Healthy Green Juice Bubble Tea

Would you rather have a green juice or a bubble tea?  Why not BOTH?  Green Juice Bubble Tea is the best of both worlds.  The deliciousness of bubble tea meets the health benefits of green juice in this refreshing drink!  With just 3 ingredients, this healthy version of bubble tea is so easy to make, you’ll never want green juice without tapioca pearls in it ever again!  A tasty treat for both kids and adults!  Enjoy Green Juice Bubble Tea any time of the year for a refreshing taste of summer.

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A few weeks ago, I had my first bubble tea of the summer.  It reminded me of childhood.  When I was a kid, I used to drink bubble tea all the time.  There’s just something so enticing about colorful, sugary fruit juice paired with chewy tapioca pearls.  It was almost like a game– using that giant straw to slurp up every last precious black pearl until there was nothing left but ice.

My mom’s side of the family is Taiwanese, so I used to go to Taiwan every few summers growing up and I would always look forward to the bubble tea.  Bubble tea was invented in Taiwan, so they know how to do it!  Fresh squeezed fruit juice.  Rainbow colored tapioca pearls and jellies.  Fresh coconut milk.  Strongly brewed black tea.  The whole nine yards.  Bubble tea is practically a way of life there and seven year old me was all about it.

Now that I’m an adult, I don’t drink bubble tea regularly anymore because I try to avoid sugar and artificial colors/flavors as much as possible.   A standard bubble tea has over 50 grams of sugar– not to mention all the artificial colors and flavors used to create those bright, beautiful “juices”.  As much as I love it, I know it’s not great for my health or waistline, so I try to limit my bubble tea consumption to once every summer.

As I was sipping my brightly colored mango bubble tea that day, I was immediately struck by how sweet it was.  I ordered it with half the sugar and it still tasted like a sugar bomb.  Apparently I wasn’t a kid anymore and drinks that taste like candy don’t appeal to me as much as they used to.  Still, I loved the chewy, sweetness of the tapioca pearls.

I started thinking these tapioca pearls would be SO good with something a little less sweet that highlights their flavor without overpowering them.  Then it hit me!  It was like a light bulb went off!  I’m a huge fan of green juice.  It’s filled with nutrients, antioxidants, and phytochemicals– all good things that support a healthy body!  It has a natural sweetness to it and a beautiful green color with nothing artificial.

I think you can guess where I’m going with this.  I had the genius idea to combine the whimsy of bubble tea with the nutrition of green juice to create a fun, healthy new drink!  It’s so simple– I don’t know why no one else has thought of it.  As soon as I came up with the idea, I immediately Googled it, certain that thousands before me must of had the same idea, but I couldn’t find anything!  Shockingly, it seems like I’m the first person to come up with Green Juice Bubble Tea (if it becomes a big hit in the next few years, I want royalties! 😉)

Green Juice Bubble Tea is super duper easy to make!  You only need 3 ingredients: tapioca pearls, raw honey, and your favorite green juice!  That’s it!  It really is that simple.  It turns out that creating a healthy bubble tea recipe is no more difficult than any other bubble tea recipe!  Who would have thought? 😊  And yes– despite the name I decided to omit the actual tea from this one because I don’t think tea and green juice mix that well (although you’re welcome to try!)

I’m going to go through the 3 ingredients really quickly.  First off, tapioca pearls.  Unfortunately, it’s difficult to find tapioca pearls made with clean ingredients.  The best I could find on Amazon are these here.  It comes with two packs of tapioca pearls and 50 of those colorful bubble tea straws!  Plus, they’re gluten-free and taste delicious!  In terms of health, tapioca pearls aren’t something you should have everyday, but as an occasional treat, they’re well worth it!  At least you have the green juice to balance it out.  Tapioca pearls need to be cooked for 15-20 minutes to acheive the correct texture.

Next, the tapioca pearls need some sort of sugariness to soak in otherwise they end up kind of bitter.  I chose raw honey for this purpose because it’s more nutrient dense than regular honey (read about it here) and I like to give my recipes a nutrition boost anywhere I can.  Don’t stress about finding raw honey though.  If you don’t have it or don’t want to use it, that’s no problem at all.  You can just use regular honey, which is actually the way tapioca pearls are typically sweetened anyway.  If you prefer a vegan version of this recipe, feel free to replace the honey with brown sugar.  Make a syrup with brown sugar and water– you’re good to go!

Finally, the green juice!  This the fun part.  There’s so many different ones to choose from!  I usually like green juice made with kale, spinach, romaine, cucumber and celery with a little bit of apple for sweetness.  I get this juice from my local pressed juice bar, bring it home, add tapioca pearls, and voila! A healthy bubble tea recipe made in a jiffy!  You can also buy bottled green juice from Whole Foods or your local natural foods store.  Just make sure you read the label and keep an eye out for sugar content.  I’ve seen green juices with over 35 grams of sugar per serving.  This is mainly because of too much fruit.  You should try to choose a green juice that is primarily green vegetables with just a little bit of fruit (<10 grams of sugar is ideal).  Remember the tapioca pearls are already soaked in honey, so you probably won’t need a super sugary green juice to get your sweet fix.

While I typically use pre-made green juice (primarily due to my laziness) for this healthy bubble tea recipe, you can also pull out the juicer and make your own!  There are tons of green juice recipes online or you can get extra creative by concocting your very own green juice blend (if you’re in the market for a juicer, I like this one here — it’s compact and costs less than most juicers I’ve seen).  You can also try out other fresh pressed juices besides just green juice (i.e. carrot juice, beet juice, etc).  If you’re making this for a party, using different colored juices will make everything look extra  impressive just like at your local bubble tea shop (but with better ingredients!) Green Juice Bubble Tea just got more colorful! 🌈

Green Juice Bubble Tea is also a great way to entice your kids to drink green juice.  Who can resist a colorful drink with yummy tapioca pearls?  They won’t even know they’re drinking vegetables!  Seven year old me would have drank this healthy bubble tea recipe without question!

So that’s it!  A healthy bubble tea recipe you can enjoy anytime of the year!  Who knows?  I may have just created the latest health trend.  If you see Green Juice Bubble Tea all over the place in a few years, remember that you saw it here first! 😉 Enjoy!

Did you try this healthy bubble tea recipe?  What did you think?  Let me know in the comments below!

Looking for the exact same straws and glasses I used in the pictures?  You can find them on Amazon! The straws came with the tapioca pearls here and the glasses are these ones here!

Looking for another refreshing drink recipe?  Try my Strawberry Basil Smoothie recipe!  It’s one of F&F’s most popular posts.  It has just 4 ingredients and tastes delicious!  You can also check out all of F&F’s recent recipes here!

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Healthy Green Juice Bubble Tea

Would you rather drink green juice or bubble tea?  Why not BOTH?  The deliciousness of bubble tea meets the health benefits of green juice in this refreshing drink!  Gluten-free, dairy-free, and nut-free with a vegan option. 

Course Drinks

Cuisine Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free, Vegetarian

Keyword boba, bubble tea, green juice, healthy bubble tea, tapioca pearls

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 2

Calories 369 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 cup black tapioca pearls (boba) see note
• 1-2 tablespoons honey (raw or regular) depending on how sweet you want the pearls to be
• 2.5 cups your favorite green juice (it should be cold)

Instructions

1. Bring 10 cups of water to a boil. 

2. When the water is at a rolling boil, slowly add the tapioca and stir gently.

3. When the tapioca begins to float to the surface (about 1-2 minutes) reduce the heat to medium and cover with a tight fitting lid.  

4. Cook covered on mediumt heat for 2-3 more minutes (if you want softer tapioca, you can cook for 4-5 minutes).

5. Prepare a bowl full of cold water.  Make sure the bowl is large enough and the water is high enough to cover the tapioca balls completely.

6. Scoop out the tapioca with a slotted spoon or carefully drain with a colander.  Add to the bowl of cold water and allow to soak for 1 minute (this stops the cooking process so that your boba will be the right texture).

7. Drain the cold water from the bowl reserving the tapioca pearls.  

8. Add honey and stir so that all the pearls are well-coated. Allow to sit for 10 minutes until the tapioca pearls have a sweet aftertaste. Feel free to let them sit slightly longer (5-10 minutes more) for a sweeter taste.

9. Spoon tapioca pearls into the bottom of two glasses.  Add green juice, a wide straw, and enjoy cold!

Recipe Notes

I used quick cooking tapioca pearls for this recipe.  I recommend you use the same brand of tapioca pearls I did (you can find it on Amazon here) so that you can use the same cooking method.  Different brands and types of tapioca pearls will have different cooking times and water-to-tapioca ratios.  If you use a different brand, follow the instructions on the package.  This brand is also gluten-free (although I'm unsure about cross-contamination risk).

I used raw honey for a little added nutrition, but feel free to use regular honey or brown sugar (for a vegan version).  

I recommend using 1-2 tablespoons of honey depending on how sweet you want the tapioca pearls to taste.  Feel free to adjust the amount of honey based on your preferences.  

The ratio for water to tapioca is 10-to-1.  Feel free to use this ratio to cook more or less tapioca pearls (1/2 a cup = 5 cups of water, 2 cups = 20 cups of water, etc.)

You can use any kind of green juice you want for this recipe.  You can get it from your local juice bar, a natural foods store like Whole Foods, or you can make your own!  I recommend kale, spinach, cucumber, celery, and just a little bit of apple (you don't want it to have too much sugar).  I also like to mix bottled juices, so I can control the sweetness (i.e. mix a juice that has some apple in it with a juice that's just veggies so it's less sweet).  You can also use other juices besides green, such as, carrot or beet to make difffent colored drinks.  The possibilities are endless! 

Although bubble tea is typically made with black or green tea, I omitted tea in this recipe because I didn't feel that tea and green juice mixed that well together.  However, you're welcome to try adding some tea if you wish!

Nutrition Facts

Healthy Green Juice Bubble Tea

Amount Per Serving

Calories 369

% Daily Value*

Sodium 350mg15%

Potassium 583mg17%

Carbohydrates 65g22%

Fiber 3g13%

Sugar 15g17%

Protein 2g4%

Vitamin A 2490IU50%

Vitamin C 89.5mg108%

Calcium 64mg6%

Iron 2.1mg12%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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