Get Started Making Green Smoothies

Green smoothies are incredibly healthy, but if you don’t have the right blender for making them they won’t turn out nicely. You will be stuck with a smoothie that’s not smooth at all. Instead of a clean, fresh, and smooth kale and pineapple smoothie you will end up with a chunky mess. That’s why you can’t just use a regular blender. You need to choose a blender that has been designed to turn fruits and veggies into a smooth, drinkable beverage.

(I’ve added some new information to this article recently (December 2020). It came to my attention when I got a question from a longtime reader and I realized that I hadn’t updated this in quite a while).

Here’s what you need to know.

You can’t use an immersion blender.

These are great for making stews, gazpacho, mousse, and lots of other yummy dishes. However, you don’t want to try and make a green smoothie in a jar using an immersion blender. It just won’t work.

You also can’t use a low powered blender.

The blades in the blender need to be strong enough to really tackle the greens. If you’re blending leafy greens in your green smoothie, stuff like kale or spinach, then you want to make sure that the blender will pulverize them and completely turn everything into a smooth consistency.

If you’ve ever been to a healthy food store and ordered a green smoothie, then you will know that most of them use really high powered blenders. This doesn’t mean you have to get a top of the line blender, but it is recommended. I would say that if you’re going to be making green smoothies oat least once or twice a week, it’s worth it to get a Vitamix.

These are the best blenders for green smoothies. However, they can be a bit pricey, so not everyone has the ability to get one of them. For those on a budget, you can get away with a bullet blender, which are a bit cheaper as long as you make a few alterations to your green smoothie recipes.

Is There A Clear “Best” When It Comes To Green Smoothies?

The all around best blender to use when making green smoothies is going to be the Vitamix. It’s a super powerful blender that will turn kale, apples, bananas, spinach, and even extras such as coconut, oats, and hemp seeds into a delicious smoothie. You can really add anything you like.

You want to smoothie up a pineapple and kale shake really quickly? Then the Vitamix is the ticket. These are simply unbeatable when it comes to blending up the greens.

(Update for March 2020)I have a whole write up comparing Vitamix and Ninja blenders. In fact, when you ask the average person what their thoughts are on Vitamix Vs Ninja, they don’t know. That’s why I wrote the article. To help you decide.

Go Small To Start With

OK, so what I suggest you do here is, as opposed to buying a cheap jar blender that’s a pale imitation of the Vitamix, what you do instead is buy a bullet blender. These are smaller blenders and don’t make the large batches that the Vitamix will, and they are not quite as powerful, but they are still awesome blenders.

In fact, they are more powerful than many of the lesser brand big blenders. However, if you are only interested in making berry and fruit smoothies, then a bullet blender is perfect. In fact, berries are particularly healthy, especially for heart health, as a recent study has proven.
What I do suggest you do when using these smaller bullet blenders is to stick with a softer kale such as baby kale or a microgreen mix with kale in it. You can get away with using a dino kale if you blanch it in hot water and then chill it in cool water.

Actually, some people do this anyway because they want to rid the kale of a substance called oxalic acid. Too much of this stuff can cause joint stiffness, so people who make kale smoothies every day will often blanch their kale. You don’t have to do this if you’re only making a kale smoothie once a week.

I updated this article to link to a review and article I wrote that covers compact blenders for green smoothies. I think that this is the best approach.

Final Thoughts On Buying A Green Smoothie Blender

The process of choosing what brand to buy is a big issue, so with that said, I have created a comprehensive review which covers the entire range of green smoothie makers and gives you a pro and con for each one. You can read my guide to buying the best blender for green smoothies here.

There are several ways to go about this, but the main thing you need to remember is that anytime you are making a green smoothie, you need a blender that is capable of breaking down tough vegetables such as kale or spinach.

Those nice shiney little blenders that you see on the supermarket shelves and in Costco and BJs (for the most part) are fine for only fruit smoothies.

Once you get into the domain of blending greens, you need something really strong.