🥤 Simple Celery Juice
Ingredients
For approximately 2 servings, you’ll need:
- 1 large bunch of fresh celery, about 8–10 stalks
- 1 lemon
- 250–350 ml cold water, depending on your preferred consistency
- 1 small green apple, optional, for natural sweetness
- 1 small piece of fresh ginger, optional
- A few fresh parsley leaves, optional
- Ice cubes, optional
Why these ingredients?
Celery is the main ingredient and provides the characteristic fresh, slightly salty flavor. It also contributes water and several micronutrients.
Lemon adds acidity and brightness. It makes the drink taste fresher and balances celery’s earthy flavor.
Green apple is optional but highly recommended if you find pure celery juice too strong. It gives the drink a pleasant natural sweetness without needing added sugar.
Ginger adds a little warmth and spice. You only need a small piece because its flavor can become quite strong.
Parsley can be added for an extra fresh, herbal flavor, although it is completely optional.
🧼 Step 1: Wash the Celery
Start by washing the celery thoroughly under cool running water.
Celery can have dirt trapped around the base and between the stalks, so separate the stalks and rinse them carefully. If you’re using the leaves, wash those as well.
Pat the celery dry with a clean kitchen towel or allow it to drain.
You don’t have to remove every leaf. The leaves are edible and can contribute additional flavor to the juice.
🔪 Step 2: Prepare the Ingredients
Cut the celery into smaller pieces, approximately 3–5 cm long.
This makes it easier for a blender to process and also makes juicing easier.
Wash the lemon. If you’re using it with the peel, make sure it is suitable for that purpose and thoroughly cleaned. For this recipe, however, it’s easiest to simply squeeze the lemon juice into the finished drink.
If using an apple, wash it, remove the core and seeds, and cut it into chunks.
For ginger, peel a small piece and slice it thinly.
You don’t need a large amount. About 1–2 cm is enough for a mildly spicy flavor.
🥤 Step 3: Blend
Place the chopped celery into a high-speed blender.
Add approximately 250 ml of cold water.
Blend for about 45–60 seconds, or until the celery has been broken down into a smooth, pulpy mixture.
If your blender struggles, stop it and add a little more water.
Don’t add too much water at once. You can always thin the juice later.
If you’re making the sweeter version, add the chopped green apple and ginger before blending.
🍋 Step 4: Add the Lemon
Once the celery is blended, squeeze in the juice of ½ to 1 lemon, depending on your taste.
Start with half a lemon and taste.
If you prefer a sharper, more refreshing drink, add the other half.
Lemon is especially useful here because pure celery juice can have a strong vegetal flavor. The acidity helps make the drink considerably more refreshing.
🫗 Step 5: Strain — or Keep the Fiber
You now have two choices.
Option 1: Strained juice
For a smooth, juice-like drink, pour the blended mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, nut-milk bag, or clean cheesecloth.
Press the pulp with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.
The resulting drink will be thin and smooth.
Option 2: Don’t strain it
You can also drink the blended celery mixture without straining.
This keeps more of the vegetable’s natural fiber and produces a thicker smoothie-like drink.
If your goal is simply to enjoy celery as part of your diet, keeping the fiber is a perfectly good option.
🧊 Step 6: Serve
Pour the celery drink into two glasses.
Add a few ice cubes if you like your juice very cold.
For presentation, garnish with a small celery leaf, a thin lemon slice, or a little fresh parsley.
Serve immediately for the freshest flavor.
🌿 Easy Green Celery Juice Variation
If pure celery juice is too intense, try this more flavorful version:
Ingredients
- 6–8 celery stalks
- 1 green apple
- ½ cucumber
- ½ lemon
- 1 small piece of ginger
- 150–250 ml cold water
- A handful of fresh parsley
- Ice, optional
Add everything to a blender and blend until smooth.
Strain if you want a traditional juice texture, or leave it unstrained for a thicker drink.
The apple makes it naturally sweeter, cucumber adds freshness, lemon provides acidity, and ginger gives it a subtle spicy kick.
🍏 Another Delicious Version: Celery, Apple & Lemon
For people who are new to celery juice, this is probably the easiest version to enjoy.
Use:
- 5 celery stalks
- 1 large green apple
- 1 lemon
- 1–2 cm fresh ginger
- 200 ml cold water
Blend everything together.
Taste and adjust the lemon or water.
If it is too strong, add another half apple or a little more water.
If it is too sweet, add additional lemon juice.
⏰ When Should You Drink It?
There is no scientifically proven requirement to drink celery juice first thing in the morning or on an empty stomach.
You can enjoy it whenever it fits your routine.
Some people prefer it in the morning because it is refreshing, while others enjoy it alongside breakfast or as an afternoon drink.
The most important thing is your overall diet rather than a particular “detox” schedule.
You also don’t need to drink a huge quantity. A glass of approximately 200–300 ml is a reasonable serving for most people.
⚠️ A Note About “Detox” Claims
The text in the image says that celery “cleanses the blood, skin, kidneys, liver, and pancreas.”
It’s worth separating the recipe from those claims.
There isn’t good evidence that celery juice specifically removes toxins from your blood or “cleanses” your organs. Your liver, kidneys, lungs, digestive system, and other biological processes already handle waste and metabolic by-products.
Celery can absolutely be part of a healthy diet, but it isn’t a medical detox treatment.
Think of this drink as a fresh vegetable beverage, not a cure or cleansing treatment.
💚 Helpful Tips for Better Celery Juice
Choose fresh celery
Look for stalks that are firm and crisp rather than limp or yellowing. Fresh celery generally produces a brighter-tasting drink.
Chill the ingredients
Cold celery and cold water make a much more refreshing drink.
You can also refrigerate the celery before preparing it.
Don’t add refined sugar
If you want sweetness, use an apple, pear, or another naturally sweet fruit rather than adding sugar.
Drink it fresh
Freshly prepared juice generally tastes best immediately after making it.
If you need to prepare it ahead of time, keep it covered and refrigerated and consume it as soon as practical.
Use the leftover pulp
If you strain your juice, don’t automatically throw away the celery pulp.
You can mix it into vegetable soup, sauces, savory muffins, vegetable patties, or homemade stock.
This reduces food waste and allows you to use more of the vegetable.
🥗 What to Eat With It
Celery juice by itself isn’t a complete meal because it doesn’t provide enough protein, fat, calories, or fiber to replace a balanced breakfast.
If you’re having it in the morning, consider pairing it with something substantial, such as:
- Eggs and whole-grain toast
- Greek yogurt with fruit and nuts
- Oatmeal with seeds
- Avocado toast
- A vegetable omelet
- Whole-grain bread with nut butter
This gives you a much more balanced combination of nutrients.
🥒 Final Recipe at a Glance
Prep time: 10 minutes
Blend time: 1 minute
Servings: 2
Best served: Immediately, chilled
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch celery
- ½–1 lemon
- 250–350 ml cold water
- 1 green apple, optional
- 1–2 cm ginger, optional
- Fresh parsley, optional
- Ice, optional
Method
- Wash the celery thoroughly.
- Cut it into smaller pieces.
- Prepare the lemon, apple, and ginger if using.
- Add the celery and water to a blender.
- Blend until smooth.
- Add lemon juice and blend briefly.
- Strain for a smooth juice, or leave unstrained for more fiber.
- Pour into glasses.
- Add ice if desired.
- Enjoy fresh.
Tip: If you’re making this for the first time, start with the celery + apple + lemon + ginger version. It’s usually more approachable than 100% celery juice while still giving you that beautiful fresh green drink shown in the picture.