Start your day or refresh and cool down with a Green Protein Smoothie. Made with a banana, peanut butter, and chia seeds, it's the perfect breakfast or post-workout snack!

A Quick Look

Recipe Name: Green Protein Smoothie
Ready In: 10 minutes
Serves: 1 serving
Main Ingredients: ice, banana, peanut butter, frozen spinach or 1 cup fresh spinach, scoop vanilla protein powder, chia seeds, almond milk
Why You'll Love It: Start your day or refresh and cool down with a Green Protein Smoothie. Made with a banana, peanut butter, and chia seeds, it's the perfect breakfast or post-workout snack!

The most delicious green protein shake

If there's one thing I like about smoothies, it's the fact that they're perfect for hiding greens. I mean, a smoothie that tastes like peanut butter and banana but provides a cup of spinach? I'll take it!

Today, I'm showing you how it's done with this delicious green protein smoothie. It packs in spinach but tastes like a peanut butter banana milkshake. And it's loaded up with protein! It's perfect for enjoying post-workout or sipping in the morning as you get ready for your day.

Ingredients in this spinach protein shake

Smoothies are great for more reasons than one. I particularly love that they're versatile — you can use up your fresh bananas when they're a day too far gone, or you can load it up with frozen fruit if that's what you prefer. The same goes for spinach!

Ice: Start with 1 cup of ice. This will make for a perfectly refreshing smoothie.
Banana: Next, you will need 1 banana. I do recommend frozen for extra iciness, but you can supplement a fresh banana by adding some extra ice.
Peanut butter: Add delicious nut butter flavor with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter.
Spinach: Sneak in the greens with some spinach! Use ¾ cup of frozen spinach or 1 cup fresh.
Protein powder: I never let a good opportunity for protein go to waste! Include 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder for an extra punch.
Chia seeds: Chia seeds add even more protein while also contributing to the thickness of the smoothie. Use 1 tbsp.
Almond milk: Finally, use 1-1.5 cups of almond milk depending on how thick you'd like the smoothie to be.

Tools needed to make this recipe

Like many smoothie recipes, this green protein smoothie is simple when it comes to the required kitchen tools. You really only need a blender in addition to a few measuring cups: 1 tbsp, ½ cup, ¾ cup, and 1 cup.

How to make a green protein smoothie

Are you ready for the simplest recipe you've ever made? Here it is:

Add your ingredients to a high-powered blender in the order that they are listed.

Blend until completely smooth. You may need to add more almond milk as you go.

That's it!

Substitution Tip

Feel free to switch up your smoothie ingredients as you'd like. These are the items that are easy to swap!

Peanut butter
Any nut butter will work just fine — cashew, almond, etc. Even sunflower seed butter will do!

Vanilla protein powder
If vanilla isn't your flavor of choice, a plain protein powder will work just fine! For this particular recipe, I don't recommend using chocolate — it won't taste as nice with the greens. Stick with vanilla or plain for the best flavor.

Chia seeds
You can omit chia seeds or replace them with flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, or hemp hearts.

Almond milk
You can use any type of milk here, including cashew, coconut, oat, or dairy milk. You can also use coconut water.

Optional add-ins

Like the substitutions, this smoothie is also great for sneaking in whatever you have on hand. Here are additional ingredients that will taste delicious alongside the banana, peanut butter, and spinach!

Apples
Orange slices
Cucumber
Blueberries
Peaches
Pineapple
Lime juice

If you liked this recipe, you'll want to try these!

Craving some more refreshing smoothies? Try one of these!

Photos by Moriah Sawtelle and recipe by Erin Antoniak.

Erin Antoniak