St. Patrick’s day is among us and one of the things that takes me back to childhood is a good shamrock shake. As an adult and understanding what is in food, I realized how terrible McDonald’s shakes (and fast food chain shakes in general) are. Some have upwards of 100 grams of sugar and nothing real about them. Luckily, there are healthy ways to recreate these favorites at home. This vegan healthy shamrock shake is a perfect example of a dessert that is healthy and contains vegetables!
Natural colors versus artificial colors and dyes are appealing after learning several artificial colors in food products are considered carcinogenic. It’s surprising that to this day the FDA hasn’t banned them in foods. That said, it’s important to me that we reduce or completely cut this stuff out of our diet. That means that artificial green ice cream shake is no longer an option. But this smoothie uses spinach to give that great green color. Also using ripe banana in place of syrup or sugar, this has no added sugar. Talk about a win-win.
What you’ll love about this vegan healthy shamrock shake?
- It’s a vegan take on a holiday favorite. Don’t resort to McDonald’s for a classic when you can make it at home!
- No added sugars. Use a ripe banana and you’ll have all the sweetness you need.
- Green color is natural. No artificial colors, but an added bonus is that you sneak a bit of vegetables into this ‘dessert’. Who would have thought something healthy could taste so good too!?
- It’s easy to make. All you need to do is throw the ingredients into a blender and blend.
How to make this shamrock shake?
- Measure out ingredients into a blender container.
- Blend on high speed until smooth.
- Sprinkle chocolate shreds, cocoa powder, or whipped cream over top.
- Serve!
Some other festive mint desserts include my copycat healthy vegan thin mints. Check out the recipe here!
Vegan Healthy Shamrock Shake
Ingredients
- ¾ cup almond milk
- 1 ripe banana
- ¼ cup fresh spinach
- 2 tbsp vegan cream (I use homemade cashew cream, but coconut cream also works) can also add more nut milk but it'll be less creamy
- 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
- 1 tsp cocoa powder
- chocolate shreds for topping
Instructions
- Add all ingredients except the chocolate shreds to a blender.
- Blend until smooth.
- Pour into a glass and garnish with chocolate shreds.
- Serve!
Nutrition
Let me know what you thought of this recipe in the comments below! It is a healthy vegan shamrock shake but also more like a smoothie. I’d love to hear what you thought. Did you add anything different?
-Cassie 🙂