I’m still giggling about the time I shared a green smoothie on Snapchat and one of my good guy friends told me it looked totally disgusting. That’s what good friends are for, right? I laughed because I was ninety-percent confident that he would have loved it if he had actually tried it.
It was mostly made of raspberries, but I added some spinach for some extra nutrients. While the raspberry-red and spinach-green colors didn’t combine to produce the most appetizing shade of frozen treat, it was nutritious and seriously delicious.
I’ll never get on the expensive fresh juice bandwagon, but smoothies are a great way to get some extra servings of fruit (and even some greens). With smoothies, as opposed to juice, you get all that goodness without losing the fiber content, which keeps blood sugar levels stable.
When I discovered that I could portion smoothie ingredients in a mason jar or bag to blend later, I started making a lot more smoothies at home. I’ve been rotating through the three make-ahead green smoothies in my book, but it’s about time to change things up.
I recently got a chance to chat with Jen from Simple Green Smoothies. She’s a pioneer of the green smoothie concept. Somehow, I’d never gotten my hands on a copy of her book of the same name, so she offered to send me a copy. It’s beautifully designed and photographed, with over 100 recipes for green smoothies of all varieties—green smoothies for beginners and kids, post-workout, dessert, and even green smoothie bowls.
When I was flipping through the book, I saw all kinds of produce added to smoothies that I wouldn’t have thought of—melons, grapes, cucumber, celery and so on. Mango jumped out to me, and I realized I have never added mango to a smoothie before.
So, I decided to remedy the situation with the “mango-rita” recipe in the book. The mango-rita is a citrusy, sweet-tart smoothie reminiscent of a mango margarita. It’s made with mango and pineapple, orange, lime and coconut water. Turns out that mango can make smoothies super creamy and luscious, no banana in sight.
In the book, she bills the smoothie as a hangover cure thanks to the vitamin B content in the pineapple and the electrolytes in the coconut water. I may have to put that to the test sometime. It’s definitely a delicious, cold, creamy treat, perfect for breakfast or a snack.
I think you could blend in a couple of tablespoons of chia seeds for extra staying power. Do check out her book, and let me know how you like this one!
Mango-Rita Green Smoothie
- Author:
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2 smoothies 1x
- Category: Smoothie
- Method: Blender
- Cuisine: American
This refreshing green smoothie recipe features frozen mango and pineapple and fresh orange and lime. You can’t taste the spinach, but it’s good for you! Recipe yields 2 smoothies.
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh spinach
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut water
- 1 orange, peeled
- 2 cups chopped mango (I used frozen mango chunks)
- 1 cup chopped pineapple (I used frozen)
- Juice of ½ lime, more to taste, plus 2 lime slices for garnish
- Tiny pinch of salt (trust me)
Instructions
- Blend the spinach, coconut water and orange until smooth.
- Add the mango, pineapple, lime juice and salt and blend again. Taste, and add more lime juice if desired (I like mine to have some kick).
- Pour the smoothie into two glasses and garnish each with a slice of lime.
Notes
Recipe just barely adapted from Simple Green Smoothies by Jen Hansard and Jadah Sellner.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Carolyn
Aaaah, I love making green goddess smoothies. :-) The color just makes me feel like I am winning at life and that I instantly feel healthy. Mango in green smoothies are just a must! Love it! Beautiful pictures. I am new to your channel!
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks, Carolyn! I’m glad you found my blog. :)
Rachel
Hi Kate! This looks great! Unfortunately I can’t eat pineapple. Would you suggest adding a different ingredient, or just leave it out (add more mango perhaps?)
Thanks!
Becky Kostka
This looks delicious! I’ve also had some good success blending a few batches of smoothies on the weekend and freezing them in mason jars for breakfasts throughout the week. Just put one frozen smoothie in the fridge the night before and grab-and-go in the morning! The pineapple coconut smoothie in your book has been one of my favorites!
Kate
Great technique! I’ll have to try that. I’m glad you enjoy the book, too!
Becky Kostka
Yes! I’m always reaching for it. I don’t think I’ve put it on the shelf since I brought it home.
Heather
I have the Simple Green Smoothie book and have enjoyed their combinations in the book. I look forward to trying out this one.
Kate
I hope you love it, Heather! Let me know how it goes.
Vivian
I really like your site’s content but what I can’t stand are the constantly streaming ads chewing up and devouring my internet allowance (not all of us are able to have unlimited access). You say I can “unsubscribe anytime” but I found no clickable way to do that. I don’t want to GO but really, I can’t afford you anymore! Please unsubscribe me.
Cassie Autumn Tran
Yum yum yum, I love my green smoothies! The combination of mangoes, pineapples, and spinach is such a classic. I made it all the time when it was hot!
Kate
Me, too! This one will go on regular rotation for me.
Julie
This sounds wonderful, but wondering if you could suggest something other than pineapple that would work in this please as I’m allergic to fresh pineapple (tinned stuff is okay; just have a reaction to fresh and anything with figs in it :/ ).
Kate
Can you do banana? That would be good.
Julie
Yes I can, thanks Kate :)
Ben Myhre
Spinach is great for smoothies, but if a person is a fragile flower about green things in food, it can be a turn off. It is unfortunate that so many people are instantly turned off if something is green.. as if anything that might look healthy might taste terrible.
Kate
Oof, what a misconception! You can’t even taste the spinach in this. Just fruity creaminess!
Susan
I wish I could get on the green smoothie bandwagon, but I can’t. I’ve tried several recipes for them, from people I trust, but apart from the usually rather disgusting color, neither my husband nor I like the flavor of a smoothie with greens added. Fruits are fine, but not green veggies. I also usually add some protein powder to smoothies to give them enough protein that they have some staying power.
Kate
It’s definitely up to your personal tastes! I don’t think you can really taste the spinach in this one, but to each her own. :)
Faygie Moorvitch
Thank you, thank you, thank you for a green smoothie recipe without banana in it! I seem to be in the minority in that I cant stand the taste (or smell) of banana, and it so hard to find a smoothie recipe that doesn’t have any. With the coconut water, this seems like it would make a fantastic post-run treat, and I can’t wait to try it!
PS I am LOVING your cookbook!
Kate
You’re welcome, Faygie! I hope you get the chance to enjoy the smoothie. Thanks for picking up the book, too!
Gaby Dalkin
LOVE the ingredients…perfect for summer!
Kate
Yes! Such a fun way to start the day.
Alexa
Yum! I’m allergic to banana so it’s always a treat to find banana-free smoothies :) Question about portioning the ingredients in advance for green smoothies – do you usually stick all the ingredients in a bag or add things like fresh spinach in when you go to blend them?
Kate
I put all of the non-liquid ingredients in the bag and freeze them (including the spinach/greens). It’s a great way to use up a whole bag of spinach at once!
Judy
I made half a recipe this morning. It’s delicious and halved, still makes 3 servings. I used frozen mango (there was a sale a few weeks ago), crushed pineapple and an orange I stole from the supply for my orioles. I had enuf pineapple and orange for two more half recipes so I froze them together so it’ll be easy to do again.
★★★★★
Kate
Perfect! Thanks, Judy.
Deryn | Running on Real Food
Yes! This looks so bright and refreshing! Perfect for this little heat wave we’re having right now. Haha, love that it’s in the book as a hangover cure, I’ll take it. I think I need to get my hands on that book!
Kate
You should! It’s amazing. So many different combinations, and you’re right–it’s the perfect way to start a warm summer day!
paige
Hilarious! Finally got back to my blogs and found that you referenced one of my favs! I have Jen’s book. Her challenge got me into green smoothies and I have been drinking them for close to a couple of years now and have done all of her cleanses. This is a good one. I’m not a huge fan of lots of banana in my smoothies either, so I really like the pineapple ones. For those of you that don’t do pineapple, this would be good with a banana instead. Pulling her book out to mix a double batch for the next two mornings right now. Rawk on!
Kate
Thanks, Paige! I can’t believe I hadn’t gotten her book earlier. It’s definitely a staple in my kitchen now!
Cathy
I made a half recipe of this morning and it was so refreshing and delicious! I also used frozen mango and pineapple but had to add a little bit more coconut water to make it blend in my Vitamix. Thanks, Kate!
★★★★★
Eshika Roy
I literally started having hunger pangs halfway through the post. It looks amazing and I bet it also tastes delicious too. It is the perfect dish to cook up in this season. I can’t wait to try it . Looking forward to reading more delectable recipes in the upcoming posts.
Sophia Adams
Me and My husband was starving after seeing this recipe. Mango-Rita is an amazing testy smoothie. We list all ingredient and shop them. After that we blend them with our powerful smoothie blender and take a walk to enjoy the drinks. We are waiting and expect more delicious healthy recipes soon.
Kate
There are a lot of recipes on the docket for 2018! Stay tuned :)
Sherry
Always thought like many green smoothies YUCKY. Love spinach and nerds more greens in diets. My friend lives mango. We both give it a 10+.
Kate
Thank you!
Vera
Hi Kate, Hi Cookie,
I just start to learn more about smoothies and this one is absolutely delicious,like the most of the recipes I have tried from you.
It was easy to make and perfect to drink on the way to work.
Can`t wait to try more.
Anna
Refreshing and delicious. I used all fresh fruit and frozen spinach and it was still thick enough and nice and cold.
★★★★★
Susan
This is outstanding! My husband and I really enjoyed the first half. Sadly the second half of our drinks were swiped by our children who also loved the smoothies.
★★★★★
Maya
This smoothie is so good! It tastes so fresh and delicious and it’s the perfect breakfast smoothie. I was honestly a little sad when I finished it, but I will definitely be making this again over the course of the week. I recently decided to stop having as much dairy, so I’ve been looking for smoothies without any milk. The coconut water I thought was perfect, because it tastes so much better than normal water. I used frozen mango and regular pineapple, but it was the perfect temperature. Great recipe!
Phoebe
Soooo delicious! Didn’t have coconut water so subbed with apple juice. Even my 8 yr-old daughter who’s a very picky eater and hates most greens was surprised at how she couldn’t taste the spinach. She enjoyed this smoothie and finished her glass before saying she had to go to the bathroom – mission accomplished! Thank you for sharing this delicious and healthy smoothie!
Jamie
This is DELICIOUS. I’m sharing it with everyone I know. It looks so beautiful. I can feel/taste all of the vitamins in every sip. Thank you for all of your tasty and accessible recipes!!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Jamie! I’m glad you enjoyed it.