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Home » Recipes » Tutorials

Juicer vs Blender: What's the difference?

By Jen Hansard | 125 Comments

Juicer vs blender

I'm here to share a love for eating plants with as many people across the globe as I can. In a world that is increasingly turning to food forms that lack nutrients, I want to instill the healthy habit of 1 green smoothie a day into as many people as I possibly can. Yet, there is more than 1 way to drink your greens, right? That's why I did a juicer vs blender test; to find out which is better.

Both options give you the freshest produce in an easy-to-drink form, so is one actually better than the other? Well, let's find out!

Why use a Juicer or Blender?

Whether you choose to blend or juice, you are gifting your body improved health by using these nutrient packed drinks. Regularly drinking smoothies or fresh, veggie-based juice will:

  • Increase your veggie intake dramatically
  • Make it easier as well as quicker for your body to absorb nutrients. Blending and juicing allows the food to become somewhat “pre-digested”
  • Curb appetite + reduce cravings for sugar and processed foods because you're nourishing your cells with micronutrients. Your body no longer craves the “carbs” or macronutrients

Now, let's put the juicer vs blender debate to the test!

juicer vs blender

Blending smoothies

Spoiler Alert! Blending is obviously my preferred method of drinking plants, yet have you ever asked, why? In the juicer vs blender debate, here's the blending side:

Pros for blending smoothies

  • Blend more than just veggies - add fruits, diff types of milk, ice, nuts, seeds, nut butters, oils, protein powders, supplements - you name it
  • Fiber helps fill you up – When blending the whole veggie and fruit, the fiber from peels and flesh help fill up space
  • Cost of the blender is minimal – most people already have a blender in their kitchen
  • Smoothies are much more kid-friendly – In my experience, kids love smoothies more than veggie-based juice because you can thicken them up to look and taste like a frozen dessert.

Cons of blending vs juicing

  • Less quantity of nutrients per serving than juicing - Because the fiber remains, you need to drink more smoothies than juice to get the same amount of vitamins, minerals and phytotnutrients per glass
  • Some produce is not good for blending - Root veggies like carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips and beets are packed full of nutrition, but don’t taste so good in smoothies. They often come off chalky as well as bitter. They are more suitable for juicing.

But that's not all... juicers have a lot of great features too. So let's talk about the flip side of the juicer vs blender debate.

Juicing is another way to get in fruits and veggies

Juicing fruits and vegetables

While the blender is my go-to kitchen appliance, a fresh-squeezed juice from a juicer is fun. It feels like a luxurious drink that can be equally delicious. So what are the benefits and drawbacks of juicing?

Pros of juicing

  • More veggies per serving – Since the fiber is removed, more veggie juice fits in the glass versus a smoothie
  • Easier to digest nutrients – Unlike blending, juicing extracts nutrients + water from veggies and fruits leaving behind plant fibers. This allows the body to absorb the nutrients quicker without having to expend energy to digest the fiber too.
  • Quicker energy boost – Juice has a higher concentration of veggies (and therefore nutrients) per glass versus a smoothie, and is in an even more pre-digested format than smoothies for quicker nutrient absorption.
  • Less heat damage - Blades run at high speed on blenders that can slightly heat the smoothie which could kill off some of the beneficial enzymes.

Cons of using a juicer vs blender

  • Juicing machines are sometimes more difficult to clean – Juicers usually have more parts to clean and take a little longer to clean than blenders
  • More refrigerator space required - Juicing requires more veggies and fruits per serving than blending, so you need to have more refrigerator space to store them
  • Veggie costs are more than blending – because you are using more veggies per serving, you need to buy more
  • Whole leafy greens are more beneficial to health - juicing removes the skin + insoluble fiber of fruits and veggies, making them less nutritious.

As you can see, both juicers and blenders have some great positives. No matter which appliance you're in the market for, I've got my personal recommendations to share.

ease of clean is important to juicing or blending

Best juicers

Lots of people shy away from juicers because of the price. They can def be expensive, yet the one I recommend the most to people is actually a lower price point! The Breville JE98XL Juice Fountain Plus Centrifugal Juicer is one of the top rated juicers on the market, and recommended for juicing leafy greens.

My second juicer recommendation is the Omega Vertical Slow Speed Juicer, 150-Watt. The Omega brand is known for its long-lasting machines, plus this juicer has fewer parts to clean #bonus.

Best blenders

One of the top questions I get is what kind of blender is the best blender for smoothies? If you've decided smoothies win in the juicer vs blender debate, then check out my handy Blender Guide.

While I'm constantly on the lookout for new, great blenders to try, Vitamix is my go-to for the best blender out there. Whether its the trusty Vitamix 7500 that I started out on, or my current A3500, you can't go wrong with this brand.

Guess what, though?! You don't need a high-end blender to get started with green smoothies. Our community uses blenders of every shape and size to make their daily creations. If you're looking for a blender on a budget, then definitely check out Nutribullet. They have a great range of blenders at a variety of price points. Lots of smoothie lovers swear by Nutribullet, and I love them too!

Do you juice or blend?

Share in the comments below which team you're on in the juicer vs blender debate. Also, let me know which machine you use!

juicer vs blender

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Erin

    February 16, 2022 at 10:43 pm

    I've been looking into juicers lately, thanks for the great comparison!

    Reply
    • Simple Green Smoothies

      February 18, 2022 at 7:45 am

      For sure, Erin!

  2. Damaris Vasquez

    August 16, 2021 at 11:33 am

    I want to know how much it cost?

    Reply
  3. Kat

    June 03, 2021 at 3:53 pm

    Thank you for all the research and info. I think I'll stick with smoothies. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Kim

    May 27, 2021 at 3:10 pm

    I love seeing the differences between blending and juicing. I'm normally a blender but fun to see the juicing benefits, too. Thanks for doing so much research!

    Reply
  5. Amanda

    May 27, 2021 at 12:30 pm

    I love mixing and matching both. Juicing and smoothies both are a great way to fuel my body with delicious fruits + veggies.

    Reply
  6. Sarah Mitchel

    May 27, 2021 at 12:02 pm

    Do you have a favorite juicer? I can see you are using Kuvings, but I wasn't sure if you have tried a few to know which one is better like you do with blenders.

    Reply
    • Simple Green Smoothies

      May 27, 2021 at 3:22 pm

      We've just started testing a few brands at the moment to pick a favorite. Once we have one, I'll update this post to include it. So far we have Breville, Kuvings and Nama in the early testing mix. Yet we know there are more out there as well that we'll need to get our hands on. Hope to have an answer in the near future!

  7. Martha

    April 27, 2021 at 2:57 pm

    I drink a whole veggie shake every morning. I only rinse my veggies- never heat or cook them. Each of my smoothies consist of spinach, kale, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, celery, cucumber, apple, bell pepper, 1/2 avocado, carrots and Shaklee "Plant Based" Protein Powder. I split the shake (without the kale) with my Black Lab & he is now 16 years old & still acts like a puppy.

    Reply
    • Simple Green Smoothies

      May 01, 2021 at 10:15 am

      Hooray for a happy healthy you and a happy healthy puppy! It's so wonderful how we can use food to heal not just us, but also our four-legged family too. If you get a chance - check out our plant-based Protein Smoothie Boost. It's super clean, with just organic hemp, chia and flax seed. We bet your puppy would love it too!

  8. Erin

    April 27, 2021 at 1:06 pm

    This is so helpful! Thanks for the good knowledge + insight.

    Reply
    • Simple Green Smoothies

      May 01, 2021 at 9:08 am

      So welcome, Erin! Glad it was helpful!

  9. Simis collection

    December 11, 2019 at 3:41 am

    Both are very good because both are having different qualities and functions . But my opinion is happy to all of them.

    Reply
    • Simple Green Smoothies

      December 11, 2019 at 12:55 pm

      We couldn't agree more! 🙂

  10. Justyn Haley

    August 01, 2019 at 7:10 pm

    in my opinion.blender is better investment as it takes major role in using all kind of fruits and vegetables easily and precisely .easy to clean . on other hand juicer is also a good option but it limits juice as all kind of fruits and vegetables are difficult to use with juicer.

    Reply
    • Simple Green Smoothies

      August 02, 2019 at 12:24 pm

      Thank you for sharing, Justyn!

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Jen hansard blogger at Simple Green Smoothies About

I'm Jen Hansard, mom of two, plant-based foodie, adventure junkie + cookbook author.

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