Cold-Pressed
Cold-Pressed Juice Recipes That Actually Work
Most juicing recipes online are fruit salads in a glass. These are vegetable-led, with ratios that produce something you will finish rather than pour away. Six combinations, the order to press them in, the ingredients not worth putting through a juicer and how to rescue a juice you cannot drink.
The Rule That Makes All of These Work
Build on a water-heavy base, flavour with everything else. Cucumber and celery are roughly 95 per cent water, so they give you volume without sugar and carry whatever else you put in. Beetroot, ginger and lemon are accents. Apple is a sweetener rather than an ingredient and it is the reason so many so-called green juices are effectively apple juice with a leaf in.
Get the base right and almost anything works. Lead with beetroot or apple and you will be drinking something quite different from what you intended. More on why in low-sugar green juice.
The Easy Green
The one to start with if green juice has put you off before. Light, clean and not remotely challenging.
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Cucumber | 1 large |
| Celery | 4 stalks |
| Green apple | 1 |
| Lemon | Half, peeled |
| Mint | A small handful |
Makes roughly 350ml. Drop the apple once you have got used to it and you will barely notice.
Beetroot, Carrot and Ginger
The classic root juice. Earthy, sweet and deeply coloured and the one most people picture when they think of vegetable juice.
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Beetroot | 1 small, or half a large one |
| Carrot | 3 medium |
| Apple | 1 |
| Ginger | A thumb |
| Lemon | Half, peeled |
Beetroot dominates fast, so resist adding more. The lemon is not optional here: it lifts the earthiness and stops the whole thing sitting heavy. Fair warning that beetroot can turn your urine pink for a day, which is harmless. There is a fuller version in how to make beetroot juice at home.
Proper Deep Greens
For when you actually want the leaves rather than a hint of them. Low in sugar and genuinely green tasting.
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Cucumber | 1 large |
| Spinach | 2 large handfuls |
| Kale | 3 leaves, stalks included |
| Celery | 2 stalks |
| Lemon | 1 whole, peeled |
Leaves yield very little juice, so expect a smaller glass than the pile of produce suggests. A masticating or press-style machine handles this far better than a centrifugal one, which mostly spits leaves out the other side. See cold-pressed vs centrifugal.
Carrot, Apple and Ginger
The friendliest juice on this page and the one to make for someone who thinks they do not like vegetable juice.
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Carrot | 5 medium |
| Apple | 1 |
| Ginger | A thumb |
| Lemon | Half, peeled |
Carrots are naturally sweet, so one apple is plenty. More detail in how to make carrot juice at home.
Straight Celery
One ingredient, almost no sugar and a savoury taste that surprises people the first time. The lowest-sugar juice you can make.
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Celery | 1 whole head, leaves included |
| Lemon | A squeeze, optional |
A full head gives roughly 250ml. Worth knowing that celery is high in mannitol, a FODMAP and juicing concentrates it, so if you have a sensitive gut ease in rather than starting with a large glass. Full method in how to make celery juice.
Ginger and Turmeric Shot
Not a glass, a mouthful. Fierce and worth making a batch of because a little produce goes a long way.
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Fresh ginger | 100g |
| Fresh turmeric root | 50g |
| Lemon | 2, peeled |
| Black pepper | A good pinch, stirred in after |
Makes roughly four 60ml shots. The black pepper matters: piperine is the evidenced partner for curcumin absorption and it is why it turns up in turmeric preparations everywhere. Turmeric stains everything it touches, so line up your chopping board accordingly.
Getting More Out of Your Juicer
| Do this | Why |
|---|---|
| Alternate soft and hard produce | Feed leaves between carrot or apple. The firm produce pushes the soft material through |
| Roll leaves into tight bundles | Loose spinach floats past the mechanism. A tight roll gets crushed properly |
| Peel citrus, keep the pith | The peel is bitter and oily. The white pith is fine and adds body |
| Do not peel ginger or carrot | Scrub them instead. The skin is where a good deal of the flavour sits |
| Press lemon last | It rinses the mechanism and the acid slows the browning |
| Chill the produce first | Cold produce means colder juice out, which means slower oxidation |
Ingredients That Waste Your Money
| Ingredient | Why not |
|---|---|
| Banana and avocado | No free liquid. They clog the machine and give you nothing |
| Whole citrus peel | Bitter oils that ruin the whole batch |
| Apple pips | Core the apple. Pips contain amygdalin and there is no reason to include them |
| Rhubarb leaves | Genuinely toxic. The stalks are fine, the leaves are not |
| Berries, on their own | Poor yield and expensive. Better blended into a smoothie |
When It Tastes Wrong
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Too earthy | Lemon. Always lemon. It cuts beetroot better than anything else |
| Too bitter | Less kale, more cucumber. Bitterness usually means too high a leaf ratio |
| Too sweet | Halve the apple. You will not miss it after a week |
| Too thick | Add cucumber rather than water, so you keep the flavour |
| Too much foam | Let it stand a minute and skim it, or use a press-style machine next time |
| Warm from the machine | Chill the produce beforehand and drink it straight away |
Whatever you make, drink it fresh. Homemade juice keeps 24 to 48 hours in a sealed container in the fridge and is best within the first few hours, which is covered properly in how long cold-pressed juice lasts.
Or Skip the Washing Up
The same combinations, pressed at scale and flash-frozen at the press. Browse the full cold-pressed juice range, or start here:
Frequently Asked
What is a good ratio for a green juice?
Build on a water-heavy base of cucumber and celery, then use everything else as an accent. Roughly two thirds base to one third flavour works for almost any combination. Apple is a sweetener rather than an ingredient, so use one at most.
How do I stop green juice tasting bitter?
Use less kale and more cucumber, since bitterness almost always means too high a leaf ratio. Lemon helps too and mint softens the whole thing. Peel your citrus, because the oils in the peel are bitter enough to ruin a batch.
What should I not put in a juicer?
Banana and avocado have no free liquid and will clog it. Whole citrus peel is bitter. Core apples rather than juicing the pips. Rhubarb stalks are fine but the leaves are toxic, so never juice those. Berries give poor yield and suit a blender better.
In what order should I feed things through?
Alternate soft and hard, so leaves go in between carrot or apple and get pushed through properly. Roll leafy greens into tight bundles first. Press lemon last, since it rinses the mechanism and the acid slows browning.
How long will homemade juice keep?
Roughly 24 to 48 hours in an airtight container in the fridge, best in the first few hours. Fill the container to the brim to reduce the air above it and keep it at the back of the fridge rather than in the door.
Which recipe is lowest in sugar?
Straight celery, by a distance, followed by the deep greens once you drop the apple. Anything built on carrot or with more than one apple in it climbs quickly, because the sweetness has to come from somewhere.
The Bottom Line
Good juice is mostly about ratios rather than ingredients. Build on cucumber and celery, treat beetroot and ginger as accents, keep apple to one at most and finish with lemon, which fixes more problems than anything else in the kitchen. Alternate soft and hard produce as you feed the machine, roll your leaves and drink it the same day. Start with the easy green and by the time you have made it a few times you will be dropping the apple without missing it.
More in cold-pressed juice questions, or browse everything in the cold-pressed hub.
Where to Start
Browse the full cold-pressed juice range, or go straight to Daily Beets, Fresh Greens or the Daily Juice Box.
Related reading
- Flash-frozen juice
- What is cold-pressed juice
- Cold-pressed juice benefits
- Cold-pressed vs centrifugal juice
- Cold-pressed juice vs HPP
- Is juicing good for you
- How long does cold-pressed juice last
By goal
Related ingredient hubs
Join the list for the latest from The Pulp and your 20% off code lands there and then.
Join the list for the latest from The Pulp, and pick a free 500ml bottle of ginger or turmeric shots on your first order over £50.