This healthy Shamrock Shake is a nutritious spin on the vanilla-minty McDonald's Shamrock Shake. This one is vegan, paleo, dye-free, and loaded with veggies and plant-based protein. It is naturally sweetened, colored, and flavored. I love to enjoy it as a special treat on St. Patrick's Day with my kids!
It is March and McDonald's is already offering their St. Patty's Day signature drink, the Shamrock Shake. The tagline for this drink is "cool, minty and full of luck." Sounds great... that is, until you read the fine print. It is not only full of empty calories but it also contains chemicals, additives and food dyes. The ingredients include sugar, liquid sugar, cream, high fructose corn syrup, mono and diglycerides, cellulose gum, carrageenan, and palmitate (would need to Google this one) in addition to more preservatives and dyes. It got me thinking... I want a healthy Shamrock Shake that will make me feel good after it's gone!
If you search on Pinterest there are tons of copycat recipes for this festive drink (some healthy and some not). I set out to make a truly nutritious plant-based version that still has the signature minty and vanilla flavor that makes this creamy green drink so popular. As you know, I absolutely love smoothies and one of my favorite hobbies is blending creations that taste just like your favorite desserts!
How to Get that Shamrock-Green Color
For the minty green color and flavor I simply used fresh mint leaves. You can also add smoothie boosters fresh baby spinach, baby kale, matcha (powdered green tea), moringa leaf powder and/or spirulina for added nutritional benefits. All of these add fun shamrock-green color (spirulina will create a deeper green), and the mint and vanilla will mask their flavors.
Actually Healthy Ingredients
I love that this shake has the potential to sneak in tons of nutrients including two vegetables: frozen riced cauliflower and fresh baby kale or spinach. It also offers plant-based protein from slivered almonds which helps to make the drink ultra-creamy.
I kept it naturally sweetened and refined sugar-free by using Medjool dates as the sweetener. Personally, I like a frosty shake, so I add two cups of ice at the end after the initial ingredients have blended together well.
Moringa Leaf Powder in Green Smoothies (Optional)
Moringa leaf powder (Moringa oleifera) is known to be a natural energy booster without containing caffeine. It is also believed to be good for digestion as well as having a calming, soothing, immune-boosting and detoxifying effect.
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine it also contains important minerals and is a good source of protein, vitamins, beta-carotene, amino acids and various phenolics. I love to add ½ teaspoon of the powder to my green smoothies, and it's great in this healthy Shamrock Shake!
I hope you enjoy my vegan (and paleo) take on the McDonald's classic. I love to enjoy it on St. Patrick's Day (or really any day where I'm craving a refreshing, minty, creamy nutritious treat!).
This is a dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free and peanut-free recipe. If you leave out the almonds and use oat milk it can be made nut-free too!
Looking for more St. Patrick's Day fun?
See all my favorite green-colored, mint-flavored and Irish-inspired recipes HERE!
Healthier Copycat Shamrock Shake (vegan, paleo, dye-free)
- Total Time: 5 mins
- Yield: 2 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This healthy Shamrock Shake is a nutritious spin on the vanilla-minty McDonald's Shamrock Shake. This one is vegan, paleo, dye-free, and loaded with veggies and plant-based protein. It is naturally sweetened, colored and flavored. I love to enjoy it as a special treat on St. Patrick's Day with my kids!
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk or non-dairy milk of choice
- ¼ cup raw unsalted cashews or raw unsalted blanched and slivered almonds (adds neutral tasting creaminess - do not use sliced almonds or whole almonds with the skin)
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup or 6 large pitted Medjool dates
- 1 large handful fresh mint leaves (stems removed) (this adds a fresh mint flavor as well as a minty green color)
- ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups ice cubes
Optional Nutritional Boosters:
- ½ teaspoon matcha
- ½ teaspoon moringa leaf powder
- 1-2 handfuls fresh baby spinach (this will affect the color)
- ¼ cup frozen riced cauliflower (adds thickness and neutral-tasting creaminess)
- ¼ avocado
Garnishes
- homemade coconut whipped cream or store-bought dairy-free whipped cream
- fresh mint leaves
- sprinkle of matcha powder or green dye-free sprinkles
- fresh cherry or maraschino cherry
Instructions
- In a high speed blender, add all the ingredients. Blend until smooth. Add any of the optional add-ins if desired. Blend again until smooth.
- Taste and add more sweetener, mint or vanilla flavor if desired.
- Serve immediately. Top with coconut whipped cream and a cherry if desired. Garnish with additional fresh mint leaves and a sprinkle of matcha if desired. Enjoy immediately.
Equipment
Buy Now → - Prep Time: 5 mins
- Category: Smoothie
- Method: Blender
Spillt User says
Brittany says
I wish I could give this recipe 10 stars! So delicious!!!
Elaine Gordon says
Wow, Brittany! That means so much—10 stars would be amazing! 😍 I'm so happy you loved it. Thank you for your sweet review! 💚
Shannon says
So good! I added vanilla protein powder
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you so much! So happy to hear you enjoyed with your protein powder! Best, Elaine
Courtney says
This was so good! I made it for my kids last weekend for St Patrick’s day, and my husband and I liked it so much I made another batch for us to share so we would stop taking sips from our kids 🙂 The fresh mint was refreshing and really made this taste so fresh and delicious.
Elaine Gordon says
Yay! Thank you so much, Courtney! So happy this was a hit with the entire fam! Thank you for taking the time to comment/rate this one. And Happy belated St. Patrick's Day! Best, Elaine