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)
Chocolate and mint my favorite. This is so yum I didn’t have spinach so I left it out. Who knew a frozen banana could taste so good. Made a wonderful breakfast!
Oh yum! Just had this for breakfast with the coconut milk. I stuck the banana in the freezer before dropping the kids of at their various schools. Came home and made myself the shake using coconut milk. It was so yummy. Drank it so fast I had a brain freeze:-) Great website!
Hi Katie, I just discovered your website, and will be making icing shots asap. Chocolate mint shakes were my favorite shakes as a kid, as were mint chocolate chip and rocky road sundaes, with chocolate mint sauce. I recreate vegan versions of those sundaes now, and your shake looks wonderful, except I am allergic to bananas. I have created many recipes, written a vegan cookbook for my friends and family, and am always looking for new ideas. I am curious if you can think of a good substitute for the wonderful creaminess and texture that a banana gives to a vegan smoothie and shake. My latest smoothie delight is to stir in chia seed gel to an already prepared smoothie. It freezes a bit, and adds a fun crunchy tapioca like texture. I look forward to trying out some of your recipes.
Depending on the recipe, what about frozen cherries or mango or pear? 🙂 Or Thai coconut meat is amazing in smoothies!!
Thanks Katie,
I use tons of frozen fruit in my smoothies, all which I love, but didn’t think those would work for the mint shake. But coconut meat is a great idea, and might work with the mint flavor. Thanks for taking the time to write!
I stumbled across your blog about a week ago and I’m hooked! You’re so clever! I’ve only tried your shakes so far but they’ve been INCREDIBLE! I had this one this morning. DELISH!!! I was thinking about trying a Parkin (type of gingerbread from yorkshire) flavoured one. Can’t wait to try your recipe for Snickerdoodle Blondies. Thanks for your recipes!
Chia seeds will thicken up that milkshake! You might also like Chia Seed pudding (think tapioca).
3 Tbsp Chia seeds
1 Cup Mylk (whatever kind you use)
1 tsp Vanilla
Stevia or other sweetener to taste
Combine & give it a stir with a whisk every 10 minutes for 30 minutes (chia seeds are notorious for clumping together and sinking to the bottom. Stirring just distributes them better.)
There are white Chia seeds and they are much more appealing for the pudding than the black ones. The black are less expensive so we use those. Tastes wonderful!
I just tried one of these as my pre-post run drink (half before and half after) with the following changes:
Didn’t have a banana, added 1 tbs of artisana and 1 tbs of soy protein to make up for thickness (plus 1/4 tsp of xanthan)
Added in about 1-2 tbs of Xylitol to make up for sweetness
Didn’t have any spinach so I replaced it with… 1 heaping tbs of wheatgrass powder! (I know its against the CCK Diet Philosophy but you should try it this way- banana’s usually do a super good job of over powering wheatgrass, and with the peppermint added you probably wouldn’t be able to taste it)
And I doubled the peppermint drops.
It was so good, couldn’t taste the wheatgrass at all, and thanks to the wheatgrass gave me a huge energy boost…I swear it was like healthy vegan speed! And about as addictive… yum!
I love mint chocolate chip ice cream… it’s my favorite, too! Though, I’ve never been a fan of the GREEN mint chocolate chip. Just the white. I can only eat the white. Green freaks me out.
Hi there! I featured this recipe on my St. Patty’s Day recipe roundup! Thank you for such a lovely green recipe!
http://www.againstallgrain.com/2012/03/14/st-pattys-day-recipe-roundup/
I want to make this milkshake. Did you use fresh spinach that you froze or did you use the frozen blocks of spinach? Thank You for the help, I love anything mint!!!!!!!
I bought the frozen block one.
Okay, so I was a little skeptical, but thought I’d try it. I used fresh organic spinach and almond milk. I had peppermint stevia on hand so uses that in place of the extract. Oh. My. Gosh. It tasted so naughty!! And I won’t hate myself in the morning! Thanks for a great recipe 🙂
Sounds delicious! Although I think I will have a hard time if my husband sees spinach going into this thing! I can’t wait to try it tho – and I love the idea about peppermint stevia – never seen that before!
So, I decided to make this to trick my son into drinking his veggies. It worked like a charm!! He he thought that the milkshake was “Mmm…very yummy, Mom!!” 🙂 So glad that I can trick my son into eating his beans (deep-dish cookie pie…), greens (this smoothie/shake) and protein (chocolate bar pie which I converted into little tarts) in the best, yummiest ways possible!!
Thanks Katie! I love trying out your delish recipes!! 😀
P.S. I have your recipes page as a bookmark on my iPad, my phone and my laptop!! Ha ha!! 🙂
Aw 🙂 🙂
Dream flavor? Dark chocolate almond roca (with something crunchy mixed in).
Hi Katie,
I was wondering if there is much difference between guar gum and xantham gum, regarding taste and texture? Do you prefer one over the other?
I just made this shake for dessert and LOVED it! So did the Big Kid but the wee ones didn’t go for it, must’ve been the mint. It’s a do-again!
Just made it – and LOVE it!! Love your site. I have been ‘prowling’ for some time (made one of your spread a while back – yum!) and now this one. My goal is to make more of your (and the like) deserts. My goal is to eliminate/reduce refined sugar, wheat and dairy…and you are the ticket to satisfy my love for (regular) deserts!
I always used to make banana/milk/ice shakes…but never thought of adding peppermint to this.
Made green pancakes for my son (added spinach) and he loved them! Better alternative than food coloring!
Have a great St. Patrick’s Day!
Yvonne
Aw Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Yvonne! 🙂