Updated on Aug. 26, 2024
Our Prep Kitchen Manager tested and reviewed eight appliances to find the best masticating juicer for fruits and vegetables. Here's what she discovered.
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If you’re looking to make healthy drinks at home, a masticating juicer (also known as a slow or cold-press juicer) is the way to go. These juicers use an auger to slowly crush and grind produce, extracting juice by pressing pulp against a strainer. This method preserves nutrients and reduces foam, providing you with a smoother, nutrient-rich drink. Unlike centrifugal juicers, masticating models operate at a slower speed, typically 40 to 100 rotations per minute, which helps maintain the quality of the juice.
Making cold-pressed juice is a worthwhile skill, saving you money while boosting your daily intake of fruits and vegetables. With so many juicers available, choosing the best one can be overwhelming. To help, our Test Kitchen team has compared the top models to bring you our top six picks for the best masticating juicers, perfect for juicing, soups and sauces.
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It may be hands-free, but you won’t be able to keep your hands off our top pick for best masticating juicer. The Kuvings Hands-Free Auto10 was not only a top performer with all produce tested, but it operated more quickly and quietly than all other models—and left nothing behind.
But the best part? The Kuvings Hands-Free Auto10 features a 100-ounce capacity hopper (one of the largest on the market) that automatically cuts and feeds your ingredients into the juicer for you. No prep work or hand-holding required. Just load it up, turn it on and walk away. (But not too far, because the juice it yields is delicious!)
The Kuvings also comes equipped with a 1000-millileter juice pitcher (the largest of all models tested), making this best masticating juicer convenient for large families, meal prepping or just about anyone wanting to make large batches of juice at home quickly. And why stop at juice? This all-in-one machine also makes smoothies, nut milks and fruit sorbets.
While the Kuvings Auto10 isn’t cheap, if you’re juicing on the regular, this machine is well worth the investment. Plus, it’s backed by an impressive 15-year warranty.
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If you’re looking for a quality juicer at a reasonable price, look no further than the Cuisinart Easy Clean Slow Juicer. Even though it’s a fraction of the price of some other models on this list, it performs very well and works quickly and efficiently to extract juice from the produce.
As the product name states, it’s not only easy to clean, but it was by far one of the easiest to use. I read the instructions the day before testing and did not have to refer back—it’s that simple and intuitive.
The Cuisinart also has a generous-sized chute, easily accommodating anything from a whole cucumber to a small apple without any necessary prep work. Cleanup was a breeze—it features a mesh-free filter that only needed a simple rinse before washing in warm soapy water.
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While most juicers tend to be rather bulky, the Hurom H400 Easy Clean Slow Juicer is anything but. Coming in second only to the Kuvings, this sleek masticating juicer would serve as both a decorative and functional piece on any organized kitchen countertop. In fact, I was amazed that something that looked so good could perform so well.
The Hurom H400 features a high volume, self-feeding hopper (the second largest out of all models tested) and a slow squeeze, two-part auger to extract every last drop of juice. In fact, I noticed the remaining pulp of the apples and carrots I tested was very dry, proving the machine’s effectiveness at extracting the maximum yield possible.
Adding to the beautiful and innovative design of the Hurom juicer—which is available in four attractive colors—is a gauge window on the front of the machine, highlighting the rich color of your fresh juice while simultaneously notifying you when the internal chamber is full. And I can vouch that the juice tasted as good as it looked: Fresh, sweet and free of pulp.
Just like the Kuvings, the Hurom performed quickly and quietly, and was extremely easy to clean. Its innovative Easy Clean chamber features detachable parts that you can conveniently remove and rinse without heavy scrubbing.
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Juicers can be quite large, and if you have a relatively small kitchen, you’ll likely prefer the Dash Compact Masticating Slow Juicer. With it’s small and slender footprint, it can easily be stored on the countertop for daily juicing.
It’s also the most affordable masticating juicer on our list. But don’t let the size and price fool you; it’s powerful enough to make almond and cashew milk, too. And it even includes a frozen attachment for making smoothies.
While the chute is small (the instructions recommend cutting food into 2.75-inches), it looks like it could still fit a carrot or tiny cucumber. However, I noticed the Dash juicer was slower than other models, especially when juicing an apple. It was also a bit noisier than other models, and left some produce behind in the bowl.
Although the size of the juicer is convenient, cleaning proved a little challenging because of the small bowl and the built-in strainer, requiring a lot of brushing to get all the pulp out. But overall, you can’t beat the price and size of this model if you’re looking for something to make single serving juices on the regular.
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High-end masticating juicers can cost hundreds of dollars, but the Ninja NeverClog Cold Press Juicer delivers all the performance at a more reasonable price. It has a compact horizontal design and two interchangeable filters, allowing you to select how much pulp ends up in your drink.
The pulp control filters really came in handy while juicing the tomatoes. With the “less pulp” filter, the result was fresh tomato juice with a perfect consistency for drinking. With the “more pulp” filter, the result yielded a thicker consistency that would be ideal for making homemade pasta sauce.
The Ninja juicer was very easy to use—just load the chute and press start. And thanks to the NeverClog filter design, pulp pushes through the filter without clogging. Because the chute is on the smaller size, the instructions recommend cutting produce into two-inch pieces, and I found that I occasionally needed to push them down with the plunger tool until they were grabbed by the auger. Overall, operation was on par with the top performers, but at a much more affordable price.
With a 4.6 average rating, the Ninja NeverClog is also one of the most popular masticating juicers on Amazon.
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For a mid-priced model, the Nutribullet Slow Juicer is about as speedy as they come. This high-torque, low-speed motor features a three-inch feed chute that is large enough to feed a Roma tomato without cutting.
The Nutribullet boasts a durable, steel-tipped auger that claims to wring every drop from your favorite fruits and veggies. When we put it to the test, we found it quickly and effectively extracted juice from both the tomatoes and carrots. However, when it came to the apples, it left behind some unprocessed bits in the bowl and on the screen.
The Nutribullet’s parts are dishwasher-safe, so it’s just as quick to clean as it is to operate. And thanks to its compact frame, it fits comfortably on a counter top or inside your cabinet. Nutribullet’s sister brand, Magic Bullet, also makes a mighty mini juicer that we love.
To find the best masticating juicers, I used a combination of diligent research and hands-on testing to find the best option for every kitchen. I scoured the internet for the best slow juicers available, reading dozens of user reviews to get an idea of each product’s strengths and weaknesses.
I put eight juicers to the test over the course of a week, taking the following factors into consideration:
Additionally, I paid special attention to footprint, noise level, appearance, ease of cleaning and whether the machine’s performance measured up to the price point.
To assess these criteria, we juiced the following produce to create a series of three identical juices:
After each juice test was performed, we measured the following: how long the juicing process took; whether any produce remained unprocessed; the quality of the juice (smooth and free of pulp), the actual pulp itself (the dryer the better), the temperature of the juice (temperature should remain under 70 degrees Fahrenheit to preserve nutrients), and of course, the taste of the juice.
Upon testing, only six models earned the Test Kitchen-Preferred stamp of approval, and each contender was then sorted into categories based on performance, budget and the juicing fan they’re best suited for.
As prep kitchen manager, I lead the prep kitchen team to ensure all food is ready for our recipe testers and associate culinary producers, as well as for our food stylists prior to being shot in our photo and video studios.
As a lifelong foodie, I bring recipes to life and contribute my expertise to articles about cooking and baking techniques and kitchen tools. I have worked in the hospitality industry for most of my career, catering and teaching cooking classes.
A masticating juicer can lend itself to endless possibilities in the kitchen that go beyond fresh pressed juice. Juiced carrots can be utilized for a delicious carrot ginger soup, and tomatoes can be juiced for a homemade sauce on pasta night. Having a quality juicer is important for whipping up both nutritious and delicious recipes, and I was thrilled to lead the testing efforts in identifying the best masticating juicers on the market today.
There are many masticating juicers out there today, so you’ll want to look at a few key features to determine which option is best for your needs. In particular, the following factors set different models apart:
Masticating juicers can be horizontal or vertical, and each type has a few benefits. Vertical juicers (usually twin augers, AKA triturating juicers) have a smaller footprint, and they’re generally self-feeding, saving you from having to push produce into the augers (the parts that “chew” up the fruits/veggies). On the other hand, horizontal juicers (usually single augers) are more efficient at juicing leafy greens like kale, and some can also make nut butter and baby food.
Catherine Ward has over 20 years of professional experience in restaurants, catering and teaching cooking classes, including six as Taste of Home‘s prep kitchen manager. She also specializes in product reviews, especially kitchen appliances, making her an authority on the subject—including masticating juicers.
Sean Tirman, Content Updates Editor at Family Handyman, updated and contributed research to this piece. Sean has written shopping guides since 2016 and is a former associate editor at Gear Patrol.
At Taste of Home, we’re serious about good food. That’s why every single recipe that our readers submit gets reviewed, made and sampled by our team of culinary experts. We want to make sure that everything from our kitchens deserves the label Test Kitchen-Approved. The same goes for products, including masticating juicers. We put each of these masticating juicers through a thorough testing process, paying close attention to their effectiveness, overall quality, durability/long-lastingness, maintenance and much more. We also considered brand reputation, professional and customer testimony, overall popularity, etc. Then, our Test Kitchen team chose the winners. Only the best-tasting and top-performing products get our stamp of approval.
All the brands in our above guide had enough to offer to garner inclusion, even after extensive testing and research—meaning they’re all worthy of consideration. That being said, Kuvings took home our best overall rating.
Compared to other styles of juicers, masticating juicers could be considered better overall for nutrients and waste reduction, as they make greater use of all a fruit’s or vegetable’s constituent parts.
Compared to all other juicer styles, masticating juicers—like the ones in our guide above—extract the most nutrients, as they utilize not just the juice from the fruit but also the pulp, the flesh and even sometimes the skin/rind.
Masticating juicers are more efficient than centrifugal juicers, extracting more juice and nutrients from fruits and veggies. Because of this, they take a bit longer to juice, but the process results in a higher-quality juice. Plus, they’re quieter than centrifugal juicers.
About two days. Juice lasts slightly longer when using a masticating juicer versus a centrifugal juicer. A good rule of thumb is juice from masticating juicers lasts up to two days versus one day for juice from centrifugal juicers.
Start by turning off and unplugging the juicer. Then, disassemble the parts and remove the pulp. Individually rinse the parts and wash with a sponge in warm, soapy water, removing leftover fruit or veggie remains. Be careful not to dunk electrical components (aka the motor/base of the machine) in water. Wipe down the motor base with a cloth and reassemble when the parts are dry.
