Give yourself a burst of energy in the morning by starting your day with this five ingredient Kale Smoothie. The flavorful combination of pears, apples, kale, almond butter, and almond milk is perfectly sweet, super satisfying, and kid-friendly too!
I feel like it’s next to impossible to have a bad day when you start off by drinking this fantastic kale smoothie. It’s naturally sweetened with apple and pear, but has all the health benefits of kale!
There’s no protein powder needed! You’ve got your healthy fats and protein from the added almond butter.
It’s a great on the go breakfast or snack! Just throw everything into your blender, and in minutes you have a healthy and complete meal.
It’s also excellent for those days when you need a healthy jumpstart. We all have those days when we’ve maybe indulged a little too much! This kale smoothie is a healthy way to give yourself a little detox.
Tools and Equipment You’ll Need
Recipe Ingredients & Notes
You only need 5 simple ingredients for this smoothie!
You can, of course, change things up as much as you’d like, but this ingredient mix of kale, apples, pears, almond butter and almond milk is guaranteed to satisfy every time you make it.
How to Make a Kale Smoothie – Step by Step
Step 1: Chop the apple and pear into small cubes. Remove the spine and stem of the kale, and roughly chop. Add all of the ingredients to a blender.
Step 2: Blend until smooth (1-2 minutes). Drink and enjoy.
What Makes This Kale Smoothie Healthy?
- Vitamins and Minerals: Kale is a superfood! It’s an excellent source of Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Magnesium and Potassium. In addition, the apples, pears and almonds in this kale smoothie are rich in Vitamin A, Calcium, Potassium, Copper, and Manganese.
- Rich in Antioxidants: Not only does this healthy green smoothie taste good, but it can also help fight against free radicals in your body. Antioxidants may help lower inflammation, and protect against heart disease and cancer. (source)
- Low in Calories: Each smoothie has only 150 calories! So you don’t have to feel overly full all morning, but it’s enough to keep you satisfied.
Will Kids Enjoy This Kale Smoothie?
Most kids are going to be more than thrilled to sip on this healthy green smoothie for breakfast. The apples and pears give it a natural sweetness, that completely disguises the kale. They won’t even know that it’s super healthy for them. They’ll think they’re getting a treat, and you’ll feel good knowing you’re giving them something that’s super nutritious.
Recipe FAQs
The most important thing to remember is that not all smoothies are created equal. A green smoothie you find at a restaurant may be filled with added sugars and sweeteners, making it much closer to a dessert than a healthy drink!
But when you make your smoothie at home, you can control how much sugar or empty calories are being added to it. Which is why, most homemade kale smoothies are going to be healthy for you! This smoothie has 2 servings, so while 1 serving is 150 calories, if you consume the entire contents it will still only be 300 calories!
Yes, it is okay to put raw kale in a smoothie. It’s also okay to eat raw kale (like in a salad or side dish). Keep in mind, Kale is very fibrous, and tough. When you put it in a smoothie, the blender it breaks down which makes it very easy to consume. If eating raw kale leaves, remember to remove the spine, and massage the kale to make it easier to eat.
This kale smoothie will last up to 48 hours in the fridge, but I think it tastes best when you drink it fresh. If you want to store it for later, put it in an airtight container and place it in the fridge. The ingredients will separate after it sits, so make sure to stir it or blend it again before drinking.
Recipe Variations
- Change up the fruit! Swap out the apple and pear to change the flavors. Bananas, strawberries, pineapples, mango, would give this smoothie a creamy texture and sweet taste without needing added sugar.
- Change the milk! You can swap the unsweetened almond milk for any other dairy-free milk of your choice. Cashew milk or coconut milk would also be tasty options. You could also use regular cow’s milk, but keep in mind this kale smoothie recipe would no longer be vegan friendly.
- Don’t have kale? In place of kale, you could also use spinach if you’d rather. Or you can use both kale and spinach! Both are great options and equally nutritious.
- Want it extra creamy? Add half of an avocado for a super creamy texture. Avocados have lots of healthy fats in them, and it will increase the nutritional value, but also increase the fat calories.
- Want more protein? Try adding ground flaxseed, ground chiaseed, oats, Greek yogurt (if you’re ok with a non-vegan option), or your favorite protein powder.
- Want it sweeter? Try adding dates which provide sweetness with no added sugar needed!
Top Tips For Making The Best Kale Smoothie
- Don’t add too much water. It’s a good idea to add a little bit at a time until you get it the right texture. Depending on the type of blender you have, you may not need any water at all. A high speed blender will easily break down the ingredients.
- I don’t recommend adding ice to this spinach smoothie, because it will water down the flavors. Instead, chop up your ingredients and freeze them together in a freezer bag the night before. Frozen fruits and veggies will yield a more frozen slushy/smoothie texture (and the more frozen produce you use, the less ice you will need)
- I recommend using a high powered blender for this smoothie recipe, so you end up with a super smooth, milkshake like texture.
- Make sure you de-stem the kale before adding it to the smoothie. You don’t want those fibrous tough stems unless you have a super high powered blender like a Vitamix that can pulverize everything!
- To save time, use pre-chopped kale or baby kale in this smoothie recipe.
Kale Smoothie
Give yourself a burst of energy in the morning by starting your day with this five ingredient Kale Smoothie. The flavorful combination of pears, apples, kale, almond butter, and almond milk is perfectly sweet, super satisfying, and kid-friendly too!
Servings: 2 servings
Calories: 154.2kcal
- Change up the fruit! Swap out the apple and pear to change the flavors. Bananas, strawberries, pineapples, mango, would give this smoothie a creamy texture and sweet taste without needing added sugar.
- Change the milk! You can swap the unsweetened almond milk for any other dairy-free milk of your choice. Cashew milk or coconut milk would also be tasty options. You could also use regular cow’s milk, but keep in mind this kale smoothie recipe would no longer be vegan friendly.
- Don’t have kale? In place of kale, you could also use spinach if you’d rather. Or you can use both kale and spinach! Both are great options and equally nutritious.
- Want it extra creamy? Add half of an avocado for a super creamy texture. Avocados have lots of healthy fats in them, and it will increase the nutritional value, but also increase the fat calories.
- Want more protein? Try adding ground flaxseed, ground chiaseed, oats, Greek yogurt (if you’re ok with a non-vegan option), or your favorite protein powder.
- Want it sweeter? Try adding dates which provide sweetness with no added sugar needed!
- Don’t add too much water. It’s a good idea to add a little bit at a time until you get it the right texture. Depending on the type of blender you have, you may not need any water at all. A high speed blender will easily break down the ingredients.
- I don’t recommend adding ice to this spinach smoothie, because it will water down the flavors. Instead, chop up your ingredients and freeze them together in a freezer bag the night before. Frozen fruits and veggies will yield a more frozen slushy/smoothie texture (and the more frozen produce you use, the less ice you will need)
- I recommend using a high powered blender for this smoothie recipe, so you end up with a super smooth, milkshake like texture.
- Make sure you de-stem the kale before adding it to the smoothie. You don’t want those fibrous tough stems unless you have a super high powered blender like a Vitamix that can pulverize everything!
- To save time, use pre-chopped kale or baby kale in this smoothie recipe.
Calories: 154.2kcal | Carbohydrates: 25.4g | Protein: 4.3g | Fat: 5.8g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Sodium: 73.3mg | Potassium: 540.8mg | Fiber: 6.7g | Sugar: 14.3g
