Start St. Patrick’s Day off right with this bright and festive healthy green smoothie your kids will love! It’s delicious, nutrient-dense, and so easy to make!

Are you looking for an easy and fun breakfast for St. Patrick’s Day this year? If you want to be the “fun” mom, but you don’t have time to dye everything in your house green, this “lucky leprechaun” smoothie is the answer!

Now, I know green smoothies sometimes get a bad reputation for tasting a little…well…like grass. But I promise, this one is completely delicious. The strong flavors of pineapple and orange juice mask the spinach flavor, so you won’t feel like you’re drinking salad for breakfast (as much as I love salad…eww). All three of my kids happily drained their cups when I pulled these out as an after school snack, and it’s one we (and you) are definitely going to want to make again and again.

Smoothies are a breakfast staple in our house (try our favorite berry smoothie!), and I usually hide the spinach color by adding dark purple berries…but for St. Patrick’s Day I thought it would be fun to embrace the green!

Reasons to love this healthy green smoothie:

1. It has 2 FULL packed cups of spinach. How’s that for a healthy breakfast!
2. It’s super adaptable. Use regular milk, or any non-dairy milk you like. Choose your favorite (light-colored) fruits to include. Add protein powder, oats, chia, or flax seed to give it an extra boost of nutrition.
3. It’s quick and easy. Busy school mornings are not the time for fancy recipes. This smoothie recipe, though, is as easy as it comes! Just throw everything in the blender, and in less than a minute, you’ve got a healthy breakfast that will fuel your kids’ growing bodies and minds all morning long.

Green smoothie ingredients:

Fruit: My smoothies are a mix of fresh and frozen fruit. I usually throw in an over-ripe banana, and then whatever frozen fruit I have on hand. For this green smoothie, you’ll want to make sure to use light colored fruits (think peaches, pineapple, mango, apple, pear, etc.). Sometimes I’ll throw in leftover cut fruit from snack time the day before, too. Anything that looks a little brown and “yucky” in my kids’ opinion gets new life by going in the blender!

Greens: I usually use spinach (as in this recipe), but you could also use kale or other leafy greens.

Liquid: I use a mix of milk and orange juice in my smoothies. You can use any kind of milk, including non-dairy options. They all work just fine. Orange juice is my secret weapon for smoothies. The bright, tartness a splash of OJ brings to the smoothie really makes a huge difference in the taste, especially when you’re trying to cover up the grassy flavor of the leafy greens.

Yogurt: Totally optional, but I like to add plain Greek yogurt to make my smoothies extra creamy and to give an extra boost of protein. You could also add an avocado to achieve a similar creaminess and the healthy avocado fat helps your body absorb the nutrients from the fruit and veggies.

Bonus add-ins: Choose any other ingredients you want to boost the health-factor of your smoothie. I often add protein powder, oats, chia, or flax seed to bump up the nutrition and make the smoothie a bit more filling.

A smoothie tip about texture

If you find your smoothie is too thick, add some additional liquid (or non-frozen fruit) to thin it out. If, on the other hand, your smoothie is too runny, add additional frozen fruit or ice to thicken things up. Be careful not to add too much ice, or your smoothie will lose its creamy taste.

Ready to make a “lucky leprechaun” smoothie?

Want more easy breakfast ideas? Try these!

• Healthy breakfast banana split
• Superhero Muffins (AKA – Hidden veggie muffins)
• Easy Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal you can make in your Instant Pot