These homemade ginger shots, concentrated juice shots made with fresh ginger and lemon juice, are easy to make at home, and popular for their ability to boost immunity and energy, calm stomachs, and even trigger metabolism to help with weight loss. Make 2 shots with 4 ingredients in 5 minutes easily in a blender, juicer or even a jar.
My ginger shot recipe uses only ginger, lemon, cayenne pepper and water, but is easily customizable with additions such as turmeric or a juice. Like my apple cider vinegar drink , my delicious watermelon juice, and my cucumber lemon juice, ginger shots are a powerful way to detox your body and boost your health.
Making ginger shots at home cost you around 20 cents a shot, a bargain compared to the $3 to $4 shots by brands like KOR and JUS. And as with my other wellness shots and my turmeric shots, you can make these ginger shots without a juicer, although this recipe works with one. All you need is a blender and a fine mesh strainer.
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What Are Ginger Shots?
Ginger shots are fresh juice shots with a spicy kick made with fresh ginger root, lemon juice, ground cayenne pepper, and water. They are small fiery drinks typically 2 to 3 ounces featuring ginger, a spice found in a flowering plant from China, that has long been respected for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory powers largely from gingerol, the primary antioxidant found in ginger. [source]
Ingredients
Ginger root: This is the key ingredient in ginger shots, and the spicy root has many benefits. It provides antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, supports digestion, boosts immunity against colds and flu, and may even boost brain and heart health. Find the fresh root in the produce section. Look for dry roots that are as thick and clean as possible.
Lemon juice: Fresh lemon juice has some powerful benefits, including providing an antimicrobial environment, can balance your body's pH level, boost iron levels and fire up your immune system. You can use fresh squeezed lemon juice or a quality organic bottled pure lemon juice.
Cayenne Pepper: Pepper offers several health benefits surrounding the compound capiscum which is thought to have anti-inflammatory abilities and weight loss support. Pepper is also instrumental in the body's absorption of gingerol, the primary healthy component of ginger. Use cayenne or black pepper.
Water: Filtered water or coconut water or even juices may be used. Coconut water and juices will add a sweeter flavor to your ginger shot.
See the recipe card at the bottom for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions & Additions
Boost nutritional targets of your shot by replacing the water with a juice including pineapple, orange, lime or cherry.
Pineapple juice is known for its ability to reduce inflammation due to the ingredient bromelain. It's also high in vitamin C and several other immune-boosting components. [source]
Orange juice is high in vitamin C, potassium and folate.
Lime Juice is known for its ability to protect eyes and boost digestion, and to help the body's absorption of iron. [source]
Cherry juice contains melatonin which supports sleep and lowers blood pressure.
You can also add the following to boost your ginger shot's nutritional power:
Apple Cider Vinegar : Add apple cider vinegar (ACV) to boost fat burning, promote a general detox and decrease blood sugar levels.
Turmeric : Add ground turmeric to increase anti-inflammatories. Or make a separate turmeric shot.
How to Make Ginger Shots
For more detail, visit the complete recipe at the bottom of this post, but here are general steps.
Step 1. Wash fresh ginger root with a brush as you would a potato, and chop the root roughly. Leave the skin on.
Step 2. Juice 4 lemons to achieve about ½ cup of lemon juice. Or measure it out from bottled organic pure lemon juice.
Step 3. If you used a juicer, follow your machine's directions. To use a blender, add the chopped ginger, lemon juice, water and cayenne pepper to your blender jar and process the mixture until combined. It will be sludgy with specks of skin.
Step 4. Pour the mixture into a fine mesh strainer, stir and press the mixture with a spoon until the remaining pulp is fairly dry. For extra clear juice, lay a cheesecloth in the strainer and squeeze more juice from the pulp.
Step 5. The captured liquid is your ginger shots! Drink half and refrigerate the other half for tomorrow. This recipe makes two shots.
Recipe Tips
Make ginger shots with ginger powder or ground ginger
Although your ginger shot will be most powerful using fresh ginger, you can make a ginger shot using ginger powder or ground ginger and a jar.
To a jar combine:
- ½ cup of organic lemon juice
- ½ cup of water
- ½ teaspoon of ginger powder
- and a pinch of cayenne pepper
Now shake the jar, taste, add more ginger powder if you want it stronger, and drink!
Freeze the pulp in ice cube trays and add some to smoothies and soups for added nutrition and fiber. Or bake the pulp at 250 F for an hour to dry it and then process it in a blender or food processor into a ginger powder.
Health Benefits
Ginger shots can offer many benefits including:
- Boost immunity
- Reduce inflammation
- Sooth tummy aches & nausea
- Assist digestion.
- Reduce menstrual cramps & bloating
- Fight colds and infections
- Boost weight loss by triggering metabolism
- Lower blood sugar
- Supports brain health
FAQS
Ginger tastes hot because of gingerol, the very antioxidant that gives it nutritional power. Though it tastes much less hot than the capsaicin found in searing chili peppers, according to the Royal Society of Chemistry. The bright taste of lemon actually smooths the edge. Chase the burn with water if you must.
It is best to drink a ginger shot first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach, at cold or room temperature, about 30 minutes before eating. This timing will end your overnight fast, flush out toxins, kick start your digestion and energize your day.
In general ginger shots are safe, but too much can lead to a heartburn, negative effects on tooth enamel and your esophagus. Also consult with your doctor if you are on any medications that might conflict such as blood thinners.
More Detox Drinks
If you tried this ginger shots recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
📖 Recipe
Ginger Shots (recipe & benefits)
Ingredients
Ginger Shots
- ½ cup (50g) fresh ginger root
- ½ cup (120g) lemon juice fresh or bottle organic pure lemon juice
- ¼ cup (60g) water*
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (or ground black pepper)
Instructions
- Wash fresh ginger root with water, use a cloth to scrub off debris. Chop into chunks add to blender.
- Squeeze 4 lemons, or ½ cup, and add to blender.
- Add pepper and water to blender and process.½ cup (50g) fresh ginger root, ¼ cup (60g) water*, ⅛ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, ½ cup (120g) lemon juice
- Pour the blended mixture through a strainer into a measuring cup.
- With a spoon or spatula, push the mixture through the strainer until the pulp is fairly dry and you have captured most of the juice from the blended mixture.
- Pour out the liquid into two glasses and drink one ginger shot and refrigerate the other for tomorrow.
- Store shots in the refrigerator for a week or freeze in ice cube trays.
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