Tropical Green Make Ahead Smoothies
Simplify busy mornings with these tropical green make ahead smoothies! A sweet & simple 4-ingredient spinach smoothie with banana, mango & pineapple—prepped in freezer smoothie jars. So in the morning, you just dump the jar of frozen ingredients into the blender, add milk, and blend! Learn how to meal prep green smoothie packs ahead of time, using fresh or frozen fruit and leafy greens.
For meal prep smoothies that you can blend ahead of time so they’re ready-to-drink in the morning, try my peanut butter banana breakfast smoothies!
What are make ahead smoothie freezer packs?
Freezer smoothie packs are jars or bags filled with pre-portioned smoothie ingredients and stored in the freezer. You can use fresh or frozen produce in them—leaving out any wet ingredients like milk or yogurt until the time of blending. It’s a convenient option for meal prepping smoothies ahead of time that lets you skip measuring out most ingredients in the morning. And since the fruit and greens are all frozen before blending, these yummy make ahead smoothies turn out extra-thick and creamy!
Freezer Smoothies in Mason Jars vs. Smoothie Bags
You can prep green smoothies ahead of time by portioning your fruit and greens into freezer-safe bags or mason jars with lids—whichever you prefer. I like to make my freezer smoothies in mason jars since they’re reusable and washable, but there are pros and cons to both methods.
Freezer Smoothie Bags
- Pros: Takes up less space in the freezer, no cleanup if you throw them away, can use any size bag as long as it’s freezer-safe.
- Cons: Easy to lose track of them in the freezer, can be difficult to clean & reuse, contributes to plastic waste.
- Tip: Remove as much air as possible from your smoothie bag before sealing and freezing!
Mason Jar Smoothie Packs
- Pros: Visible & easy to find in the freezer, reusable & easy to clean, environmentally friendly.
- Cons: Takes up more freezer space, risk of the jar cracking from freezer burn if the jar is too big.
- Tip: To prevent freezer burn cracks, use smaller jars and stuff them really full, with as little air left in the jar as possible.
Green Make Ahead Smoothie Ingredients
- Spinach. This is my go-to leafy green for healthy smoothies—loaded with nutrients like vitamin K, vitamin A, and folate. I typically prep my smoothie jars with fresh spinach leaves, but frozen spinach will also work (and it’s cheaper). If you want a substitute, you can use fresh or frozen kale instead, or prep an arugula smoothie!
- Banana. You can meal prep smoothie jars with frozen banana or fresh banana—it’s all going into the freezer anyway. If you don’t like the taste of bananas or if you want to reduce the sugar content, try making your green smoothies with avocado instead. Frozen avocado will add the same luscious thickness and creaminess as banana, but without the sweetness or banana flavor!
- Mango. Fresh or frozen, mango adds natural sweetness and heaps of vitamin C into these make ahead smoothies. I’ll use fresh mango if I have it around, but I also like the convenience of frozen mango—especially since it’s already chopped for me. If you aren’t a fan of mango, substitute with additional banana and/or pineapple, or use peaches, kiwi, or berries instead.
- Pineapple. I love the tropical sweetness and acidity of pineapple in smoothies. Again, you can use fresh or frozen pineapple in this recipe. Either way, I personally prefer an option that’s pre-cut for convenience. For substitutes, you can use any of the fruits listed above for mango.
- Milk of Choice. This won’t go into your freezer smoothie jars with the fruit and greens, but you’ll need to add some liquid at the time of blending. Use any milk you prefer, dairy or nondairy. Or, substitute with water, coconut water, fruit juice, or brewed tea as your liquid instead.
How to Make Freezer Smoothie Packs in Mason Jars
- Choose meal prep containers. You can use freezer-safe mason jars or freezer zip-top bags. If you’re making mason jar smoothie packs, I recommend using 16-oz or 24-oz jars so you can stuff them full of ingredients, with minimal air left inside the jar.
- Portion ingredients into containers. Add fresh or frozen fruit and veggies only, leaving out wet ingredients like milk or yogurt until the time of blending. Each freezer smoothie pack should contain the ingredients for 1 smoothie—feel free to prep as many as you’d like!
- Seal and freeze. Once your jars are stuffed full of ingredients (or you’ve removed as much air as possible from your bags), seal them up and freeze them. You can keep these green make ahead smoothies in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Add wet ingredients and blend. In the morning when you’re ready for a smoothie, simply dump the packet of frozen smoothie ingredients into the blender, add milk, and blend!
Customizing your Green Meal Prep Smoothies
You can really prep smoothie packs with any fruits and vegetables you’d like—and feel free to add other tasty ingredients at the time of blending! Blend your spinach smoothie with yogurt for an ultra-creamy texture. Add in some nut butter, chia seeds, or coconut shreds for fun flavor and added nutrients. Or you can make green smoothies more filling and satisfying with additions like protein powder or rolled oats! With your frozen smoothie packs prepped ahead of time, it’s quick and easy to customize them however you’d like each morning.
Tropical Green Make Ahead Smoothies
Ingredients
- 1 cup spinach, fresh or frozen
- 1 banana, fresh or frozen
- ¼ cup cubed mango, fresh or frozen
- ¼ cup pineapple, fresh or frozen
- 1 cup milk of choice, add at time of making
Instructions
- Add all ingredients except for milk to a glass mason jar, or a freezer-safe bag. (Be sure to pack your jar full so there’s not much air left in it, or remove as much air as possible from your freezer-safe bag before sealing it!)
- Store in the freezer. If storing in jars, leave some space between them so there’s room for the cold air to circulate.
- The morning you’re ready to prepare your smoothie, let the jar thaw on the counter for a few minutes so your ingredients come out more easily.
- Add frozen ingredients to your blender with milk of choice and blend.
- Serve and enjoy!
2 Comments on “Tropical Green Make Ahead Smoothies”
Great recipe for meal prep smoothies, just what I needed. Thanks
Hi Dalton, so glad to hear these make ahead smoothies are what you were looking for! Thanks for trying the recipe 🙂