Green Juice

This green juice recipe combines spinach, parsley, cucumber, lemon, ginger, and naturally sweet apple. It is refreshing, hydrating, and perfectly balanced, so it doesn’t taste like you are drinking a salad.

Some think of this as a detox juice recipe, but I prefer to think of it as a concentrated dose of nutrients that genuinely tastes good. We don’t do juice cleanses, but we still love making this veggie-packed green juice recipe and enjoying it with our (often fiber-rich) breakfast or lunch.

This green juice is delicious, hydrating, and simple. It is especially easy to make with a juicer. We recommend a cold-press (masticating) juicer to get the most out of the leafy greens, but you can also make it without one using the tips provided below. For more, see our beet juice.

Key Ingredients

• Apple: We love green apples for juice. They are affordable and add just enough sweetness to balance the greens. It’s the secret to making green juice that doesn’t taste like you are drinking a salad.
• Spinach: Packed with iron, baby spinach is my top choice for juicing because it’s readily available and budget-friendly. Its mild flavor blends well with other fruits and vegetables.
• Parsley: Makes this super green and adds a good amount of nutrients. It does have a strong flavor, so a small amount goes a long way.
• Cucumber: I love adding cucumber to my juice recipes since it is super hydrating and refreshing. I love using thin-skinned varieties like English cucumbers for juicing. Celery is a good substitute.
• Lemon: Fresh lemon adds a refreshing flavor to green juices. Plus, the vitamin C in lemons can help your body absorb the iron from greens like spinach. Peel your lemons and remove the seeds before juicing.
• Ginger:  We love the spice from juicing fresh ginger. It’s anti-inflammatory and can promote healthy digestion. There’s no need to peel it—just scrub, slice, and add to your juicer. We also use fresh ginger to make these ginger shots.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Green Juice

Tip 1: Use a cold-press juicer, if possible. We recommend using a cold-press juicer, especially for greens like spinach (we love our Omega). A centrifugal juicer works, but the heat generated can start to break down nutrients in the fresh juice.

If you only have a centrifugal juicer, you can still make this juice recipe. Just keep in mind that you might not extract as many nutrients from the spinach and parsley. If you only have a blender, you might be better off making our beet juice—see how to make beet juice with a blender.

Tip 2: Remove the lemon peel. Lemon peel can be overpowering, so we remove it before juicing. Use a vegetable peeler and do your best to leave as much of the white membrane as you can—you’ll find a lot of nutrition there.

Tip 3: Alternate between greens and firmer veggies/fruit. When juicing more delicate ingredients (like the greens or parsley), you might notice that some of the pulp and juice get stuck. The way to prevent this is to push a firmer fruit or vegetable, like a cucumber or apple, right after. These usually move anything that was stuck through the juicer.

Tip 4: Adjusting to your taste. If you are new to vegetable juices, you may need a little more sweetness. The apple in our recipe below balances the veggies nicely, but you can always add a little more if you like. Pineapple, pear, kiwi, or other fruits work. Or, if you are open to a browner hue in your juice, carrots add a lot of sweetness, too.

More Juice and Smoothie Recipes

• Beet Juice
• Easy Green Smoothie
• Ginger Shots (with Variations!)
• 5 Minute Banana Smoothie