Sweet, tart and vibrantly refreshing, my homemade pomegranate juice recipe will change your life for the better this summer. Also known as Anar Juice, this healthy beverage is loaded with vitamins and antioxidants to help restore your body after a day in the sun.
Table of Contents
About Pomegranate Juice Recipe
When the weather is hot and sticky – I’m always looking for new ways to revive my body and spirit. I often turn to fruit juices during the summer, as they are filled with nutrients and are exceptionally refreshing. Pomegranate juice happens to be among my favorites, as it is one of the healthiest juices around.
If you’ve worked with pomegranates in the past, you know they have a penchant for staining anything and everything that crosses their path. Lucky for you, my step-by-step tutorial shows you how to cut open the pomegranates and remove the seeds (arils) easily, without the juice falling all over the kitchen tiles or on your clothes.
And if you don’t have a juicer on hand, there’s no reason to worry. My method to extract the juice from the pomegranate seeds (arils) uses a mixer-grinder or blender, meaning you don’t need any fancy equipment. Also, you can use any number of pomegranates considering the size of the blender jar you have.
Note: If you use an electric juicer, then just add the pomegranate arils in the juicer and extract the juice.
In the photos below, I have used locally grown organic pomegranates. These pomegranates had a light pink color, but were still very sweet. Depending on the variety, the seeds may have a deep crimson to a light pink color.
How to Choose a Good Pomegranate
As with most fruits, choosing a “good one” has to do with a few easy-to-observe traits. First, the fruit should be heavy for it’s size; this indicates that it is nice and juicy!
You should also look for skin that is smooth and unblemished. Any punctures or breaches in the skin might indicate a pest made the fruit a home, and wrinkled skin means the fruit is past prime.
The skin should also have a deep, richly pigmented color. Many commercially available pomegranates are the dark red variety, so look for a deep ruby tone on the skin.
That said, there are MANY types of pomegranates out there! For example, my locally grown pomegranates had a more orange/fuchsia colored skin with yellow arils. Just look for bright, shiny and deeply colored skin.
Pomegranate Juice Benefits
If all this talk about one of my all-time favorite fruits hasn’t yet convinced you to make your own pomegranate juice at home, let me provide a bit more fodder for your mind. As one of the healthiest fruits around, they definitely deserve a spot in your diet.
Pomegranates are known to have high levels of antioxidants like vitamin C, as well as important nutrients like vitamin K and folate.
Pomegranate juice has long been a part of the holistic healing arsenal, and Western medicine has confirmed its efficacy at treating a number of different ailments. Some potential uses for pomegranate juice include:
- reducing inflammation
- fighting cancer
- lowering blood pressure
With all of these potentially life-improving side effects, why wouldn’t you make pomegranate juice at home??
If you love to homemade juices, you can also explore all of my other Fruit Juice Recipes on the blog!
How to Prep Pomegranate
1. Rinse 2 medium to large pomegranates. Slice off a thin piece of rind from the top.
2. Cut each pomegranate in 4 parts.
3. Take a bowl of water and place the quartered pomegranates in it.
4. Keep the pomegranate immersed in water and use your fingers to remove the pomegranate seeds (arils).
The seeds will settle down and the white pith will float to the top. Remove and discard the pith.
5. Drain all the water using a strainer.
How to Make Fresh Pomegranate Juice
6. Add the pomegranate arils to a blender, grinder or mixer jar.
7. Blend well. Remember that blending and crushing the seeds finely will give a gritty texture in the juice, which later you can strain using a fine mesh strainer.
Alternatively you can simply crush the seeds slightly by using the pulse option in the blender or mixer, and extract the juice.
8. Take a pan or bowl and place the juice strainer on it. Now pour the pomegranate juice in a fine mesh strainer.
9. Using a spoon to press and stir it often, extract the juice. Press very well so that all juice is extracted.
10. Here’s the extracted pomegranate juice.
11. Pour in glasses and serve homemade Pomegranate Juice immediately. Enjoy!
Note that if the taste and flavor of the juice is too strong for you, mix in some water or your preferred juice to dilute the juice and change the flavors slightly.
FAQs
Per ayurveda, it is best to consume fruit juices when they are at peak freshness. This preserves the nutritional quality of the juice the best. That said, any leftovers can be kept in your refrigerator for up to 1 day.
If you’d like to get a head start on making pomegranate juice, you can remove the arils and keep them in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days before blending. You can also freeze them in an airtight container for up to 1 to 2 weeks.
You can opt to freeze any leftover juice into popsicles or even into ice cube trays. The pops make for a healthy sweet treat that helps fend off the heat, and the ice cubes are a beautiful and delicious addition to mineral water.
You can also go in a completely different direction and simmer the pomegranate juice down until it is thick and syrupy.
The pomegranate syrup can then be used as a sweetener for desserts or drinks, or drizzled over pancakes, ice cream or pudding.
YUM! Pomegranate syrup should keep for up to about a week in the refrigerator.
The short answer is YES! If you are drinking natural, unsweetened pomegranate juice like we just made, it is very healthy. You can read the section titled “Health Benefits of Pomegranate Juice in the blog post above.
Please note that I always recommend that you speak with a registered health professional for any medical or dietary advice.
Reference Links:
https://www.healthline.com/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/
More Refreshing Juices To Try!
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Fresh Pomegranate Juice (Anar Juice)
Ingredients
- 2 pomegranate – medium to large-sized
- 1 pinch black salt – optional
Instructions
Preparation
- Rinse 2 medium to large pomegranate. Slice off the top part thinly.
- Then cut each pomegranate in 4 parts.
- Take a bowl of water and place the chopped pomegranates in it.
- Keep the pomegranates immersed in water and with your fingers remove the pomegranate seeds (arils).
- The seeds settle down and the white pith floats on top. Remove the pith and discard them.
- Drain all the water using a strainer.
Making pomegranate juice in a blender
- Add the pomegranate arils in a blender, grinder or mixer jar. Blend well.
- Keep in mind that blending and crushing the seeds finely will give a gritty texture in the juice, which later you can strain using a fine mesh strainer. Alternatively you can simply crush the seeds slightly by using the pulse option in the blender or mixer, and extract the juice.
- Take a pan or bowl and keep a juice strainer on it. Now pour the pomegranate juice in a fine mesh strainer.
- Using a spoon and stirring it often, extract the juice. Press well so that all juice is extracted
- Pour the juice in glasses and serve pomegranate juice.
- If the juice is too strong for you, mix in some water or some other preferred juice, as needed.
Juicing Pomegranate in an electric juicer or slow juicer
- Prep the pomegranates as listed above. Set aside the arils.
- In a slow juicer or electric juicer, add the pomegranate arils in the feeder tube and extract the juice.
Notes
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This Pomegranate Juice recipe from the archives, originally published in May 2017 has been updated and republished on February 2023.
Pomegranate Juice is my favorite juice. And this recipe is really cool and awesome testy.