When we’re juicing, either for a temporary cleanse, or as a daily part of the GAPS Diet Protocol, we end up with a lot of pulp! I do vermicompost for our scraps, but I’d rather use the pulp as much as possible to feed my family before I feed my worms ;)

Why juice? See more about juicing on a leaky gut protocol here

As you start juicing, you might be surprised at how much pulp is generated.  Because of how nutrient-dense juice is, you might think that all the nutrition has been extracted and only fiber remains. But the bright colors say otherwise- there still is lots of nutrition left in this juicing pulp, and we’d like to put it to good use!

Saving Juicing Pulp

When you’re planning to save juicing pulp, try to just juice one kind of produce at a time, rather than running through a few different items at once.  This is easy to do, just turn off your juicer between produce types and empty out your pulp bin.

I use an Omega Juicer, and it has bins as shown below that are quick to empty. Champion juicers also have this same setup. If you are using a centrifugal juicer, like Breville, you’ll just unlock the top and scoop out the pulp between produce.

If you know what you’re going to do with your pulp and you plan on using it in the next day or two, you can just scoop it into a bowl or mason jar, cover, and keep in the fridge.

If you want to save your juicer pulp for the future, you can put it in a freezer-proof container and store for up to 30 days. Storing longer than 30 days in the freezer requires blanching first, to inhibit the enzyme activity.

Because leafy greens (spinach, lettuce, cilantro and other herbs) are difficult to juice on their own, you usually will juice them with another kind of produce like cucumber, carrot, or apple.  This pulp could possibly be used in fruit leathers (see recipes below) but usually will be odd-tasting to use in most recipes because of the flavor combinations.

pulp from carrot juice

Recipes to use Juicing Pulp

Because pulp is high in fiber and lower in flavor, it is best in cooked recipes.

Uses for Fruit Juicer Pulp

Prepare the pulp by removing seeds and stems before juicing.

  •  Add apple or pear pulp to Apple Sauce.    You can just add it right to the slow cooker alongside the regular raw apples, and then puree as usual after cooking. Use at least 1 part fresh apples to 1 part juicer pulp, adding in 1/2 cup water if needed.
  • Apple pulp can also be used in Apple Latkes.  Having the juice removed helps these yummy apple pancakes hold together.
  • All fruit pulp can be added to Fruit Leathers, though you’ll want to add some fresh fruit as well to help make a puree thin enough to spread into a sheet. Use about 1/4 pulp to 3/4 fresh fruit in this recipe.
  • Add 1/2 cup juicer pulp to otherwise sweet muffins for added nutrition and flavor.  More than 1/2 cup can cause the muffin batch to become crumbly.
  • If someone else in your family makes smoothies, or if you plan on switching from juicing to smoothies at a later time, the pulp can be frozen in ice cube trays and added to smoothies alongside whole fruit to taste.

Uses for Vegetable Juicer Pulp 

Vegetable pulp doesn’t need any special treatment. As noted above, if you mixed vegetables with herbs, they may be difficult to use. Either experiment with a small batch of the pulp in a recipe, or put vegetable pulp that is mixed with herbs into the compost.

  • Summer squash pulp can be used in Zucchini Bread.  Either only use 1/4 pulp to 3/4 regular squash, or use half as much pulp as grated squash is called for in the recipe, and then increase liquid as needed to get the batter the correct consistency.
  • Any vegetable juicer pulp can be added to pureed soups if the vegetable complements or is used in the soup.  Only use in pureed soups – soups that will not be pureed will get a weird texture from the addition of pulp.  I recommend adding about 1/2 cup pulp to an entire pot of soup in addition to the recipe. Add the pulp as you add the other vegetables. Recommended soups: Carrot Soup, Carrot-Cauliflower Soup, Beet Soup, Broccoli Soup, Red Pepper and Butternut Squash Soup.
  • Carrot pulp can be used in place of shredded carrots in Carrot Cake. Increase liquid as needed to get the batter the correct consistency.
  • Spinach pulp can be dehydrated, and then used in spinach dip.  It can also be used fresh. As we talked about, spinach is hard to juice by itself, but if you juice it with 1/4 of a cucumber and then dehydrate it, the flavor will still primarily be *spinach* and the cucumber won’t turn the pulp a muddy-brown like carrots would.   To dehydrate, spread pulp on a dehydrator tray and dry on medium overnight.

Adding juicer pulp to recipes is a great way to reuse your produce. I’m sure you can come up with many more additions to your favorite recipes as well.

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