Can you make vegetable juice in a Ninja?
Making fresh vegetable juice at home can be a nutritious and delicious way to incorporate more fruits and veggies into your diet. With the right appliance, it’s easy to whip up nutrient-dense juices loaded with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. But can you use a Ninja blender to make homemade vegetable juice? Let’s take a look.
What is a Ninja Blender?
The Ninja brand offers a range of high-powered blenders designed for blending, processing, and crushing. Their blender models contain strong motor bases paired with stackable, multi-purpose blade assemblies that can pulverize fruits, veggies, ice, and more.
Some of the most popular Ninja blender models include:
| Model | Motor Power | Blade Type |
|---|---|---|
| Ninja Professional Blender | 1100 watts | Total Crushing Technology |
| Ninja Mega Kitchen System | 1500 watts | Total Crushing Technology |
| Ninja Foodi Power Nutri Duo | 1200 watts | Nutri Ninja Pro Extractor Blades |
With powerful motors and sharp blades, Ninja blenders are designed to pulverize tough ingredients like ice, seeds, skins, stems and more into smooth textures.
Can You Juice with a Ninja Blender?
While Ninja blenders excel at making smoothies, nut butters, dips, and more, they are not ideal for making homemade vegetable juices. There are a few limitations of using a Ninja blender for juicing:
Blades are not designed for juicing
The high-speed blades used in Ninja blenders are meant for grinding, blending, and crushing. They pulverize ingredients into tiny pieces and do not separate juice from the pulp. Juicers, on the other hand, use slower rotating blades that squeeze out the juice and leave behind drier pulp.
Does not fully extract juice
Ninja blenders are unable to fully extract juice from fruits and vegetables. A portion of the juice stays trapped in the pulp. You’ll get more yield and nutrition from a true juicer.
Results in thicker texture
The Ninja will blend all the ingredients together, producing more of a thick smoothie consistency rather than a light, liquid juice. Juicers separate the fibrous pulp from the liquid juice.
Risk of oxidation
The high-speed blades whip air into the juice, which can cause oxidation. Oxidation breaks down nutrients and decreases the juice’s overall quality and shelf life.
Not designed for constant juicing
If you try to frequently make batch after batch of juice in your Ninja, it can overheat the motor and put strain on the blender’s parts. Masticating juicers are built for juicing large quantities.
Best Appliances for Making Vegetable Juice
While the Ninja blender isn’t the best for juicing, there are several appliances that excel at making fresh, homemade vegetable juice:
| Type | How it Works | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Masticating juicer | Uses a slow, crushing auger to squeeze out juice then separate it from the pulp |
|
| Centrifugal juicer | Shreds produce with high-speed cutting disc then spins it to separate juice from pulp via centrifugal force |
|
| Citrus juicer | Manual device that presses down on halved citrus fruits to extract juice |
|
Tips for Making Vegetable Juice with a Ninja
While juice extractors are best for getting the most juice out of your produce, you can still make a veggie juice blend using the Ninja blender. Here are some tips:
Use a juice extractor first – For the best results, first run hard veggies like carrots, beets, celery through a juicer. Then add the fresh juice to your Ninja blender.
Dice produce – Cut veggies into small, 1/2 inch dice before adding to the Ninja. Smaller pieces will blend easier.
Add liquid – For a smoother consistency, add some water, coconut water, or nut milk while blending the veggies.
Strain the juice – Pour the blended juice through a fine mesh strainer or nut milk bag to separate out any excess pulp.
Add fresh herbs – Basil, mint, parsley can help mask the flavor of bitter greens.
Sweeten if needed – A bit of apple, lemon, or orange juice can help mellow out strong tasting veggies.
Chill thoroughly – Make sure juice is completely chilled before drinking for best flavor.
Vegetable Juice Recipes for the Ninja Blender
Here are some healthy veggie juice recipes you can make in a Ninja:
Green Ninja Juice
- 1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 green apple, cored and chopped
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 cup kale leaves, stems removed
- 1 lemon, peeled
- 1 inch ginger, peeled
- 1 cup coconut water
Add all ingredients to the Ninja blender and process until smooth. Pour through a fine mesh strainer, pressing out all liquid. Stir and enjoy!
Mean Green Cleansing Juice
- 1 cucumber, chopped
- 1 cup kale leaves, stems removed
- 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and chopped
- 1 lemon, peeled
- 1 inch ginger, peeled
- 1 cup water
Blend all ingredients in the Ninja until smooth. Pour through a fine mesh strainer and press out juice.
Beet Carrot Blend
- 1 beet, peeled and chopped
- 3 medium carrots, chopped
- 1 orange, peeled
- 1/2 lemon, peeled
- 1 cup water
- Ice cubes
Blend all ingredients in Ninja blender until smooth. Add ice and blend briefly to chill. Enjoy!
Cleaning the Ninja After Juicing
It’s important to thoroughly clean your Ninja blender after making vegetable juices to avoid stains, odors, and mold growth.
Follow these steps:
Rinse immediately – As soon as you’re done juicing, rinse the Ninja pitcher and lid immediately with warm water. Don’t let residue dry on.
Scrub with brush – Use the included cleaning brush to gently scrub away any pulp, seeds, or fibers stuck to the pitcher walls.
Soap and water – Fill pitcher with warm soapy water. Cover and blend on low for 30 seconds to clean the blades. Dump out water.
Repeat rinse – Fill pitcher again with clean warm water, cover, and blend on low for 30 more seconds to rinse away soap. Dump out water.
Air dry – Allow all parts to completely air dry before reassembling to prevent mold growth.
Deodorize – To eliminate lingering odors, occasionally blend a cleaning solution of 1 cup water with 1-2 tbsp lemon juice or distilled white vinegar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you juice leafy greens in a Ninja blender?
Yes, you can juice leafy greens like spinach, kale, chard, etc. in a Ninja blender. Chop the leaves into small pieces first, then add water or other juice to help blend the greens smooth. Use a fine mesh strainer to remove excess pulp.
Is it bad to put carrots in a Ninja?
No, it’s fine to put carrots in a Ninja blender. Just be sure to cut the carrots into small, thin pieces first. Raw carrots are very hard and fibrous. Cutting them small helps the Ninja blade break them down better when blending.
What can I do with leftover veggie pulp from the Ninja?
The leftover pulp from making juices in a Ninja has plenty of uses! Here are some ideas:
– Compost it
– Dehydrate it into veggie chips
– Add it to soups or broth for extra fiber
– Make veggie burgers or fritters
– Bake into muffins, breads, or crackers
– Mix into oatmeal or smoothies
Can you damage a Ninja blender by juicing too much?
It’s best not to frequently juice large batches in your Ninja blender. The blades and motor are not designed for constant heavy juicing. Occasionally making a juice blend is fine. But for daily juicing, it’s best to use an appliance designed specifically for juicing. Overloading the Ninja with too much strain from juicing can potentially damage the motor.
Conclusion
While the Ninja blender isn’t an ideal appliance for making straight vegetable juice, it can still produce tasty veggie juice blends. For the best results, dice produce into small pieces, add liquid to blend, and strain excess pulp. Be sure to thoroughly clean the Ninja after juicing to prevent stains and odors. Limit juicing in the Ninja to occasional use and opt for a dedicated juicer if you plan to juice frequently. With some adjustments, the powerful Ninja blender can make nutritious homemade juices a breeze.