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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!
Table of Contents
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!
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
- 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 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.
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!
Share in the comments below which team you’re on in the juicer vs blender debate. Also, let me know which machine you use!
So I’ve been juicing for a few months and really love using carrots in my daily juice. My hubby bought me a Vitamix for Christmas so I’m gonna give smoothies a go. Anyways, my question: since, according to this article, carrots turn chalky and bitter when blended, could I juice a bunch of carrots (and freeze the juice in ice cube trays) and successfully use this juice without the chalky/bitterness?
Hi Nicole.
Thanks for the comment.Yes, you could juice your carrots before hand if you would like. Have you tried roasting them? The caramelize and soften. I love roasting my carrots. 🙂 https://simplegreensmoothies.com/fruit-and-vegetable-smoothie
Hi, I have a question, what if.. I blend the vegies and then strain it? to make it Juice! is just that haha by mistake I froze my vegies!! 🙁 can I make jucie with it? I am newbie at this! hahaha I have a juicer but today I try to do a Juice but with my frozen vegies and i get such a litle juice. maybe I didn’t use enough or maybe because they are frozen
Thanks!
Nice info graphic there!
You covered the pros and cons of both juicing and blending nicely.
In regards to this disadvantage of juicers: “Juicing machines sometimes more difficult to clean – Juicers usually have more parts to clean and take a little longer to clean than blenders”
There is the option to get around this by purchasing an easy to clean juicer such as the breveille compact juicer – ive got one and its a breeze to clean! comes in a few parts and you can blast them in the dishwasher or hand wash with ease!
Al
Thanks for sharing Al, juicers can be harder to clean.
I too have had a Brevelle Juicer, not sure if it was the compact one, but it was not to difficult to clean.
Do you blend as well? Is so, which blender do you use?
I am very new to this whole concept of Juicing/Blending. I am trying to decide to Juice and/or Blend. I try to work out in the morning around 6am…then shower at the gym…so timing is hard. My stomach is super sensitive. I will bloat most often if I eat any salad or pasta. I am a skinny PCOS which is pre-diabetic, but trying to get pregs and in general obtain more energy as well as develop a healthy lifestyle for my husband, myself and hopefully my children one day. Can you recommend what to do? and what machine to buy?
Hi Mandy!
We can’t really prescribe whether juicing or blending will be better for you since we aren’t doctors or nutritionists, but here are a couple of articles that may help you out:
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/smoothie-pregnancy
We are big fans of blending because you are receiving all the fibers from the fruit that are great for your body, and help slow the absorption of the natural sugar in fruit.
Definitely blending all the way. Juicing makes me hungry too quickly.
I had a juicer years ago and didn’t stick with it. The machine and all the left over pulp were way too annoying to clean. I also don’t love the taste. I have been making green smoothies in a nutribullet since June and I just ordered a Vitamix. I would really love to get a juicer to juice beets and carrots and then add that juice to my smoothie.
Thanks for sharing, Jen 🙂 Neat to hear that you went with a Vitamix!
Jen,
I have been using the Vitamix for a year now and it can blend up anything! So you won’t have to juice your beets and carrots separately just add it to your smoothie mix.
I do both. I have a Hurom slow juicer and the Vita Prep blender. If I’m replacing meal, I blend, but if I need a quick vitamin and mineral shot, I juice (with plenty of veggies). The Hurom will also juice nuts, so nut milks are super fast to make. The few parts the Hurom has can go in the dishwasher, and the dry fiber that is left behind goes great in stews, Bolognese, or even thick soups. I love juices, but am totally about not wasting the fibre.
does anyone know the science behind what you lose in terms of nutrients by not drinking either the juice or smoothie right away? i’d like to make the smoothie or juice first thing in the morning and take it with me for lunch. lunch wouldn’t happen for 5 or 6 hours. i don’t want to go through the expense and time of doing this if oxidation has removed a lot of the value of the smoothie or juice. any science people out there?
many thank, c. healey
Crissie!
Thanks for this input! It is great to learn more about pros for juicing, especially since we aren’t highly involved with it 🙂
I blend…God intended for us to eat the fiber
I agree with Jason on this topic, have done both with seperate machines until I realised that the Vitamix blender is good for juicing as well – what I love about this is, that nothing will be wasted, as I can use the pulp later in almost every dish!
I have done both, and like most i love the pros of both but hate the cons of both. I tend to blend more because the fiber makes me feel full longer and i feel more satisfied and the clean up is much easier, BUT juicing to me taste alot better but my old juicer which works great takes a long long time to clean and is pain staking.
I do both. I use a Blendtek for smoothies and Omega 9000 for juice. This is my third juicer and it leaves the driest pulp out of the 3 I’ve had over the years. My kids and I prefer green juice over green smoothies. I love the consistency of a fresh juice but I find that smoothies are more filling and better for adding superfoods. And I don’t feel wasteful! So both are used almost daily.
What is the difference between juicing in a juicer and whole juicing in my blendtec (there is a whole juice button and recipes)?
Hi Kathy! A juicer will extract any liquid from fruit and leave out the fibrous and fleshy parts–so you are only getting the juice. If you use the whole juice setting on your Blendtec then you will still be getting all the fibrous and fleshy parts of the fruit–so you will be getting the juice and the rest of the fruit (or veggies). The consistency will be different, too. Hope this helps!
I would like to know what the best way is for me to lose weight juicing or a smoothe? I would like to start doing one of the two but just have no idea were to begin, can any one on her give me step by step on how to begin this process, I hear different things all the time only juice for three days then eat what you want for 4 days, then i hear just juice two meals and have a light salad for dinner what is the best but most effective way to lose weight. as you can tell I am so confused and just need a little help to get me started, can anyone HELP ME lol thank in advance:)
Hi Regina.
This is Angela, the nutritionist that wrote the article. I have helped people lose 5-100 lbs and utilize juicing and smoothies in the program. I counsel in person, over the phone and one Skype. IFeel free to call me for a FREE 15 min consult to discuss how I an help. 925-389-7107.
Best wishes,
Angela
I do both. I love to juice because I can use alot of fruit and vegetables andget it smooth. Then I blend it with ice to get it really, really cold and to add my Super Booster Greens supplement and sometimes avocado.
My juicer is Philips Juice Maker Aluminium Collection 800 W 2 l and I love it!
It has many different parts but everything goes in the dishwasher so it´s easy. And my blender is nutri bullet but my birtday is coming up so a new blender is at the top of my list 😉
(I´m from Sweden and I love this website!!)
Thanks Maxine from Sweden for letting us know about the Philips Juice Maker Aluminium Collection 800 W 2. Love that you can throw all the parts in the dishewasher for easy clean-up! Let us know what new blender you end up getting for your birthday and how you like it.