Can you juice beet greens or beet leaves? You absolutely can.
Just like we can juice beet greens, we can also eat beet greens. We can do both if we want to take a break from eating or juicing baby spinach.
We can add beet greens to whatever juice combination of ingredients we want, whether we’re using apples, other leafy greens, berries, ginger, citrus fruits, veggies, etc.
Also, check out my article answering the question can you juice cauliflower if you want to experiment with different ingredients.
What can we expect when we juice beet greens?
First of all, we can juice both the leaves and the stems. The same we can do when we cook beet greens.
Frankly, it’s less messy juicing the beet greens than it is juicing the beetroot.
You can start with the stems and leaves and then move on to the beets.
The beet greens should always be juiced along with the roots, don’t throw them away.
Juicing the leaves with stems is easy.
Cut the stems with leaves into big chunks and then throw them in the chute of your juicer. If you’ve ever juiced celery stalks, you’re already totally prepared.
While we can store the beetroots for longer, up to 2 weeks in a cold dark place, the leaves are not so long-lasting.
We should juice beet tops immediately while they’re fresh, just like we do with all the other dark leafy greens.
How to juice beets and beet greens
Juice leaves fall under the category of leafy greens. They’re just as good for our diet.
Just like we should juice a lemon with its skin if we’re buying organic lemons or if we’re growing our own, so we should juice the beets with their tops.
We only have a few preparations to make when we juice beets and their leaves and stems.
The most important step is to wash the entire plant and its bulb really well. No one wants to drink juice with some dirt thrown in.
Leave the skin on the beetroots on. You don’t need to peel them.
Cut the tails off and then cut your beetroots into chunks. Do the same for the stems and leaves.
I prefer to juice the stems and leaves first and then move on to the roots.
One pound of beets with greens results in about 1 cup (250 ml) of juice. That’s a very good yield.
What do beet greens taste like?
They’re similar in taste to another dark green that looks similar to beet greens. Thus, beet greens have a similar flavor to Swiss chard but sweeter.
Many people believe that beet greens are even more delicious than kale and collards.
That’s why I totally recommend juicing beet greens. They’re even sweeter than all the other leafy greens that we’re used to juicing.
I also recommend cooking with them. When we sauté beet greens, they’ll have a delicate texture and sweet, mild flavor. They’re the perfect side dish if you enjoy tender dark greens with a sweet taste.
How does beetroot juice taste?
It has a sharp, sweet and earthy taste. If you also juice the beet greens, the taste won’t change that much since the leaves and stems have a sweet, mild flavor.
Some of us will enjoy beet juice all on its own. Others might find the flavor a bit too earthy or slightly bitter. In that case, you need to juice a bunch of ingredients so that you enjoy your juice even more.
You can also add a natural sweetener when your juices require it. There’s nothing wrong with adding a bit of honey, that’s one of my favorite sweeteners. Date paste can also be an interesting alternative to sweeten our smoothies and juices.
How do you make beet juice taste better?
You can gradually get used to the taste of beet juice, including juicing the beet greens, by making a juice from a combination of ingredients.
My advice is to juice beets together with apples or oranges. These ingredients are easy to find and pretty cheap throughout the year in some parts of the world.
You can also juice beets and carrots. Carrot juice is sweet and refreshing. It will balance out the more earthy and maybe even slightly bitter flavor of beet juice.
We can also combine beets, beet greens, lemon, ginger and cucumber. Add some honey and it will turn out to be a delicious combination.
Since we’re answering the question can you juice beet greens, I have another recommendation to make: if you don’t like beet juice all that much, juice just the greens with other ingredients and cook the beets as a salad, roast them and serve them with cheese or use them to make a soup or even make a beet hummus.
