Vegan Shamrock Shake

A vegan shamrock shake that’s creamy, minty, chocolatey, and way healthier than the original. It’s a quick and easy dessert that’s done in 5 minutes and only needs a few ingredients.

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When March roles around we break out our green sweaters and prepare for a jolly good time as we move towards St. Patrick’s Day and get excited about spring! This healthy shamrock shake will put you in a festive mood without any guilt!

McDonald’s cashes in on the green madness with their signature Shamrock Shake. It’s cloyingly sweet, green and minty.

Many an office splurges on St. Patrick’s Day by bringing Shamrock shakes to share with their co-workers.

You may want to indulge in this treat on St. Patrick’s Day but before you do you might want to know the nutrition facts.

How many calories and sugar is in a McDonald’s Shamrock Shake?

Here are the complete nutrition facts for a 16 oz serving of a McDonald’s Shamrock Shake.Calories: 550

Fat: 13 g

Saturated Fat: 8 g

Trans-fat: 1 g

Cholesterol: 50 mg

Sodium: 180 mg

Fiber: 0 g

Sugar: 82 g

Protein: 13 g

What is really in a Shamrock Shake?

A Shamrock Shake is made with vanilla reduced fat ice cream, shamrock shake syrup, and whipped cream.

Vanilla Reduced Fat Ice Cream Ingredients: Milk, Sugar, Cream, Corn Syrup, Natural Flavor, Mono and Diglycerides, Cellulose Gum, Guar Gum, Carrageenan, Vitamin A Palmitate.

Shamrock Shake Syrup Ingredients: High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Water, Sugar, Natural Flavor, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Yellow 5, Blue 1.

Whipped Cream Ingredients: Cream, Nonfat Milk, Liquid Sugar, Contains 2% or Less: Mono and Diglycerides, Natural Flavors, Carrageenan. Whipping Propellant (Nitrous Oxide).

Should you be alarmed by any of these ingredients?

If you can’t pronounce it you probably don’t want to consume it. These ingredients are preservatives, additives, and stabilizers.

You also want to watch out for corn syrup, natural flavors, and dyes, such as yellow 5 and blue 1 listed above. Food dyes have been linked to hyperactivity in some children.

A healthy alternative…

If you’d rather skip the drive through and quench your craving for a Shamrock Shake this St. Patrick’s Day, I’ve got a super simple recipe that will leave you feeling guilt free, and fill you up with nutrient rich foods.

Why You’ll Love this Vegan Shamrock Shake…

• Low in calories
• Low in sugar
• Natural ingredients
• One serving of vegetables
• One serving of fruit
• Healthy plant fats
• Creamy and smooth
• Fresh and Minty Flavor

Ingredients You’ll Need to Make this Vegan Shamrock Shake:

• Light coconut milk or plant-milk of choice
• frozen banana
• avocado
• spinach
• peppermint extract or mint leaves
• vegan chocolate chips (optional)

Health Benefits of Coconut Milk

Coconut milk gives this shake a creamy and rich texture and a natural sweetness. Coconut milk is said to help with heart health, weight loss, and boost immunity.

While foods high in saturated fat are linked to high cholesterol, coconut milk helps boost LDL (the good cholesterol). It contains medium chain tryglycerides (MCTs) which have been linked to weight loss.

Coconut also contains lauric acid which research has shown helps boost immunity. Luric acid has antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties too.

Frozen Banana

Whenever I’m making a shake and I want it to be sweet without adding sugar or stevia, my go to is frozen bananas.

Frozen bananas when blended are creamy. If you freeze your bananas when they’re browning there are more natural sugars.

Whenever my bananas are getting brown I peel them and throw them in the freezer for my smoothies. Bananas have some great health benefits too with fiber, potassium, vitamin C, and vitamin B6 among others.

Avocado

I love avocado in this shake. It helps with it’s natural green color and adds even more creaminess. Avocados are heart healthy!

They contain even more potassium than bananas. They’re loaded with fiber. While avocados contain fat, it is monounsaturated fatty acids. This type of fat helps with heart health, and helps your body absorb other important nutrients.

They have antioxidants that can protect your eyes, may help prevent cancer, and relieve arthritis pain. Incorporating avocados into your diet is easy and delicious.

Spinach

Spinach in this shake also helps give it a natural green hue. Leafy greens should be a daily staple in your diet, and what better way to incorporate them into your diet than to include them in your shake or smoothie.

Spinach is mild in flavor, so when you added to a smoothie or shake, it blends easily with the other flavors.

Spinach and other leafy greens are high in antioxidants which helps prevent cancer. If you’re a pregnant mama, eat your spinach. It’s full of folate that helps with red blood cell production and protects against neural tube defects.

Tools I Used to Make this Vegan Shamrock Shake

When I make this healthy shamrock shake or any smoothie I use my high speed Vitamix. I LOVE this blender!

It’s has a special attachment that comes with it just to make smoothies. The attachment makes a single serve smoothie, and comes with a lid. So you can take it with you on the way to work.

It’s more affordable that other Vitamix blenders, and use it for everything from making sauces, soups, and even homemade vegan cheese!

How to Make A Vegan Shamrock Shake – Step by Step

Step 1: Freeze a banana prior to making the shake. Chop into chunks, and place in a freezer safe bag.

Step 2: When you’re ready to make the shake, add the frozen banana, spinach, avocado, unsweetened plant milk of choice, and peppermint extract. Blend until smooth and creamy.

Step 3: Pour into a glass, and top with dairy free chocolate chips. Enjoy!

Top Tips for Making the Best Vegan Shamrock Shake

• Use a frozen banana. This creates a cool and thick shake like consistency.
• Make sure your avocado is ripe. It should be soft but firm when you give it a squeeze.
• If you don’t have coconut milk, use a plant milk of your choice. Almond milk will reduce the fat and calories in this shake.
• Using a high speed blender will ensure that all the spinach leaves blend well without any flecks of leaves. However, it is not necessary to have a high speed blender for this recipe. You just might need to blend a bit longer.

Variations and Substitutions

Mint Leaves: If you don’t have peppermint extract, feel free to use fresh mint leaves. I recommend about 1/4 cup of washed and stemmed leaves.

Lower Calorie: Sub the coconut milk for unsweetened soy milk or almond milk.

How to Serve

• Pour into a glass and top with dark chocolate chips.
• If you like whipped cream, you can top this shake with whipped coconut cream and a cherry!

Check out these other vegan St. Patrick’s Day recipes!

• 17 Vegan Irish Recipes for St. Patrick’s Day
• Vegan Irish Cream
• Irish Stew (Vegan)
• Lentil Shepherd’s Pie
• Vegan Corned Beef

If you’ve tried this recipe, please rate it and let me know how it turned out. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for more plant-based family recipes your whole family will enjoy!