Can You Juice A Banana? Not Using a Juicer But Here’s How

In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m a bit of a fresh juice fan…

I usually have a lot of different fruits and veggies in my kitchen, since I really enjoy trying out new recipes. But lately I’ve noticed that there’s one fruit that rarely makes it into my repertoire when it comes to juicing – bananas!

That got me thinking – can you actually juice bananas? And if you can, how would that taste?

Can You Juice A Banana?

The quick answer is no, you can’t juice a banana. If you do there’s a small chance you might get a tiny bit of juice from your banana but there’s a 100% chance that you’ll get a pulp container full of mashed, wasted banana. Best to save banana for us in smoothies made in the blender.

But this didn’t stop me! I started doing some research to find some other methods you could use to extract juice from a banana. While you can’t make banana juice using the ways you’d rely on to make other fresh juices, it is possible to manage it without just making a smoothie that has banana in it.

Let’s get stuck in!

Banana Smoothie vs Banana Juice

At the time of writing this, googling “banana juice” will get you a lot of misinformation! In the long list of results, lots of people are claiming that they have a great banana juice recipe but every single one is a banana smoothie! Not banana juice!

Maybe I’m being picky but a juice and a smoothie are very different and aren’t interchangeable terms.

You came to this article wanting to learn how to make banana juice and while banana smoothies are one method of enjoying a banana-based beverage, I’m going to explain some alternative methods that will give you banana juice.

Alternative Banana Juices

Like I said, it’s basically impossible to juice bananas, even ripe bananas. Because of this, we need to get a little creative. So here are some tips!

1. Blend Your Banana Separately

For this, you take two steps.

Make your juice recipe as normal in your juicer, with all the ingredients you like.

Then, pour all the juice into a blender along with a banana. Turn your blender on and mix everything together.

Using this method will change the texture of your juice a fair bit. It’s going to be a lot thicker than normal! However, it tastes really good and there are some brilliant banana juice recipes out there. My favorite ones are strawberry-banana based recipes – they’re so tasty!

This method is extremely close to making a banana smoothie recipes, I understand that. However, if you make your juice this way there’s a much lower dietary fiber content than you’d find in a traditional smoothie.

2. Juice The Banana First

This method is similar to my blender method above but with one main difference – you blend your banana in your juicer first.

If you put your banana through your juicer before all your other ingredients, then you’ll be able to separate some of the juice from the mushy pulp of the banana.

Collect the juice that’s extracted from your banana in a glass and then juice the rest of your ingredients as normal. Doing it this way means that all your fruits and veggies will catch that banana flavor leftover in your juicer.

The pulp from your other fruits and veggies once they’ve been juiced will also mix with your mashed banana, which will also taste great!

Although this is a great method for juicing bananas, it does mean that your juicer will be a bit harder to clean at the end, since creamy texture of the banana can make a lot of mess… This method also doesn’t blend your banana with the rest of your ingredients as smoothly, but it only uses one kitchen appliance rather than two.

3. Banana Soft Serve

Finally, the method I’ve been dying to tell you about – making banana soft serve.

This is easier than it sounds, since all you need to do is juice a frozen banana. As a heads up, this will work a lot better if you have a masticating juicer rather than a centrifugal one. Masticating juicers work more slowly and don’t generate as much heat as centrifugal juicers. This means your frozen banana won’t defrost too soon!

You just juice your frozen banana in exactly the same way you would any other ingredient. The frozen banana pulp that’s produced and caught in the pulp container is just like banana soft serve and is perfect as a tasty, low calorie dessert – much healthier than ice cream!

Now I know that this isn’t banana juice, plain and simple, but this just seemed like too much fun not to include in my list. It’s my favorite by far!

More Difficult an Other Ways To Juice A Banana

With those more creative methods out of the way, I did find two ways of making banana juice. However, neither of them are simple or easy to do. With both of these methods though, you begin with a banana and end up with a banana-flavored liquid by the end – so let’s crack into them!

1. The Microwave Method Of Making Banana Juice

Of the two options you have of making banana juice, this is the easier one.

To start, you’ll need some frozen bananas for this, so make sure you have them ready ahead of time. Place them in a microwave-safe bowl and then cover it with plastic wrap. Microwave your frozen bananas for a few minutes.

Once you’ve done that, pour the contents of the bowl through a fine mesh strainer (like these I recommend) into a different container and let it sit until nothing more drips through.

After a while you’ll see that banana juice has collected in the container! Just be sure to let it cool down properly before you mix it in with the rest of your juice recipe.

It will take you a bit longer than making a traditional juicing recipe but if it’s banana juice you’re after, this is a great way to get it!

2. The Boil In A Bag Method To Liquify A Banana

Describing it simply, getting the juice out of bananas means releasing the water that’s inside them. The water in bananas is bound to the starch, which is the reason that it’s so difficult to get enough water out of bananas to make banana juice. However, bananas also contain amylase – a natural enzyme that can separate the water from the starch. This is what’s going to help us!

This method isn’t quick or easy but if you’re determined to have banana juice, this is the best way.

Here’s what you do:

1. You should start with about 2kg of bananas (yes, really), which will yield about a litre of banana juice.
2. Peel the bananas and mash them until you have a puree. Then put this puree inside a plastic, sealable bag.
3. Make sure that you squeeze the air out of the bag and then seal it. After that, put the plastic bag into a pot that’s heated to around 150 Fahrenheit.
4. This is the easy bit. Let the banana puree sit for 5 hours. I told you this wasn’t quick.
5. Strain the juice mixture out of the pot and then enjoy your banana juice!

This method is a lot more work than the previous one but you’ll end up with a lot more banana juice at the end.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you juice a banana peel?

You can, if that’s something you want to try. They contain a lot of fiber, more than the part of the banana you’re used to eating, and they are a great source of potassium. I’d recommend using banana peels that are yellow, rather than still a little green. A yellow banana peel will have the banana taste you’d expect but a green one will taste more savory and might not go well with your juice recipe!

Before juicing them, make sure you have given your banana peel a good wash – something you should do with all your ingredients, really – and try to go for organic bananas if you can. Then you can be sure that the banana peel hasn’t come into contact with any pesticides or harmful chemicals. Remember to cut off the small wooden stalk you find at the top of your banana and then just juice as normal!

So if you feel inclined, you can indeed drink banana juice made from banana peel.

Can you juice a frozen banana?

Absolutely! Like I said earlier, juicing frozen bananas is a great way to make banana soft serve! You juice frozen bananas in exactly the same way as you juice other fruits and vegetables, so definitely give it a go!

Can you eat a banana and drink orange juice?

Some medications that you can be prescribed come with advice to eat a banana or have a glass of orange juice daily while you’re taking the medication. This is to make sure that you’re getting enough potassium since these medications tend to take sodium and potassium out of your bloodstream. If you’re on heart medication, then maintaining the balance of your potassium levels is particularly important, since not getting enough can trigger abnormal heart rhythms.

If you’re just trying to stay healthy generally though, then eating bananas and drinking orange juice is generally fine. Some people avoid the combination since it can cause indigestion in some people, since orange juice and other citrus fruits tend to be quite acidic. Both bananas and oranges have great health benefits, so if you want to enjoy both but you’re worried about your tummy, just give yourself a break in between.

Can you eat a banana on a juice cleanse?

This really depends on your juice cleanse and your personal experience. Some people opt to only drink juices while on a juice cleanse, since this generally leads to the best results. However, there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to a juice cleanse, except maybe avoiding junk food, but that one is obvious!

If you’re on a juice cleanse and you’re absolutely starving, then I would say having a banana is one of the better things you could do. Bananas are one of the more filling healthy foods, they’re packed with nutrition, and will give you the little boost you need to get through the last of your cleanse. Avocados are also a good option, as they do the same thing.

Always listen to your body when it comes to a change in your diet. If you’re really hungry, then you should eat. Everyone is different, so do what feels right for you.

Conclusion

So it turns out that, technically, you can juice a banana using a juicer… but all you’re going to get is banana pulp, similar to nut butter. You’re not going to be able to drink banana juice that way.

Although I’ve managed to find some ways to get around this, the methods available to make banana juice are time-consuming and difficult! Personally, I’m going to save my bananas for making tasty smoothies. There are so many great recipes out there, with things like peanut butter, almond milk, papaya or even raspberry and watermelon.

There are also so many fruit juice recipes, I don’t feel like I’m missing out by skipping on banana juice. It can frimly go on the list of unjuicable fruits. Because while you can squeeze a little juice out of it it’s not enough juice to be worth it. Other juices are easier and tastier.

But if you’re a banana-lover, then please try out the other methods and let me know how you get on. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch – I’d love to help out!

Happy Juicing!