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If you’re someone who is struggling to get in enough fruits and vegetables, you may want to consider treating yourself to a blender. According to Leslie J. Bonci, owner of Active Eating Advice and sports dietitian to the Kansas City Chiefs, with a blender, “You can get in more produce with less chewing required. For instance, you can blend two veggies and two fruits for a smoothie and it can seem more manageable than eating the foods individually.” She also tells us that because blenders simply puree the food, no nutritional value is lost in the process.
After speaking with Bonci, we used her insight to guide us as we researched numerous products and tested a few to find the best ones on the market for a range of needs. Below are our picks.
• Best Overall: Vitamix Propel Series 750
• Best Smaller Blender: Nutribullet Pro 900
• Best Large: Ninja Professional Blender
• Best Affordable: Hamilton Beach Wave Crusher
• Best for Crushing Ice: Wolf Gourmet Pro-Performance Blender
• Best Multi-purpose: Cuisinart Blender/Food Processor
• Best Quiet Blender: Cranddi Quiet Commercial Blender
• Most Aesthetically Pleasing: KitchenAid K400 Variable Speed Blender
Things to consider
Blades: When it comes to a blender, the most important feature is going to be how well it can blend the things that are put into it. Bonci tells us that “you want one that has good blades that can withstand harder items such as nuts [and] ice.” While some cheaper options may look great, they sometimes don’t actually do a great job of breaking down the ingredients, leading to chunky smoothies that can be unappealing.
Capacity: When looking into a blender, you’ll want to be clear about how you intend to use it. For example, some are designed for single servings and can have capacities as low as 19 ounces. Conversely, other blenders can have jars that hold as much as 72 ounces. And this is good because, as Bonci notes, you can use a blender to make things like pesto, black bean dip, and hummus. So if you’re having guests over, that extra capacity will be vital to make sure that there’s enough for everyone.
Cleaning: With blenders, Bonci recommends that you “clean it out well after every use and make sure that you can take it apart to clean the blades.” Cleanability is vital for a handful of reasons. For starters, a difficult-to-clean blender may become unappealing to use. Secondly, if your blender holds onto the food in it, this can become unsanitary.
Fortunately, good blenders are easy to clean. As Bonci mentioned above, removable blades can help make washing the jar much easier. In addition to that, some blenders are also dishwasher safe, or they may even include a self-cleaning feature that you can simply turn on and add soap and water to the jar.
Best overall
Weight: 10-pounds | Dimensions: 9” x 7.5” x 18” | Capacity: 64-ounces
While pricier than the other options on our list, the combination of blending power, versatility, and ease of cleaning help to make Vitamix’s Propel Series 750 worth every penny. It’s not just ideal for smoothies, it features a total of five unique program settings that also include a smoothie, hot soup, frozen dessert, dips and spread, and a self-cleaning option. If you want more control than the presets offer, the dial also can be turned to the right where you will find ten variable speeds, and it also has a pulse feature. A 64-ounce container lets you make larger servings for guests while the 2.2 HP motor doesn’t struggle to handle even the toughest of ingredients. And unlike other blenders, I found that nothing sticks to the side of this option, including peanut butter, which makes cleaning it a breeze.
Pros: Tamper included, 7-year warranty, very large container
Cons: Pricier than other options, have to remove lid to pour
Best smaller blender
Weight: 4.7-pounds | Dimensions: 12.01” x 7.72” x 15.94” | Capacity: 32-ounces
For a sleek-looking blender that won’t take up all of your counter space, we love Nutribullet’s Pro 900. While small in stature, the 900 watts help you to blend all of your ingredients in under a minute. It’s the simplicity of use that we really love. All you have to do is add your ingredients, put the lid on, put it onto the motor base, and turn it. It’s also super easy to clean thanks to removable blades and dishwasher-safe cups. One thing to be aware of, though, is that while it can handle ice, it’s not particularly great at blending it. But we do love that it also comes with two 32-ounce cups and two to-go lids.
Pros: Multiple color options, compact design, dishwasher safe
Cons: Less power than other options, fairly loud
Best large blender
Weight: 7.10-pounds | Dimensions: 9.48″ x 7.51″ x 17″ | Capacity: 72-ounces
Bonci uses a Ninja blender and loves it for its ability to handle more heavy-duty ingredients with its sharper blade. This option from Ninja is 1000 watts which makes it a great match for ice. What we really love, though, is that it has a capacity of 72 ounces, making it perfect for making smoothies for friends and family. In my own testing, I find it to do an excellent job of blending. The one drawback is that ingredients like peanut butter tend to stick to the side. Fortunately, the removable blade helps to make cleaning those ingredients very easy.
Pros: 1000-watts, dishwasher safe, largest capacity
Cons: Some ingredients stick to walls, only three blend speeds
Best affordable
Weight: 7.5-pounds | Dimensions: 14.96” x 6.89” x 9.45” | Capacity: 40-ounces
Enjoying a delicious blended smoothie shouldn’t have to break the bank, and Hamilton Beach’s Wave Crusher truly showcases that. At just under $50 it still offers a lot of the features of the more expensive options, like 700 watts of power and 14-blending functions. We also appreciate the attention to detail with the little things, like cord storage in the back and a mess-free spout design. One small trade-off for the lower price, as noted by reviewers, is that it isn’t the best at fully blending ice.
Pros: 3-year warranty, glass is heat resistant, 14-blending options
Cons: Only 40-ounces, not great with ice
Best for crushing ice
Weight: 13-pounds | Dimensions: 17.125” x 7.5” x 9” | Capacity: 64-ounces
With a 2.2 peak-horsepower motor that allows the blades to hit speeds upwards of 200 miles per hour, we find the Wolf Gourmet Pro-Performance Blender to be ideal for more ice-centric drinks, especially with its ice crush setting. It also features presets for smoothies, purees, and soups, as well as 10-manual speed options. It’s a very durable piece of machinery, with stainless steel blades and a shatterproof copolyester jar. One thing to be aware of with this option is that the blade isn’t removable if you want to clean the jar by hand.
Pros: Tamper included, 5-year warranty, features an emulsion cap
Cons: Blade is not removable, pricier than other options
Best multi-purpose
Weight: 10.3-pounds | Dimensions: 7.4″ x 15.5″ x 13.2″ | Capacity: 48-ounces
Cuisinart’s dual-function blender and food processor are perfect for the home chef who wants to do it all. For blending, it features a 48-ounce blender jar and a 2-ounce measured pour lid. For food processing, it comes with a 3-cup attachment with a feed tube, pusher, shredding disc and chopping blade. The motor is 500 watts and all of the parts are dishwasher safe. Some reviewers did find that it struggles with frozen fruit, but overload protection is there for safety.
Pros: Dual function, 3-year warranty, 7-speed touchpad
Cons: Not great with frozen ingredients, smaller jar size
Best quiet blender
Weight: 15 pounds | Dimensions: 13” x 12″ x 23.5″ | Capacity: 80-ounces
Having a great blender doesn’t matter if every time you use it you have to shield your ears. For our noise-sensitive friends, we highly recommend the Cranddi Quiet Commercial Blender. It features a soundproof shield that doubles to help prevent splatter. Be aware though, it doesn’t sacrifice any power to eliminate noise; it still has 2200 watts of power and comes with a tamper to make sure you get the exact blend that you’re looking for. One thing to be mindful of with this option is that reviewers find it to be particularly large and hard to store due to its height of 23.5 inches.
Pros: Great at eliminating noise, 15-speed manual adjuster, includes a feeding lid
Cons: Not dishwasher safe, hard to store
Most aesthetically pleasing
Weight: 16 pounds | Dimensions: 9.02” x 7.59” x 15.8” | Capacity: 56 fluid ounces
Making sure that you love looking at your appliances can be super important, and KitchenAid’s K400 Variable Speed Blender is available in 5-different colors, so you’ll be able to find something that compliments your kitchen. Beyond that, it uses a 3-part blending system that senses the contents and uses the proper speed for that particular blend. It also features a 5-speed dial so that you can choose what’s right for you, and a “soft start” feature pulls the ingredients in at a lower speed and increases it to avoid splatter.
Pros: Multiple color options, 90-day trial, dishwasher safe
Cons: No tamper included
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