This bright green, zingy lime smoothie is here to brighten up your day! With its tangy citrus and sweet vanilla, this Green Lime Smoothie is a little reminiscent of a creamsicle – in the very best way.
Table of Contents
- Why I Love This Bright & Energizing Smoothie Recipe
- Why You’ll Love This Lime Smoothie
- Ingredient Information
- Change It Up – Additions & Variations
- How to Make This Lime Smoothie
- More Green Smoothie Recipes
Why I Love This Bright & Energizing Smoothie Recipe
I love my green smoothies – okay, so I’m borderline obsessed with them. Seriously, they’re such a creamy, sweet, fruity, milkshake-y way to sneak tons of nutrients into your diet. I love them for breakfast, as an afternoon pick-me-up, after yoga class … pretty much any time I can think up an excuse to have one, I’ll have one.
I was craving an extra zingy smoothie and had a few extra limes, so I went for it. And this bright and zesty smoothie was the result. Yum! Now, I make it all the time whenever I want a zingy pick-me-up.
Why You’ll Love This Lime Smoothie
This green lime smoothie is absolutely delicious, but isn’t the standard smoothie. It’s perfect for when your current green smoothie game is getting a little stale and you want to mix it up.
The bright, cool lime flavors mixed with vanilla are the perfect pairing for smoothies. And I love adding some greens so the color matches the theme.
Ingredient Information
- Fresh lime juice – I use the juice of one good, juicy lime. You can also cut the peel of a lime off and add the entire peel-free lime. OR, for even more intense lime flavor, throw the entire lime in, rind and all!
- Spinach – I like baby spinach for this recipe because it’s so easy. You don’t taste it at all! You can use kale, too, but I’d use about half a cup instead of an entire cup.
- Vanilla yogurt – I love the addition of yogurt for creaminess. Feel free to swap in plain yogurt, plant-based yogurt, or Greek yogurt. Readers have reported leaving the yogurt out entirely and still loving this lime smoothie recipe, so that’s an option, too.
- Banana – I love using banana that’s already frozen for an icy-cool smoothie.
- Honey – balances the tart lime flavor. Use agave syrup or pure maple syrup instead if you like.
- Vanilla extract – I love the vanilla/lime combo!
- Milk – Use your favorite milk, plant-based or dairy.
- Ice – optional, but creates an icy-cool lime smoothie.
Change It Up – Additions & Variations
- For extra lime flavor (and I mean a powerful punch!) blend in the entire lime, rind and all.
- Nix the creamsicle. Just leave out the vanilla for a smoothie that’s less of a citrus-and-vanilla situation.
- Make it dairy-free or vegan. Use plant-based yogurt or nix it entirely (the smoothie is still great without the yogurt!). Use plant-based milk. And, if vegan, swap in a different sweetener like agave syrup for the honey.
How to Make This Lime Smoothie
This hardly warrants a special section, but here goes: Throw it all in the blender and blend it up. Add ice if you want and puree again. Taste your lime smoothie and add more honey if you’d like it sweeter. Then enjoy!
More Green Smoothie Recipes
- Tropical Green Smoothie
- 4-Ingredient Mango Green Smoothie
- Mango Coconut Green Smoothie
- Ginger Peach Green Smoothie
- Toasted Coconut Green Smoothie
- Chocolate Raspberry Sneaky Green Smoothie (hint: it’s not actually green in color!)
- Healthy Shamrock Shake Smoothie
- Pumpkin Pie Green Smoothie
Lime Green Smoothie
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (About 1 medium lime, depending on juiciness)
- 1/2 banana (best frozen)
- 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 – 1 cup ice (optional)
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except the ice in a blender and puree until blended. Add ice and puree until smooth. Pour into a glass and serve with a straw.
I’m pretty much obsessed with green smoothies too and now I’ll have a new one to try–woo hoo!
I love the possibilities with green smoothies! Endless combinations, totally delicious, no guilt. For the actual green, I can’t bring myself to venture much beyond spinach, though. :\
I mix Kale and Spinach together. I is really good and Kale is packed with nutrients! I have been drinking green smoothies for about three weeks now and have notice such an improvement with my digestive system. I love it! I was taking medicine for my stomach and since I’ve started drinking these I haven’t had to take any!
I can’t get enough green smoothies in my belly these days. (especially with the nicer weather!) This version sounds fantastic!
Green smoothies are the best invention ever. Well … there’s the iPhone. Okay, the best *food* invention ever.
uhh, omg. YES.
I’m pretty obsessed with green smoothies too and make one least twice a day. Sometimes for a dessert shake I’ll just add more fruit. Yours vanilla lime smoothie looks fantastic!
I’ve never had a green smoothie before. Does it taste distinctly savoury? I’m pretty nervous to venture away from my normal fruit ones but love the sound of the lime in this
Hazel, you will be blown away by how fruity and, well, normal a smoothie made with spinach tastes! They are so good. Promise. “Savory” and “smoothie” are two words that should never go together. 😉
This smoothie recipe is absolutely DELICIOUS! I was looking for a good way to use up some leftover limes and spinach and this was perfect! I made modifications because I was missing two ingredients, but the taste was still fantastic and proof that the recipe is quite resilient. I only had blueberry yogurt so I used that instead, and my boyfriend finished up the milk this morning so I subbed pineapple juice. I’ll be making this for him tomorrow morning! Thanks!
I am so glad you loved it! Both of those modifications sounds fabulous. Thanks so much for commenting to let me know. 🙂
I happen to have all of these ingredients in my fridge right now. I will try it in the morning.
Oh this sounds sooo good!!!!!
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I just finished this green smoothie, and I have to say I want to make it again this week! The Vanilla Lime Green Smoothie was my very first at-home green drink attempt. The serving fits perfectly in a large glass, and has dominant banana and vanilla flavors. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Yummm, this lookds divine! I am thinking about making it but subbing the vanilla yogurt with my vanilla protein powder
Great idea! Let us know how you liked it!
Hi there, so I ended up trying the smoothie and I LOVED it! The combination of vanilla and lime was spot on.
I tweaked mine by adding vanilla protein powder and my homemade ‘toffee’ sauce as well. I tagged you on instagram about it 🙂
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I would be interested in the nutritional values for this smoothie.
This looks great, I’m going to try it with vanilla almond milk and bok choy.
I made a few modifications to make this a substantial pre-swimming fuel (use plain full fat instead of vanilla yogurt to reduce sugar and round it out, added 1/2 scoop protein powder) and I also added about 1/4 cup fresh cucumber from the garden and it was lovely. The color is much more appeasing than other smoothies I’ve tried, as well.
Thank you for posting!
I’ve had this smoothie recipe bookmarked for over a year and happened to have all the ingredients this morning…wow. This is one tasty smoothie that isn’t grossly thick or tasting predominantly of spinach. I love it!
I love that you added lime to a smoothie! I love it in anything but hadn’t thought to add it to a smoothie. This is brilliant!
Great way to get your kids to eat spinach if they won’t! This looks great.
I have no idea why I have never thought to put lime in a smoothie before!! This sounds delicious, and I love the color. Can’t wait to try it!
I just feel better all day when I have my smoothie! I like the super greens mixtures.. and really I don’t taste them at all.. if I do I just add a little more fruit. I’ve never put vanilla in my smoothies though so I want to try that! 🙂 Thanks for the recipe.
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Yummy! I left out the yogurt and used agave nectar instead of honey, but it was still pretty dang good! Definitely adding this one to my smoothie rotation!
THIS LOOKS SOOOOOOOOOOOOO good!!!
Mmmm.
do you have the calories/macros for the smoothie?
I don’t, but I use this tool whenever I need to calculate such info: https://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
I love smoothies of every variety. Re: the milk, I haven’t drank any type but fat free since I was a kid in the 1960s and, as my dad had been
In an accident and money was an issue, my mom gradually moved us down (though when she tried putting powdered milk in old cleaned cartons, we did draw the line – vile); whole milk is like creme for coffee: rich. And it’s super easy to use a good vanilla soy or almond milk as a total or partial replacement. Someone mentioned sugar content – it’s how I choose everything! The more expensive Greek vanilla yogurts are priocey but less sugar; I often mix plain house-brand yogurt. I hate bananas when they get just a bit ripe, so first put in fridge and then freeze, as is. A quick defrost in the microwave, the skin comes off and no need for ice! Don’t let the black skin throw you – you’re composting it anyway! Limes & lemons are staples and will even whiten your clothes much better than bleach. And I’m a convert to stevia and the alcohol based sweetener that prevents tooth decay. Both come in liquid extract forms (flavored too) which makes for a smoother drink. Smoothies are a great way to avoid tossing produce; if it’s getting on just a bit – throw it in! And real vanilla extract is worth every penny. Also a great way to save money is to check out the bargain area in markets or with the locals at any farmer’s market as they want to sell out. Smoothies are kind to bruising and soft fruit and vegetables!
Karen Troughton This looks incredibly rich, fudgy and tempting! I hope they taste as great as they look. Great photos.
I like the super greens mixtures.. and really I don’t taste them at all
Oh my gush, I hope they taste as great as they look. Great photos !!
OMGGGGGGGGGGG! MADE IT FOR THE FIRST TIME. SOOOOOOOO GOOD!
Im allergic to bananas, is there another fruit that would work with this recipe?
Half an avocado will give it some nice creaminess instead of the banana.
Do you have the nutritional info on this including the calories?
This is delicious. Thank you so much for the recipe!