This Kale Apple Smoothie is quick & easy to make, full of good for you ingredients & will help get your day off to a great start. And for you banana haters out there, it's banana free!
This Kale Apple Smoothie is what I have been drinking in between all of the Sticky Lemon Sweet Rolls, Strawberry Sweet Roll Mug Cake and Ice-Cream Bars (to come soon) that I have been making of late. It kind of makes me feel slightly less guilty about the copious amounts of sugar I must have consumed, all in the name of recipe testing.
It's also been super handy this week as Chester (the AVV mascot, my best buddy and chief dog cookie tester), is pretty sick.
He had to be rushed to the vet yesterday ????
What started off as a limp on Monday, turned out to be nothing to do with his paw or leg. I won't go into detail, as I don't want to put you off your smoothie, but he has quite a bad infection and hasn't moved or eaten for days. It's been so sad. He's on antibiotics now we finally know what the problem is, so I'm sure he'll get better soon. I'll keep you updated on my Instagram stories.
So anyway, I have spent the past few days not doing much work at all. I have spent all my time cuddling Chester and worrying. I haven't even really cooked much as it's been baking hot here too, so smoothies like this Kale Apple Smoothie, nice-cream and salads have been our go-tos.
BANANA FREE SMOOTHIE
I get requests all the time for banana free smoothies. It seems there are a lot of banana haters out there. I cannot even imagine, but even as someone who loves bananas, there are some flavour combos that they just don't really work in. Kale and apple is one of them. I really did not like this smoothie with banana in it. Without banana, the flavour of the apple really comes through and it works so well with the kale, making it taste, well....less kale-y. ???? With the banana it just tasted weird. So, this smoothie ends up being naturally banana free.
"Yay" say the banana haters! ????
GET YOUR HEALTHY ON WITH THIS KALE APPLE SMOOTHIE
This Kale Apple Smoothie is made with simple ingredients and is super fresh and delicious. It's also pretty low calorie although there is the option to add a dollop of almond butter if you want to get an extra helping of healthy fat and protein. It's already super packed with goodness though and contains 250% of your daily required Vitamin A, 273% of your daily required Vitamin C, 62% of your calcium and 24% of your iron!
Yes, it tastes of kale, but it isn't too kale-y. The sweetness of the apple really works well and tones it down a lot. Plus the fresh burst of lemon juice helps too.
To make it all you have to do is toss everything into a blender and blend. Then your power-packed green smoothie will be ready for you to enjoy!
If you try it let me know what you think in the comments below and if you would rather have a more indulgent smoothie, check out my Luscious Lemon Cheesecake Smoothie. It is incredible and although still pretty healthy, it really doesn't taste like it!
Kale Apple Smoothie
Ingredients
- 2 large kale leaves , washed with stems removed. Use a couple handfuls of baby kale instead for a milder kale flavour
- 1 large apple , cored (no need to peel unless you want to).
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 2 teaspoons ground flax seed , or whole flax seeds
- 1 - 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ medium lemon , juice only
- 180mls / ¾ cup plant-based milk , add up to a ¼ cup more to thin if you prefer it that way
- 5 ice cubes , OPTIONAL but will make it colder and a bit thicker
- 1 tablespoon almond butter , OPTIONAL - It's great with or without
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. I use the smoothie setting on my Blendtec.
- Check the sweetness and add a drop more maple syrup if necessary.
- Serve immediately.
NOTES
NUTRITION
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Long time vegan, creator of A Virtual Vegan & author of the book 
Suzanne McCarthy says
Melanie, this was a delicious smoothie! I used everything you suggested including the ice. However, I had no kale, so I used frozen broccoli instead! It still worked! :D
A Virtual Vegan says
Wow, I've never used frozen broccoli in a smoothie. Great idea though. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Yuko says
First time making a smoothie at home and loved this recipe!!
I've been a vegan for a long time but I've always bought my smoothies and cold-pressed juices at the store. For my first home-made smoothie, I knew I had to find the best recipe out there and when I came across yours and saw the 5-star rating, I knew I found "the one."
omg it was sooo good. I used cashew butter instead of almond butter and no flax seeds. The smoothie does have a kale-y smell but tastes fresh and delicious.
Now that I am confident that I can make a good smoothie at home, I will be trying more often. Thank you!
Melanie McDonald says
I'm so pleased you enjoyed it! I can highly recommend my Lemon Cheesecake smoothie if you want a healthy one that tastes like dessert!
Janet says
Since kale grows like a weed at our place I'm a long time kale smoothie slurper. Lemon is the key to a good kale smoothie, and the apples are all I use for sweetener, so my version has a lot less sugar. I love your additions of almond butter, chia and flax, too, and it's great to have a banana break now and then.
Doreen says
Made it w/o chia, almond butter and maple syrup. Used unsweetened almond milk and golden flax. Found it to be the perfect balance. Refreshing. Will make tomorrow as well. Thank you for sharing!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you. He is a little brighter today. His antibiotics are starting to kick in I think.
Trinity Bourne says
This is exactly the sort of smoothie that is close to my heart. Love the way you have used the ingredients in this recipe. It looks so refreshing and jam packed full of nutrition.
Marcia says
Sure hope Chester is getting stronger each day. Give him a big hug for me (or should I say from my cat!). As far as the recipe goes, It does sound yummy, but it has 38 g of sugar and since I've got Diabetes, I can't go there. Thanks for giving us a smoothie recipe WITHOUT bananas - I feel the same way about them as I do beer: I dislike the way they taste and smell!
Keeping my fingers crossed for Chester,
Marcia
A Virtual Vegan says
Aaaww thank you. Chester loves cats! Sorry to hear the smoothie is no good for you. You could cut the sugar in it by omitting the maple syrup and only using half an apple (or a very small apple) and a little more kale perhaps?