Can You Juice Beet Leaves?

If you’re trying juice recipes and bought some beetroot, you might find that they have the leaves and stems attached.

Rather than throw these away, you start to wonder if these are OK to eat as well—after all, they look full of nutritional goodness! But will beet leaves work in a juice recipe?

So, can you juice beet leaves? Yes, these delicious leaves can be a great addition to any juice recipe and work well with citrus fruits such as orange and sweeter berries like strawberry or raspberry. However, some juicers cannot cope with juicing tough greens like beet leaves, and you will need a masticating juicer to get the best results.

Beet leaves and stems can add an interesting depth of flavor to a juice recipe, with the best results when added to fruits and vegetables with a different flavor profile.

Let’s take a look at the benefits of juicing beet leaves, how to juice them, and the best recipes for juicing beet leaves!

Can You Juice Beet Leaves?

So, you’ve bought some fresh beets from the store for juicing, and they’ve got a pile of stems and leaves attached. Can you juice these?

Yes, you can absolutely juice both the leaves and stems of the beetroot! These leaves fall under the category of “leafy greens” and are packed full of nutritional goodness.

So next time you have a pile of beet leaves next to your lovely red beetroot, follow our guide to juicing beet leaves below!

Are Beet Leaves Easy To Juice?

If you’re a seasoned juicer, you’ll know that juicing leafy greens is not always as easy as it sounds. It can be difficult to get every drop of goodness from your leaves, and some juicers struggle to extract anything at all from beet leaves.

There are two different types of juicers, and one is much better than the other at extracting juice from leafy greens such as beet leaves.

The first type are centrifugal juicers, which extract juice by spinning at high speed, while also chopping the ingredients at the same time.

A small amount of heat is produced during the juicing process, which can make the juice slightly less nutritious.

The second type, masticating juicers, work by crushing, mashing, and pressing the fruit and vegetables to extract the juice.

This is a slow, gentle, low-heat process and the method which preserves the most nutrients in your juice.

Masticating juicers are the best option for juicing beet leaves and stems, and you will get much more juice than you would in a centrifugal juicer.

If you have a centrifugal juicer, you can juice leafy greens, but you will get much less juice and most of it will end up in the pulp tray. 

How To Juice Beet Leaves

Juicing beet leaves is easy, and if you’re familiar with juicing greens then you shouldn’t have any problems here.

If you’re juicing beet leaves then it is likely that you’re juicing the beetroot too.

Depending on how your juicer works, you may want to do these together or separately. Juicing beetroot can be a messy process, so you might want to do this bit last!

To start, take your beet and cut the stems off just above the root. Decide if you are juicing the stems, leaves, or both – if you’re juicing just one then cut the leaves from the stems.

In our opinion, you may as well juice both together, for maximum nutritional benefits!

Wash and pat dry the beetroot leaves and stalks. Depending on your type of juicer, you may need to cut them into smaller pieces at this stage.

Place them in the juicer, and juice! Now all you need to do is wait for that lovely, healthy juice to be extracted.

What Do Beet Leaves Taste Like When Juiced?

Beet leaves taste like other greens such as chard, kale, and spinach, but have a richer and earthier flavor.

This means they can be a great substitute for these if your juice recipe calls for them. All of these are often classed as ‘leafy greens’ and they can be used interchangeably.

Unlike the beetroot themselves, beet leaves are not particularly sweet, and can taste quite bitter. Some people enjoy the flavor of beet leaves when juiced on their own, but it can be an acquired taste!

Most people prefer to create a blended juice with beet leaves and other fruit and vegetables.

Can Beet Leaves Be Juiced With Other Fruit And Vegetables?

Beet leaves really come into their own when juiced with other fruit and vegetables. In fact, most juicing fans think that this is the best way to enjoy beet leaves.

Adding beet leaves to your favorite juice recipe will add depth of flavor and earthiness to the juice, as well as a concentrated hit of nutritional goodness.

Beet leaves can make the juice slightly bitter, so pairing it with other fruit and vegetables can help to hide this flavor.

As with anything bitter, adding something sweet will help to balance out the flavor. Beet greens go very well with sweet, juicy fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, watermelon, and apples.

Citrus fruits also go very nicely with beet leaves in a juice recipe. This is because the acidity of the fruits will help to hide the bitterness of the leaves. Sweeter citrus fruits such as orange and grapefruit work well, as do lemon and lime.

Nutritional Benefits Of Juicing Beet Leaves

It is a real shame that beet leaves are often overlooked, as these leafy greens come packed full of nutritional benefits. When you realize how good they are you’ll be seeking out beetroots with the leaves still attached from the store!

Beet leaves are super healthy and give you different nutritional benefits to the beetroot itself. So, by juicing both together, you are maximizing the health advantages of this remarkable little root vegetable.

High in vitamin C, beet leaves are said to help in boosting immunity and fighting off infections.

They also contain Vitamin A—in fact, one cup of beet greens equals more than 100% of our daily required value of Vitamin A!

Beet leaves are also high in calcium and Vitamin K, which can help maintain healthy bones. Eating beet greens is a great source of calcium for people who are vegan, vegetarian, or on dairy-free diets.

Related Questions

Now that we’ve gone over how to juice beet leaves and their nutritional benefits, let’s take a look at a few related questions on the subject!

Can you juice beets?

Beetroot is packed with nutritional health benefits and make a great ingredient for juicing. And they turn your juice a beautiful, vibrant red color too!

Most types of juicers should be able to cope with juicing beets, including masticating and centrifugal blenders.

Larger, more powerful juicers may be able to cope with juicing small beets whole. If you have a less powerful blender then chop your beetroot into chunks before juicing.

If you don’t have a juicer, you can also juice your beetroot in a blender. Bear in mind that you’ll need a high-powered blender – these tough little roots will be a challenge for smaller blenders!

Chop the beetroot into small chunks first, and pop into the blender with a splash of water. Blend until smooth and pour the juice through a strainer to remove the pulp.

Can you freeze beet leaves?

If you’ve come home from the store with a bunch of beetroot, you’ll most likely have a large pile of beet leaves as well!

But there is a limit to how many beet leaves you can eat at once, and they don’t store for very long in the fridge. Can you freeze beet leaves to keep them fresh for longer?

The good news is that yes, beet leaves can be frozen! In fact, having pre-prepared beet greens in the freezer is one of our favorite cooking shortcuts. This method also works well with other greens such as kale, chard, and spinach.

If you freeze beetroot leaves using the method below you will have little balls of blanched greens in your freezer, ready for whenever you need them.

These can be dropped, still frozen, into casseroles, curries, and sauces, perfect for adding a little burst of nutritional goodness!

Here is the best way to freeze beet leaves:

1. Chop the stalks from the beet leaves and discard them. Wash the leaves thoroughly and pat dry.
2. Chop or tear the leaves into smaller pieces.
3. Bring a large pan of water to the boil, or a large steamer. Have a pan or sink of icy cold water on standby, plus a large colander.
4. Add the chopped leaves to the water or steamer. Move the leaves around gently with tongs, until they are all wilted. This won’t take long, no more than a couple of minutes!
5. Quickly remove the leaves from the water or steamer, using the colander if necessary. Plunge the leaves immediately into the icy water and leave until completely cold.
6. Drain the spinach in the colander, removing as much water as possible.
7. At this stage, you need to get the leaves as dry as you can. A salad spinner will do the trick, or pat the leaves dry with a cloth or towel.
8. Form the spinach leaves into portion-sized balls – the size of these will depend on how many people you normally feed at each meal!
9. Pop the balls onto a baking sheet in the freezer until frozen.
10. Transfer the balls to a freezer-safe Ziplock bag and squeeze out as much air as possible.
11. Label the bag with the contents and date—your leafy green balls will store in the freezer for up to 12 months.

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