Simple Cucumber Smoothie Recipe

This sweet and refreshing spinach cucumber smoothie recipe is bursting with green goodness—including creamy avocado! Loads of plant-based nutrients, dietary fiber, and all-natural sweetness from tropical fruits. Perfect for a nutritious snack or as part of an on-the-go breakfast! Learn how to make a green smoothie with cucumber, pineapple or papaya, avocado, and spinach.

Green smoothies are a great way to incorporate more veggies into our eating routines. But spinach and other leafy greens aren’t the only blend-able vegetables for smoothies. This nutrient-packed recipe combines a classic spinach smoothie with cucumber and avocado—making it a rich source of fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and healthy fats! Cucumber also adds refreshing flavor, while the avocado creates a lusciously creamy, buttery texture.

Blended up with some frozen pineapple or papaya, you get a satisfyingly sweet green smoothie that’s rich in flavor and nutrients. And it’s totally customizable! Feel free to adjust this easy cucumber smoothie recipe however you like—add different fruits, swap out the veggies, or add nuts and seeds that you enjoy.

Are cucumber smoothies good for you?

This pineapple cucumber smoothie is filled with nourishing ingredients! Cucumbers offer hydration and unique micronutrients. Spinach is one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet, with loads of folate, vitamin K, vitamin A, and antioxidants. And avocados are an incredible source of fiber and anti-inflammatory fats, which also makes this healthy smoothie more filling and satisfying. With all those veggies, this turns out to be an impressively high-fiber smoothie with 8g of fiber!

Pineapple Cucumber Smoothie Ingredients

• Cucumber. When adding cucumber to smoothies, I use a seedless cucumber with the skin on for added fiber. No need to peel it! You can really blend any variety of cucumber if you don’t mind sipping up an occasional seed. (For another vegetable smoothie with cucumber, try my bell pepper & strawberry smoothie.)
• Pineapple or Papaya. Personally, I love the sweet, tropical flavor of pineapple with mellow cucumber in a smoothie. Since pineapple is one of the naturally-sweetest fruits, it’s a great option for veggie smoothies like this—it even masks the flavor of broccoli in this sneaky broccoli smoothie! I’ve also made this cucumber smoothie with papaya instead, which is quite juicy, creamy, and sweet when it’s ripe, almost like cantaloupe.
• Avocado. If you’re not a fan of bananas, frozen avocado is a great substitute to add creaminess to smoothie recipes, without any additional sweetness or banana flavor. You’ll hardly taste the avocado in a veggie smoothie like this or my kiwi kale smoothie—but it will make the texture deliciously thick and satisfying! Plus, it adds fiber and healthy fats. Of course, if you don’t want to make your cucumber smoothie with avocado, you can swap with frozen banana.
• Water. You’ll need some liquid in this recipe. Water is the simplest choice, and it pairs well with the cucumber. But you could also use coconut water, fruit juice, or milk of choice instead.
• Spinach. A nutrient-packed way to make this green smoothie ultra-green! Add as little or as much spinach as you’d like. If you don’t have any or if you just don’t enjoy a spinach smoothie, you can substitute with kale, arugula, romaine, or any leafy greens you prefer.
• Dates. This is an optional addition for sweetness. Generally, I think this smoothie is sweet enough with the fruit alone, but taste it for yourself after blending and add 1-2 dates if needed.

Cucumber Smoothie Health Benefits

Although cucumbers are technically a fruit, they’re low in sugar and not so sweet in taste. Cucumbers are 95% water, making them a highly hydrating food source. And, including cucumbers in smoothies can add essential nutrients like vitamin K for bone health, vitamin C for immune support, and potassium that aids in blood pressure control.

Combine your cucumber smoothie with spinach, and this recipe is bursting with vitamin K1—which supports bone health by helping us to absorb calcium from other foods. Plus, spinach also offers vitamin C, vitamin A, folate, and some iron. Most impressively, spinach has powerful anti-inflammatory benefits, with loads of antioxidants that can help reduce inflammation and fight cancer.

Tying all of these nutrients together is avocado: a powerhouse of monounsaturated fats, also known as healthy fats. Monounsaturated fats have anti-inflammatory effects on the body, helping to reduce damaging chronic inflammation. And, since many essential vitamins are fat-soluble, the fats in avocado actually help our bodies to absorb other nutrients that we eat! Plus, those fats make this nutritious smoothie a more filling, satisfying beverage than a fruit smoothie alone.

See how to make this cucumber smoothie in my Green Veggie Smoothie Recipes video!