Question of the Week: What Do You Do With Your Juice Pulp?

A number of you wrote in to the juicing post with questions about juice pulp: do I use it, compost it, or toss it? Well, I wish I could compost it, but composting in Manhattan ain’t easy (if any fellow NYCers have suggestions on composting in the city, let me know please!).  So the answer is that I toss it on occasion—always with a heavy conscience—and use it about 90% of the time.

I love juice pulp! I think it’s tasty, and an easy way to add fiber to meals. Many juice lovers use the pulp in crackers: for me to do that, I’d have to have the patience to actually make crackers, which I haven’t thus far. (My food dehydrator is still waiting to be un-packaged—bad food blogger!) So I like to add mine to guacamole (per this post) or sprinkle it on salads; I also sometimes add it to soup for some extra fiber and a nutritional kick.

Wait, you’re thinking. Is there any nutrition left in the pulp? Isn’t the whole point that the nutrients have been extracted? The answer is technically yes: if I were using a Norwalk juicer, there’d be nothing left but fiber. But most centrifugal juicers are imperfect enough to leave some nutrient content in the pulp. And this aside, it’s pretty yummy, and not worth wasting.

If you want the pulp of some of your ingredients but not others, just switch bags mid-juicing. I, for example, like the celery, kale, cucumber, and parsley pulp from my green juice, but can live without the apple and ginger pulp; I juice the apple and ginger first, switch bags, and keep going. That way the pulp stays separate. Once I’ve got the pulp, I can use it in one of these five ways:

Gena’s Top Five Uses for Juice Pulp:

1)    Crackers. Just because I’m too lazy to make them, my friends, doesn’t mean you have to be. Go ahead and google some recipes, or take a few hints from my friend Abbie, who uses the pulp in crackers frequently.

2)    Add it to your morning smoothie. Green powders? Blech. Use some real veggies to bulk up and add fiber and nutrients to your morning blend!

3)    Make burgers. Sound crazy? Just watch this informative video from my friend Dhru, and you’ll be making pulp burgers in no time.

4)    Make green guac. This is, of course, one of my favorite ways to use up my pulp! I’ve already psoted about it, but if you missed it, it’s very simple. Start with ½ an avocado. Mash it, and throw in a generous portion (1/2 – 1 cup) pulp, which should look something like this:

pulp

Add a squeeze of lemon or lime and some sea salt, and keep mashing, till it looks like this:

mashed

Eat it plain, or stuff it into romaine leaves for an easy lunch!

lunch

5)    Eat it plain! For me, the best meals are always the simplest. So it should come as no surprise that my favorite way to enjoy juice pulp is straight up, sprinkled with some sea salt and a squeeze of lemon and/or olive oil. I often snack on this or eat it as a mini appetizer before dinner. You could also eat it with a richer and creamier salad dressing: the possibilities are endless!

So it seems that this has been the week of juicing. I apologize for not having provided more food recipes lately; I’ve been truly swamped, in work and in life, and will be for another week or so. But I’m eager for things to clear up as we move closer to July, so that I can get back in my kitchen. In the meantime, hang in there, and I’ll be posting some food porn whenever I can!

Happy Friday.

xo

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Dietary Preferences: Raw

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    75 Comments
  1. Searched ENDLESS sites for an answer to a simple question – “OK to eat pulp from juicer”? 99% of sites recommended baking into all kinds of bread or making chips, which seemed to defeat my objective to LOSE 5-6 Covid pounds by juicing for a few days.

    THEN!! – A straightforward answer! I just KNEW I didn’t have to eat a loaf of zucchini-type bread to have benefits of the pulp.

    Thank you…

    Annie in Montana

  2. Question: Ijust bought masticating juicer i have not used yet and I may return it depending on the answer to this question can i put the pulp back into the juice I just made and drink it. I do not want to give up the fiber and i want the benefit of enhanced nutrient digestion that drinking juices affords. By the way could you add the pulp to mking a mealoaf.

  3. I put sweet pulp into ice cube moulds abd freeze to make nice cream! Dehydrated fruit n nut bars are also an idea 🙂

  4. Hi,

    The link for the Abbie crackers seem to not work. Is there a different one that is still live?

    Thank You for the fun info!

  5. I mix a big ball of pulp with a cup of Indian dosa batter (available in Indian groceries) and spread it on a PAN, sprinkle some oil on top and around. To make it more tasty ,I add some chopped green chillies and ginger. It’s very tasty and a big amount of pulp is used.

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  7. Hi Gina,
    There is a program through the NY Dept of Sanitation where you can drop off food scraps to be composted at many farmers markets around the city. I have been faithfully lugging my food scraps to my local market every week for a few years.

  8. I made soup the other night with our left over pulp.
    I put it in a large pot, covered it with water. Added garlic, sea salt and cumin and added ground turkey. Let it cook for about half an hour and had a delicious meal. Why let all that fiber greatness go to waste?!

  9. My daughter and I just bought our first Breville juicer fountain & love all these terrific recipes & ideas! Thanks for all the help 🙂

  10. Is there any recipies for using pulp to make dog biscuits or treats?
    If so, please e-mail to me.
    Thank you,
    Ken

  11. You are the first one I came across who suggested that it’s OK to eat veggie pulp straight up. I can’t afford a juicer so I used my Cusinart to make a wonderful veggie drink. This of course means that my pulp has more nutrients than your typically remains of a industrial-strength juicer. Correct?

    If so, snacking on veggie pulp with a dollop of olive oil or squeeze of a lemon is very tasty and saves me the trouble of having to bake crackers or cook burgers.

    What’s your take on this?

  12. I found a black and decker juicer on sale at Big Lots for 19.99$ works great
    Reg. is only 29.99. Best deal I found. Just started juicing . Love it !

  13. Here’s a good recipe for most juicer pulp.

    1 part lowfat cream cheese
    1 part fat free sour cream or plain yogurt
    1-2 cloves of minced garlic or shallots

    combine with juicer pulp. I like mine really chunky so I use a lot of pulp.
    refridgerate over night for flavors to blend.

    This makes an excellent dip for chips, crackers, or even fresh chopped veggies

  14. I followed your advice to eat my juice pulp, but added cumen, tumeric, sesame seeds, lemon juice, olive oil and avo. It made a delicious supper. I imagine if one adds pumpkin or sunflower seeds, that would also work.

  15. I am so happy i have a lap top the information is endless.i have a juicer and i always hated throwing out the pulp but thought all the good things were in my juice(not EVERYTHING)i had my credit card ready to buy the newNUTRI bullet it gives u everything pulp, juice dosent leave anything, i got to thinking can i use the pulp from my juicer.went on internet asked the question got so many soup.stews,baking ideas even how to make my own health food bars,so easy i was so happy.i really am happy that i didnt buy another product.when u guys are ready to buy your juicer u dont have to buy the most expensive one they are all really the same maybe more power or look better.i have the first jack-lalannes power juicer and even he has a new version , i ordered it from finger hut made small(really small)payments and i am juicing every day and yes my skin. hair my health is great and i love doing it for me. looking forward to useing the pulp for extra health benifits.

  16. Hi, i just read this blog post. and i know its 3 years old but i thought i would comment anywayz, in hopes that you will read this 🙂

    I live in NYC also in brooklyn and there are farmer markets everday saturday all over the city not only in brooklyn. there is a huge one in manhattan at union square. what i do with my pulp is take it to the market with me in containers and they have a compost collecting bin. they compost the stuff and use it to grow stuff. ill include the info about it:

    http://www.grownyc.org/unionsquaregreenmarket/

    Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
    Food scrap collection for composting by LES Ecology Center
    NE corner of Union Square, Park Ave & 17th Street

  17. We live in the central mountains of California and have friends that have chickens. We feed our leftovers to the chickens in exchange for fresh eggs. (great deal for us!)
    I’m afraid the chickens may have to share. I’m anxious to try some of your ideas!!

  18. Thank you so much for this post!

    First, have you tried a worm bin? Which would result in a good amount of soil for use in household plants or that could be sold.

    If you don’t like worms or are unable to keep them, you might look into bokashi composting, which creates a pleasant smelling fertilizer.

    Keep up the awesome work!

  19. I live in NYC and I’ll tell you, nothing loves juice pulp like worms! I’ve got a bucket of worms thriving off of mostly juice pulp. I’m about to have to get a bigger big.

  20. I just made my first batch of green juice. I don’t have the bag strainer, so I just ate some with pulp and juice together. It’s kind of like apple sauce in texture. I did strain a small portion and found that I prefer eating the pulp and juice together rather than drinking the juice alone. Is it OK to do that? Is it too much fiber that way? Is there any such thing as too much vegetable fiber? Note: I used a blender so the pulp is probably bigger than with a juicer. Any guidance is appreciated.

  21. This is awesome! I haven’t done anything with the pulp but give it to my worm farm residents becuse I thought the mix of fruit and veggies might be weird to eat. I love the bag changing idea. That just changed my whole world. And pulp guac – oh yes! Thank you!

  22. I absolutely love to eat the pulp from limes and lemons after I have squeezed them. What is best way to get pulp out ? I’ve been peeling it with my fingernails but there has to be a better way.

  23. I just made a really awesome meatloaf with vegetable pulp. I used to eat turkey sandwiches everyday for lunch, but since I discovered power loaf sandwiches as I call them I have switched because it is cheaper, healthier, and equally good. Gena thanks for the info on other ideas for the pulp.

    • I realized I am replying to this very late, but I just came across this site. And, on the off-chance that you have subscribed to receive responses to this post Jared, how do you make your “power loaf”?

  24. This is excellent. I just started juicing and your post was exactly what I needed. Thanks for the great ideas.

  25. Oh my gosh, am I silly for wanting a juicer just so I can add pulp into all my meals?! Your ideas sound delicious! And I guess we must be veggie-obsessed, but is it just me or does that clear container of green pulp not look incredibly tasty?!? I love your ideas of stuffing yums into romaine leaves for lunch — I sooo need to try that soon!

  26. Hi Gena,
    your posts are amazing as always. quick question, how long would you say juice pulp will last sealed in the fridge? i’ve been saving pulp for about a week, and I ordered a dehydrator today(!) but dont think it will come for a week or two..

    • Hi Gena,
      I guess my question is, how long is too long to keep pulp? At what point will I know its got to go?
      Thanks!

      • I’d say it’s going to start getting stinky at around 4 days in the fridge. Just toss it out then.

  27. Gena,
    I am having a hard time deciding which juicer to buy. Could please tell me which juicer you use and what are the good ones in the market that can juice greens, fruits and veggies?

    Thank you,
    Neha

      • I just received my Breville Juice Fountain Plus 3 days ago and have been making juice everyday now. It makes me feel soooo wonderful when the vitamin and minerals almost immediately hit my system, my dog loves the juice too. I am going to start putting some of the pulp in his breakfast.

  28. You photos are gorgeous! I’m so glad I found your site. 🙂 Another idea for what to do with the pulp is to use it instead of nuts in certain recipes.. especially carrot pulp, since it is tasty and could be used nicely if you add dates or other spices. 😉

    I feel you on the crackers though, I’m too lazy to make them, especially since I juice so often.

  29. I second Kristen: your guac with greens looks great 🙂
    I always have issues with the pulp as I find to eat as much as we juice is kinda impossible!
    Have a great weekend,
    ~ em.

  30. I love eating the pulp from the juicer! It’s so voluminous and it’s got a blend of so many flavors. I love when the pulp has beets and carrots mixed together. It’s so delicious.

    I always wondered what else I could make with it. I remember I told my dad to save it for me because I wanted to make something with it. But instead I just ate it plain (still delicious).

  31. Ok, I admit it. I stand over the sink and devour my juice pulp the way that other people stand over the sink and devour left-overs from the fridge. I don’t have a juicer so I make my green juice the old fashioned way: I blend all the ingedients in the blender, pour it into a sieve, and then push it through the mesh with a rubber spatula.

    And then I stand over the sink and spoon the green mushy leftovers into my face. Ha!

    I hope things become less stressful for you in the near future, Gena. At least it’s the weekend! 🙂

  32. Hi Gena! I must have left my comment on your previous post too late! I was just wondering though what brand of coconut oil you use. I’ve been trying to find out if expeller pressed coconut oil is still considered raw (like the Spectrum brand) or if I should go for the more expensive Artisana brand. Thank you!

    • Hey Elizabeth!

      Sorry, I’ve been missing some comments lately! I use Spectrum or Artisana — either is fine.

      Gena

  33. Thanks for the ideas, Gena! I too am lazy about using my dehydrator. Besides, I feel it’s more of a winter thing.

    I usually compost my pulp and give some to Ginger in her dinner, sometimes she spits it out, sometimes she loves it. My dog is a foodie! 🙂

    Have a nice weekend!

  34. Great ideas Gena, and thank you for the link to the veggie pulp burger video! I am going to try that soon. I have an ever growing supply of pulp in my freezer waiting to be made into something yummy!

  35. I love that you’ve addressed this!! Why waste that good nutrition?? 🙂
    I keep giving my friend the business because she bought a dehydrator but hasn’t opened the box yet. I’ll have to forward this post to her and stop teasing her now. Ha ha… have a great weekend!

  36. i have a question for gena (or anyone else!!)… i would love to start eating more raw, and do eat a ton of raw fruits and veggies during the day, but i’m having trouble having more raw breakfasts. i have a “green monster” sometimes on the weekend, but during the week, i eat breakfast at my desk at work everyday. i would love any/all suggestions on any raw (or rawish) breakfast ideas that would be easy for an office. i’ve been trying an ezekiel muffin with pb and a banana… any other ideas? thanks!!

    • Hey Jen!

      Try:

      Raw granola (such as the Lydia’s brand) with nutmilk; raw, soaked, and processed oat groats with nutmilk; fruit plates; sprouted bread products with honey or coconut butter; soaked and dehydrated buckwheat with nutmilk; and lots of smoothie combos. Another great, rawish option is baked root veggies.

      Enjoy!

      • Thanks for the quick reply, Gena! Very helpful information! Would that also include the Ezekiel breads, muffins and cereal? Thanks!!

  37. hey Gena,

    you can totally compost while living in the city! A friend of mine used to keep a little countertop compost container and another one under her sink. She used her compost for her mini herb garden in her apt and donated the rest to various community gardens around the city. I read about donating compost on ideal bite as well.

  38. I always feel awful when I throw out SO much pulp each day, but as you know my tummy couldn’t handle it. I wish I could give it to a friend!

  39. I never would have thought of using the juice pulp! How creative! I think someone bought us a juicer as a wedding gift. I hope so, that would be so fun! That person actually had some of the problems uve mentioned on the blog before and by juicing daily, following a vegetarian diet, and cutting out ALL dairy (even in crackers- YUCK!) she is now free of that infection!

  40. I always forget to seperate my green pulp before the apple goes in. Hopefully this will put a little reminder in my head the next time I juice.

  41. No need to apologize, Gena, there are so many recipes out there you’ve already posted :). Good luck with all that busy-ness!

    I love finding ways to not waste stuff. I feel so guilty throwing things out. This was once again, a great post! Hope you have a fabulous Friday too!

  42. i so wish i owned a juicer! these are wonderful ideas.

    i’ve been reading for a while and am finally commenting. i really appreciate your blog for inspiring me to try out raw goodies without all the fancy gadgets! you make the lifestyle you are so passionate about so accessible to everyone – it’s a wonderful resource!

  43. I like to save carrot pulp for muffins or carrot cake. Of course, that’s not raw or healthy. There is a cute little mostly raw cafe in Memphis (located inside a juice bar) that serves a carrot pulp salad using the leftover pulp from making folks carrot juice. They call it 14-Carrot Salad and serve it wrapped up in nori sheets.

  44. You know, I think half the reason I’m so excited about the idea of getting ajuicer would be because of the pulp! I have wild fantasies about all the ways I would use it. Definitely no need to waste!

    Hope things will settle down a bit for you at work and all. Meantime, your recipes are dominating my blog this week. Can’t get enough! I even combined your guac and marinara to make “guacanara” and it is LOVELY. Hope you get to relax this weekend!

  45. I’m loving all the juice posts since I’m so in love with it right now. I’ve been composting my pulp, but I’m so glad to have some ideas of what to do with it! I’ve been pretty clueless about it, and think the guac sounds like a wonderful idea!

  46. Good luck with all the craziness going on right now! Your posts are always so helpful and I hope to have a juicer someday so I can use the pulp in the guac like you suggested!

    Have a great Friday 🙂

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