This Pistachio Smoothie Recipe is the perfect combination of delicious and nutritious!

I’ve always loved those fluffy, minty green salads people bring to potlucks. They’re often called Watergate Salad (pistachio fluff), or pistachio salad. And they’re normally made with tons of whipped topping, pistachio flavored pudding, marshmallows and other wonderfully decadent ingredients.

I wanted to create a smoothie reminiscent of a pistachio fluff salad, but that was also good for you. Pistachios aren’t cheap, but I didn’t want to use fake pudding flavors. So I used shelled, unsalted pistachios, bananas, milk and yogurt instead.

The result tasted delicious but wasn’t very green. What to add? Why not spinach? Baby spinach is very mild and works wonderfully in smoothies because you can’t taste it.

I think you’re going to love this nutritious and delicious pistachio smoothie. Let’s make it!

Pistachio Smoothie Ingredients:

This easy pistachio smoothie recipe requires only a few ingredients.

1. Milk
2. Frozen banana – if you don’t have a frozen banana, use a fresh banana, but add in a few ice cubes
3. Vanilla yogurt – whatever your favorite is. I prefer vanilla greek yogurt.
4. Baby spinach – kale is another good leafy green option
5. Pistachios – I use shelled, unsalted pistachios
6. Garnish – whipped cream, crushed pistachios

I’ll cover optional ingredients and variations in just a moment.

Variations

1. Protein packed – try adding a scoop of vanilla protein powder. I like to add protein power at the very end, AFTER everything has already been blended well. This helps prevent the smoothie from becoming foamy. I talk more about that with this High Protein Smoothie recipe.
2. Milk variations – try using coconut milk or almond milk
3. Tropical – instead of frozen banana, try making it with frozen mango
4. Add avocado – have you had avocado in a smoothie before? It adds healthy fat, incredible creaminess, and tastes delicious!
5. Greens – I use spinach because it’s mild and works well in smoothies. Kale is another great option.

How to Make a Pistachio Smoothie

1. Prepare the pistachios- remove the shells.
2. Add ingredients – in your blender add all of the ingredients in the order listed
3. Blend until smooth

A high powdered blender like a Vitamix will offer the best consistency. It will be able to crush the pistachios and blend up the spinach until it’s creamy and smooth. You’ll never know that you are getting your veggies delivered in a cup of creamy deliciousness!

Tip – adding the pistachios last instead of first helps to get them blended better. If you add them first, they tend to get stuck under the blades of the blender and don’t get crushed as well.

Benefits of Pistachios

It is not unusual to find a large Costco sized container of pistachios in my house because they are delicious and offer a variety of health benefits-

1. Rich in antioxidants – vitamin E, polyphenols, carotenoids
2. Heart health – pistachios are packed with monounsaturated fats which help reduce LDL levels (bad cholesterol) and increase HDL (good cholesterol)
3. Protein – did you know that pistachios are a good source of plant-based protein?
4. Low Glycemic index – the combo of healthy fats, fiber and protein make them helpful for blog sugar regulation

More Smoothie Recipes

Smoothies are one of my personal favorites because they are convenient, full of nutrients, and so versatile! Here are more smoothie recipes you’ve gotta try!

• The Best High Protein Smoothie
• Cookies and Cream Smoothie
• Strawberry Pineapple Smoothie
• Berry Banana Greek Yogurt Smoothie

I hope you enjoy this recipe for a Watergate Salad / AKA Pistachio Fluff inspired Pistachio Dream Smoothie. Not only is this smoothie delicious and nutritious, it is SO good. Enjoy!