This simple carrot, apple, kale & ginger smoothie is the definition of a healthy smoothie. A perfect balance of healthy ingredients that takes less than 5 minutes to make and tastes delicious. Low calorie, low sugar and packed with nutrition.

Tall glass of carrot, apple, kale and ginger smoothie with kale leaves, carrots pieces and an apple around the glass.

Normally my typical smoothie recipe is a fruit smoothie with yogurt such as this pear blueberry smoothie or this pear mango smoothie. And sometimes I even go for the “healthier” smoothies with some chocolatey goodness such as this chocolate mango smoothie.

While these smoothie recipes are all great & healthy breakfast options, this smoothie recipe takes on a whole other level of healthy.

This carrot, apple, ginger and kale smoothie recipe contains the perfect balance of all the essentials: fruit for some sweetness (apple), vegetables/ greens for vitamins and minerals (carrots and kale), and a metabolism booster with a kick of flavor (ginger).

For the liquid, this recipe uses just water and ice which is the healthiest mixer to use. With the combo of flavors, you don’t need any juice to make this smoothie taste great - it is delicious all on its own.

¾ overhead view of an apple and carrot smoothie with carrots, kale and an apple around the glass, on a brown table

Ingredients & Substitutions

The ingredients are all in the name — it is not much more complicated than that, but here are some substitutions in case you don’t have all the ingredients on hand or are looking to alter the recipe a bit.

Apple. You need a bit of sweetness in this smoothie recipe but it doesn’t have to be an apple that you use. You could use really any fruit, but the closest substitution would be a pear.

Carrots. It is hard to substitute carrots for this recipe and still get a similar taste and consistency. I can never get through a giant bag of baby carrots and they end up sitting around forever… so I always have some carrots on hand. Baby carrots or large carrots work well. Just make sure to peel the outside if you aren’t using baby carrots.

Up close, eye level view of a green kale, carrot and apple smoothie surrounded by an apple and carrots.

Kale. Kale is a classic green smoothie ingredient. Taste-wise it doesn’t add too much but is really here for the nutritional value. So feel free to substitute this with another leafy green such as spinach or use a combo of the two.

Ginger. If you don’t like ginger you can leave this out and you will still have a super healthy drink. Fresh ginger is ideal but powdered ginger will also give you the same tasty zing.

Water. It seems silly to list this however some people may want to substitute this for a bit more flavor. Maybe to make the smoothie a bit sweeter for kids or to add a few more calories if it is a post workout smoothie. Any type of natural fruit juice would taste good— my favorite for this recipe is orange juice.

Glass of carrot apple smoothie on the table with carrots, kale, an apple and a brown hand towel in the background

Try these other smoothie recipes:

Simple Carrot, Apple, Kale & Ginger Smoothie

Total Time: 4 minutes
Yield: 1 smoothie 1x

Print Recipe

Description

This simple carrot, apple kale & ginger smoothie is the definition of a healthy smoothie. A perfect balance of healthy ingredients that takes less than 5 minutes to make and tastes delicious. Low calorie, low sugar and packed with nutrition.

Ingredients

Scale

½ cup kale
½ cup apple, chopped
½ cup carrots, chopped
½ cup water
½ cup ice
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp fresh ginger, diced

Instructions

Add the kale, apple chunks, carrots, water, ice, honey and ginger to a blender. Blend until smooth. If needed add a bit more water to smoothen out the consistency.
Drink fresh.

Notes

The quantities don’t have to be exact for this smoothie recipe - if you have a bit more or less of one ingredient that is ok. You may just need to add a bit more or less water to make an ideal consistency.
Want a sweeter smoothie? Add orange juice instead of water — it will not be as low calorie but will still be a sneakily healthy smoothie for kids.
If you don’t have fresh ginger, you can use ground ginger instead. Add ⅛ - ¼ tsp.

Prep Time: 3 minutes
Cook Time: 1 minute
Category: Smoothies, green smoothies, breakfast smoothies
Method: Blended

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 201
Sugar: 35g
Sodium: 86mg
Fat: 0.9g
Saturated Fat: 0.1g
Unsaturated Fat: 0.5g
Trans Fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 49.8g
Fiber: 8.5g
Protein: 3.6g
Cholesterol: 0mg

Keywords: Healthy breakfast smoothies, green smoothies, carrot apple smoothies, kale smoothies