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Auger & Pulp

How to Juice Kale

Kale is the leaf that exposes a juicer. Roll it, bunch it and sandwich it between hard produce -- technique matters more here than the machine does.

By Brijon M. · Last reviewed October 10, 2026

To juice kale: wash it, stack four or five leaves flat, roll the stack into a tight cigar, and feed that roll into the machine sandwiched between pieces of apple, cucumber or carrot. The roll is what stops the leaves sliding past the auger, and the hard produce behind it is what pushes the leaf fiber through the screen. That one technique does more for your kale yield than moving up two price bands, and it works on every machine.

The method, in order

  1. 1.Wash and shake dry. Kale grows gritty and the crinkled leaves hold it. Rinse in a bowl of cold water rather than under the tap so the grit sinks, then shake the leaves out. You do not need them bone dry.
  2. 2.Keep the stems. Kale stems are fibrous but juicy, and they are the part that carries the leaves through a chute rather than wrapping around the auger. Only discard them if they are woody enough to resist a fingernail.
  3. 3.Stack and roll. Lay four or five leaves on top of each other and roll them into a tight cylinder. A loose leaf flutters and skids; a dense roll is a solid object the auger can grip. This is the single most important step.
  4. 4.Sandwich it. Feed a piece of apple, cucumber or carrot, then the kale roll, then another piece of hard produce. The hard pieces do the pushing and keep the screen clearing.
  5. 5.Feed slowly and do not force it. Let the machine take the roll at its own rate. Pushing hard with the plunger packs the screen rather than extracting more.
  6. 6.Reverse if it packs. If the sound changes or the juice stops, run the reverse function if your machine has one. Nutribullet and AMZCHEF both state one; most premium verticals do not advertise it.

Is kale good for juicing

Mechanically, it is middling -- far better than berries, noticeably worse than cucumber or celery. The leaf itself holds less free liquid than a stalk does, so the yield per handful is low, and the fiber is tough enough to need a mechanism that crushes rather than one that spins. What makes it worth the trouble for most people is that a juicer concentrates a large volume of leaf into a glass you can actually finish, which a blender cannot do with kale at any price -- blended kale stays stringy.

On the nutritional side we have nothing to tell you, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. This site judges juicers on yield, pulp, cleanup and price. Whether a kale juice is good for you, and how it compares with eating the leaf, is a question for a registered dietitian.

The picks in full

1. Best machine for kale

Omega NC900HDC

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

A horizontal auger is the right mechanism for leaves, and this is the most controllable one on this site: Omega states 80 RPM, 150 W, five adjustable end-cap pressure settings and two juicing screens, and a 15-year limited warranty. The pressure settings matter specifically for kale -- leaves need more back pressure than soft fruit to give anything up, and this is the only machine here where you can increase it. Omega also handles wheatgrass, which is the same problem in a harder form. The trade is washing up: 19.22 in wide with more parts to wash than any vertical here. Skip it if cleanup is what will make you quit.

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.

A horizontal juicing machine on a kitchen counter

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

Read the full Omega NC900HDC review

2. Best vertical for leaves

Omega VSJ843

Omega VSJ843 · $400+ · Our score 8.0/10

The slowest machine on this site, and on kale that is the point: Omega states 43 RPM, a dual-edge single auger and 150 W, with a 15-year limited warranty. At 43 RPM the auger has time to pull a leaf in and crush it rather than skidding over it, which is exactly where faster machines lose their yield on greens. It is a vertical, so the footprint is far kinder than the NC900HDC's. Skip it if you want speed in the morning: 43 RPM is deliberate and it feels deliberate when you are late for work.

Yield
Not availableNot sourced
Pulp
Not availableNot sourced
Cleanup time
Not available - no published cleanup time in minutesNot sourced
Speed
Omega states 43 RPM, dual-edge single auger, 150 WManufacturer claim: Omega Juicers · checked 2026-10-02

What works

  • Slowest published speed here at 43 RPM
  • Juice tap lets you mix in the bowl and stops the drip
  • 15-year limited warranty

What does not

  • Narrow feed opening - prep is unavoidable
  • Slow by design, so throughput is low
  • No published yield, pulp or cleanup figure

Skip this if: You want speed in the morning. 43 RPM is deliberate and it feels deliberate when you are late for work.

Juice being poured into a glass on a light counter

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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  • Yield9/10
  • Pulp9/10
  • Cleanup7/10
  • Value6/10
  • Quiet9/10

Read the full Omega VSJ843 review

3. Best extraction if kale is most of what you juice

Tribest Greenstar Pro

Tribest GSE-5050 series · $400+ · Our score 7.3/10

Twin interlocking stainless gears are the most thorough mechanism in home juicing, and leaves are what they were designed for: Tribest states 110 RPM, 200 W, a 1.5 in chute opening, and a 12-year warranty for household use. If kale, chard and wheatgrass are the bulk of your produce rather than an addition to it, nothing else here extracts more. Two honest limits: it is 27 lb and 18.6 in wide, and it has the most parts, and the most awkward parts, to clean of anything we cover. Skip it as a first juicer.

Yield
Not availableNot sourced
Pulp
Not availableNot sourced
Cleanup time
Not available - no published cleanup time in minutesNot sourced
Speed
Tribest states 110 RPM, 200 WManufacturer claim: Tribest · checked 2026-10-02

What works

  • Twin-gear trituration is the most thorough mechanism in home juicing
  • Handles wheatgrass and hard greens that defeat verticals
  • 12-year household warranty

What does not

  • 27 lb and 18.6 in wide
  • 1.5 in chute, so everything gets chopped first
  • The most parts, and the most awkward parts, to clean of anything here

Skip this if: You are buying your first juicer. This is a 27 lb specialist machine with a 1.5 in chute and the heaviest cleanup of anything we cover.

A juicing machine with green vegetables on a counter

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

  • Yield10/10
  • Pulp9/10
  • Cleanup4/10
  • Value6/10
  • Quiet7/10

Read the full Tribest Greenstar Pro review

What to juice kale with

Kale on its own is a small amount of very green juice. Pairing it is both a yield decision and a taste decision, and the two line up:

Pair withWhat it does mechanicallyWhat it does to the taste
AppleHard flesh pushes leaf fiber through the screenSweetens; the most common pairing for a reason
CucumberHigh water content carries the leaf and clears the screenDilutes and softens the green edge
CeleryLong fiber plus water; similar behaviour to kaleSavoury rather than sweet
CarrotDense and hard; the best pusher on this listEarthy sweetness
LemonVery little mechanically -- add it lastCuts the bitterness more than sugar does
GingerNothing -- it needs carrying itselfHeat and length; a small piece goes far
Mechanical descriptions of how produce interacts with a screen, not published measurements. Nobody in this category publishes per-produce yield.

The practical ratio most people land on is one large handful of kale to one apple and half a cucumber, which produces a glass rather than a shot. Lemon last, because a splash of acid does more for a green juice than any amount of extra apple.

Leafy greens arranged on a bright counter
Rolled tight and sandwiched between hard produce. That is most of the technique, and it works on any machine.

Why the pulp tells you more than the jug does

Nobody in this category publishes a juice yield figure, so you have no specification to compare machines on. What you do have is the pulp, and on kale it is unusually informative: squeeze a handful of it. If liquid comes out, you left juice behind, and the cause is almost always one of three things -- the leaves went in loose rather than rolled, you fed too fast, or the screen was already packed. All three are fixable without buying anything.

Juicer yield explained sets out what is and is not knowable here, and juicer not making much juice runs through the causes in order of likelihood.

Where to go next

If you are choosing a machine with greens in mind, best juicers for kale and spinach is the roundup and best juicers for leafy greens is the broader category page. If the screen keeps packing, juicer clogging fixes is the troubleshooting page. And if the leaves are going into a daily green juice, juicing for beginners covers the habit side and green juice recipes for your juicer has five ratios to start from, kale included.

Questions people ask

How do you juice kale properly?
Wash it, keep the stems, stack four or five leaves flat and roll the stack into a tight cigar, then feed that roll sandwiched between pieces of apple, cucumber or carrot. The roll stops the leaves skidding past the auger and the hard produce pushes the leaf fiber through the screen. Feed slowly, do not force the plunger, and reverse if the sound changes.
Do you remove kale stems before juicing?
Usually not. Kale stems are fibrous but juicy, and they help carry the leaves through the chute rather than letting them wrap around the auger. Discard a stem only if it is woody enough to resist a fingernail, which happens with older or larger leaves.
Can you juice kale in a centrifugal juicer?
You can, but it will always do worse than an auger machine and no technique fixes that. A spinning basket extracts by flinging shredded produce against a mesh, and a leaf has too little mass to be pressed into it properly. Roll the leaves tightly, alternate with apple or carrot, and use the low speed if your machine has two -- Breville states 6,500 RPM on the JE98XL's low setting.
Why is my kale juice yield so low?
Three usual causes, in order: the leaves went in loose rather than rolled into a tight cylinder, you fed the machine too fast, or the screen was already packed with fiber from earlier. Squeeze the pulp -- if liquid comes out, the juice is still in there. All three causes are fixable without buying a different machine.
What is the best juicer for kale?
The Omega NC900HDC. It is a horizontal auger at 80 RPM, and Omega states five adjustable end-cap pressure settings and two juicing screens -- leaves need more back pressure than soft fruit, and this is the only machine on this site where you can increase it. Omega's VSJ843 at 43 RPM is the best vertical answer, and Tribest's twin-gear Greenstar Pro extracts the most if greens are the bulk of your juicing.
What should you juice with kale?
Apple, cucumber or carrot, for mechanical reasons as much as taste: hard or very watery produce pushes the leaf fiber through the screen and keeps it clearing. A common working ratio is one large handful of kale to one apple and half a cucumber. Add lemon last -- a splash of acid does more for a green juice than extra apple does.

Sources

Every figure on this page traces to one of these. Where a source does not publish a number, the page says “Not available” rather than estimating one.