Can You Juice A Banana: The Definitive Answer

I have been obsessed with juicing since I first heard about the benefits. The thought of drinking a healthy glass of nutrients that tastes like juice got me hooked. One question I had at the start of my juicing journey was: can you juice a banana?

There are some fruits and vegetables that cannot be juiced because they don’t yield enough liquid to make it worth your while. Bananas are one of these items.

So, is it possible to juice a banana? Well, let’s find out. In this blog post, I’m going to give you some great tips on how to use bananas in other ways so that they’re not wasted.

Can You Juice a Banana in a Juicer?

My first question was whether you can juice a banana in a juicer, or if it would just get stuck.

Very often when I try to juice something that seems like it won’t fit, the machine doesn’t work well at all. The produce gets stuck in the feeder chute and everything spins out of control.

This is the case for bananas. Bananas contain less water than most fruits so they won’t yield enough juice to be worth your while. There just won’t be enough for you to drink, especially if you’re looking for something super healthy and full of nutrients.

So, can you put a banana in a juicer? Not really – but there are other ways to extract the juice from a banana.

How Can You Make Banana Juice?

Adding bananas to your juicer is not a good idea. The low water content will result in your juicer getting clogged up, and the resulting pulp won’t resemble juice.

However, there are a few other ways to make banana juice. Here are 3 other ways to get banana juice without messing up your juicer.

Juice Other Ingredients First

The first way to make banana juice is to run the other ingredients through the juicer first. Then add the juice and a banana to a blender or a food processor and blend it all up.

Creating banana juice this way is technically a smoothie since it will result in a thicker texture. If you want a thinner juice, strain the mixture through a cheesecloth to extract the juice.

Make Banana Juice in a Blender

The second way to make banana juice is to add all of your ingredients into a blender. A blender does not have the same problems as a juicer, such as clogging up. It simply blends all of the ingredients into your favorite drink.

On top of that, you can add water or other juices to thin out the mixture if necessary.

Again, this will result in a thicker, smoothie-like texture. If you prefer a lighter juice, strain it with a cheesecloth again.

Separate the Juice by Boiling Bananas

The final way to make banana juice involves separating the banana pulp from the juice. This is by far the most time-consuming method, but it will yield pure banana juice.

This method will offer you actual banana juice because you are boiling bananas to extract their juices. You don’t have to worry about clogging up your juicer.

The first step is to peel the bananas and mash them into a puree. Put the puree in sealed plastic bags, and then add the bags to boiling water.

Reduce the heat so that the water is simmering, and wait. After around 3 – 5 hours, you will see the juices separating from the pulp. Once all the juice has been extracted, cool the water and pour the mixture into a cheesecloth. strain the mixture into a jug, and you will have deliciously sweet banana juice.

The Nutritional Benefits of Bananas

Bananas offer several nutritional benefits. They contain 3 grams of sugar and 1 gram of fiber per 100 gram serving – making them an awesome alternative to sugary snacks like candy bars and cookies.

They also contain vitamin B6 and Potassium which is great for:

Boosting your immune system
Keeping your heart healthy
Regulating muscle contractions (including those in the stomach). This helps with digestion as well as prevents cramps.

I love bananas because they make for an awesome between-meal snack – especially when paired with peanut butter or any other kind of nut butter.

I usually buy organic bananas since they are on the dirty dozen list of foods that are most contaminated by pesticides. Minimum health standards were not established until 1981 so you can easily find up to 30 different pesticides on a single banana.

However, the good news is that bananas are cheap and easy to get your hands on – especially if you live in an urban area where there is almost always at least one banana stand nearby.

Banana Juice Vs Banana Smoothie

Blending is not the same thing as juicing, but I thought I would touch on this topic since some folks seem to ask about it frequently.

You might think that blending fruit will work better than juicing because more of the fiber will get broken down in the strainer part of a blender. This isn’t true with bananas though – since they are so dense, the fibers will not break down during the process.

I have blended bananas to make banana juice in a blender before, but I ended up with a smoothie that had some small fibers in it because I was too lazy to strain it. This is great if you just want a thicker, more filling drink.

But if you need actual juice, strain the mixture through a cheesecloth to remove all of the remaining fibers and pulp.

Can You Juice Banana Peel?

I know some folks like to juice the peel of bananas, but I do not recommend doing this because it might make you sick.

Bananas are sprayed with numerous pesticides even after they have been peeled and packaged, so there is a high chance for toxins on banana peels as well as inside the fruit itself.

However, banana peels have a higher water content than the actual fruit, so you can run the peels through a juicer. Make sure to remove the hard stalk first, and thoroughly wash the banana peel to give you the best chance of removing any toxins.

Can You Juice Frozen Banana?

Frozen bananas will juice better than non-frozen bananas as the freezing process will add more water to the structure of the banana.

Try letting a frozen banana defrost for an hour before juicing and see how much more juice you can extract from it.

Is it Good to Drink Banana Juice Every Day?

Banana juice is very healthy and drinking it every day will not lead to excess levels of potassium.

Consuming copious amounts of bananas will probably increase your body’s potassium levels. This is a good thing because studies show that most Americans don’t get enough potassium in their diet.

The recommended daily intake for potassium is 4700 mg per day for adults while you should try to get 3500 mg daily if you are female and 4500 mg if male.

You would have to consume 10 medium bananas every day to get close to this level, and much more to get to the level of potassium toxicity.

So yes, drinking banana juice daily can be very beneficial to your health.

Can You Juice a Banana – Final Thoughts

If you’re new to juicing, it may be difficult to know what can and cannot be juiced. Bananas are one of those items that should not go into the juicer because they don’t yield enough liquid for it to make sense.

However, if you want a thicker juice or smoothie-like drink, bananas are still an option as long as there is another fruit in there with them.

If you want pure banana juice, then follow the boiling method above. This requires more work and time but will ensure you get pure banana juice at the end of the process.