Celery Cucumber Green Juice
A crisp, hydrating green juice with grassy celery, cooling cucumber, bright lemon and fresh parsley, lightly sweetened with a green apple. Clean-tasting and ready in 15 minutes.
- Prep
- 12 min
- Cook
- —
- Total
- 12 min
- Makes
- About 2 cups (480 ml), 2 servings
Steps
Before you start
- Chill the vegetables and glasses in the fridge for at least 1 hour for a colder, crisper juice.
- Have a centrifugal or masticating juicer assembled with the pulp container empty before you begin.
- Wash all produce well, even if you plan to peel it, since the knife can carry dirt into the flesh.
- Drink the juice within 15 minutes for the best flavor and color, or follow the storage notes.
Wash the produce
- Rinse the celery, cucumber, apple, parsley and lemon under cold running water.
- Scrub the cucumber, celery and ginger with a vegetable brush.
- Shake the parsley dry.
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Ready when: Celery and cucumber skins look clean with no visible grit at the base of the stalks.
Tip: Check the base of the celery bunch, where soil hides.
Cut the produce
- Cut the celery into 3-inch (8 cm) pieces.
- Cut the cucumber lengthwise into spears about 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide.
- Core the apple and cut into 8 wedges.
- Peel the lemon, removing all the white pith, and quarter it.
- Remove any seeds.
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Ready when: Every piece fits easily down the juicer chute.
Tip: Leave the lemon's peel and pith on and the juice turns bitter, so remove them.
Set up the juicer
- Place a glass pitcher or large glass under the juicer spout and make sure the pulp container is empty.
- Put the ginger, if using, within reach.
Juice the soft items
- Run the parsley through first: bunch it into a tight ball and push it down with a celery piece.
- Then juice the lemon quarters and the ginger, if using.
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Ready when: Pulp from the parsley comes out fairly dry and the juice runs bright green.
Tip: Alternate leafy herbs with firm, watery produce so the juicer extracts more.
Juice the firm produce
- Feed in the celery, cucumber and apple, alternating between them.
- Push gently with the pusher, never your fingers.
- Total juice should be about 2 cups (480 ml).
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Ready when: Pulp is dry and crumbly, and juice stops dripping from the spout.
Tip: Finish with a cucumber spear to flush out remaining juice from the machine.
Stir and taste
- Stir the juice well, since it separates quickly.
- Taste and adjust: add a squeeze of extra lemon for brightness or another apple wedge, juiced, for sweetness.
- For a smoother texture, pour through a fine-mesh sieve.
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Ready when: Juice tastes balanced: grassy and fresh with a sharp lemony finish.
Serve right away
- Fill two 12-oz (350 ml) glasses with ice, if using, and pour the juice evenly over the top.
- Drink immediately.
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Ready when: Juice is vivid green with a light foam on top.
Tip: Rinse the juicer parts right away, before the pulp dries on and becomes hard to clean.
Good to know
Tips
- Chill the produce before juicing instead of adding lots of ice, which dilutes the flavor.
- Use the celery leaves too; they add a pleasant herbal flavor, but too many can make the juice bitter.
- Omit the apple for a lower-sugar juice; the result will be more savory and tart.
- Save the pulp for soups, veggie broth or compost.
Make ahead
Juice up to 24 hours ahead and store in a full, airtight glass jar in the fridge. Shake well before drinking.
Storage & reheating
Best drunk fresh within 15 minutes. Refrigerate in a full, tightly sealed glass jar for up to 24 hours (flavor and nutrients fade). Freeze in ice cube trays for up to 1 month; thaw in the fridge and shake well. Do not heat.
Substitutions
- green apple → 1 small pear or 1 cup (150 g) green grapes. Gives a similar mild sweetness with less tartness.
- fresh flat-leaf parsley → 1 cup (30 g) packed fresh cilantro or mint leaves. Changes the flavor but keeps the herbal freshness.
- lemon → 1 lime. Slightly more floral and a little more bitter if you include the pith.
- English cucumber → 2 more celery stalks (130 g). A stronger, more savory juice with less yield.
