To make pomegranate juice at home, you need 4 large pomegranates, a blender or a hand press, and about 25 minutes. That gives you about 2 cups of bright, sweet-tart juice. The whole trick is a light touch: pulse the seeds only until they burst, then let the juice drain through a sieve instead of forcing it.
Bottled pomegranate juice often tastes flat to me, even the cold-pressed kind. Fresh juice has more body and a sharper edge, and the color changes with the fruit, from pale ruby to almost garnet.
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- Fruit: 4 large pomegranates
- Yield: about 2 cups of juice, roughly ½ cup per large fruit
- Time: 15 minutes to free the seeds, about 10 minutes to juice and strain
- Tools: a blender plus a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth, or a handheld citrus press or potato ricer
- Optional: a squeeze of lemon or a pinch of salt
- Keeps: up to 4 days in the fridge, longer frozen in ice cube trays
Choosing Heavy, Ripe Pomegranates for Juicing
Pick up a few and keep the heaviest. Weight is juice. A ripe pomegranate has taut, slightly leathery skin, and its sides often look a little flattened rather than perfectly round.
Small scratches and scuffs on the skin do not matter. Soft spots, cracks, or brown patches do, because the arils under them are often bruised and taste off. If your fruit is on the small side, use 5 instead of 4 to land near 2 cups.
Getting the Arils Out Without Red Splatter
Score the skin all the way around the middle with a sharp knife. Cut only through the peel, not deep into the fruit, then pull the halves apart with your hands.
Fill a large bowl with water and work with your hands under the surface. Push the arils out with your thumbs. They sink to the bottom, and the white pith floats up, so you can skim it off with your fingers or a slotted spoon. Drain the arils well before juicing.
Take the time to remove every piece of pith you see. It is the most bitter part of the fruit, and a few stray bits are enough to change the taste of a whole batch. Wear an apron or dark clothes too. Pomegranate juice stains, and the water bowl keeps most of the spray contained.
Can You Blend Pomegranate Seeds for Juice?
Yes, you can blend pomegranate seeds to make juice, as long as you pulse them briefly and strain the result. A blender is the fastest way to juice a big batch.
Put the drained arils in the blender and pulse a few short times. Stop as soon as the red sacs have burst and the mixture looks like pink slush with the pale inner seeds still mostly whole. If you keep blending, the hard inner seeds break up, and the juice turns cloudy, gritty, and harsh.
Pour the slush into a fine mesh strainer or a cheesecloth-lined sieve set over a bowl. Let it drain on its own for a few minutes, then press the pulp lightly with the back of a spoon. Pressing hard and scraping the sieve pushes fine bits through, and with them a bitter, woody taste.
Blender vs Hand Press: Which Juice Tastes Better?
Both methods work, and they give slightly different juice.
- Blender: fast, good for the full 4 pomegranates, and gets more juice out of each fruit. It needs straining, and over-blending is the main risk.
- Handheld citrus press or potato ricer: squeeze a small handful of arils at a time over a bowl. It is slower, but the seeds stay whole, so the juice tastes a little cleaner and needs no straining.
I use the blender for a full batch and the press when I only want a glass or two. If you want pomegranate juice made by hand with no tools at all, seal the arils in a zip-top bag, roll a rolling pin over it until they burst, then snip a corner and pour the juice through a sieve.
Why Pomegranate Juice Turns Bitter
- Crushed inner seeds: the blender ran too long. Next time, pulse and stop at the slush stage.
- White pith in the bowl: skim it carefully after the water step.
- Pulp forced through the sieve: let it drain, then press gently.
- Bruised fruit: skip arils that look brown or soft.
A batch that came out a bit harsh can still be saved. Stir in a squeeze of lemon, which brightens it, or a small pinch of salt, which tames bitterness and brings the sweetness forward. You can also mix it half and half with homemade apple cider or cranberry juice.
Serving, Storing, and Freezing Pomegranate Juice
Pour it over a few ice cubes in a chilled glass and drop a few seeds back in. I usually let a fresh batch rest in the fridge for an hour or two before tasting, because the flavor settles and rounds out.
Keep the juice in a sealed glass jar or bottle in the fridge for up to 4 days. It separates as it sits, especially blender juice, so shake it before pouring. The first day tastes the brightest.
To keep it longer, freeze it in silicone ice cube trays and drop a cube into sparkling water, tea, or a smoothie. You can also pour it into popsicle molds and freeze overnight.
For a fall drinks table, the juice is the base of this pomegranate margarita and this pomegranate martini, and it works stirred into apple cider sangria. Extra seeds can go into a batch of cranberry and pomegranate jam. If you make the juice, tell me in the comments which method you used.
Pomegranate Juicing Questions
Can you juice a whole pomegranate?
Juice only the arils. The peel and white pith are bitter and tough, so remove them first, then blend or press the seeds.
Can I put pomegranate seeds in a juicer?
Yes, a slow (masticating) juicer handles loose arils well. Feed in seeds only, never pieces of peel.
How many pomegranates do I need for 1 cup of juice?
About 2 large pomegranates. Each large fruit gives roughly ½ cup of juice, so 4 make about 2 cups.
Do I have to strain blended pomegranate juice?
Yes. Unstrained, it is full of seed fragments and tastes gritty. A fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth catches them.
Can I add sugar?
Taste first. Ripe pomegranates rarely need it, and a squeeze of lemon or a pinch of salt usually fixes a flat batch better than sugar does.
Homemade Pomegranate Juice Recipe
This homemade pomegranate juice is fresh juice made from the seeds (arils) of 4 large pomegranates, with an optional squeeze of lemon or pinch of salt. It takes about 25 minutes and makes about 2 cups of bright, sweet-tart juice, using a blender and a fine mesh strainer or a handheld press. The arils come out in a bowl of water so the bitter pith floats away, and in the blender they are pulsed only until they burst, which keeps the pomegranate juice clean instead of harsh. Drink it over ice, mix it with sparkling water, or use it as the base for a pomegranate margarita, a martini, or apple cider sangria. It keeps in the fridge for up to 4 days and freezes well in ice cube trays.
Ingredients
- 4 large pomegranates
- Optional: pinch of salt or squeeze of lemon
Instructions
- REMOVE THE ARILS: Score the pomegranates around the middle with a sharp knife, being careful not to cut too deep. Gently break them open using your hands. Working over a large bowl of water, remove the seeds by pressing them out with your thumbs. The arils will sink while the white pith floats. Skim off the pith and drain the arils thoroughly.
- JUICE THE SEEDS (BLENDER METHOD): Place the drained arils into a high-speed blender. Pulse just a few times to break the seeds without blending them into pulp. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth set over a bowl. Use the back of a spoon to press and extract as much juice as possible. Avoid over-blending, which can cause bitterness.
- JUICE THE SEEDS (MANUAL PRESS METHOD): Alternatively, place a small handful of arils into a handheld citrus press or sturdy potato ricer. Squeeze firmly over a bowl to extract the juice. Repeat in batches until all juice is collected.
- TASTE AND ADJUST: Optionally, stir in a small squeeze of lemon juice to brighten the flavor or add a pinch of salt to enhance the natural sweetness. Drink immediately, chill in the refrigerator, or freeze into ice cube trays for later use.
Notes
Choose pomegranates that feel heavy for their size, with taut skin and no soft or brown spots. Skim off every piece of white pith during the water step; it is the most bitter part of the fruit. Pulse the blender only until the arils burst and the inner seeds are still mostly whole, then let the juice drain through the strainer and press only lightly at the end. If the juice tastes harsh, add a squeeze of lemon or a small pinch of salt. To prevent stains, work over the bowl of water and wear an apron or dark clothes. Shake before serving, since the juice separates. Refrigerate in a sealed jar for up to 4 days, or freeze in ice cube trays.
Nutrition Information
Yield
2Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 480Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 0mgSodium 84mgCarbohydrates 109gFiber 24gSugar 78gProtein 10g
