To prepare kale for juicing: swish the leaves in a bowl of cold water, lift them out, shake dry, and leave the stems on. Roll three or four leaves into a tight bundle, or wrap them around a chunk of cucumber, and feed them into the juicer between harder ingredients.
That’s it. You don’t need to strip the stems, and you don’t need to chop.
Kale is the green everyone wants to juice and the one most people get almost nothing out of, because it goes in alone and flies around the basket dry.
Here’s how to wash it, whether to keep the stems, which kale juices best, how to get triple the yield, and three recipes that make it taste like something you’d choose.
- Keep the stems. They’re juicy, mild, and full of the same nutrients. Stripping them wastes half the plant.
- Wash by swishing in a bowl, not under the tap. Kale’s curls trap grit.
- Roll leaves into a bundle and feed between hard produce. This alone can triple your yield.
- Lacinato (dinosaur) kale is mildest; curly kale is the most bitter. Baby kale juices like spinach.
- Three or four leaves per juice is plenty. A whole bunch is bitter and a lot of vitamin K.
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Which Kale to Buy for Juicing
| Type | Flavor | Yield | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lacinato (dinosaur, Tuscan) | Mildest, slightly sweet | Good | Flat leaves roll easily. My pick for juice. |
| Curly kale | Most bitter, peppery | Fair | Most common in stores. Curls trap dirt; wash well. |
| Red Russian | Mild, tender | Good | Thin leaves; feed with firm produce. |
| Baby kale (bagged) | Very mild | Low | Juices like spinach; convenient but low volume. |
| Kale stems alone | Mild, a bit grassy | Very good | Juicy. Never throw them out. |
Buy bunches with firm, deeply colored leaves and no yellowing. Kale keeps a week in the fridge wrapped loosely in a damp paper towel inside a bag. Organic is worth it for kale if you buy any organic produce; it’s thin-leafed and you’re juicing the whole thing.
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How to Clean Kale for Juicing
- Fill a large bowl or a clean sink with cold water.
- Separate the leaves from the bunch and drop them in. Swish for 20 seconds. Grit sinks.
- Lift the leaves out (don’t pour; you’d pour the grit back over them). If the water’s dirty, repeat.
- Shake or spin dry. Wet kale is fine for a juicer, but dry kale stores better.
Curly kale hides sand and the occasional aphid in its ruffles. The bowl method catches both; rinsing under the tap doesn’t. General washing rules for all produce are in how to prep produce for juicing.
Stems: Keep Them
Every kale salad recipe tells you to strip the stems, and people carry that into juicing. Don’t. Kale stems are the juiciest part of the plant, mild in flavor, and carry fiber, calcium, and the same glucosinolates as the leaves. Stripping them throws away close to half the weight you paid for.
The one adjustment: cut very thick stems from mature curly kale into three-inch lengths so they don’t wrap a slow juicer’s auger. Lacinato stems can go in whole.
How to Cut (Or Not Cut) Kale for Juicing
Leave leaves whole. Chopping kale exposes more surface to air and makes it fly around a centrifugal basket. Instead, stack three or four leaves, roll them tightly from the stem end into a cigar, and feed the bundle stem-first. For a narrow-chute slow juicer, fold the bundle in half.
Better still, wrap the leaves around a two-inch chunk of cucumber or half an apple. The hard piece pushes the leaves through the machine, and they get squeezed instead of spun.
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Kale is mostly structure, so even done right, four leaves give an ounce or two. The tricks that matter: feed it between hard, wet ingredients (cucumber before, apple after), feed it slowly, and in a centrifugal juicer, run the last chunk of cucumber through to flush out what’s left in the basket.
In a slow juicer, kale yields two to three times better; if greens are your main goal, that’s the machine to have, per how a juicer works.
If your juicer just won’t cooperate, blend the kale with a splash of water and strain it through a nut milk bag, then add that to the rest of your juice. The blender method is in how to juice without a juicer.
How Much Kale per Juice
Three or four large leaves, stems included, per 12-ounce juice. That’s enough for a meaningful dose of vitamin K, vitamin C, and glucosinolates without the juice tasting like a hedge.
A whole bunch in one glass is bitter, and it’s also a very large vitamin K dose, which matters if you take warfarin. Build around cucumber and celery, and let kale be the accent.
Three Kale Juice Recipes That Taste Good
- Kale Apple Lemon (first kale juice): 3 kale leaves, 1 sweet apple, 1 cucumber, half a lemon. The apple carries it.
- Kale Pineapple Ginger: 4 kale leaves, 1 cup pineapple, 1 cucumber, a thumb of ginger. Pineapple hides kale better than anything.
- Kale Celery Lemon (no fruit): 4 kale leaves, 4 celery stalks, 1 cucumber, 1 whole lemon, ginger. About 5 grams of sugar. The graduation juice.
If kale still tastes too strong, use more lemon before you use more fruit; acid cuts bitterness better than sugar does. Ten more green options, ranked mildest to greenest, are in green juicing recipes.
Kale Juice Benefits, Briefly and Honestly
Kale is among the most nutrient-dense vegetables: very high in vitamin K, high in vitamin C and A, a decent source of calcium and manganese, and rich in glucosinolates, the compounds cruciferous vegetables are studied for. Juicing keeps most of that and loses the fiber.
It doesn’t detox you, and it isn’t better than spinach or chard in any way that matters; it’s one good green among several. Rotate them.
Prep Ahead
Washed, dried kale keeps four or five days in a bag with a paper towel. Pre-rolled bundles are fine for two or three days. Kale pulp is strong-flavored but works in veggie burgers and pulp crackers, both in what to do with juicing pulp.
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Get the free routine card →Or read the chair tai chi guideKale for Juicing FAQ
Can You Juice Kale Stems?
Yes, and you should. Kale stems are the juiciest part of the plant, mild in flavor, and carry the same nutrients as the leaves. Cut very thick stems into three-inch pieces for a slow juicer; otherwise feed them whole with the leaves.
How Do You Clean Kale for Juicing?
Swish the separated leaves in a bowl of cold water for 20 seconds, then lift them out so the grit stays behind. Repeat if the water is dirty. Curly kale traps sand in its ruffles, so the bowl method works better than rinsing under the tap.
Why Does My Juicer Get so Little Juice from Kale?
Kale fed alone spins around a centrifugal basket and comes out nearly dry. Roll leaves into a tight bundle or wrap them around a chunk of cucumber, and feed them between hard ingredients. A slow juicer gets two to three times more from greens.
What Kind of Kale Is Best for Juicing?
Lacinato (dinosaur) kale is the mildest and rolls easily. Curly kale is the most common and most bitter. Baby kale juices like spinach but yields little. Any of them works; use three or four leaves per juice and add lemon.
Is It OK to Juice Kale Every Day?
For most people, yes, at three or four leaves per glass. Kale is very high in vitamin K, so if you take warfarin keep your intake consistent and tell your clinic. Rotating kale with spinach, chard, and romaine gives more variety and less of any single compound.
Your This-Week Plan
- Buy one bunch of lacinato kale. Wash it in a bowl, keep the stems, and store it with a paper towel.
- Make Kale Apple Lemon twice: once feeding the leaves alone, once rolled around cucumber. Compare the yield.
- Day four, try the no-fruit version. If it’s too much, add lemon before apple.
- Rotate kale with spinach next week, and keep the beginner’s guide open for the routine.
This article is for general education and isn’t medical advice. Kale is very high in vitamin K, which interacts with warfarin and similar blood thinners, and raw cruciferous vegetables in large daily amounts may matter for people with thyroid conditions. If either applies to you, talk with your healthcare provider before juicing kale daily. Fresh juice is unpasteurized; drink it promptly.
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