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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!
Hi
I started out juicing many years ago…..then tried blending…..now I use both. Juicing in morning for my kick start. Blending for my smoothies….and ice cream from frozen fruit frozen banana and vary between coconut cream or yogurt.
Which ever way you go …consuming greens and minimum fruit must be good go you….I also add in my OTHER extras into my juice.
Happy happy
Hi Helen,
We’re all about adding fresh fruits + leafy greens to our diet! Thanks for sharing how you add both blending and juicing to your day!
Cheers 🙂
I have the Ninja Pro. It was a gift from my husband. I love it! ( and I don’t mind getting these types of gifts. It was from the heart as I have a digestive disorder) that being said, I hope I’m not missing out on vital nutrients by not juicing. It uses ever part of the fruit and/or veggie, nuts, seeds, etc that you put in. I think because of this that maybe I am getting all of the nutrients. I will warn you that if you like a very liquid consistency, this isn’t going to do it for you. It makes perfect smoothies of any type you can imagine. It’s incredibly powerful and pulverizes ice so well, we got rid of our ice shaver that we used to make our kids Hawaiian shaved ice in the summer. It also comes with a food processor bowl and 2 blades for it and a dough blade to make bread and things like that. I’ve not used either of those so I don’t know if I’d run out and sell my kitchenaid mixer yet. It comes with 2 single serve cups and a blade for them for a quick smoothie for yourself or a pitcher for making them for the family. As I stated before, if you like it very liquidy, get a juicer but if you just use a fair amount of CO onut water, juice or milk, the Ninja Pro is so worth every penny we paid. Mine is a little over a year old and I think I’m giving it to my mom to help her make healthy drinks and splurging on the new improved ninja pro. It’s got digital, easier to push buttons. You push the dezied setting and walk away. It does the rest. The older model causes you to have to hold the buttons in, with quite a bit of force on single serve mode. I do like a smoother drink but I really do think I’m getting more out of my Ninja. And clean up is a breeze. Everything is dishwasher safe. I’ve seen the mess juicers leave behind. I would recommend the Ninja Pro to anyone; definitely worth the money.
Hi Shannon,
Thank you so much for reaching out + sharing your experience blending with Ninja Pro. We’re right there with you, we love blending because you’re not losing any of the fruit, as you might in juicing. Also, blenders for gifts are awesome!! I received an immersion blender from my husband last year for our anniversary! And it’s one of my favorite gifts, perfect for winter soups!
Cheers!
I much rather blend (Blendtec) than Juice. Juicers are a pain to clean, built cheap (for the most part) and only do one single thing. I prefer soup over juice or smoothies. Fruit still has a ton of sugar for diabetics and the fiber from veggies with the soup makes a blender a better deal.
Hi Mike,
We prefer blendin’ too! 🙂
Thank you for being so clear in your article, really clear on the differences between the two and some great advice, if you or anyone else would like some additional reading on blending and juicing check out
Hi Ben,
Great article! Thank you so much for sharing. And keep blendin’ those leafy greens! 🙂
Hi, I have been blending my Vege and fruits for a year with Vees blender.
My base is 2cups pineapple, 2bananas, 1/8 lemon, 1″ ginger, 1″turmeric, 1 whole coconut water and meat.(whenever possible)
With the above, I rotate my smoothies :-
For green (add spinach, or kale or wheatgrass),
For red (add dragon fruit or beet root)
For Orange color (add carrot or oranges)
Occasionally – I would add coconut oil, green apples, or chia seed or almonds or yogurts…
My family of 4 will have a big glass of the above smoothies in the morning.
Wondering if I am doing the right thing?
The above churned out delicious smoothies.
Hi Joanne,
Thanks for reaching out! It looks like you’re blendin’ delicious + nutritious smoothies! Do you include leafy greens in all of your smoothies, or do you rotate between leafy greens and other vegetables?
Check out our formula for the perfect green smoothie here…
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/how-to-make-a-smoothie
@Joanne,
2 cups of pineapple and 2 bananas = quite a lot of sugar. Unless you’re also intensely exercising I’d cut the sugar back a little
This is a great reference. So, we have the Omega juicer and have been juicing for years. My kids like the ‘no fiber’ easy to swallow green juices.
But, it’s too much work, and I just had a great hot soup from a Vitamix at Costco, followed by a fresh fruit smoothie. Wow, how easy and delicious.
I really want just 1 machine, and am thinking of selling the Omega Juicer for the Vitamix. Do you think the Vitamix will keep juices smooth? Especially the vege juices (kale, cucumber, spinach, carrot, apple kind)?
Hi Sangeeta,
The Vitamix is a powerhouse blender + does an amazing job of breaking down fruits + leafy greens to a juice like consistency! Read our review of the Vitamix 5200 here…
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/blenders-for-smoothies
The nutrients are in the pulp, not the juice as so many people mistakenly believe.
Thanks, Tk. 🙂
That’s why the Nutribullet is what you want because everything is reduced to liquid. It has a very powerful motor nothing gets in its way. By the way the Nutribullet is by no means a blender, it is a juicer it reduces everything to
liquid.
i love your website. Thank you for your work. I have both juicer and I think they work great together. Some veggies are better for one and not so good for another one. The Nutribullet is the closer I have to a smoothie maker because my old blender had not enough power.
I’m thinking about b or v blender but my budget is pretty small hahaha. I hate the tall jar from Vit. But I want it’s sturdiness. I love the blendtec’s jar because it’s easy to clean but I really like the dial.
It’s a complete dilemma. Help! Haha
Hey Marie! 🙂
Thanks for reaching out. Have you checked out this article? https://simplegreensmoothies.com/blenders-for-smoothies
I am a #vitamixgirl 🙂 Can’t go wrong with either.
Thanks so much for this article. My husband is an appliance freak and has purchased us a Ninja Blender, a Nutribullet and just last week a juicer. After reading about the benefits of both, I have decided that I will juice in the morning and have that with breakfast. For lunch, I will have a smoothie with some protein as a meal replacement. I hope this helps me slim down some in combination with exercise.
Oops it was .. I wrote the URL wrong..
Sam K
A very interesting article, Im interested to know how a masticating slow juicer like the one from Zweissen ( ) would compare to any of the electrical designs above, and how its juice would compare to the juicer and blenders that you have compared above.
thanks!
Sam K
I started juicing just after Easter 2014. I have fresh juice from my BREVILLE every morning. As of this date, I’m down 46 pounds! Cleaning is a breeze since I started using a battery operated toothbrush to clean the mesh screen. 20 mins max from start to finish. Some days I will put the juice in my Ninja and add half an avocado for a thicker smoothie juice. Just a thought.
Thank you so much for the idea of cleaning the juicer with an electronic toothbrush! I have to run out and get one asap! Congratulations on your weight loss. Do you do anything in addition to juicing in the morning?
Can you freeze the juices in the 3 day jump start book for the Nutra Ninja?
Hey Kathy. I haven’t checked out that book, so I am not sure. But almost everything is freezable. 🙂
I am very interested in a good system for drinks to go. I love vegetables, soups and want to make both. So many choices it is mind numbing
i was given a juicer for xmas and wasn’t expecting it. It’s a really good one a cold pressed or something. I really need the fibre though and was wondering what to do with all the pulp
Fold into baked goods maybe, Kirsty? 🙂
You can make a healthy meatloaf with some of the pulp/fiber added, especially if you huiced carot and celery. Also a little bit can be added to tuna.This is good even if apple or grapes were juiced.
Thanks for the tip, Beth!
Jadah, What an informative post, thanks!
Cheers! Glad you enjoyed it.