8 best juicers to help you stick to your healthy resolutions
With January comes the inevitable onslaught of new, healthy resolutions and, for many of us, the process of trying to negate the indulgences of December. Increasing our fruit and veg intake is an easy and obvious start.
Juicing – and its ability to pack many of our five-a-day into one drink – can be a simple way to achieve that goal. While the jury is still out on whether consuming lots of juice is actually healthy, it is certainly better to make your own fresh concoctions rather than shelling out for pre-made bottled versions that are likely to be high in sugar and often full of undesirable preservatives too.
Start with citrus fruits – even just some juiced lemon added to water gives a welcome kick in the morning – before moving on to blitzing berries, exotic fruits, kale and more once you’ve worked out your likes and dislikes. And to get the best out of this fruit and veg, you’ll be needing some kind of juicer.
If you’re new to the juice life, we wouldn’t recommend kitting yourself out with a top-notch, top-dollar piece of equipment that might end up languishing unused in the cupboard for the other 11 months of the year. There are all-singing, all-dancing machines for hundreds of pounds available, but a budget of a little over £100 should buy you a perfectly adequate gadget that will have you whizzing up weird and wonderful juices in no time.
We tested a range of similarly priced juicing machines – in addition to a few basic, traditional juicers – in order to find out which model is worth your hard-earned cash.
We were looking for something that made a smooth, even juice quickly and without mess, and wouldn’t take up too much worktop space. After blitzing up clementines, apples, mangoes and more cucumber than is strictly necessary, we’ve found a few models that warrant a place on our kitchen shelf. From sleekly styled powerful blenders to old fashioned lemon squeezers, one of these is sure to make all your juice goals come true.
You can trust our independent reviews. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
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Braun multiquick J500 centrifugal juicer
This is the most powerful juicer we tried, with an extremely whizzy 900W motor that gets every last drop out of your fruits and veg – and, as a bonus, is fairly quiet while doing so. It’s ridiculously easy to put together and get started; we were juicing beetroot, cucumber, pears and kiwi in no time at all, and we were pleased with the two speeds for juicing both soft and hard fruits and veg and adjusting consistency and pulp.
At 75mm, the chute is wide enough to accommodate medium-sized apples and small pears whole, and the resulting smooth juice begins to appears in just 15 seconds. The jug has 1.25l capacity and comes with a foam separator for getting rid of any unpleasant froth, while the pulp bin is a testament to just how much juice the machine extracts. This juicer is large but is deep and tall rather than wide, so it is still worktop friendly. It’s easy to take apart and clean with the brush provided, or pop the removable parts into the dishwasher.
Buy now £135.00, AO
VonHaus vonshef 800W stainless steel juicer
This stainless steel juicer is a really good entry-level option – and even more so when you consider the price. Yes, it is very noisy, but then most juicers are. It has a powerful 800W motor and a large feeder tube that will fit average-sized apples whole.
It works really well with pineapple, carrots and ginger, but less so with leafy greens – so if you’re a green juice lover, look elsewhere. Again, it takes up a fair amount of worktop space, but in doing so delivers you 1.1l of juice, while separating the pulp into a detachable 2l container. It juices fast and well and is easy to clean if you do so immediately, although things get tricky if you let it dry.
Buy now £54.99, VonHaus
Smeg citrus juicer
Channel the Italians and their love of citrus with this electric juicer from swish appliance giant, Smeg. As ever, it’s a thing of beauty with super-stylish curved lines and a sleek, retro design. It’s available in a range of colours – we like the pretty pale blue – and it is compact enough to keep on the worktop.
Juice every last drop of large or small citrus fruits with the powerful 70W motor that makes quick work of peel, pith and pips, squeezing the juice directly into your glass with no effort on your part. The machine has an integrated on-off pressure sensor for safety, and is simple to clean with all parts being easily removed and dishwasher safe. If you’re a fan of freshly squeezed orange juice in the morning, this is a good investment.
Buy now £129.95, Smeg
Lakeland electric citrus juicer
This electric citrus juicer is a good compromise between a full-on juicing machine and a manual version – and at a fraction of the price of the Smeg. You can always trust Lakeland for innovative, good-value and useful products, with this being no different.
Able to accommodate a big orange or hefty grapefruit on the large reamer cone, and perfectly suited to lemons, limes and tangerines when using the small cone, this juicer does all the work for you, leaving you with juice with just the right amount of pulp, as you can set the adjustable controller to reflect your personal preference.
The noise is minimal compared to the big juicers, and there’s enough power and jug capacity for one or two people, or to make quick work of juicing for a jam or cake-making. The parts all come apart for easy hand washing, but do be warned that they can be stiff to remove at first.
Buy now £19.99, Lakeland
Stellar juice extractor
First things first, this juicer is not for the fainthearted. It’s really big, so unless you’re a committed juice lover or have a supremely large kitchen, consider another model. But, if you have the room, this is an all-rounder that can tackle all kinds of fruit and veg.
It’s easy to assemble, looks smart and has a very fast juicing mechanism thanks to a powerful 800W motor. There are two speeds, to alternate between soft and hard fruits, and a supersized feeder tube so the juicer can deal with it all – peel, cores, pips and pith – though you may need to encourage it on its way with the “ingredient pusher” stick.
The whizzing is noisy but brief, resulting in a smooth but frothy liquid – then the 1.25l juicing jug separates the froth, leaving you with an even, vitamin-rich juice. We found it dealt with strawberries, apples and clumps of leafy greens well, and liked the tip they include on using the leftover pulp as a base for soups or jams. All loose parts are dishwasher safe and the filter is pretty easy to clean.
Buy now £116.00, Horwood
Kilner 0025.842 juicer set
If your juicing ambitions are on the smaller side, this reassuringly low-tech solution may be for you. From heritage kitchen storage brand Kilner comes this 500ml glass Kilner jar, with signature clip top lid and juicer attachment, allowing you to juice various citrus straight into the jar, seal in freshness and store securely in the fridge. Good for juicing limes in bulk for a few rounds of margaritas, lemons for your next drizzle cake or oranges ahead of breakfast time. The juicer attachment also fits other Kilner jars you may have knocking around in 1l, 1.5l and 2l sizes. The jar and juicer are dishwasher safe with the seal removed.
Buy now £9.11, Amazon
Nutribullet 600 series
OK, so it’s not strictly a juicer, but we think it has a place on this list. The universally popular high-speed compact blender, Nutribullet whizzes up anything from coffee beans to curry sauces – and fruit and veg of course – in a matter of seconds.
If you don’t have a Nutribullet, you should. It’s not brilliant for juicing citrus, but pineapple, mango, kale, beetroot, apple and the like can be blended with water or other liquid of your choice into a vitamin-rich drink in under 30 seconds, making it vastly more likely you’ll stick with your healthy intentions.
It’s unusual to find such a high-powered blender at this relatively accessible price, and they last well too: ours has survived four years of near-daily use. It is truly idiot-proof too: secure the blade onto the cup, twist into the base machine to blend and then untwist to stop. Results are smooth and even, with the cup giving enough capacity for one to two servings. The blade needs handwashing, but the cup is dishwasher safe. An essential piece of kitchen kit.
Buy now £59.99, Currys
Sage the nutri juicer cold plus
This juicer, from the reliable kitchen brand Sage, is a different type to the other electric juicers on this list. Generally, less expensive juicers use a centrifugal extraction method that requires heat and high-speed spinning to juice the fruit and veg. Cold-pressed or slow juicers, however, use a slowly rotating gear system to press the fruit and veg gently. Some believe that this technology extracts more juice and preserves vitamins better. These sorts of machines also deal with greens far better: this one is fantastic for creating mineral-rich, verdant juices, and is much better at effectively juicing soft fruits.
A great price considering the technology, the Sage looks great on the worktop with its modern, brushed-steel stylings. It also has a space-saving design whereby it is tall rather than bulky. As the juicer doesn’t need a powerful motor to blitz its contents, it is much, much quieter than the other models tested. It has two speed settings and takes whole fruits thanks to its wide chute, but we’d recommend chopping larger items. The juice produced is superior to the centrifugal versions in that there is little froth, and the temperature is naturally cooler – just 1 per cent of the heat used is transferred into the juice. A brilliant juicer, should you have the cash to splash.
Buy now £229.99, Lakeland
The verdict: Best juicers
If you’re looking to get juices into your diet regularly, then a juicer is a good investment. We think the Braun is a solid choice offering value for money and good extraction. It’s also easy enough to clean, meaning you won’t be put off regular use.