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Wellness Mama » Blog » Recipes » Real Food Shamrock Shake Recipe

Real Food Shamrock Shake Recipe

March 6, 2018 (Updated: May 20, 2020)   —  by Katie Wells

Healthy Shamrock Shake Recipe with Vanilla and Mint

Reading Time: 3 minThis post contains affiliate links. Click here to read my affiliate policy.

Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • A Little Shamrock Shake History
  • A Healthy Dessert? Perfection!
  • Real Food Shamrock Shake Recipe
  • Healthy Shamrock Shake Recipe
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The infamous McDonald’s Shamrock Shake makes its rounds once a year at the Golden Arches. Over 60 million of them have been sold since they were first introduced. With 54 ingredients in each shake, though, they are pretty much the opposite of real food!

It might come as a surprise that I’ve never actually tried this seasonally popular drink, but when some friends who normally eat super healthy were raving about how much they love this green concoction from one of the most unhealthy restaurants, I decided to attempt to create a healthy, real food version!

Besides, I’m a big fan of getting nutrition through smoothies and shakes! This version includes nutritious avocado, so it is a tasty (and much healthier!) way to get your Shamrock Shake fix.

A Little Shamrock Shake History

Shamrock Shakes were first introduced in the 1970s but they didn’t gain much popularity and were discontinued. Over the years this shake has morphed from a lemon and lime sherbet concoction, to a vanilla sundae with disturbingly neon-green shamrock sauce, then into a milkshake, and eventually evolved into the mint and vanilla flavored drink that’s so popular.

The McDonald’s Shamrock Shake relies on artificial green coloring, artificial flavor, and loads of high fructose corn syrup. This real food shamrock shake uses pure peppermint oil extract and naturally green foods like spinach and avocado.

Even though there are veggies hiding in this dessert, all that’s tasted is creamy, minty goodness.

A Healthy Dessert? Perfection!

Some people may find it strange to add avocado to a dessert, but this fruit adds a creamy texture and healthy fats. One avocado alone contains the full daily value of vitamin K and folate and about 70% of the daily required vitamins B5, B6, C, and E.

Spinach is a familiar green in salads and breakfast quiches, but it’s just as at home in this real food shamrock shake. This green leaf contains high amounts of vitamins A, C, and K, as well as folate and some B vitamins. Spinach is a good source of certain minerals too, like iron, magnesium, potassium, and manganese.

Even better, avocado increases the bioavailability of the anti-inflammatory nutrients in the spinach. Spinach contains a poorly absorbed source of plant iron called non-heme iron. However, when vitamin C-rich foods are paired with plant based iron sources, it significantly increases their bioavailability. The high amount of vitamin C in the avocado works perfectly!

A note for anyone who has a thyroid issue, or is otherwise trying to avoid oxalic acid: use cooked spinach instead of raw.

Real Food Shamrock Shake Recipe

Although the fast food version is only available once a year, this sweet treat is worth having all year round. It’s creamy and sweet, with enough nutrition to make it a smart choice any time of the year. Although not as sweet as the original version, (which contains over 19 teaspoons of sugar for a medium size!) feel free to add some more maple syrup or honey if you prefer a sweeter taste.

This recipe makes enough for two real food shamrock shakes so it can be shared with a friend!

Wellness Mama Real Food Copycat Shamrock Shake Recipe
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4.3 from 17 votes

Healthy Shamrock Shake Recipe

This refreshing shamrock shake recipe has flavors of vanilla and mint with a nutrient and color boost from spinach and avocado. A treat you can enjoy and feel great about!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 2 large shakes
Calories 377kcal
Author Katie Wells
The ingredient links below are affiliate links. Click here to read my affiliate policy.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups milk of choice
  • 1 tsp  mint extract
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ avocado peeled
  • ¼ cup maple syrup or raw honey or vanilla stevia to taste
  • 1 cup raw spinach packed
  • 4 cups ice cubes

Instructions

  • In a blender combine the milk, mint extract, vanilla, avocado, maple syrup or honey, and spinach. Blend until very smooth.
  • Add the ice cubes and blend just until it forms a shake consistency. Add more milk if it’s too thick for your blender.
  • Pour the milkshake into cups and enjoy!

Notes

Have fun customizing this healthy shake to fit your preferences. Choose the type of milk and level of sweetness that works for you!

Nutrition

Serving: 2cups | Calories: 377kcal | Carbohydrates: 50.7g | Protein: 9.4g | Fat: 15.7g | Saturated Fat: 5.9g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 142mg | Fiber: 3.4g | Sugar: 46.5g

Like this recipe? Check out my new cookbook, or get all my recipes (over 500!) in a personalized weekly meal planner here!

Do you or did you used to enjoy Shamrock Shakes? Leave a comment and let us know how you enjoyed this real food version!

Get your St. Patrick's Day indulgence without feeling guilty with this minty real-food version of the famous Shamrock Shake!

Sources:

  • Sean Lynch and James Cook, “Interaction of vitamin C and iron,” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, vol. 335 (December 1980).
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Category: Drink Recipes, Recipes

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About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder and CEO of Wellness Mama and Co-Founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a wife and mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

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Reader Interactions

Discussion (30 Comments)

  1. Sarah

    March 19, 2017 at 6:15 PM

    Hi Wellness Mama, I noticed that you put as an option ‘Vanilla Stevia’ in the place of honey or maple syrup. I just wanted to put out a warning: Anyone who has a severe ragweed allergy should attempt to avoid Stevia. It can cause an allergic cross-reaction. I know that because of my ragweed problem, I can’t have Stevia, and wanted to make sure that other people knew.
    Thanks!

    Reply
  2. Aimee

    March 19, 2017 at 3:20 PM

    4 stars
    I doubled the recipe for our family of seven, and it was more than enough. Also, next time, I would use less peppermint extract; it was super minty, but otherwise quite refreshing and good. Thank you for a healthier alternative!

    Reply
  3. Kathryn

    March 19, 2017 at 1:52 PM

    I so want to try this!! This sounds delicious.

    Do you have an idea if i can leave the spinach out or replace it with something else? I technically have an allergy to peppermint and spinach. The mint i know i can’t substitute, is there a sub for spinach?

    Thank you so much!

    Reply
  4. Jen

    March 19, 2017 at 7:21 AM

    We make this one all the time! My kids call it mint chocolate chip smoothie, and we add a small handful of chocolate chips for the last few seconds of blending. We use more spinach and less milk to make it really thick. So yummy!

    Reply
  5. beverly smith

    March 19, 2017 at 6:45 AM

    Why do you suggest that people with thyroid issues use cooked spinach?

    Reply
    • Katie - Wellness Mama

      March 20, 2017 at 8:46 PM

      Some people with certain thyroid issues don’t do well with raw cruciferous vegetables just as some don’t do will with seaweed because of the iodine content.

      Reply
  6. Jinny

    March 17, 2017 at 3:43 PM

    5 stars
    So amazing! this is as close to a McDonald’s shamrock shake as one could ever get without all the terrible ingredients. This is really delicious! It does make a lot. I’ll probably cut recipe in half next time. I used maple syrup and coconut milk. Thank you for this recipe, as I’ve missed the “real thing.”

    Reply
  7. Jamie

    March 17, 2017 at 9:09 AM

    I’m going to try this shake recipe this morning with a few modifications (using what we have around the house). We don’t have avocado so I’ll add a frozen banana or two, and use coconut milk as it adds a hint of sweetness and more creaminess than other milks. Hopefully those two ingredients will boost the creamy factor and give us a Shamrock-worthy shake! 🙂

    Reply
  8. Cheri

    March 16, 2017 at 8:30 PM

    5 stars
    Surprisingly good! I used coconut milk and maple syrup options. No one could tell there was spinach in it. The kids did say it didn’t taste like a shamrock shake from McDonald’s, but that it was good. It says that it’s 1 serving, but it was enough for 4 of us to have some.

    Reply
  9. Jennifer

    March 15, 2017 at 11:29 AM

    I loved the Shamrock Shake but I am allergic to milk. This looks good but unfortunately I am also allergic to avocado. Is there anything else I can substitute? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Katie - Wellness Mama

      March 20, 2017 at 8:50 PM

      You could use an almond or coconut milk or any type of non-dairy milk. Avocado is trickier to sub because it adds the creaminess but it could probably just be omitted.

      Reply
  10. Lee

    March 15, 2017 at 5:37 AM

    4 stars
    Amazing! Spinach, avocado are the good sources of nutrients. I never tried this shake yet but gonna try today.

    Reply
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