Refreshing Kiwano Fruit Smoothie Recipe (With Spinach and Avocado)

Last updated: August 9, 2023

A refreshing, nutritious, and flavorsome kiwano melon smoothie drink, with spinach, avocado, blueberries, banana, and ginger.

As you may already know, I love experimenting with exotic fruits. I often visit markets and specialty grocery stores, hunting for new fruits and vegetables to try out.

One of these weird fruits is the kiwano fruit, otherwise known as horned melon. It sure is an interesting-looking fruit that can be described as a mix between a melon and a cucumber.

One good way to eat this fruit is by blending it with other fruits and veggies, in this case, spinach, avocado, banana, and some blueberries. Yum!

Please find the printable version of this recipe further below.

Below is a list of all the ingredients that go into this kiwano smoothie.

Feel free to experiment with other ingredients, but I find that the below mix of ingredients results in a super refreshing and filling drink.

The kiwano is indeed a fascinating fruit. The spiky, orange skin of kiwano melons will immediately grab your attention.

And when you cut them open, the soft and bright green flesh may surprise you even more. It looks very similar to cucumber flesh, with lots of seeds that are actually edible. The texture around the seeds is like a green jelly, which may taste kind of weird the first time you try it out.

Kiwano fruit is native to southern and Central Africa, but has also been grown in New Zealand, Australia, and parts of the USA for quite some time. It’s hard to describe the taste, but it can be described as a mix of cucumber, zucchini, kiwifruit, and banana.

For this smoothie, we are, of course, only using the flesh inside. I can’t find any sources that say the skin is not edible, but I prefer not to try it!

Simply cut the kiwano in half and then scoop out the bits and pieces with a spoon. It’s quite leaky, so make sure to do this above a plate so you won’t lose any of the juice.

Read my guide on how to cut and eat a kiwano melon with lots of practical tips and more recipe ideas for this delicious fruit.

I really wanted to make this smoothie as nutritious and tasty as possible, without sacrificing the flavors too much.

So for this smoothie, I’ve added some spinach as the leafy green content. Spinach always works well in smoothies as it doesn’t have too much impact on how it tastes, and the health benefits are obviously great.

I’m also a fan of blueberries, so I’m adding a small cup. Blueberries contain anthocyanin, a flavonoid with potent antioxidant capacity.

We also add one large banana to this smoothie, which is a bit of a habit of mine. Bananas are essentially my go-to smoothie recipe fruit; they always work well with other fruits and vegetables. And they add a nice dose of sweetness, which is also important.

Ginger is my favorite smoothie add-in. I personally love the taste and smell of fresh ginger, so much so that I even tried to grow ginger at home, which turns out is actually much easier than I expected!

Another one of my favorite smoothie ingredients is avocado. Adding some avocado flesh to a smoothie gives it a nice thick texture that I quite like. For this particular recipe, I am adding one-quarter of an avocado, but you’re welcome to add as much or as little as you wish.

Read my list of recommended blenders for making green smoothies.