Pineapple Kale Smoothie Recipe

This crave-ably tropical pineapple kale smoothie recipe is deliciously naturally sweet, and made with only 6 ingredients! No sugar or sweeteners needed. A healthy green smoothie to energize your morning, or to fuel your afternoon as a nutritious snack. Honestly, you never knew kale could taste this good! I’ll show you how to make a quick kale smoothie with pineapple, banana, green tea, turmeric, and coconut butter.

Switch up your leafy greens and try a tropical arugula smoothie for a change of pace!

Tips for Green Smoothies with Kale

Raw kale has a strong bitter flavor that can make it hard to enjoy in many dishes. Unless it’s a kale sald that’s been properly massaged or a batch of crispy kale chips, I don’t want it! But sweet kale smoothies are a rare exception. In this pineapple banana smoothie with kale, its bitter flavor is masked by the sweet yumminess of pineapple, banana, and coconut. So it ends up tasting more like a piña colada! This is crucial when adding kale to smoothies: pair it with plenty of sweet fruits.

For convenience, I make this green smoothie with frozen kale and frozen fruits. Of course, you’re welcome to use fresh produce instead. But frozen produce is easier to store, cheaper to buy, and it adds a thick, creamy texture to your vegetable smoothie. Plus, the produce is flash-frozen at its peak freshness, so it’s just as rich in vitamins and minerals as fresh produce.

Is kale bad in smoothies?

If you’re not a fan of raw kale, you’re in luck—because you can hardly taste kale in smoothie recipes. When it’s blended into this banana pineapple smoothie, you won’t even notice the kale flavor, but you’ll still sip up the superfood benefits! I love that green smoothie recipes like this or my kiwi kale smoothie make it easier to fit leafy greens in my day. I won’t eat a kale salad very often, but tropical fruits like banana, pineapple, and mango make a creamy smoothie with kale so appetizing to me.

Pineapple Kale Smoothie Ingredients

• Kale. You can make this kale and pineapple smoothie with frozen kale or fresh kale. Or, do what I do: chop leftover kale and freeze it before it goes bad! Of course, feel free to swap out the kale and make your own tropical green smoothies with spinach, arugula, or any other leafy green you want.
• Banana. Making smoothies with frozen banana is a simple way to add natural sweetness and creaminess! If you don’t enjoy a banana smoothie recipe or if you want to make a lower sugar smoothie, try substituting with a frozen avocado to add more healthy fats.
• Pineapple. I love the syrupy, juicy flavor of pineapple in a smoothie. It pairs amazingly with so many ingredients—even in an earthy beet smoothie! If you want to change things up, there are plenty of other fruits you can use as substitutes, like mango, peaches, cantaloupe, kiwi, strawberries, or green apples.
• Green Tea. I like that green tea adds a nice subtle flavor, a dash of caffeine, and some antioxidants! Or you can pack in even more antioxidant power by making a matcha smoothie with matcha green tea powder. Really, you can use any liquid you want in this recipe: regular water or coconut water, almond milk or coconut milk, dairy milk, fruit juice, etc.
• Turmeric. This is optional, but turmeric adds a subtly sweet earthy flavor, and plenty of powerful anti-inflammatory benefits from the curcumin!
• Coconut Butter. A great source of tropical flavor and creaminess. Plus, satisfying healthy fats that make this wholesome kale smoothie tastier, more filling, and more nourishing.

What does a kale smoothie do for you?

Kale is one of the most nutrient-dense foods we can eat, with a high concentration of micronutrients per calorie. The team of nutrients in this pineapple kale smoothie can help support healthy bones, eyes, hair, nails, and your immune system—as well as reduce chronic inflammation and free radical damage!

Pineapple Kale Smoothie Benefits

In this frozen kale smoothie recipe, the 2 cups of kale contain:

• Over 13 times the recommended daily amount (RDA) of vitamin K1—an essential nutrient for our bone health, that also helps to regulate inflammation.
• Around 4 times the RDA of vitamin A, which protects our eyes from age-related damage and supports healthy skin, hair, and nails.
• Nearly 3 times the RDA of vitamin C, for a serious immune system boost and antioxidant power.
• Almost 20% of the RDA of calcium—which is almost as much as a glass of milk!
• A healthy dose of cancer-fighting compounds known as glucosinolates, which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits in the body.

Making this green smoothie with pineapple only increases its anti-inflammatory power, thanks to the bromelain enzyme in pineapple. Plus, turmeric contains one of the most potent anti-inflammatory compounds on earth: curcumin. Add in the incredible antioxidiant content of green tea, and this sweet kale smoothie is bursting with nutritious benefits!

Is it OK to drink a kale smoothie every day?

This pineapple and kale smoothie recipe is a great option to add to your daily routine. With a nourishing variety of nutrients, it’s a wholesome choice that can support our bodies. But, a diet that consists of only green smoothies or only smoothies with kale is bound to be imbalanced. Healthy smoothies are best enjoyed along with other whole foods, like healthy fats, protein, whole grains, fruits and veggies.

Watch how to make this pineapple kale smoothie in my Green Veggie Smoothie Recipes video!