Matcha Spinach Smoothie with Mandarins

Looking for an energizing and filling smoothie to have for breakfast on crazy days? Well, maybe give this Matcha Spinach Smoothie with Mandarins a try. If you’re a fan of matcha green tea for its nutrients, you just found a new recipe for using it:).

As school started again this week after two weeks vacation, we as a family had some slow mornings and some adjustments to make. While I was driving kids to school, I realized that after making breakfast for them, packed their lunches and signed their school paperwork, I forgot to eat breakfast for myself. I love green smoothies and so it felt natural to add some matcha powder to one and drink it on my commute.

What is Matcha?

Matcha powder comes from finely ground Japanese green tea leaves. Green tea is known for its antioxidant qualities. To make matcha, green tea leaves are covered to create higher concentrations of chlorophyll (darker green), then dried and finely ground. Quality can vary from brand to brand so maybe try a few to decide what you prefer. I usually pick anything that says culinary grade.

What Milk to Use for this Smoothie?

I have tried this smoothie personally with regular milk (2%), oat milk and almond milk. It tastes great for me with all 3 choices. Feel free to pick your favorite milk and maybe modify for consistency.

Tips & Notes

Smoothies are easy to make so I don’t have a lot of notes for this one. But here are some tips and extra notes in addition to the recipe card that you can use for best results or for modifications.

• Matcha – I use this matcha green tea powder but there are so many brands of this ingredients as it’s getting very popular. As per serving, I tend to use 1 tsp per person. I have noticed that some people like up to 2 tsp per person in their drinks (smoothies or lattes etc) but personally that makes the drink a little bitter for me.
• Bananas – I use half a banana per person in this smoothie because I’m trying not to make the smoothie loaded in carbs. However, in times where I’m looking for a more calorie intense smoothie I increase the banana up to 1 whole banana per person. Use fresh or frozen bananas, either will be fine.
• Spinach – the more the better:). Double up on that green and you’ll feel healthy just by holding that smoothie cup :). Seriously though, I can’t speak to its healthy benefits, but I personally just feel so much better after consuming a healthy meal with lots of spinach and fruits. Especially after the holiday season! If preparing several smoothies at once, I usually estimate about a cup of packed spinach per person. I use fresh, not frozen for this smoothie.
• Mandarins – I usually use 2 mandarins per person and squeeze them as I’m about to blend. I love using mandarins in this smoothie as they add some sweetness to the smoothie but also great nutrients.
• Milk – If you’re vegan add a plant based milk like oat milk or almond milk. I am not vegan myself so I tend to alternate between regular 2 % milk, unsweetened oat milk or almond milk.
• Variations – you can add baby kale instead of spinach, oranges instead of mandarins. Additional ingredients you can add are berries, frozen mangoes or apples.
• Sweeteners – I tend to not add sweeteners to smoothies besides fresh fruits. However, if matcha makes it a bit bitter for you, then you can add some honey or maple syrup.

If you would like to save this recipe for later, please save it to your boards in Pinterest. Let me know in comments if you have any questions or feel free to tag me in social media with your version of this recipe:). Thank you and hope this is a healthy and happy year for everyone!

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Other Smoothies

• Green Oat Milk Smoothie
• Kale & Papaya Smoothie
• Mango Dragon Fruit Smoothie
• Pineapple, Dragon Fruit Smoothie