15-Minute Green Juice in a Blender

No juicer? No problem. I’ll walk you through how to make green juice in a blender & without a juicer in just 15 minutes! This simplified green juice recipe is made with spinach AND kale for maximum leafy goodness—plus refreshing cucumber, celery, parsley, ginger, & apples for all-natural sweetness. It’s gorgeously green, refreshingly sweet, and perfect for beginners!

What is green juice?

Green juice is made from green vegetables like kale, spinach, celery, cucumber, wheatgrass, parsley, & more. Since an all-green vegetable juice can taste pretty bitter, many also include fruit like apples, oranges, or berries for natural sweetness—plus lemon or lime juice to preserve freshness. Really, “green juice” can refer to any juice that’s green in color, so how nutritious it is will depend on the specific ingredients.

Is green juice actually good for you?

• Drinkable Nutrients. If you struggle to eat leafy greens & veggies, both store-bought & homemade green juice can offer some of the same nutrients found in those foods. Although some nutrients are lost in the juicing process, green juices can be a convenient & drinkable source of vitamins like A, K, and C, essential minerals like iron, and plant-based antioxidants.
• Stripped of Fiber. One of the main downsides of relying on juice for nutrients is that juicing removes most of the dietary fiber in fruits & vegetables. So green juices offer those nutrients (and sugar) with very little fiber—which is essential for healthy blood sugar balance & digestion.
• Deceiving Store-Bought Options. It can be tricky to choose healthy juices at the grocery store. Some are high in added or concentrated sugars, many aren’t as “green” or veggie-packed as they seem, and most undergo heating during processing (i.e., they’re not “cold-pressed”) which can reduce the nutrient content.
• Not as Nutritious as Whole Fruits & Veggies. Ultimately, no healthy green juice can substitute for eating real, whole foods—or even drinking a fiber-rich green smoothie. But you might turn to green juice when you want an occasional drinkable nutrient boost, or as a tasty beverage if you just enjoy it!

Can you use a blender for juicing?

Yes, you can make your own simple green juice without a juicer, using your blender instead! Of course, you can totally use a juicer to make this recipe if you have one. But juicing in a blender is pretty straightforward & it’s actually easier to clean up. Just blend up your fruits & vegetables, then strain the mixture through a nut milk bag or fine mesh strainer!

A blender doesn’t work exactly the same as a juicer, so straining is essential. A juicer transforms whole foods into liquid, extracting the nutrients & water while removing the pulp. Whereas a blender grinds up foods but doesn’t remove the pulp, so you have to strain your blended green juice manually.

Best Blender for Juicing at Home

The short answer: You can really use any blender to make juice at home—a larger & more powerful blender can just make things easier. I used my Vitamix for this green juice blender recipe, which was large enough (64-oz) to fit all of the ingredients & high-powered enough to blend larger chunks of food, even when very full. (Mine was filled to the max fill line!)

This recipe yields a lot of juice (~7+ cups), so cut the ingredient amounts in half if needed, or simply add fruits & vegetables up to your blender’s max fill line, then add water. If you have a lower-powered blender, chop everything up a bit more to help it blend more easily. I’ve also used my Nutribullet to make mango juice without a juicer and it worked great for at-home juicing!

Blender Green Juice Ingredients

• Spinach & Kale. I like to make green juice with spinach and kale to get a wider variety of nutrients, but you could use spinach only or kale only, or feel free to add other greens like Swiss chard or romaine.
• Apples. Add natural sweetness to your green vegetable juice with apples! I recommend using 1 green + 1 red apple for a sweeter flavor, like a Fuji or gala apple. No need to peel them.
• Celery. A source of refreshing flavor & antioxidants! As alternatives, you could make an ultra-green juice with broccoli, or use additional cucumber instead.
• Cucumber. Since it’s 95% water, cucumber adds loads of hydration and a cool, juicy, flavor to this green juice recipe. Feel free to substitute with more celery, or try iceberg or romaine lettuce.
• Parsley. I like the bright, herbaceous flavor of parsley, but you could also use basil for a sweeter flavor, or cilantro for a more citrusy flavor.
• Fresh Ginger. I love a green juice with ginger in it—it adds a zing of earthy spice, but it’s perfectly subtle! You can omit the ginger if you’re not a fan, or you can substitute or add other spices to change up the flavor.
• Lime Juice. Most homemade green juice recipes use lemon juice, but I don’t like the bitter, sour flavor it adds. I use lime juice instead, which has such a bright, refreshing, subtle sweetness—and it still adds some acid to keep my juice fresh longer!
• Water. You can adjust the amount of water in this recipe to your preference. Using more water will yield more total juice, but it will be more diluted in terms of nutrients, flavor, & sweetness. Use less water for a more flavorful and nutrient-dense juice.

Substitution & Addition Notes

You want to make the best green juice for your taste buds, so have fun customizing & adding to this recipe! Just know that any non-green ingredients can make your juice browner in color. Pump up the greenness by adding some wheatgrass, spirulina, or additional herbs. Add sweetness with pineapple, oranges, kiwi, coconut water, or even carrots. Or transform the flavors with spices like cayenne for heat, turmeric for earthy sweetness, or black pepper for a sharp bite!

How to Make Green Juice in a Blender & without a Juicer

• Fill your blender with green vegetables & fruits. This recipe filled my large (64-oz) Vitamix to the max fill line, so you may need to halve to ingredient amounts to fit a smaller blender. Or just fill it up with fruits & veggies to the max line and then add water.
• Add water and blend your green juice ingredients for 2-5 minutes (depending on your blender), until you have an integrated mixture. Use more water if you want this recipe to yield more juice, but with more diluted flavor & nutrients. Or use less water for a more concentrated juice.
• Then, strain the blended green juice through a nut milk bag over a large measuring cup or bowl. In my experience, the best way to strain juice from a blender is with a nut milk bag or cheesecloth, squeezing it with your hands to get every ounce of juice. You can also use a fine mesh strainer, although your juice will have a bit more pulp in it.
• Either save or discard the pulp that’s left over. That green pulp still has plenty of nutrients and fiber, so you could store it or freeze it to use later in smoothies if you’d like!
• Homemade green juice will last for 4-5 days stored in the fridge. Be sure to seal your blender juice in an airtight jar or bottle. And don’t skip the lime or lemon juice in the recipe—it will help preserve its freshness!

Watch my Blender Green Juice video to see how I make this juice without a juicer at home!