Break away from the norm and try this simple kale smoothie where this green superfood is the star. It’s blended with sweet and tart fruits including frozen pomegranate seeds and apples for a balanced flavor. Coconut water is also added to give the smoothie an electrolyte boost.
Typically you will see spinach used in a green smoothie recipe but I think kale deserves a second look for its similar nutritious qualities and the ability to be substituted with ease despite being entirely different plants.
This is just one of my many vegetable smoothies. I have more you can try out, such as my beet juice smoothie, avocado smoothie and celery smoothie.
- 🥬 kale - The tougher texture from the kale goes unnoticed once it’s been blended with the other ingredients. Besides the color, you can hardly tell there is a vegetable in this smoothie.
- 🥥 coconut water (not pictured) - Coconut water is known for its abundance of electrolytes which is sometimes preferred by some as an alternative to Gatorade, although it tends to have less sodium.
- 🍏 red or green apple - I like to leave the peel on. The green apple in the smoothie will add a nice tart flavor. Green apples are more tart than their red counterparts, plus their green color matches the smoothie well. You can substitute with red gala apples if you're looking for something a little sweeter.
- 🔴 pomegranate seeds - I usually buy pomegranate seeds (also called arils) that are already picked out of the fruit and pre-frozen at the grocery store. If you can’t find them, it’s easy to freeze fresh ones yourself. Just lay the seeds out on a sheet pan and place in the freezer for a couple of hours. These will be used directly in the smoothie and as a garnish if you want to add some visual appeal. They give the smoothie a nice crunch, deeper color and sweeter flavor.
- 🍌 bananas - Again, I usually buy these pre-frozen, but if your fresh bananas are starting to brown, you can save them by slicing and freezing them yourself.
*See recipe card for ingredient amounts.
🥣 How to Make a Kale Smoothie
- Add ingredients. Add the ingredients to a blender jar in the order listed.
- Blend. Blend until smooth. You may be required to stop the blender a couple of times to mix it around and then continue blending because it is thick. You can add a bit more coconut water to make it thinner if you like.
- Serve. Serve the kale smoothie with more frozen pomegranate seeds on top.
❓ Recipe FAQs
Raw kale tastes amazing in a smoothie when you blend it with the right ingredients and it gives it a deep, green color.
When you add ingredients like bananas, apples and coconut water, you can hardly taste the kale.
I usually use fresh kale in a smoothie because I already add frozen fruit to create thickness, which means I can skip the extra freezing steps. However, if you buy frozen kale, the majority of their nutrients are retained, and can even have greater levels of antioxidants over fresh.
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Kale Smoothie
Equipment
- blender
Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut water - or enough to get desired thickness
- ½ cup kale - cleaned and torn into pieces
- ½ cup apple - cored and chopped (green or red variety)
- ½ cup pomegranate seeds - frozen
- ½ cup bananas - sliced and frozen
Instructions
- Add the ingredients to a blender jar in the order listed.
- Blend until smooth. You may be required to stop the blender a couple of times to mix it around and then continue blending because it is thick. You can add a bit more coconut water to make it thinner if you like.
- Serve with more frozen pomegranate seeds on top.
Notes
- I leave the peel on the apple for this smoothie.
- You can try green Granny Smith apples or gala apples if you prefer something a little sweeter.
- You may be required to stop the blender a couple of times to mix it around and then continue blending because it is thick.
- You can add a bit more coconut water to make it thinner if you like.
Nutrition information on SoSmoothie is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only from online calculators.
Joss
Monday 26th of May 2025
It’s true, you can’t really tell there are vegetables in this smoothie. It’s delicious and nutritious!