15 Ingredients To Improve The Flavor Of Vegetable Juice

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Vegetable juice is one of those things that you tell yourself you're going to start consuming on a regular basis, but you never find the motivation. It has a reputation for being less-than-delicious, and usually, excessive salt is the only thing that gives it any real punch of flavor. But blends of tomato, carrots, beets, parsley, spinach, and celery (the ingredients in classic, store-bought vegetable juice) introduce vitamins and minerals to your diet, and they actually have the potential to be a powerhouse of flavor.

Even though it's known for being bland and boring, don't shy away from picking up that bottle of V8 on your next grocery trip. There are plenty of scrumptious add-ins to toss into veggie juice to take it from something you begrudgingly chug every morning to an invigorating wake-up that you look forward to as much as a morning latte. We rounded up a list of the tastiest ingredients to give vegetable juice an upgrade, whether you're loading up the store-bought stuff with spice or adding a burst of umami to homemade blends. So, try these add-ins in your next fiber-packed juice or vitamin-infused drink for a refreshing, bold addition to your morning routine — or any time of the day.

Ahh, tangy, salty pickle juice. Pickle brine is incredibly hydrating with loads of electrolytes and makes a great drink on its own. But mixed into a veggie drink, it adds tang and saltiness while thinning it out to make it more refreshing. Add ice cubes to thin it out a little more and chill it because a veggie-packed drink infused with pickle brine is best served ice cold.

Regular pickle juice adds loads of sharp, tangy flavor to vegetable juice, but you can take the taste a step further with flavored brine. Try adding the brine from garlic or hot pepper-infused pickles for added depth without extra steps. However, if you plan to add pickle brine to your store-bought vegetable juice, be sure to opt for a low-sodium veggie juice. Pickle brine is loaded with salt — a mere quarter cup can contain anywhere from 500 to 1,000 milligrams of sodium — so keep this in mind when crafting your beverage and avoid additional salty ingredients.

Hot sauce is probably the most obvious choice for a vegetable juice pick-me-up. It adds fiery heat — plus a vinegary tang that gives it a much-needed lift. Acidity is key in bringing vegetable juice to life, which is why a lot of store-bought versions contain added spice, like this spicy V8, and why hot sauce is a common ingredient in vegetable-based drink recipes, like bloody mary.

Tabasco is often the hot sauce of choice for vegetable juice since it has a bolder, more vinegary tang than most other commercial hot sauces. But don't sleep on unconventional spicy sauce in your vegetable juice for a more unique drink. Thick, fermented hot sauces — like sriracha — add texture to the juice while imbuing it with spice and garlic. Try chipotle sauces or Valentina for a smoky kick or even hot barbeque sauce if you want smoky-sweet heat to be the predominant flavor. A green (jalapeño) hot sauce or one infused with fruit, like mango habanero, adds a little touch of bright fruitiness along with heat.

It sounds like such a simple addition that would barely make a noticeable difference, but a measly pinch of garlic powder can take your vegetable juice from dull and drab to a flavor juggernaut. A hint of garlic gives blended veggies a savory backbone — something for your taste buds to latch onto instead of leaving them searching for any kind of bold taste in a sea of flavorless, salty liquid.

Not only does garlic add a savory, aromatic twist to vegetable juice, but it also ups the nutritional content. Garlic has been used in ancient medicine for centuries, and these medicinal properties are confirmed by modern science. It contains vitamins and minerals that ward off sickness by strengthening the immune system, and it can even reduce blood pressure and improve cholesterol levels.

When adding garlic powder to vegetable juice, try to offset it with something tangy so that its deep savoriness doesn't become unpalatable after the first sip or two. When combined with pickle brine or spicy hot sauce, it adds depth of flavor and prevents your vegetable drink from turning into a pungent, stinky vampire repellent.

A sprinkle (or a heap) of garden-fresh herbs in store-bought vegetable juice gives it that little something extra to highlight the taste of each veggie, making it appear fresher and more lively. As an addition to fresh-pressed juice, herbs provide the "wow" factor that doesn't require getting crafty with vegetable combinations — just add the herbs directly to your juicer. Whether you want to highlight the natural sweetness in veggies or keep your drink leaning savory, fresh herbs are the answer to your dull juice woes.

Most vegetable juices, like commercial, tomato-based varieties, are neutral enough that you can go wild with any of your favorite herbs. Parsley — an ingredient often found in store-bought juices — adds a slightly peppery flavor that enhances veggies and gives a bright taste. Basil infuses drinks with a sweet, slightly spicy flavor and aroma, making tomato-based juices taste extra bright and balancing the flavors in carrot-based juices. Fresh tarragon has a licorice-like taste that accentuates the earthiness in carrot or fennel drinks while adding complexity. You can even get creative with a few mint sprigs or some chopped cilantro in vegetable juice to wake it up with a vibrant zing.

Although it's more likely to be found in your favorite beef burger or steak marinade recipe, Worcestershire is an impactful sauce to add flavor to vegetable juice. The sauce is incredibly bold and complex, with tang from vinegar, spice from hot peppers, decadent sweetness from molasses, zest from mustard powder, and umami from anchovies, among other ingredients. If you prefer savory vegetable juice, this is the sauce to reach for, but make sure to add it in small quantities to prevent overpowering your drink.

Worcestershire sauce works best in tomato-based vegetable juices, like V8 or bloody mary mix, while sweeter, fruit-like veggie drinks — like carrot or beet — don't mesh well with Worcestershire. It adds depth and body to tomato juice, helping you feel full and invigorated between meals. Worcestershire also plays nicely with savory herbs and aromatics — like oregano and garlic — or hot sauce if you're going for an ultra-complex beverage. If your homemade drink is loaded with kale and spinach but turns out too bitter, use Worcestershire to tame the bitterness while keeping it savory and rich.

Kimchi brine has a nearly opposite flavor profile to vegetable juice — vegetable juice is dull and one-dimensional, while kimchi brine is vividly nuanced. Kimchi is a staple in Korean cuisine, adding intense flavor and health benefits to savory dishes (it also has serious snacking potential). It consists of salted vegetables — usually cabbage — which are then fermented and seasoned with chili flakes, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, and scallions. Imagine grabbing all of the most aromatic, flavor-packed foods in your fridge and tossing them into a jar to ferment them — that's kimchi, and it's one of the many reasons why Korean cuisine is a flavorful force to be reckoned with.

A jar of kimchi is typically rife with liquid, and that liquid is like a bomb of sweet, salty, and spicy. Add a splash of this Korean mainstay brine into your vegetable juice to give it all the flavor boost it needs. You'll notice fishy umami accentuated by a sweet tang, followed by sneaky heat from chili peppers. Let earthy vegetable juice act as a canvas for kimchi brine's lively acidity, allowing complex ingredients to shine while you savor the benefits of its gut microbiome-boosting probiotics.

A few drops of fish sauce in a vegetable-based drink isn't for the faint of heart, but it's a great flavor upgrade for those umami lovers among us. Fish sauce gets its trademark funk and saltiness from fermented small fish, usually anchovies. The fish are covered in salt and packed away until bacteria break them down into a robust, fishy liquid — delicious-sounding, we know. Although it's quite repulsive on its own, this sauce is a mainstay in Southeast Asian cuisine, where it provides the famous umami and saltiness that we all love in our pad Thai and curry.

Vegetable juice gets a serious flavor boost with added fish sauce. Just a few drops won't drown out the natural, earthy sweetness of veggies, especially the particularly bright flavors in a homemade, veggie-laden drink. Keep fish sauce to savory juices — like tomato or celery — and far away from milder, sweeter juices, like cucumber. It works best in vegetable drinks when paired with spice and garlic, so try it with a dash of sriracha to guarantee that the fishiness won't be too prominent.

Horseradish can be a little intimidating if you're not used to cooking with it, and we don't blame you for being a little hesitant toward this extremely pungent, weirdly spicy ingredient. For those unfamiliar, horseradish is a plant in the mustard family. The root of the plant is most commonly made into a paste with other ingredients, where it's usually reserved for adding flavor to sauces and marinades. Horseradish doesn't mess around — its robust flavor is so potent it has the ability to clear away sinus congestion.

While you can grate fresh horseradish directly into juices, you're more likely to find it in paste form, where it can be whisked in to add a spicy, peppery flavor that keeps with a savory theme while adding warmth. The spice from horseradish hits hard but fades quickly, so it's a great ingredient to add if you're aiming for a morning juice to wake you up in lieu of caffeine. Keep in mind that a little goes a long, long way — start with just a ¼ teaspoon in a 12-ounce glass of juice and then add more depending on how zesty you're feeling.

Miso paste is the millennia-old concoction lurking in the back of your fridge, just waiting to give your vegetable juice the savory oomph it's been waiting for. It's made from fermented soybeans, salt, grains, and koji — a type of fungus that plays a similar role in fermenting grains that a sourdough starter does in bread making. The umami-boosting ingredient hails from Japan, where it's often used to add flavor to soup broth, noodle dishes, and sauces.

All you need is about half a tablespoon in a glass of store-bought or fresh-pressed veggie juice to wake it up with a salty depth that's less pungent than fish sauce but richer than pickle brine. It has a slight tang and nuttiness that makes the juice complex, but it's mild enough to pair with other ingredients; bright, fresh herbs pair beautifully with miso's richness, and horseradish adds spice and earthiness to a miso-infused drink.

But it's not all about robust flavor when it comes to miso. It's jam-packed with nutrients like manganese, vitamin K, and copper — and the fermentation process yields probiotics to keep your gut healthy. A miso-infused juice is a satisfying substitute for a heavy meal in the morning — plus, its vitamins and minerals mean it can rival even the most nutritious of breakfasts.

If you're looking for a bougie upgrade to make store-bought juice taste like something you could sip at a black-tie gala, look no further than truffle salt. Truffle salt is exactly what it sounds like: good sea salt infused with truffles — an earthy, fungal delicacy. Since salt is commonly used to make vegetable juice palatable, swapping regular salt for a truffle-infused variety adds an earthy, umami essence. All it takes is a tiny touch of truffle flavor to lift the natural flavors in a savory drink without overpowering them. Try it with any vegetable drink, from tomato to carrot to celery; despite having such a unique flavor, truffles can magically mesh with almost any taste profile.

When crafting a vegetable juice with truffle salt, think of it like a finishing touch, not the be-all and end-all of the drink. Too much truffle flavor can make your juice feel convoluted, so if you're worried about it being a little too prominent, try pairing it with other additions. Truffle with spicy ingredients — like chili crisp or hot sauce — elevates the heat while making it less potent, so both truffle and fiery peppers can blend seamlessly into veggie juice.

Candied jalapeños hit that rare sweet spot between fire and sugar, completely changing the tone of any vegetable juice, so don't add them to your drink unless you're prepared for an absolute flavor bomb. Candied jalapeños — colloquially known as cowboy candy — are similar to pickled jalapeños, except sugar (or other sweet ingredients, like corn syrup or honey) is added to the brine to give them a candy-sweet kick. They're delectable as a snack (hence their nickname), but tossed into a deeply savory drink add much-needed sweetness and spice while still complementing the beverage's natural earthiness.

Toss a few slices of candied jalapeños into a vegetable juice, or mince them first to give it a thicker texture. If you want to keep the drink smooth, try adding just the brine and saving the jalapeño slices as a garnish. This sugary, spicy addition works like a charm in just about any vegetable juice, but it creates something particularly remarkable when added to cucumber-based drinks.

Chili crisp is having a big, big moment right now, and we truly believe that it deserves all the hype — and then some. Crunchy, fiery chili crisp is a condiment of Chinese origins that consists of fried alliums — like garlic and shallots — and chilis suspended in a flavorful oil. Depending on your brand of choice, chili crisp can have a mild, sneaky heat, like this one from Lao Gan Ma, or bombard you with a barrage of fire, like this one from Fly by Jing. Some brands are more oily than others, while some consist mostly of their trademark funky chunks. Either way, when added to juice, expect floating, crunchy bits of garlic and peppers to give your drink a little texture and pizazz.

Chili crisp is all about layered flavors. The base is heat, while aromatics give it a savory, robust body. Saltiness brings it all together to create one condiment to rule them all. It can bring its balancing act to vegetable juice, which often needs all the help it can get. Swirl in a little of this crispy, spicy goodness to give tomato or carrot-based juices heat and mouth-coating oiliness, but keep it away from watery juices like celery and cucumber.

It's blatantly obvious that Japanese food is all about umami, and dashi is a cornerstone in providing the flavor that gives this cuisine its hallmark decadence. Dashi is a broth made up of seaweed and katsuobushi — shavings of dried fish, otherwise known as bonito flakes. Sometimes mushrooms are added to dashi to give it an extra dose of earthiness, but it's the flavors of the ocean that give it its trademark savoriness, making it as ubiquitous in Japanese cuisine as rice and miso.

Dashi is a great addition to vegetable juices that need to be thinned out, like too-thick tomato or carrot juices. If you're trying to keep your juice on the sweeter side, skip the dashi, but if you want umami to be the focus of your drink, don't shy away from a hearty dose of the fishy stock. Dashi pairs well with spicy, smoky, and tangy ingredients, so try it along with a splash of kimchi brine to create a complex juice that's as unique as it is deliciously bold.

If you want to turn your vegetable juice into the perfect morning meal replacement, reach for fresh avocado as your superfood drink upgrade. This addition requires a blender to make it drinkable, but it's well worth the effort. Avocado is naturally dense and creamy, so it makes juice thicker and more decadent, like a veggie-packed smoothie. Try chilling (or even freezing) the avocado overnight before tossing it into your juice to make it even more smoothie-like.

Not only are they delicious and trendy, but avocados are loaded with nutritional benefits to boot. They're packed with heart-healthy fats and calories that keep you feeling full longer, reducing snacking. They have more potassium than a banana and plenty of B vitamins, so blending one into a juice loaded with other healthy veggies creates the ultimate nutritious wake-up. They mesh well in juices that lean savory, like tomato and celery, as well as those on the sweeter side, like beet and carrot.

Gochujang is a Korean chili paste backed by interesting lore. The ubiquitous ingredient has been around for centuries, infusing soups and stews with spice and turning sauces into the stars of any dish. The paste is made of fermented soybeans, glutinous rice, and spicy peppers. Glutinous rice gives it a sweet kick, while chilis give gochujang its famous deep heat, and fermentation gives it beneficial properties, like the digestive enzyme amylase, which breaks down proteins to settle an upset stomach and aid in gut health.

Despite being loaded with pungent, funky ingredients, you should know that gochujang is surprisingly versatile. In a juice, it can stand front and center, showing off its nuanced, spicy, umami taste. But it can also blend seamlessly with other ingredients, like tangy pickle, kimchi brine, or creamy avocado, to make your juice practically meal-worthy. Add enough gochujang to give vegetable juice a foundation, and you'll notice that it doesn't mask the flavors, especially if the juice is fresh-pressed. The paste's natural sweetness accentuates sweet tastes in veggie drinks while giving them a savory, slightly funky backbone.