You can make a big batch of homemade vegetable juice for a lot less than the bottled stuff, and you control the salt instead of letting the label do the bossing. This version leans on ripe tomatoes, celery, onions, garlic, lemon juice, and a little horseradish for that familiar savory kick.
It works as a drink, a Bloody Mary base, or a cooking liquid for roasts when you want deep tomato flavor without opening can after can.
Since this is a cooked fresh juice, keep it refrigerated and use it within 3 to 4 days for best quality and food safety, or freeze it for longer storage according to USDA leftover storage guidance.
Ingredients to Make Homemade V8 Juice
You’ll need:
- 15 pounds fully ripe tomatoes, chopped
- 2 cups celery, chopped
- 3 large onions, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced or mashed
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- Worcestershire sauce, to taste
- 1/4 cup sugar, or to taste
The tomatoes do most of the heavy lifting here, so use fully ripe ones with good flavor. If your tomatoes taste flat, your juice will too. No mystery there.
Instructions
- Combine the chopped tomatoes, celery, onions, garlic, salt, pepper, prepared horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and sugar in a very large pan over medium-high heat.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool for 10 minutes.
- Working in batches, puree about one-quarter of the mixture at a time in a blender until smooth.
- Strain the puree and discard the pulp if you plan to serve it as a drink.
- Transfer the finished juice to covered containers and refrigerate. Shake well before drinking.
If you want to use it as a base for beef or venison recipes, vacuum seal it and refrigerate or freeze it in recipe-size portions. That makes supper a lot easier on a weeknight.
Tips for the Best Flavor
Cook it just long enough. The 20-minute simmer softens the vegetables and blends the flavors without cooking away all the fresh tomato taste.
Blend in batches. Hot liquids expand fast in a blender, so don’t fill the jar to the top unless you’re in the mood to clean the ceiling.
Strain only if you want a smoother drink. If you’re using the juice in roasts or soups, leaving a little body in it is perfectly fine and gives the finished dish more substance.
Adjust the Worcestershire and sugar at the end. Tomatoes vary a lot in sweetness and acidity, so taste after blending and fine-tune from there.
Variations and Uses
Serve it cold over ice as a vegetable juice, or use it as a savory mixer for Bloody Marys. It also makes a handy cooking liquid when plain broth feels a little too polite.
For a simple roast meal, add 4 cups of the juice blend to a red meat roast in the crockpot and cook on medium-high all day.
To make a melt-in-your-mouth venison roast, place 2 to 4 pounds of venison in a crockpot. Add 1 recipe of onion soup mix, enough juice to cover, about 4 cups, and 2 onions peeled and quartered. If you use more than 4 cups of juice, add another packet of soup mix. Cover and cook on medium all day.
If you like making your own pantry staples, take a look at Copycat and Clone Recipes of your favorite Brand Items or mix up your own Copycat Lipton Citrus Green Tea for another homemade drink option.
Storage and Shelf Life
Store the finished juice in a covered container in the refrigerator and shake well before serving. A conservative refrigerator shelf life is 3 to 4 days.
For longer storage, freeze it in airtight containers or freezer bags, leaving a little headspace for expansion. For best quality, use frozen juice within 3 to 4 months.
If you want to preserve it by canning, do not wing it. Tomato juice needs a tested process with proper acidification, and home canning guidance for tomato juice calls for bottled lemon juice or citric acid in measured amounts.
💸 Budget101® Price Breakdown: V-8 Juice Copycat Recipe
🛒 Walmart Grocery List
- Fresh Roma Tomato, 1 each
- Celery Hearts, 16 oz bag
- Yellow Onions, 3 lb bag
- Garlic Bulb, 1 each
- Sea Salt, 26 oz
- Ground Black Pepper, 3 oz
- Prepared Horseradish, 6 oz
- Lemon Juice, 15 fl oz
- Worcestershire Sauce, 10 fl oz
- Granulated Sugar, 4 lb
Not sure exactly what this batch costs you per serving? Here’s how to break down the real cost of any recipe so you know before you shop.
Frequently Asked Questions about V-8 Juice Copycat Recipe
Absolutely. Leave it unstrained if you want a thicker, more rustic vegetable juice or plan to use it in soups, chili, or pot roast. Straining makes it smoother and more drinkable, but it also removes some of the pulp and body.
Fully ripe, flavorful tomatoes are your best bet. Roma tomatoes give you a thicker juice with less water, while slicing or vine-ripened tomatoes make a slightly looser drink, so you may need to simmer a bit longer if they’re extra juicy.
The quickest fix is balancing the salt, Worcestershire, lemon juice, and sugar after blending. Store-bought vegetable juice has a very even savory-salty finish, so a tiny splash more Worcestershire or a pinch more salt often gets you closer than piling in extra vegetables.
Yes, and it freezes well. Pack it in freezer-safe containers with a little headspace, then thaw it in the refrigerator and shake or stir before serving because the solids tend to separate after freezing.
That’s normal, not a failure. Fresh vegetable solids settle because this homemade version doesn’t contain commercial stabilizers, so just shake the jar or stir it well before pouring.
You can. The sugar mainly rounds off sharp acidity from the tomatoes and lemon juice, so start with less and add only enough to balance the batch. Sweeter garden tomatoes may need very little, while tart tomatoes usually need the full amount or close to it.
Cut every ingredient in the same proportion and keep the simmer about the same. A half batch uses 7 1/2 pounds of tomatoes, 1 cup celery, 1 1/2 large onions, 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice times about 5.33, and 1 teaspoon salt, which is much easier if you measure carefully before you start.
Not safely without following a tested tomato-juice canning process. Tomatoes ride the line on acidity, so you need the right acidification and processing method rather than guessing and hoping the jar seals well. A sealed jar is not the same thing as a safe jar.
Expect roughly 10 one-cup servings, depending on how juicy your tomatoes are and how much pulp you strain out. If you leave more pulp in the batch, you’ll usually end up with a little more finished volume.
Don’t toss it if you don’t want to. Stir it into soup, spaghetti sauce, chili, or pot roast liquid, or freeze it in small portions for later. It still has plenty of tomato flavor, even if it didn’t make the final glass prettier.
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Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment and tell us how you used it, straight up in a glass or tucked into a slow-cooked roast.
🖨️ Print-Friendly V-8 Juice Copycat Recipe
V-8 Juice Copycat Recipe
Ingredients
- 15 pounds fully ripe tomatoes chopped
- 2 cups celery chopped
- 3 large onions chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced or mashed
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ¾ teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- Worcestershire sauce to taste
- ¼ cup sugar or to taste
Equipment
Instructions
- Combine the tomatoes, celery, onions, garlic, salt, pepper, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and sugar in a very large stockpot over medium-high heat.
- Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and cool for 10 minutes.
- Puree the mixture in a blender, working with about one-quarter of the batch at a time, until smooth.
- Strain and discard the pulp if serving as a drink.
- Transfer to covered containers and refrigerate.
- Shake well before serving.
Recipe Size Alteration
💡 If you altered the ingredients above by doubling or tripling the recipe, you may also need to change the pan/dish size and adjust the cook time.
Notes
Prep time is estimated from washing, chopping, blending, and straining the full batch.
Store refrigerated for 3 to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 to 4 months for best quality.
For roast use, add about 4 cups juice to a beef or venison roast in the slow cooker.
