Refreshing Kale Smoothie with Mango & Banana (Vegan)

Kale smoothies are gaining a lot of popularity these days because of kale’s great nutritional values and for being a perfect food for achieving weight loss goals. It’s an excellent leafy green as it’s incredibly low in calories but at the same packed with nutrients, vitamins and antioxidants, which gives it a somewhat bitter taste. You shouldn’t worry too much about the taste though, as the fruits (mango and banana) and other ingredients in the smoothie will mellow it down completely.

This recipe of vegan kale smoothie with mango and banana will fit you either if you’re already a fan of kale and green smoothies or in case you’re looking to try it out for the first time. If you want less sugar you can replace mango with pineapple.

The first version is completely vegan friendly and low in calories. In case you’re looking for some extra protein gains, then I got you covered as well with the optional protein version for the kale banana mango smoothie recipe!

Additionally, for more smoothie protein sources check out our post: High Protein Sources For Smoothies & Shakes (Protein Powder Substitutes)

Ingredients for the Best Kale Smoothie Recipe

• Kale – One of the most popular and nutrient leafy green out there and a great pick for green smoothies.
• Banana – Fresh bananas will do just fine but if possible, definitely use frozen bananas for a colder and better consistency for the smoothie.
• Mango – You can use fresh mango, but I definitely recommend going with frozen fruits in smoothies.
• Avocado – Make sure that the avocado you’re using is ripe & soft because if the avocado is not ready to eat yet, it can make the consistency of the smoothie quite lumpy and bitter in taste. You can check if the avocado is ripe if it’s darker in color, has bumps on it and when gently squeezed, should feel a bit on the softer side, but definitely not mushy.
• Lemon juice – Freshly squeezed lemon juice from half a lemon will make the smoothie feel more fresh and give it a bit of a sour kick.
• Almond Milk – Personally I prefer almond milk but you can use any of your favorite plant based milk or replace it entirely with water.

How to Make a Kale Smoothie With Mango and Banana

1. Prepare and cut the kale leaves: If the Kale leaves are not prewashed, then lightly rinse them under cold water before cutting off the stems. Remove the stems from the kale leaves on both sides by cutting them down with a knife from top to bottom right beside the stem of the kale leaf. If you’re doing several kale leaves at once, you can pile all of them on top of each other heading in the same direction and cut the stems off with the same technique at the same time. For the kale leaves to blend more easily, you can also give the leaves a fine chop with a knife.
2. Cut and open the Avocado: Cut the avocado in half, remove the seed and take out the flesh of the avocado with a tablespoon. You can see how to do it in the easiest way from the instruction video below.
3. Squeeze the juice from half of a fresh lemon: Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice out of it without seeds.
4. Blend the kale leaves together with the almond milk into an even green liquid – There’s nothing wrong with blending all the ingredients together at once but I prefer to firstly blend the kale leaves together with almond milk on their own. This will help the kale break down into liquid more easily and result in a more bright green colored end result for the smoothie. Blend the kale leaves and the almond milk until the liquid turns into an even green liquid.
5. Add all the other ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth – add the frozen banana and mango, half of an avocado and the lemon juice to the blender and blend all the ingredients until an even smooth and creamy consistency.
6. Serve the smoothie in a glass and enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 cups (41g) of raw kale leaves
• 1 cup / 240ml of almond milk
• 1 large banana (frozen is better)
• 1 cup (165g) of mango (frozen is better)
• ½ of one medium ripe avocado (~100g)
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice

Nutritional Value for Kale Smoothie

398 calories / 69.4g carbs / 15.7g fats / 7g proteins / 14g dietary fiber / 43,7g sugars

Optional Ingredients for High Protein Kale Smoothie

• ½ cup (120g) of greek yogurt 
• 1 scoop of unflavored or vanilla flavored protein powder of your choice together with half a cup of extra water or almond milk.

Nutritional Value for Protein Version

585 calories / 75.2g carbs / 18.2g fats / 42g proteins / 14g dietary fiber / 49,7g sugars

Check out our other green smoothie recipes: BEST Green Smoothie Recipes (Tips, Benefits and More)

For finding tips and tricks and recipes about green smoothies, be sure to check out our “High Protein Sources For Smoothies & Shakes” article!