12 Best Vegetables For Juicing And The 4 Worst (Ultimate Guide)

Looking to start juicing but not sure what vegetables to start with?

Or been juicing a while and looking to mix things up?

Whatever you’re looking for I’ve got you covered, I’ve got everything you need to know about juicing vegetables. Which ones are best, which ones you should avoid like the plague and example recipes for everyone.

This is the ultimate guide to juicing vegetables and the only guide you’ll ever need on the subject!

A big claim it has to be said, but I want to make sure you’re getting all the right information, I’ve seen a few different articles that talk about vegetable juices that could just make you sick. Not good.

So read on, I hope you enjoy, and I’ve includeed a vegetable juice recipe featuring each ingredient

Contents

Vegetables Vs Fruits

When it’s healthyjuice you want vegetables always win. Don’t get me wrong, I love fruit as much as the next person, and no one has ever gotten fat from eating too much fruit. But when fruit is made into juice it becomes much more unhealthy because you have a lot of sugar without the fibre to digest it.

So when you’re making juice you want either all of it or almost all of it to be vegetables, some fruit to sweeten up the taste is still fine, all about moderation, it’s just all fruit juices you want to avoid.

Plus vegetable juices have just as much nutrition as fruit and in some cases even more so!

Keep reading and we’ll start going through all the best vegetables for juicing before we get to the ones to avoid.

Best Vegetables To Juice

Here we are, the part you’ve all been waiting for. The complete list of the best vegetables you can juice!

As I said at the start I’ve got a break down of each vegetable, any benefits it brings, a recipe to use it with and a general idea of what it goes well with.

1. Kale

Often called a superfood kale is fantastic in juice because it’s packed full of B vitamins making it an excellent vegetable juice for energy.

You also get a big dose of antioxidants that help fight against free radicals which are rogue atoms all around us that tend to attack our cells.

Free radicals can have really negative effects on the body because they not only cause the signs of ageing to appear but can cause heart problems, potential cancer risks, and can affect your DNA! Yikes.

Drinking kale juice fights against all that and is also a source of Folate which helps with brain development keeping you sharp and ready for anything. Oh and you should know that raw kale is absolutely fine, you don’t need to cook it before you juice it. A must have and easily one of the best vegetables to juice.

Kale has a strong flavor so you might want to build up how much you use in a recipe. Below is my go to kale juice recipe.

Kale should be the main player in any green juice, use it alongside other leay green vegetables or it’s actually quite nice when you have it alongside pineapple. The kale counteracts the sharpness of the pineapple quite nicely.

I’ve got a different list of ingredients specifically for green juice if you’re interested.

2. Carrots

Carrots are great in juice because they can have a slightly sweet flavor to what might be quite a bitter drink while not being as high in sugar.

The main benefit of carrot juice is that it’s a vegetable that is great for your skin because it is packed full of vitamin A.

Vitamin A protects your skin against UV damage, so very good in summer, it encourages healthy skin cell production and also helps to fight against free radicals which we already established are not good.

AND, you get a big dose of Vitamin C which is always going to be good to help boost the immune system and stop you getting sick.

See my carrot juicer recommendations here.

Carrots always go well with ginger, but they’re also really nice with apples and of course oranges, a good rule of thumb is to group colors together, if it’s similar in color it probably tastes good together. I’ve got more carrot juice recipes here.

3. Ginger

Speaking of ginger, it has to be one of my favourite ingredients, and while you could definitely argue it shouldn’t be classed as a vegetable, maybe a spice or just an extra, I thought it deserved mentioning here.

While also adding some spice to your juice it can help kick start your metabolism, ginger causes more stomach acid to be creating in your… Well, your stomach… Which helps you digest things faster and in turn can actually help you lose weight.

Ginger in the morning also gives you that spicy hit that helps wake you up and feel energised ready to face the day. Check out the ideal juicers fo ginger here.

If you’re feeling brave and really need a pick me up you could have a straight up ginger shot, just juice 2.5 oz of ginger and sprinkle some cayenne on top. Not for the faint hearted but worth trying once.

More generally you can add ginger to pretty much anything, it just adds some spice to the mixture. Click here for more ginger juice recipes.

4. Celery

Celery is a really good base for a green juice because it’s got a lot of water inside of it, but it’s not just water, you get a lovely big dose of antioxidants as well as a strong kick of Vitamin K.

But the main reason people drink celery juice is for its anti-inflammatory properties, many people swear by it and a study showed it could be an anti-inflammatory that helps with arthritis. So if you suffer from inflammation or any of the many problems it can cause it’s worth trying out some celery juice.

Vitamin K helps cuts repair so you won’t quite become wolverine but if you do a lot of outdoor activities and tend to get scratched a lot then celery will be ideal for you. Plus it’s really good for keeping your bones strong so not something you want missing from your diet.

It’s got loads of other vitamins but those are definitely the main two.

While it might not be the most exciting recipe I’ve ever written it works! Because of Celery’s high water content, you can just juice it and drink it and start getting all the health benefits from it.

5. Cucumber

Cucumber is similar to celery in that it makes a great base to build other juices on top of. Annoyingly cucumbers are technically a fruit, not a vegetable, but you show me one person who keeps there cucumbers in a fruit bowl then I’ll be convinced.

Anyway, cucumbers are a source of beta-carotene which helps with your immune system, keeping your skin and eyes healthy and working properly. It’s also a source of Vitamin K with a cup full being about 19% of your recommended daily allowance.

You want to leave the skin on the cucumber, that’s where a lot of the nutrition is hiding. And like I said, cucumber has a high water count so is a great way to lighten a really thick green smoothie. Try it with other leafy greens for a huge feel-good health boost.

6. Wheatgrass

Wheatgrass is often touted as a superfood because of its ability pack in so much nutrition into not a lot of space. But the main benefit you get from wheatgrass is that it is high in vitamin E and Zinc which are both important for healthy skin.

But It’s also got some great minerals in it, it’s particularly in Manganese which is an antioxidant that again helps protect against free radicals.

It’s quite hard to juice wheatgrass without a specific juicer but if you put it through with other ingredients it normally comes through ok, and it’s the perfect vegetable to juice for your skin.

You can enjoy wheatgrass on its own as a shot but I thought I’d include it as part of a bigger recipe. Pineaplle and carot juice gives you an extra boost for your skin. Wheatgrass can be added to pretty much anything but it works particularly well in green juice.

7. Cabbage

Cabbage is one of those leafy green vegetables that is surprisingly healthy, you don’t think of it as a key health food but it really is, high in vitamin K and vitamin C make it good for your bones and your immune system.

And cabbage has a higher water content so it’s a great base for other juices to mix with other thicker vegetables like carrots.

CBA juice, or the Can’t Be A… Wait, no that’s not right, ah yes, the Cabbage, Beetroot, Orange juice! That sounds better.

A fantastic colour and a mix of nutrition from the three ingredients, and if you are feeling lazy it’s one of the easier juices to make!

8. Swiss Chard

Swiss chard is another one of our leafy greens that is high in Vitamin C, Vitamin K, and Vitamin A. This makes it great for bone health and your immune system just like the cabbage above and the vitamin A helps protect against UV rays so another good one to have in the summer.

This recipe comes from Joe Cross and is a fantastic green juice for detoxing with, it’s not sweet but neither is it bland or bitter. A really nice taste and a great way to get a massive intake a nutrients.

You can use chard in any green juice but it substitutes nicely for kale, or you can have it alongside kale for a double whammy!

9. Sweet Potato

Are you hanging in there? Four more vegetables to go before we get to the vegetables you’ll want to avoid!

Sweet potatoes are totally fine to eat raw, unlike regular white potatoes but we’ll get to that, and a great source of iron calcium and magnesium as well as B vitamins. The B vitamins work well to give you energy and are great alongside the iron while calcium, I’m sure you know, works for your bones.

You can also add in some cabbage or cucumber if you need some more water in it but I like the whole orange theme of it, and adjust the amount of ginger to suit your spice needs!

Sweet potato works best with other orange and colourful fruits and vegetables, a bit strange alongside green ingredients.

10. Beetroot

Beet juice has a really weird property, it can actually help increase your stamina so you can exercise longer, which means that you can lose weight even faster! It’s also got lots of nitrates which help with blood flow and blood pressure and of course, you get a good dose of vitamins including folate, potassium, vitamin c and the all-powerful antioxidants.

Beetroot brings an incredible color to any juice you’re making, that deep purple is beautiful and a really nice change if you drink a lot of green juice. It works well with most fruits and vegetables but not so well with lots of green vegetables.

11. Spinach

Spinach is another classic green juice ingredient, rich in iron, vitamin K, vitamin A, Vitamin C, and folate, not to mention manganese, magnesium and potassium.

One of the most nutritious vegetables for juicing, it is great for pretty much everything with its varied profile, skin, energy, fighting free radicals, bones, you name it, and spinach has you covered.

This recipe comes from Gordon Ramsay, I’d like to say he’s a personal friend and told me this recipe but alas, it’s from his website, still a great recipe though!

Spinach is a green juice staple, you need a lot of spinach relative to how much juice you get out so don’t be afraid to use a lot of it.

12. Zucchini

Lastly, we have zucchini, and the reason it’s last is it rhymes with lastly, sort of…

Anyway, zucchini is great for weight loss because it is very low in calories, even compared to all the other vegetables here, with as little as 30 calories in a whole zucchini, plus it’s got lots of B vitamins which are great for giving you energy so you can lose weight without feeling tired.

I feel my name for this one was off somewhere, maybe cool as a lemon? Not quite right… Still, this is a very refreshing juice that really hydrates you, the lemon adds some more lightness and makes it really refreshing.

Use zucchini like you’d use cucumber, to add some base or freshen up any juice.

What Vegetables Not To Juice

Phew, you made it, that was some guide right? Hopefully, you found it useful and now you know what you want to start juicing. Make sure you share this guide if you’re finding it useful.

Now let’s take a look at some of the vegetables you don’t want to juice, some you should never juice and others you should juice with caution.

Avocado

You don’t want to juice avocado because you can’t! It won’t release any juice and you’ll just get a tray full of guacamole. It’s a way to make guacamole but a very messy one!

You can catch the pulpy avocado and add it to your juice though then stir it all together, but if you want to drink avocado best to do it in smoothie form.

Broccoli & Cauliflower

Having raw broccoli or raw cauliflower can make you sick, as can other cruciferous vegetables. Some people are fine but a lot of people get some really bad bloating and nausea when they eat cruciferous vegetables raw. So you can try it and see how you get on but you’ve been warned.

Besides you can roast cauliflower and it’s delicious and steamed broccoli heads is one of my favourite cooked vegetables, just steam till it’s cooked but crunchy and sprinkle some salt on top, delicious.

Potato

Now potato will make you sick. Unlike broccoli where you might be sick If you eat potato raw, you will be unwell, because it’s actually in a different family of vegetables than a sweet potato despite the common name.

There also wouldn’t be a lot of juice or flavour from a raw potato so no one’s missing out by not being able to juice it.

Brussel Sprouts

Brussel Sprouts are also hit and miss, some people get really bad bloating and cramping if they have raw Brussel sprouts while other people are fine. So I would tend to say just avoid it but if you do insist on trying it, again, you’ve been warned.

Tips For Juicing Vegetables

Finally, I want to leave you with some tips for making vegetable juice, so that you know what vegetables you want to juice, you’ve got recipes to do it, and now you’re going to know the best way to do it.

1. Don’t Throw Away The Pulp

The pulp is the best bit! Ok it’s not… But there are still loads of different things you can do with leftover pulp, I’ve got all my ideas here, the easiest is composting but there are also loads of recipes you can make with it, and it’s as easy as throwing it into pancake mix before you cook it.

2. Buy Organic And Wash It

Always wash all your vegetables before juicing them, because you’re eating them raw you won’t be cooking off any bacteria that might be on the outside so you want to give everything a really good wash before you juice it.

I’d also recommend buying organic if you can so you get the maximum amount of nutrition possible from your ingredients. Also the sooner you use them after you buy them the better, it’s always better to juice with fresh ingredients for the biggest nutritional boost.

3. Add A Watery Vegetable Last

Something like cucumber because that will help flush everything through the juicer properly so you don’t lose anything on the inside, and it makes it easier to clean because there is less stuck on the inside.

Conclusion

Vegetable juicing is easy but this turned into an absolutely epic guide, I hope you found it useful, and I hope you share it with other people who might benefit from it.

And remember to stay creative, I’ve given guides on when best to use different vegetables but it’s really up to you to try putting different ingredients together to see what happens. Vegetable juice recipes are versatile and you never know when you’ll find your favourite juice!

I’ve got more juicing recipes specifically for weight loss here if you’re interested.