A Kale Smoothie that actually tastes amazing! The perfect healthy on the go breakfast, with no bananas and full of protein (but no protein powder needed). Vegan and naturally sweetened.
Want more delicious and healthy smoothie recipes? You’ll love my Mango Smoothie, Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie, Vegan Protein Shake and Vegan Green Smoothie.
For a long time, I couldn’t stand the taste of kale in a green smoothie. I always felt like I could taste it too much, so I stuck with spinach most of the time.
But I finally came up with the perfect blend of ingredients that mask the kale SO WELL, you can’t even tell it’s there! Plus it’s full of protein, fiber and basically all good-for-you ingredients that will keep you full until lunch.
Why this is my favorite smoothie ever
- It tastes like mango ginger lemonade, in smoothie form. You would never guess there’s a full 2 cups of kale in there!
- You’ll stay full until lunch time. With 20 grams of protein and a hefty dose of fiber, you’ll be satisfied all morning.
- No bananas needed. Not that I have anything against bananas, but sometimes I tire of the taste in smoothies, and it seems like they are always called for. If you don’t enjoy bananas in everything, you’ll love this banana-free green smoothie!
Tools Needed
- High Powered Blender: I can’t recommend a high powered blender enough, I use my Vitamix every day for smoothies, salad dressing, soups, vegan cheese and more! A regular blender will leave small pieces of greens in your smoothie, so it really is not a great option.
- Glass or stainless steel straws. I have both and love them for smoothies and other beverages.
- A reusable to go cup with a lid and straw, especially if you like taking smoothies with you to work.
Ingredients for Kale Smoothie
- Kale: I get pre-chopped and bagged organic kale at Trader Joe’s, and usually I stick a whole bag in the freezer for smoothies. I often use this kale for my 3 Minute Instant Pot Kale, one of my other favorite ways to eat kale! No need to wash, strip and chop kale, easy peasy.
- Frozen Mango: My favorite fruit for this smoothie, but you could also use pineapple, peaches, blueberries, or frozen bananas.
- Medjool Dates: I use 2 and don’t recommend leaving them out, they help cover up the kale taste and provide sweetness.
- Hemp, Chia or Flax Seeds: For added protein and healthy fats.
- A Lemon: Squeeze the juice from 1 lemon and add to the smoothie. This is so good, don’t leave it out! It seriously helps mask the kale.
- Fresh Ginger: If you don’t like ginger, you can leave this out, but I love it. Plus, it helps with digestion! It makes the smoothie taste a bit like ginger lemonade.
- Water: For blending, can also use non-dairy milk for a creamier smoothie.
How to make a Kale Smoothie
It’s so easy! Just add all the ingredients, starting with 1 cup of water, to a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
If it’s too thick, add the extra 1/2 cup water. If it’s too thin and runny, add a handful of ice or more frozen fruit. Serve immediately!
Can I make this the night before?
You could, technically, but it’s definitely better right away. If you need to prepare it the night before, make sure to store it in a container with a lid and as little air as possible. In the morning, give it a stir.
You can also make smoothie packs by adding all the ingredients to individual baggies (except the water and lemon juice). Then in the morning, just dump in the blender, add the liquid and blend!
Low sugar green smoothie
If you need a lower sugar green smoothie, leave the dates out entirely and use 1/2 or all frozen blueberries instead of mango.
Kale Smoothie – That Actually Tastes Good!
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped kale
- 1 1/2 cups frozen mango chunks
- 1-2 medjool dates, pits removed
- 2 tablespoons hemp seeds or chia/flax
- 1 lemon juice squeezed (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, optional
- 1-1 1/2 cups water
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a high powered blender and blend until creamy and smooth. Start with 1 cup of water, and if it's too thick add the extra 1/2 cup. I tend to enjoy a thinner smoothie so I use the full 1 1/2 cups of water.
- Serve immediately. It makes either one large serving, or two smaller servings.
Notes
- Use pre-chopped and bagged kale rather than having to strip, wash and chop regular kale. It makes smoothies much easier! I buy a bag of chopped kale and place in directly in the freezer so I always have it on hand.
- Sub frozen pineapple, peaches, blueberries or even frozen bananas for the mango if desired.
- Ginger is optional, but I absolutely love it along with the mango and lemon juice. Plus, it’s good for digestion!
- I don’t recommend leaving the dates out unless you have to, or your smoothie won’t taste as good. You could use a little pure maple syrup or agave to taste instead, but I prefer dates.
- May also sub your favorite non-dairy milk for the water, or use coconut water.
The only way I can get Kale in my diet. This is great. I do have a question. In the Nutrition part of the recipe it says “Calories:521kcal.” Oh my goodness, is that correct? I looked on the packaging of all my ingredients and I can’t see how or where that adds up to 521 calories. Thanks!
I’m glad you like it! I just redid the calorie calculation and it came out a bit lower. This largely depends on your ingredients. The hemps seeds add anywhere from 160-175 calories, but they add a lot of protein and good fat as well. You can use just 1 date if you want. But the smoothie is also huge and I often share it with a family member. Or it’s a decent breakfast for myself!
Thank you! I dread kale bitterness and your recipe worked like charm
I’m so glad you loved the recipe! Thank you for sharing your great review!
Yayyyy!!!
I didn’t have all the ingredients so I used chia seeds, key lime juice and the water from ginger tea as substitutes but it’s still delicious. My 4 year old drank his and asked for more even after being hesitant that it was green. Haha
That’s so great to hear! I’m thrilled you and your son loved the smoothie 🙂 Thanks so much for your review!
Easy and delicious! Followed recipe as written.
Awesome! Thanks for your feedback and review!
Dang! Nora, you did it again. Thank you! If anyone is lazy like me I:
Peel the lemon (like an orange), if there are any very apparent seeds I poke them out, then plop 4 slices into the blender. Then I freeze lemon slices and plop them in as needed!
regardless fabulous!
Is there a reason why you left out the banana?
You could add banana if you like. Enjoy!
It’s Delicious with are without the mango ?
I’m glad you liked the smoothie! Thank you for sharing your feedback!
My go-to smoothie – nothing else compares to it, is is so delicious!
I’m so glad you are loving the smoothie, Rachel! Thank you for your terrific feedback and review!
I was dangerously low on iron and had this smoothie every day. I made a little variation, using coconut milk for liquid, both chia and flaxseeds, both spinach and kale, and switched fruit every day.
The ginger gave it a refreshing flavor. I still drink this yummy smoothie often.
Great idea Wilda, love it. Women we need iron aplenty!
Tastes great!! A perfect combo of ingredients.
Thank you for sharing your review! I’m glad you liked the smoothie!
My rating is on the recipe only because I have to buy some ingredients today. I am 69 years old and need to boost my calcium to prevent osteoporosis, so I was looking for kale smoothie recipes that taste good. I love mango ,medjool dates and ginger. I’ll be adding my powdered calcium supplement. I just learned that calcium is terribly constipating , so this smoothie should be very helpful.
Update! I made this this morning adding only my teaspoon of calcium supplement. It’s fantastic! I love the little spicy bite of ginger! Thank you!
You are welcome! Thanks for sharing your review and comments!
I love this recipe it’s so tasty and quick. Do you think that it could be frozen and drank at a later time?
I’m glad you like it as much as I do! Yes, it can be frozen or stored in the refrigerator for about a day.
I made it today and it is delicious!!
Very simple and easy to make,
Thanks
I’m glad you found it delicious, Rosa! Thank you for sharing!
The kale is a strong flavor but it’s so refreshing and a great way to start the day (:
My daughter has been very ill with long covid and finding things she can handle eating has been a struggle. Gave this a go today and she LOVED it. She just asked me if she could have one every day! I’m so happy – thank you so much!
Hi Leanne. I’m really glad this is something your daughter loves. Sending wishes that she recovers soon. Thank you for taking the time to share.
You did it again, Nora! This came out so delicious. Only thing I did was add in a few extra dates! Thank you.
Hi Samar. I’m glad you like the smoothie! Thank you for sharing!
I like finding smoothie recipes that don’t require bananas. I made a few tweaks based on what I had on hand.
First change, I used fresh red chard. I cut out the stem/rib and tore into smaller pieces. Second, I swapped the water for some left over whey from greek yogurt making. Third, I used one Pecan Pumpkin Spiced Medjool date roll. Additions, I added a bit of maple syrup, about a cup of homemade greek yogurt and lastly , 2 scoops of Peanut Butter protein powder. There was no peanut butter taste. Like others the blender didn’t entirely blend the date roll.
I was excited to find another use for leftover whey. I really liked the ginger in the recipe.
Thanks so much for the idea!
This recipe is amazing! I make it twice per week and my whole family loves it.
Love this smoothie. Though I love ginger and lime in avocado smoothies and cucumber smoothies, I didn’t use it here. I did add a third date and a teaspoon of honey and I used ground flax. And I poured this over ice to drink. Delicious!
Thank you! Glad you are enjoying it!
Hi Nora! I love this smoothie, and have had it a few times this week. I’m dining that my dates don’t always get minced a lot in my high powered blender. I have been keeping them in the fridge so they last longer—could that be why they are not “blending” as well? Thanks for your amazing recipes!
Yes, that could definitely be why they are not blending well. They do need to be fairly soft. Soaking them in hot water for a few minutes will help, or take a few out at a time and leave at room temperature so they aren’t so hard and cold when you add them to the blender. And make sure to buy soft medjool dates to start with. So glad you like the smoothie, and I hope that helps!
This is very helpful. Thank you! I’ve checked the medjool packaging and they are not soft. I’ll definitely do the hot water bath and room temp warming before I make the next smoothie! Thanks again.
I’ve made this every morning for three days now and I highly recommend it! I use a cube of frozen crushed ginger from Trader Joe’s to make it even easier.
What a great idea, I will look for those next time I’m there! I’m so glad you are enjoying the smoothie, thank you.
Very tasty. But where does the 16Grams of Fat come from?
Glad you enjoyed! Mostly from the hemp seeds. The nutritional information is also not exact, and will vary depending on the exact ingredients you use. I use an automatic recipe calculator, and it isn’t always perfect, nor am I a dietician. 🙂
Thanks, Nora! I really appreciate you answering. I noticed hemp seeds were far more protein also but still couldn’t come close to 20 grams. A smoothie for breakfast that really did deliver that much would be awesome. Nevertheless, we will be trying this soon. I love your recipes and have been trying several of them since discovering your site about 3 months ago. It’s my new “go-to” vegan site since switching our diet over 2 years ago.
Thank you for all your efforts!
made this this morning and it was delicious!! THANKS!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the smoothie, thank you!
Nora – I haven’t made this yet, so didn’t rate it, but could you please explain where the 20 grams of protein comes from in this kale smoothie as noted in the nutrition facts? Per Google 1C chopped raw kale is 2.2 grams and 2T of golden flax meal is 3 grams per the bag. Thanks so much. I just love your recipes, btw.
The protein will vary a lot based on what seeds you use. Hemp seeds are much higher in protein than flax, which is what I used for the calculation. Also, I wouldn’t depend on the nutrition information as I use an online calculator, it isn’t always exact. Thanks!