Moringa Smoothie Recipe: Banana, Mango & One Teaspoon of Moringa Powder

This is the smoothie we make when someone asks how to use moringa powder for the first time. It needs five ingredients, nothing exotic, and the fruit does the work of hiding moringa's green, slightly hay-like flavor. If you have tried moringa in water and decided it was not for you, try it this way before giving up on it.

Ingredients (1 large glass)

• 1 teaspoon moringa leaf powder
• 1 ripe banana (frozen makes it thicker)
• ½ cup frozen mango or pineapple chunks
• 1 cup almond milk, or any milk you like
• 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup, optional. A ripe banana is usually sweet enough.

Method

1. Put the milk in the blender first, then the fruit, then the moringa powder on top. Powder on top of liquid blends in cleanly instead of sticking to the sides.
2. Blend on high for 30 to 45 seconds, until there are no green specks left.
3. Taste. If it is grassier than you like, add a few more mango chunks or a squeeze of lime, not more sweetener. Acid and fruit mask the green note better than sugar does.
4. Drink it straight away. Moringa's color dulls as it sits, and the smoothie separates after 20 minutes or so.

Three things that make a difference

• Use frozen fruit. It gives you a thick, cold smoothie without ice, and ice dilutes the flavor that is covering the moringa.
• Do not double the moringa on day one. A teaspoon is plenty to taste and plenty to notice. The flavor gets easier to like over a week or two; the amount can go up then.
• Fresh powder matters. Moringa is a dried leaf, and its color and flavor fade with heat, light and time. A vivid green powder that smells fresh and grassy is what you want; a dull olive powder with little smell has been sitting too long.

Variations

• Tropical: swap the banana for ½ cup pineapple and add the juice of half a lime.
• Creamier: add 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt or half an avocado.
• More filling: add 1 tablespoon of oats or chia seeds and blend a few seconds longer.
• Warm-spice version: a small pinch of Ceylon cinnamon rounds off the green note nicely.

FAQ

How much moringa powder should go in a smoothie?

One teaspoon per glass is the usual starting amount, and it is what this recipe uses. Two teaspoons is noticeably grassier and is about the most the fruit can hide.

What does a moringa smoothie taste like?

With banana and mango, mostly like banana and mango, with a faint green, tea-like finish. On its own moringa tastes like a mild, earthy green tea or a grassier spinach.

Can I make it the night before?

You can, but it will separate and the color dulls. Blend it fresh if you can; if not, shake well before drinking and keep it refrigerated.

Is moringa powder the same as moringa tea?

No. Tea is made from dried leaf pieces steeped and strained. The powder is the whole dried leaf, milled fine, so you consume the leaf itself rather than an infusion.

More on moringa: What is moringa?  ·  Moringa vs spinach, by the USDA numbers  ·  5 ways to cook with moringa beyond the smoothie