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This green juice recipe is easy to make in a blender and packs in the nutrients! The simple mix blends leafy greens, cucumber, citrus, and ginger for a delicious drink that’s refreshing and satisfying.
Why we love this recipe
Here’s a beautifully bright juice that’s packed full of nutrients: green juice, a blend of green veggies that come together into a healthy drink! It’s become quite the wellness trend, but keep in mind: green juice can’t cure diseases or make you skinnier. However, it is a great alternative to sugary soda that packs in all the nutrients of the blended vegetables.
This green juice recipe is delicious, lightly sweet and nuanced in flavor: not bitter at all! Even better, you can whip up it up right in your blender—no juicer required.
Green juice benefits: why drink it?
Why drink veggies in juice form? Well, many of the green juice benefits you may have heard of are over-hyped. Green juice does not make you skinnier or cure diseases. Much like celery juice, green juices have inflated health claims. Here’s what we do know:
- Drinking green juice gives you all the benefits of the vegetables (except fiber). In fact, it’s even better to eat the whole vegetables. Consider munching on celery and cucumber with a healthy yogurt dip instead. Or, blend up some green smoothies!
- Avoid juice cleanses. Research associates juice cleanses with disordered eating and a negative relationship with food (read more here).
- Spinach, celery, and cucumbers are low in calories but high in nutrients. Drinking the juice gives you all the vitamins in these veggies.
- Green juice is a good alternative to soda or sugary drinks. Instead the empty calories and sugar in a soda, this juice is hands down a better choice!
Head to Healthline to read more about Green Juice Risks and Benefits.
Ingredients in green juice
There’s no “standard” way to make green juice: every cook, restaurant, and juice bar has their own recipe! Often leafy greens like spinach, kale, or chard are used, along with celery, cucumber, and fresh herbs. What’s in our green juice? Here are the veggies we found essential to the mix:
- Spinach: We like using baby spinach; you could also use baby kale or chopped kale.
- Celery: Celery adds a nuance in flavor.
- Cucumber: Cucumber gives hydrating, herbaceous notes to the flavor.
- Apples: Apples round out the flavor, helping to offset any bitterness from the greens.
- Ginger: Griner is optional, but it adds a nice spicy nuance.
- Lemon juice: Citrus adds a brightness to the finish of each sip.
How to make green juice (in a blender)
You can make this green juice in a blender: it’s easy to make and comes together quickly. Here are the main steps to the blender version:
- Blend all ingredients on high until pureed and smooth. It will look like a thick smoothie at this point. You’ll use a little water to help it blend.
- Add ice and blend again! Add just 1 cup ice, and it will cool the green juice so you can drink it right away. This is a fun feature because most juices you’ll have to wait a few hours for it to chill.
- Strain. Strain the juice through a medium or fine mesh strainer or using a nut milk bag. Using a medium mesh strainer results in juice with more pulp, which will give you more fiber. A fine mesh sieve makes it perfectly clear.
Variation: use a juicer
You can also make this green juice recipe with a standard juicer! Simply pass all the produce through the juicer, and omit the ice and water in the recipe below. Then chill the juice until it’s fully cold before serving.
What to do with green juice pulp
Do you save your juice pulp? Honestly, we typically throw it away. It can feel wasteful to dump all that fiber, but unfortunately there aren’t many genius things to do with it! Here’s what we might use it for:
- Add to smoothies. Save the pulp and add it to smoothies. You can even freeze it to get an icy texture! Try it in any of our green smoothie recipes.
- Put it in the compost! Really, this organic matter is best in your compost pile. Here’s more about Composting 101.
More green drinks
Is it better to drink green smoothies than green juice? Well, in a way: you get more of the fiber in these tasty veggies! Plus, they’re more filling and work as a breakfast or snack. Here are a few of our top green drinks:
- Try a Green Smoothie or Detox Smoothie.
- Opt for leafy greens with a Spinach Smoothie or Kale Smoothie.
- Go big on veggies with a Celery Smoothie, Cucumber Smoothie, Avocado Smoothie, or Broccoli Smoothie.
Dietary notes
This green juice recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.
Frequently asked questions
Surprisingly, green juice doesn’t have to taste like grass! By combining the right mix of leafy greens, fruits, and even herbs, you can create delicious and refreshing green juice blends.
Yes, you can do that too! Eating whole vegetables is essential. Green juice simply offers a concentrated dose of nutrients.
Green juice is a healthy supplement but not a complete meal replacement. It’s best enjoyed alongside balanced meals to ensure you get a variety of nutrients, fiber, and protein.
There are many types of juicers available. For beginners, a masticating juicer is a good option as it extracts the most juice while preserving nutrients. You can also make this green juice recipe with a blender.
Freshly made green juice is best, but you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
Green Juice Recipe (Easy & Delicious!)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 3 cups 1x
Description
This green juice recipe is easy to make in a blender and packs in the nutrients! The simple mix blends leafy greens, cucumber, citrus, and ginger for a delicious drink that’s refreshing and satisfying.
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 2 medium apples, cut into chunks
- 3 cups baby spinach leaves (or chopped spinach or baby kale)
- 2 celery ribs, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cucumber, peeled and roughly chopped
- ½ tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
- Optional: 1/2-inch piece ginger, peeled
- 1 cup ice
Instructions
- Wash the produce.
- Add the water, apples, spinach, celery, cucumber, and lemon juice to a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Add 1 cup ice and blend again. Pass the mixture through a medium or fine mesh strainer / sieve or nut milk bag into a bowl (medium mesh contains some of the fiber in the juice; fine mesh makes it completely clear). Pour into a glass and serve, or refrigerate until serving (or up to 24 hours).
- Juicer variation: To make this in a juicer, simply pass all the produce through a juicer, then refrigerate and chill until cold (omit the water and ice).
- Category: Drink
- Method: Blended
- Cuisine: Juice
- Diet: Vegan
DELICIOUS!!! I ran it through a strainer as I couldn’t taste much of the flavour with all of the bits in it. Once strained it was FABULOUS!! The “1x” recipe that “yields 3 cups” would be 3 small cups and 2 average sized cups. Definitely will make again :)
Let us know if you have any questions!
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