Can You Use a Citrus Juicer for Vegetables?

No. A citrus juicer cannot juice vegetables, and the reason is structural rather than a question of effort. Both citrus mechanisms -- the reamer cone and the lever press -- work by pressing flesh against the inside of a rind. Take the rind away and there is nothing for the tool to brace against, so a carrot, a celery stalk or a handful of kale simply gets crushed or shredded without releasing juice you can collect.

What the two citrus mechanisms actually do

A reamer -- the ridged cone in Cuisinart's and BLACK+DECKER's electric machines -- needs a halved fruit pushed down onto it. The cone tears the segment walls while the peel you are holding acts as the containing wall. A lever press does the same thing with more force: Breville's die-cast arm and Hamilton Beach Commercial's extractor arm, which the brand states creates up to 2,000 lb of pressure, invert a citrus half inside a cup so the rind becomes the press wall.

In both cases the peel is a working component of the machine. That is why a citrus juicer handles oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit and nothing else -- the design assumes a specific geometry. Citrus juicer vs reamer vs press goes through the mechanisms in more detail.

What the autocomplete questions are really asking

People ask this about three specific things, and the answers differ:

What happens if you try

Nothing dramatic, and that is worth saying plainly -- you are unlikely to break the machine, you are just unlikely to get juice. On an electric reamer, a piece of carrot or celery sits on the cone and spins without being torn, because there is no containing wall and no mechanism for shearing fiber. On a lever press, soft vegetables get flattened into the strainer and the result is pulp with a little liquid in it rather than juice.

The one real risk is the strainer. Citrus strainers are designed for pulp and seeds suspended in liquid, not for fibrous vegetable matter, so pushing celery or greens through one compacts fiber into the mesh where it is awkward to remove. How to clean a juicer covers screen cleaning generally, and dried fiber in a fine mesh is the hardest version of that problem.

What to buy if you want both

Two machines, and it is usually cheaper than one machine attempting both. The citrus side is inexpensive -- a handheld squeezer or an electric reamer under $100 covers nearly every household -- so the real decision is which vegetable juicer to add. That depends entirely on what the vegetables are:

• Celery, kale, spinach, wheatgrass -- an auger machine, ideally horizontal. A spinning basket rides long fibers instead of crushing them. See juicers for leafy greens and juicers for celery.
• Carrots, beets, ginger -- an auger machine with a reverse function, or a strong centrifugal one if speed matters more than dry pulp. Juicers for carrots and juicers for beets have the specifics.
• Apples, pears, hard fruit -- a centrifugal machine with a 3 in chute, which is the one job where the fast mechanism is simply better. See best large chute juicers.
• Cucumber, tomato -- almost anything handles these; they are soft. Juicers for cucumber and juicers for tomatoes.

The picks in full

1. Cheapest machine that does vegetables properly

Nutribullet Slow Juicer

Nutribullet NBJ50300 · $100–200 · Our score 7.4/10

If this is the question you arrived with, this is probably the answer you need: a real cold press auger machine at the lowest practical price. Nutribullet states 65 RPM, 150 W, a reverse function, and assembled dimensions of 17 in high by 6.25 in wide by 7 in deep -- the smallest cold press footprint on this site, so it does not demand much more counter space than a citrus machine. It handles celery, cucumber and greens, which no citrus tool can. The 24 oz catch cup means stopping mid-session for more than one glass, and the warranty is 1 year.

Yield

Not availableNot sourced

Pulp

Not availableNot sourced

Cleanup time

Not available - no published cleanup time in minutesNot sourced

Speed

Nutribullet states 65 RPM, 150 W, with a reverse functionManufacturer claim: Nutribullet · checked 2026-10-02

What works

• Cold press mechanics at a centrifugal-adjacent price
• Reverse function, which is how you clear a celery jam
• Small footprint at 17 in tall and 6.25 in wide

What does not

• 1-year warranty against 15 years on the premium verticals
• 24 oz catch cup forces breaks on bigger batches
• No published yield, pulp or cleanup figures

Skip this if: You juice for more than one person. A 24 oz container means stopping and emptying mid-session.

Representative photo. We have no manufacturer image library, so this is a licensed stock photo of the category, not a photo of this unit.

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• Yield7/10
• Pulp7/10
• Cleanup7/10
• Value9/10
• Quiet8/10

Read the full Nutribullet Slow Juicer review

2. Best for leafy vegetables

Omega NC900HDC

Omega NC900HDC · $200–400 · Our score 7.9/10

If the vegetables you have in mind are kale, spinach, celery or wheatgrass, a horizontal auger is the right geometry and Omega gives the most control over it: 80 RPM, 150 W, five adjustable pressure settings and two juicing screens, with a 15-year limited warranty. Different produce wants different pressure, and no other machine here lets you set it. The costs are real -- over 19 in of counter width and the highest part count on this site.

Yield

Omega markets high juice yield and five pressure settings; no numeric yield figure is publishedManufacturer claim: Omega Juicers · checked 2026-10-02

Pulp

Five adjustable pressure settings and two juicing screens, per OmegaManufacturer claim: Omega Juicers · checked 2026-10-02

Cleanup time

Not available - no published cleanup time in minutesNot sourced

Speed

Omega states 80 RPM and 150 W outputManufacturer claim: Omega Juicers · checked 2026-10-02

What works

• Five pressure settings give real control over pulp and extraction
• Handles wheatgrass, which most verticals do poorly
• 15-year warranty on a design that has been iterated for years

What does not

• 19.22 in wide, which is a counter-depth problem in small kitchens
• More parts to wash than any vertical here
• 18.7 lb, so it lives out on the counter whether you like it or not

Skip this if: Your counter is shallow, or cleanup is what will make you quit. It is over 19 in wide and there are more parts to wash than on any vertical here.

Representative photo. We have no manufacturer image library, so this is a licensed stock photo of the category, not a photo of this unit.

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#ad How we are funded

• Yield9/10
• Pulp9/10
• Cleanup6/10
• Value8/10
• Quiet8/10

Read the full Omega NC900HDC review

3. Cheapest fast route to carrots and apples

Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Juice Extractor

Hamilton Beach 67601A · Under $100 · Our score 6.7/10

If the vegetables are hard ones -- carrots, beets, apples -- and speed matters more than the last ounce, a centrifugal machine is the sensible buy. Hamilton Beach states an 800 W motor, a 3 in Big Mouth feed chute that takes whole apples, and a 3-year limited warranty that beats both Brevilles. It will not do celery properly: a spinning basket rides long fibers rather than crushing them.

Yield

Not availableNot sourced

Pulp

Not availableNot sourced

Cleanup time

Hamilton Beach states the food pusher, cover, strainer, pulp bin and strainer bowl are dishwasher safeManufacturer claim: Hamilton Beach · checked 2026-10-02

Speed

Hamilton Beach states an 800 W motor; no RPM publishedManufacturer claim: Hamilton Beach · checked 2026-10-02

What works

• 3-year warranty, which is unusual under $100
• Every part that touches juice is dishwasher safe, per Hamilton Beach
• 3 in chute at a budget price

What does not

• Centrifugal, so it is poor at celery and greens
• No RPM published
• Loud, as all high-speed spinning juicers are

Skip this if: Celery juice is the plan. This is the wrong mechanism for it at any price.

Representative photo. We have no manufacturer image library, so this is a licensed stock photo of the category, not a photo of this unit.

Check price on Amazon

#ad How we are funded

• Yield6/10
• Pulp5/10
• Cleanup8/10
• Value9/10
• Quiet4/10

Read the full Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Juice Extractor review

And the reverse question

Can a vegetable juicer do citrus? Yes, which is the asymmetry worth knowing. An auger or centrifugal machine will juice oranges if you peel them first -- the pith causes bitterness and the peel will not feed well -- and you will wash considerably more parts for one glass than a reamer would need. It works, it is just the slow way round. Juicers for oranges compares both routes properly, and is a citrus juicer worth it is the volume question that decides whether to add the second machine.