This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
This naturally green Mint Smoothie is just as sweet, creamy, and refreshing as a McDonald’s Shamrock Shake. But it’s better than a copycat because it’s made with simple ingredients that you can feel good about – no food coloring! This smoothie is a delicious treat to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, or to enjoy for breakfast or as a protein-packed snack anytime a minty milkshake craving strikes.
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: American
- Primary Cooking Method: Blender
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free, Dairy-free option
- Skill Level: Easy
Mint Smoothie – Better Than a Shamrock Shake!
Every year, I find myself craving a Shamrock Shake from McDonald’s and looking for that year’s release date. But then I remember the last time one – ever since they started adding whipped cream and a cherry, they just aren’t like the ones from my childhood.
So I thought I could indulge that craving with better quality ingredients by turning it into a mint smoothie. This protein-packed treat is breakfast-worthy or perfect as afternoon or post-workout fuel, but it’s also sweet and yummy enough for dessert. And that’s without any added sugar or even green food coloring.
Now, you don’t have to wait for Shamrock Shakes to come around again because you can enjoy this copycat any time of the year, and I guarantee you’ll want to do just that! Here’s why…
- Skips the funky stuff. The claim of only a handful of ingredients in a Shamrock Shake – vanilla reduced fat ice cream, shamrock shake syrup, whipped topping, and a maraschino cherry – really covers up a laundry list of sweeteners, artificial colors and flavors, and preservatives.
- Simple ingredients. This mint smoothie truly has only a short list of what you’ll need to make it and there’s nothing sneaky. You can even swap or add ingredients so it meets your specific needs, whether it’s as a morning kickstart, afternoon pick-me-up, or nighttime treat.
- Fun for St. Paddy’s. If you want to add it to your St. Patrick’s Day celebration, you can sip one to start the day, or enjoy it after you’ve had Easy Crockpot Corned Beef or Easy Shepherd’s Pie for dinner.
- Totally gluten free. McDonald’s does not promote any of their food products as gluten free. However, Shamrock Shakes do not have any gluten-containing ingredients, and the risk of cross-contamination is fairly low. But if you want to be 100% sure, your best bet is to make it a home. Then you can be totally confident your mint smoothie is safe since all of the ingredients are gluten free.
Mint Smoothie Ingredients
Here’s a quick list of what you’ll need, and just below I’ll share some ideas for substitutions, additions, and variations. The full amounts can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Spinach or kale. I prefer baby spinach because you get the nutrition of dark leafy greens with a more mild flavor, and it completely disintegrates when you blend it. But you can use kale or your choice of greens.
- Milk. Use your favorite dairy or non-dairy milk. For smoothies, I prefer Silk unsweetened vanilla almond milk.
- Plain Greek yogurt or cottage cheese. Most people like to use yogurt in their smoothies. I actually prefer cottage cheese because it blends totally smooth without the tart flavor of the yogurt. And it has just as much protein.
- Banana. Prepare in advance by making sure you have some frozen bananas.
- Mint extract and vanilla extract. McCormick and Nielsen & Massey are brands that are gluten free. You can also feel free to add more mint extract if you want a more minty flavor. Note that peppermint extract has a slightly different flavor, and while you can use it, it’s more like candy cane flavor than regular mint.
- Ice cubes. Enough to achieve the consistency you like.
- Optional sweetener. If your banana isn’t ripe and sweet enough, you might choose to add a bit of honey, Swerve, stevia, or another sweetener.
Tips and Variations
Here are a few things to remember, as well as ways you can change up this mint smoothie recipe to make it just the way you like!
- Add in the order listed. I like to add my liquid first, followed by the greens, then the other ingredients, with the frozen components on the top. This ensures the souinach gets fully broken down, but the frozen fruit and ice blend in just enough to keep it nice and thick.
- Go truly all natural. If you prefer, you can skip the extract for mint leaves. Just toss them in with the spinach.
- Make it chocolaty. Sometimes, I like to add some cocoa powder for a Chocolate Mint Smoothie! If you want a little St. Paddy’s indulgence that’s still lighter than a Shamrock Shake, give it a little drizzle of Irish Cream Hot Fudge Sauce!
- Amp up the protein. Another option is to add a scoop of unflavored, vanilla, or chocolate protein powder, or just some collagen powder if you need some added protein.
- Go dairy free. Be sure to use a non-dairy milk such as almondmilk or oat milk. Then swap the Greek yogurt for a vegan yogurt alternative. You could even go with some avocado instead for extra green but still that added creaminess.
- Find your favorite blender. I always recommend a high-powered blender like the Blendtec for the smoothest, most creamy smoothies. The Mini Wildside+ Jar is the perfect size for one or two smoothies. I am a Blendtec ambassador, and should you make any purchases through my Blendtec Store link, I will receive a small commission, but that also means you can use the code CUPCAKESANDKALECHIPS to receive 20% off.
More Popular Smoothie Recipes
Shamrock Mint Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup dairy or non-dairy milk (recomended: unsweetenend vanila almondmilk)
- 1 cup baby spinach or kale or other dark, leafy green of your choice
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or cottage cheese
- 1 frozen overripe banana, cut into chunks
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon mint extract (or more, if desired)
- 3/4 cup ice cubes (adjust based on your preferred consistency
- Optional honey, stevia, etc., if needed, depending on how ripe and sweet your banana is
Instructions
- Add 1 cup dairy or non-dairy milk, 1 cup baby spinach, 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or cottage cheese, 1 frozen overripe banana, cut into chunks, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon mint extract, and 3/4 cup ice cubes a blender, and blend until smooth.
- Pour into a glass to serve immediately.
Did you make this?
Leave a rating below and tag @cupcakesandkalechips on Instagram and hashtag it #cupcakesandkalechips
Just because something is green and slap a silly name to it, doesn’t make it Irish. From what I’ve read there is nothing close to Irish here.
I didn’t say it was Irish. I called it a healthy copycat of a product form McDonald’s. They chose the name.
This is a very interesting recipe indeed, thanks for sharing Brianna! One thing I’ve been doing lately is blending avocado seeds, they’re a great source of antioxidants and fiber. So whenever I eat an avocado, I keep the seed for later and just add it as an extra ingredient to my next green smoothie. If there’s enough fresh fruit in there, you can hardly taste the avocado seed. Worth a try!
What a great tip, Donna! Thank you for sharing that. I’ll have to start saving up avocado pits now. 🙂
My mouth is watering just reading this and looking at the pics, this sounds like perfect comfort drink after a long day.
Thank you, Nikita!
Oh my gosh this looks so good! I am over here drooling over this dish right now. I am all over this. I can’t even stop starring.
Thank you so much!
I’m not sure what exactly I did wrong but mine tasted like banana flavored tooth paste????
This was a great idea to get the kids in my family to eat their greens without them knowing.
This tastes nothing like shamrock shake. Booo
And my mom is making me drink it
SO MUCH BETTER than all that gunk that’s in the Mickey D’s shake! This looks much tastier!
I have a hard time getting my family to eat enough greens but I’m pretty sure this recipe will help solve that.
I really need to keep some mint extract in the house.. I want if just a couple mint leaves though would give it the same flavor? hmmm, must go experiment, since I don’t feel like shopping today, lol.
I bet it would work!!
I made this smoothie for breakfast this morning, and it is sooo good! I was a little skeptical at first, because I wasn’t sure how all those ingredients could taste remotely like a shamrock shake, but I was pleasantly surprised! I didn’t have any mint extract on hand, but I did have peppermint coffee syrup. I used about 2-3 TB of that, it was delectable! I also upped the banana to 1 1/2 to make it a little creamier and used spinach for the green and vanilla almond milk. This is definitely a smoothie I will be making again! Thank you for the delicious recipe!
So glad you tweaked it to make it your own!
I have a couple of similar recipes on my blog, Brianne, but I love the shamrock shake take on yours! PINNED 🙂
Thanks Becca! Green smoothies passing themselves off as shakes is never a bad thing!
If I’m doing a low-carb, very low-sugar meal plan, would you suggest an alternative to the banana? I know that helps with the consistency, but I am only eating berries, lemons, and limes for fruit. Thanks! It looks delicious!
Hmmm, the banana gives the texture and sweetness. Perhaps avocado and some stevia or other sweetener?
Would substituting the mint extract for mint leaves yield the same results?
I would think so, though I haven’t tried it, so you might have to experiment with the amount.
Thank you, and thanks for checking it out. I am in the midst of a big re-design, so hopefully you’ll check back and see lots of good changes.
This looks way better than anything at McDonald’s! Thanks for linking up at my blog hop 🙂 Pinned!
Thanks. So happy I found your blog and blog hop.
This shamrock shake version is definitely more my speed than McD’s…..not to say I wouldn’t probably enjoy the “real” (but really artificial!) thing, but that ingredient list does burn me a little….
I had one 3 years ago and was disappointed, so since then, I’ve just made my own versions (some gross…especially the more health I try to make it)… Yours looks pretty and delish–thanks for sharing 🙂
It was really good. I made another one for Tyler and I for a snack later in the day 🙂
OMG – my St Paddys day post is exactly the same!! Well… slight variation on the green smoothie (coconut milk!!) but same basic theme. How funny!!! (although I have yet to post SO please please know there was no copying involved 🙂 ).
Happy ST Paddys day to you and Bug!
No worries! There seem to be a million variations on this theme floating around out there this week 🙂 Hope you have something fun planned!