Making fresh juice at home can be a healthy and delicious way to get more fruits and vegetables into your diet. Blenders like the NutriBullet have become popular appliances for making smoothies and juices. But can you actually make real juice with a NutriBullet?
What is the Difference Between Juice and Smoothies?
Before determining if you can make juice with a NutriBullet, it’s important to understand the difference between juices and smoothies:
- Juice – Made by mechanically squeezing or macerating fruit or vegetables to extract the liquid, leaving behind the pulp and fiber.
- Smoothies – Made by blending whole fruits, vegetables, liquids, and ice. Smoothies contain fiber from the blended solids.
The key difference is that juices contain only the extracted liquid without the solid fiber content. The NutriBullet is a high-powered blender designed for making smoothies by blending whole ingredients together.
Can You Make Juice in a NutriBullet?
While the NutriBullet is great for making smoothies, it isn’t designed to separate juice from solids like a true juicer. However, there are a few methods you can use to make juice-like liquids with a NutriBullet:
NutriBullet Juice Method 1: Fine Strain
This method involves blending your ingredients in the NutriBullet, then pouring the smoothie through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth to filter out the fiber solids. This leaves you with a thinner, juice-like consistency without pulp.
The downside is that a significant amount of liquid gets trapped in the pulp, so you lose a lot of volume. You’ll end up with less usable juice in the end.
NutriBullet Juice Method 2: Dilution
Another option is to thin out your smoothies by adding extra liquid like water or coconut water. This gives you a drinkable consistency while retaining all the fiber and nutrients.
The drawback is that the flavor and sweetness will be diluted compared to pure juices. You may need to adjust and add other ingredients to achieve the right taste.
NutriBullet Juice Method 3: Juice and Pulp Separation
You can simulate a juice using this multi-step process:
- Blend ingredients in NutriBullet with just enough liquid to allow blending.
- Pour the smoothie out through a strainer, pressing pulp against strainer to extract liquid.
- Collect strained juice in one container and excess pulp in another container.
- Add reserved pulp back into juice to achieve desired texture.
While time consuming, this gives you the most juice-like consistency possible. The downside is you lose fiber content from discarded pulp.
NutriBullet Juice Recipes
Here are some juice recipes you can attempt in a NutriBullet using some of the methods above:
Orange Carrot Juice
Try this classic combo using the straining method.
Ingredients:
- 3 oranges, peeled
- 3 carrots, ends removed
- 1-inch ginger, peeled (optional)
Instructions:
- Blend all ingredients in NutriBullet with 1/4 cup water.
- Strain mixture through fine mesh strainer, cheesecloth, or nut milk bag.
- Press solids against strainer to extract liquid.
- Serve immediately. Store in fridge up to 24 hours.
Green Apple Juice
Apples have a high water content for making juice in the NutriBullet.
Ingredients:
- 2 green apples, cored and chopped
- 1 cucumber, roughly chopped
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 lemon, peeled
Instructions:
- Blend all ingredients in NutriBullet until smooth.
- Dilute with water or coconut water to reach desired consistency.
- Add stevia, honey or maple syrup to sweeten if desired.
- Pour over ice and enjoy immediately.
Strawberry Banana Juice
Sweet fruits like strawberries and banana work well in the NutriBullet.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup strawberries, hulled
- 1 banana, sliced
- 1 cup coconut water
- 1 date, pitted (optional)
Instructions:
- Blend all ingredients in NutriBullet until smooth.
- Add more coconut water if thinner consistency is desired.
- Pour into glasses over ice and serve.
Tips for Making Juice with a NutriBullet
Here are some handy tips to get the most juice-like results when using a NutriBullet:
- Use fruits and veggies with high water content like oranges, apples, celery, cucumber.
- Remove peels from citrus fruits and tough skins from veggies to reduce fiber.
- Use a fine mesh bag for straining to get more juice yield.
- Add ice to chilled juice drinks instead of diluting with water.
- Sweeten with fresh fruits like apples and grapes rather than sugar.
- Experiment with combinations like beet+carrot+apple for juice blends.
- Drink juice immediately after making for best flavor and nutrition.
NutriBullet Juicing Attachments
NutriBullet does not currently sell any attachments designed specifically for juicing. However, there are some third party attachments available:
Lemon Squeezers
These manual hand-press citrus juicers allow you to juice lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruit directly into the NutriBullet cup.
Fine Mesh Strainer Bags
Reusable nylon or stainless steel nut milk bags work great for straining juice from the NutriBullet blender.
Masticating Juicer Attachments
These aftermarket attachments claim to turn your NutriBullet into a masticating juicer, using augers to press out juice. However, reviews are mixed on their effectiveness.
Should You Buy a Separate Juicer?
While it’s possible to make juice drinks with the NutriBullet, a dedicated juicer is much more efficient if you plan to juice frequently. Here are some benefits of standalone juicers:
- Higher juice yields from produce.
- Faster juicing with large chutes.
- Less oxidation and nutrient loss.
- Juice can be stored up to 72 hours.
- More versatility, ex. citrus press, pulp control.
Types of juicers include centrifugal, masticating, triturating, and citrus press. Consider your budget and juicing needs when choosing a model.
NutriBullet vs Juicer – Comparison Table
Here is a comparison of the advantages between the NutriBullet blender and a dedicated juicer:
| NutriBullet | Juicer | |
|---|---|---|
| Type of Drink | Smoothies (contains pulp/fiber) | Juice (no pulp) |
| Juice Yield from Produce | Low | High |
| Juicing Speed | Slow | Fast |
| Heat Generation | High | Low |
| Foam Generation | Moderate | Minimal |
| Nutrient Retention | Moderate | High |
| Shelf Life | 24 hours | 72 hours |
As shown above, dedicated juicers excel at maximizing juice yields, speed, nutrition, and shelf life compared to using a NutriBullet.
Conclusion
While the NutriBullet is an incredibly useful tool for making nutrient-rich smoothies, it does have some limitations when it comes to making true juices. Using straining methods or pulp separation techniques, it’s possible to make juice-like drinks. However, the yield and nutrition will be lower compared to a real juicer.
If you’re serious about juicing, your best bet is to invest in a quality standalone juicer designed specifically for the task. The right juicer will save you time and money in the long run by getting the most out of your fresh produce. The NutriBullet is better suited for smoothies, shakes, and blended drinks. Ultimately, it depends on your priorities and juicing needs. But the NutriBullet certainly makes for a good starter option for experimenting with homemade juices.
