Cool, refreshing and packed with nourishing ingredients, this Citrus Ginger Smoothie with Mint is an easy and delicious way to get your morning green smoothie in with a vitamin C punch! Quick to whip up and so refreshing to start the day or enjoy as a snack. This recipe is vegetarian, vegan and gluten free.
This recipe was first published Jan. 2015 and has been updated with new photography and recipe notes Jan. 2021.
Morning Green Smoothies
A new goal I made a years ago was to start incorporating green smoothies into my daily routine. I started slow with a few morning green smoothies per week. When I realized how they made me feel, I eventually started enjoying green smoothies almost daily for breakfast or lunch, with occasional weekend breakfast skips for waffles, sourdough pancakes or eggs.
Getting Rob on the morning green smoothie train was a challenge. At first he turned his nose up, totally; after all, green smoothies are not regular (his word).
Then I discovered adding a frozen banana sweetens green smoothies and helps quell the grassy notes. He finally got on board the smoothie train (a triumph!). Although I still hear about it when I try sneak in some wheat grass, parsley or heaven forbid, make a ginger smoothie! My efforts continue.
A Green Smoothie You’ll Love!
Smoothie Versatility
- Greens: Use just about any green you have on hand to make a green smoothie. For this citrus ginger green smoothie recipe, I like to use softer greens such as spinach, Swiss chard or Romaine lettuce. Also, their flavor is more mellow than greens such as kale or arugula.
- Citrus: Winter and early spring is the perfect time to load green smoothies up with bright citrusy ingredients. Look for Satsuma, Mandarins, CaraCara, Clementine, Naval or Tangerines to use in this smoothie recipe. Blood orange tend to be a bit more tart and expensive, so I tend to avoid them in smoothies.
- Ginger: Noted for it’s loud flavor, it’s an ingredient that can add spice and interest to smoothies. Add it directly to your high speed blender… no need to peel. Use a larger or smaller piece, depending on your ginger love.
- Mint: I absolutely love citrus smoothies with mint! Adjust to taste up or down, as it’s another loud flavor.
- Banana: Use frozen bananas for extra creamy and chill green smoothies. They make smoothies sweet too, turning grassy notes of the greens down. Adjust banana up or down to adjust sweetness.
- Protein: Hemp hearts add creaminess and a punch of protein to keep you satiated through the morning.
A Few Recipe Notes
- A high speed blender is a must for the creamiest green smoothies. I’ve been using VitaMix for over 12 years (the same one!). I love it for green smoothies and so many other things.
- Plan Ahead: Keep a bag of frozen bananas in the freezer for smoothie making. They’re always ready when you are! Too, check with the produce department for old, spotty brown bananas. Sometimes they’ll offer them at a discount. Be sure to freeze em’ when you get home!
- Use your favorite green or try something new! For the most neutral tasting citrus ginger green smoothie, use Romaine, a neutral tasting lettuce.
- Substitutions in this Citrus Ginger Smoothie:
- Swiss Chard or Romaine for Spinach
- Nut Milk for Water and Hemp Hearts (I like homemade cashew milk)
More Green Smoothies to Love
the recipe
Citrus Ginger Green Smoothie with Mint
Ingredients
- 4 Small Handfuls of Spinach OR Small head of Romaine Lettuce chopped into 4 chunks
- 4 Mandarin Oranges or 4 Clementines or 3 Naval or 3 Cara Cara Oranges peeled
- 1 - 2 Frozen Bananas chopped into chunks, adjust to taste
- 1/2" piece Ginger Root unpeeled
- 3 Tbs Hemp Seeds aka hemp hearts
- 4-8 Leaves Mint adjust to taste
- 1 C Water
- 1/2 C Ice optional
Instructions
- Place ingredients in a high speed blender (I use Vitamix) in the order above and blend until smooth. Add more water to thin if desired.
- This smoothie is best enjoyed right away but may be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator in a lidded Mason jar for up to 12 hours.
I have everything I need to make this smoothie, Traci! My kiddos and I have smoothies almost every day and they’re very used to having green ones ;) Looks delicious!
That is SO awesome that your kiddos enjoy green smoothies, Katherine! HOORAY! I hope y’all love it!
Love this recipe thank you! I’ve made batches and froze them for the week 💕
Hi Kendy! So happy to hear you’re enjoying the smoothie. Thank you for your note! What a great tip about freezing in batches!
Such a delicious smoothie to get me back on the right track after a holiday season filled with a bit of overindulging Traci! Perfect for after my morning power walking routine! Thanks for resharing!
Love that power walk Mare! And yes to fresh smoothies after the indulgences of the holidays :D
Way Ta Go Tracy, Love Smoothie, I make Smoothie every single day… It’s Great and Healthy……. Nathan
Thank you Nathan! SO happy to here… aren’t they sooo good?!
How much matcha do you put in the smoothie?
Hi Shannon. There is no matcha in this smoothie. The green comes from the romaine lettuce. But, if you wish, 1tsp latte grade would be a delicious addition!
Hi Traci,
I made this smoothie a few days ago and simply LOVED the taste! I have to admit, I am not sure what kind of oranges I used, they looked Mandarin – I will need to find out from the farmers market next time I visit. I am looking forward to trying your other smoothies!
Thank you so much for your note, Veronica! This is my favorite on Vanilla And Bean! I look forward to citrus every Winter so I can enjoy this one! :D
This looks so refreshing and nutritious! I love finding new ways to make a healthy smoothie. Great that you use local and fresh produce, thanks for the resources!
You’re welcome, Kelly! Thanks for stopping by! :D
Hi Traci, this is my first visit to your blog. I came across your beautiful smoothie and wanted to drop in to tell you how much I’m enjoying the ingredients you’ve assembled for it. We have a mandarin tree in our backyard that is simply bursting with fruit — I have a hard time keeping up with the harvest and preventing waste despite sharing a great deal — so this is giving me further culinary inspiration. Your photos are just lovely too. I will be sharing a number of your recipes on my Pinterest boards. Pleasure connecting :).
Hello Kelly! Thank you for stopping by and your kind note. Oh how I would love a mandarin tree in my yard. I think I would literally drink the entire tree! I long for good citrus and sometimes it’s hard to come by where I live. In fact, I can’t find fresh, organic, mandarins any longer. They’re so sweet. Perfect. I’m happy to hear my recipe will help you enjoy them! Thank you for your pins, Kelly.
What a delicious and healthy recipe, Traci! The orange with the banana and date reminds me a bit of an orange creamsicle (but healthier, of course!). It’s always fun to sneak in so many healthy ingredients like lettuce to smoothies, too. Also, I love how you focus on eating seasonally, which is something I really want to start working on. Very inspiring!
Oh a creamsicle! Loved those! I’ve been focusing more on seasonal eating too over the past few years. But because I freeze, for example, summer berries or corn, I still eat those… but when I buy fresh, I do focus on seasonal. Thank you, Julia! :D
Look at this!!! So healthy!! Love that picture of the blender adding the different ingredients!! So fun!! :)
It’s a good time for something packed with vit C, eh? We’re drinking these in our smoothie rotation about 3-4x per week to keep the cold and flu away! Thank you and thanks for stopping by! :D
This looks so refreshing an delicious! Looking forward to more!
Hi Lilli! Thanks so much for stopping by! :D
I’ve used Picmonkey a few times and I love it! It is the only way I know how to make round photos! And I also use it for adding words to my photos like you did! Hahaha, I can totally see Eric saying that green smoothies are not “regular”! Oh men!! I don’t drink nearly enough green smoothies. I love the idea of them, but for some reason I never get around to making them. I need to make it more of a point because I know my body would love them and I’m sure I would start to crave them! That’s it, no more excuses! I’m getting on the green smoothie train this week :)
Round photos? I need to check into that! Go make yourself a green smoothie, Izzy. You’ll be amazed! DO IT! :D
Wow, I never would think to add romaine to my smoothies, but I need to go do it now. I am also trying to stick to some in season and local foods, so I rejoined my local co-op. I will have plenty of ingredients to make this delicious smoothie! Pinning for later.
Oh that’s great Amanda on your co-op! Thank you for your pin! I hope you enjoy the romaine in this smoothie… :D
Wait- did the sludge get a makeover?! Ginger and citrus is such a happy, energizing combo. And look at those gorgeous carrots!
I’ve tried PicMonkey before to make collages for the blog. I have absolutely NO CLUE how to do it otherwise- tech stuff is not my strong point! But sadly, their website was not compatible with my old browser (which I couldn’t update) so I had to ditch it. I have a new computer now so maybe I’ll re-visit! Thanks for the tip.
Hope you are enjoying the beginning of the New Year, Traci! Have a great weekend :)
Yes, Emilie! The made over sludge! But, of course sludge still makes an appearance at least several times a week. The carrots were the last of what my farmers had to offer… they put their gardens to rest. :(
Yes, yes, try picmonkey again. Your new computer will tear it up! :D
Yes! I love ginger in my smoothies!
That looks super delicious, I love citrus, mint and ginger – bet it is so good for you too. Don’t worry, I’ve never heard to picmonkey before now!
Hehe, Anna! Glad to hear I’m not the only one new to it! Thanks for stopping by! :D
And by the way, I’ve used pic monkey and like it! It is easy to use and free!
Oh, that’s the best part… it’s free!! :D
These smoothies look fantastic Traci! We have smoothie for breakfast at least every other day! Never made one with romaine, since I always use spinach of kale for green smoothies. Will definitely try this one! Great flavors – ginger, mandarin oranges and mint – I love it!
Thank you, Mira! I used to never use romaine.. always spinach. But then I wanted to add more variety to my smoothies, so I started trying different greens and wallah! Romaine! And it’s a fantastic green and is has a neutral taste so it pairs well with a variety of fruits when you really want the flavor of the fruit (and herbs/spices) to shine.
I love the citrus, ginger, and mint flavor profile you’ve made for this green smoothie. I also love the story of converting your husband to smoothies – my husband is actually the one in charge of our morning green smoothies every day! Your husband’s word for green smoothies makes me want to say “but they’ll make you regular” (yes, I went there;).
Oh, I went there Sarah.. used all kinds of tactics to get him over to the green side! hehe! What a sweet husband to be in charge of the smoothies… and every day?! Impressive! :D
Love the banner, love the recipe, love the local/seasonal suggestions. Most of all, I love your scrumptuous pictures of the food. Thank you for the beautiful, sunny images on a brutally cold winter day!
You’re welcome Deb! So glad you’re enjoying the blog! :D
This is so vibrant! A much needed fresh flavor boost in the cold winter months. I love your photography!
Awh, thanks Kimberly! :D
These flavors sound so energizing! I’ve been on a smoothie bender ever since the holidays too. I don’t get what “not regular” means, lol, but it sounds like your fella’s really missing out to me!
Luckily he loves green smoothies now… as long as I leave the parsley out! hehe! :D
O is actually pretty adventurous when it comes to “healthy foods” and I got him totally hooked on green smoothies! To the point that the man runs the Vitamix every morning and wakes me up with that airplane engine-inspired whirr. I love the idea of using romaine here – good for avoiding the goitrens that seem to follow me everywhere. Also.. hemp seeds! Why do I never use them?!
Oh Cheryl, lucky you! What a sweetie O is. Yeah, those damn goitrens.. meeee toooo! Another reason to love romaine! Go get some hemp seeds! Do IT! :D
This sounds delicious again, Traci! I love the combination of mint and mandarin!
And btw I can perfectly understand your husband. I remember first trying parsley in a smoothie….I wasn’t so impressed…..(but now I kind of like it)
LOL! Ha! I know! Even if it’s just a touch or parsley! It is an amazing herb and we all could use more of it in our belly! ;)
Smoothies are one of my goals this year too – so will be adding this great looking smoothie to the rotation. I’ve never tried romaine in a smoothie – it wasn’t even on my radar. I always have some in the fridge so this will be a good way to use it up. Lovely pictures, Traci.
YaY!!! Geraldine! Have you started making them? I’m so excited for you! Looking forward to reading some of your concoctions on GVK! :D