A small McDonalds Shamrock Shake will set you back 460 calories and 64 grams of sugar! Do your health a favor, and make your own delicious and healthy shamrock shake recipe at home.
How to make a healthy Shamrock Shake
The popular McDonalds Shamrock Shakes are back again.
And although those mint milkshakes might taste good for the few minutes they last, even the smallest size shamrock milkshake is full of empty calories and sugar, chemicals, additives, and food dyes.
So here is a quick, simple, thick, and super creamy recipe for how to make your own homemade healthy shamrock shake, right in your own kitchen.
Readers also love these Black Bean Brownies
Watch the step by step healthy shamrock shake recipe video above
Homemade healthy milkshakes
While I’ve always believed indulging in unhealthy food every once in a while is fine, I’ve also never been big on moderation.
If I enjoy something, I want it all the time!
With these healthy shamrock shakes, you don’t have to drink them in moderation.
The easy recipe takes under five minutes to make, uses natural ingredients to get that classic green hue, and it has NO refined sugar whatsoever.
Think of how much sugar you’re saving by drinking ZERO grams of refined sugar instead of 64. This healthy shamrock shake recipe is also way under 460 calories.
Trending right now: Vegan Hot Chocolate
Vegan shamrock shake ingredients
The recipe calls for the following: milk of choice, frozen spinach (or a few drops of food coloring), pure peppermint extract, chocolate chips or cacao nibs, and a frozen banana.
There’s no matcha required, and a banana free option is also included in the recipe.
While they don’t taste exactly like a McDonald’s thick shake (although if you use canned coconut milk, they are surprisingly milkshake-like), I actually like these vegan milkshakes even better. They don’t give you the lethargic consumed-too-much-sugar feeling when you’re done.
Feel free to use your favorite milk of choice here. Sometimes I use coconut milk for a more decadent shake, but more often I will use nondairy cashew milk or almond milk.
Lately when I’ve been making the plant based shakes, I haven’t bothered to turn them green. The white ones are still just as good, although admittedly not quite as fun.
*If you’re a chocoholic, try the Chocolate Shamrock Shake Recipe.
Healthy shamrock shake serving suggestions
These healthy green smoothies are great for breakfast, snack, or dessert.
Try serving them with a Tofu Scramble or these whole grain Banana Oatmeal Cookies, for a healthy breakfast you’ll want to make all year long.
Or enjoy one as a festive St. Patrick’s Day dessert. You can even add a scoop of your favorite protein powder to turn it into a high protein post workout treat.
One shamrock protein shake will have around 25-30 grams of protein!
What’s your favorite milkshake flavor?
Mine’s always been mint chocolate chip. Although I do love the flavor, it’s the vibrant green color that enthralls me more than anything else.
Think of those gorgeously green Shamrock Shakes from McDonalds or the bright mint chocolate chip milkshakes from Baskin Robbins.
It goes back to when I was three years old and loved anything blue. Since our local Baskin Robbins didn’t make blue ice cream at the time, mint chocolate chip was the next best choice.
I went through a phase in middle school where I’d drink a Baskin Robbins mint chocolate chip milkshake every single day after school.
And now?
Well now it’s been over seven years since I first came up with this vegan and healthy shamrock shake recipe, and yet here I am still making them for myself at least once a week!
Try topping your Shamrock Shake with homemade Coconut Whipped Cream.
The recipe was inspired by this Green Smoothie Recipe.
Healthy Shamrock Shake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk of choice
- 1 frozen banana (or make this banana-free Avocado Smoothie Recipe)
- cacao nibs or chocolate chips, as desired
- 1/8 tsp to 1/4 tsp pure peppermint extract
- 1 scoop protein powder, optional
- 1/4 cup frozen spinach, optional
- I usually add scant 1/8 tsp salt to bring out the flavor
Instructions
- *If you can’t get on board with the green smoothie thing, you can opt for green food coloring or just drink a white peppermint shake, which is just as delicious. Or add a pinch of spirulina!Feel free to use your favorite milk of choice. Canned coconut milk will give it a rich milkshake-like taste, but I also really love the lighter results of using cashewmilk or almond milk. Make sure the banana you use is at least somewhat brown so you don't get that unripe earthy banana flavor in your mint chocolate shake. To make the shake: Blend all ingredients in a blender until completely smooth. You can add the chocolate chips either before or after blending. Be sure to use pure peppermint extract, not imitation.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
Healthy Drink Ideas
Strawberry Smoothies ( NO banana)
We got a lot of spinach in our CSA so I made this for dessert to use some of it up, and it was one if the best smoothies I’ve ever had! At least as good as my favorite chocolate banana smoothie! Thanks to the mint extract, couldn’t really taste the spinach or banana and I threw some mini chocolate chips in after blending, so it really truly tasted like a mint chocolate chip milk shake made with ice cream!
i wish you could actually list the nutrition facts of your treats, i would love that. please and thanks :X
She DOES include nutrition facts with her recipes. See any of her posts published after 2012.
My boys (7 & 9 years old) and I love these healthy Shamrock Shakes! If we could rate them, we’d give them a 5 out of 5 stars. We make them with approximately 1/4 cup of frozen cut spinach per shake. We drink them as snacks or dessert. Thank you so much for the recipe!!
Hello,
I was just wondering how many calories this would be? Sorry if it’s already been stated in previous comments.
I’ve just discovered my love for the mint and chocolate combination. I’m going to be making this shake a LOT. I made this and the thin mint brownies… For breakfast
Sooooo I just made this and I think I added too many chocolate chips…because the drink turned brown LOL! Does that totally defeat the “healthiness” of the shake??? :-((((( I tried lol it is absolutely delicious by the way!!!
This looks delicious, I can’t wait to try it! I was wondering what is the nutrition information for this?
If you have Katie’s cookbook, this recipe is included on page 124 and comes with full nutrition facts. (I’m not associated with Katie, just a huge fan)
https://lett-trim.today/faq-page/chocolate-covered-katie-cookbook/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
I made this and the banana flavor was very noticeable. I (being raised crunchy) liked it but my dormmates did not. Also, without a high-powered blender the spinach makes it look like a smoothie.
Katie, I really like your recipes, but I wish you had a “print recipe” option so that I don’t have to manually select the page to print which has the recipe on it.
Just highlight the recipe, right click, and there will be an option to print. Let me know if that works!
Thanks for the hint, but it doesn’t really work in the way I would like. Sometimes there is a highlighted print feature that if you click, will create a print page of just the recipe. If I highlight the recipe and right click, it prints the whole page.
Sorry for the trouble! This trick works for me, but if it isn’t working for some reason you can always highlight the recipe, press control c to copy, and then open a word document and paste!
Hi Katie,
Love your creative, healthy recipes! Have you ever made a “healthy” version of Irish Potatoes? My boys are asking for them for St. Patrick’s Day but they aren’t exactly healthy…..Any ideas?
Thanks!
Sorry for the delayed reply! I’ve not made one, but it is on my list of things to try!
Delicious! This has got my 13 year old and even my 1 year old drinking their greens. Thanks for the recipe!
So good!!!!
I omit the nibs (as when I use I find it just clumps at the bottom,) and add some protein powder (plain or chocolate, depending on flavour I happen to want).
WAY better than chemical tasting, super sweet ‘real’ Shamrock Shakes.
Yes Thank you for this! My little guy loves the shamrock shakes from McD’s but I hate giving it to him, knowing its full of sugar. I will definitely give this one a try! Thank you!
Thank you for this recipe! And the Oatmeal Breakfast Cupcakes, they are both delicious recipes! I have shared your blog with a bunch of people, such good recipes!
Or matcha powder for the green!
OMG the memories you’ve awakened with this! When I was a tween-ager my favorite ice cream flavor at Baskin Robbins was Daiquiri Ice which was BLUE! I was never much a mint fan, though I did enjoy McD’s shamrock shakes. Nowadays I can’t/won’t eat that stuff, but the memories they evoke are wonderful. 🙂