smoothie from a bowl with a spoon can help with more mindful eating and portion control compared to drinking a smoothie.

Cons of Smoothie Bowls:

• High Sugar Content: Even natural sugars from fruits can add up, potentially impacting blood sugar levels, especially if there's a lack of protein and healthy fats to balance it out.
• Calorie-Dense: Smoothie bowls can be surprisingly high in calories, especially if you add high-calorie toppings like nuts, granola, or honey.
• Nutrient Absorption: Blending fruits and vegetables can sometimes reduce the fiber content, which is essential for digestion and nutrient absorption.

While smoothie bowls are definitely packed with nutrients and healthy ingredients, it is extremely important to pay attention to portion control and what toppings you are adding.

Additionally, when buying smoothie bowls, pay particular attention to the sugar and fat content since many restaurant smoothie bowls contain additional sugar and fat in both the smoothie and toppings.