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Green Piña Colada Smoothie (Dairy Free)

A healthier spin on a tropical piña colada, but in smoothie form and with added greens for a boost of nutrients. This recipe is dairy-free, vegan, and nut-free.

two glasses of green piña colada smoothies next to a bowl of frozen pineapple chunks and a green plant in the background

Is there anything more tropical than a piña colada? It’s hard to not feel instantly transported to a beach with endless palm trees, exotic fruits, and umbrellas (either in your drink or shading you).

A classic piña colada is a blended drink made with rum, pineapple juice, heavy cream, and cream of coconut. And is sometimes also made using a sugar-laden premade mix.

This green piña colada smoothie has all the delicious flavors of that classic piña colada, but with no booze, far less sugar, more fiber, vitamins, and is healthy enough to drink for breakfast.

Piña Colada Smoothie Ingredients

  • frozen pineapple – using the whole fruit instead of the high-sugar juice keeps the fiber in the smoothie, which helps slow down the absorption of sugar in your blood. (Aka gradual burst of energy and no crash.)
  • kale – you can use either lacinato/dino or curly kale.
  • unsweetened coconut milk – for achieving that true piña colada taste and it also makes the smoothie creamy without adding additional sugar.
  • maple syrup (optional) – for a little extra sweetness that cuts any bitterness from the kale and rounds out the flavors.
  • ice – the addition of ice gives it that nice frothy texture that you’d expect in a piña colada.
a bowl of ice, a bowl of green kale leaves, a bowl of frozen pineapple chunks, a small bowl of maple syrup and a glass of coconut milk for piña colada smoothies

Make It Your Way: Ingredient Substitutions

Please remember that recipes are just a starting point.

How can you make this piña colada smoothie using what you already have? Here are some ideas

  • No pineapple? ➝ if you can’t find frozen pineapple or you don’t like the taste, you can also use frozen mango
  • No kale? ➝ sub spinach instead
  • No coconut milk? ➝ choose another creamy milk such as oat or cashew
  • No maple syrup? ➝ sub honey, half a banana, a pitted medjool date, or omit completely depending on your desired level of sweetness

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two glasses of green piña colada smoothies next to a bowl of frozen pineapple chunks and a green plant in the background

Helpful Tips For Making The Best Piña Colada Smoothie

A Note About Kale

If you’re warming up to the idea of incorporating more kale into your diet but still aren’t so sure about the taste, use the lacinato/dino variety instead of the curly variety. Lacinato kale has a sweeter taste and a more delicate texture than curly kale.

Trouble Blending?

If you don’t have the most powerful blender, you can either add more milk or blend half the amount of pineapple before adding the rest and then blend that before adding the ice. This ensures there’s enough liquid to blend the solids.

Which Coconut Milk Is Best?

Canned unsweetened full-fat coconut milk will yield the creamiest results, but you can also use unsweetened light coconut milk from a can.

I don’t recommend using the coconut milk in the carton because it’s mostly made of water and your smoothie won’t be nearly as creamy. Also, avoid using a product called cream of coconut which is really just a very sweet coconut syrup.

More Fruity Drinks

Green Piña Colada Smoothie

5 from 3 votes
A healthier spin on a tropical piña colada, but in smoothie form and with added greens for a boost of nutrients. This recipe is dairy-free, vegan, and nut-free.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 2

Equipment

Ingredients
 

  • 1.5 cups frozen pineapple
  • 1 cup kale
  • 1 cup coconut milk, plus more as needed
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • handful of ice

Instructions

  • Blend together the kale and coconut milk until smooth before adding the rest of the ingredients.
  • If your blender isn't very powerful, you can either add more milk or blend half the amount of pineapple at a time before adding the rest, adding the ice last. This ensures there's enough liquid to blend the solids.

Notes

How can you make this piña colada smoothie using what you already have? Here are some ideas
  • No pineapple? ➝ if you can’t find frozen pineapple or you don’t like the taste, you can also use frozen mango
  • No kale? ➝ sub spinach instead
  • No coconut milk? ➝ choose another creamy milk such as oat or cashew
  • No maple syrup? ➝ sub honey, half a banana, a pitted Medjool date, or omit completely depending on your desired level of sweetness
5 from 3 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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