The Best Blenders In The Us: Five Favorites For Smoothies, Soups And Frozen Drinks

There are fewer breakfasts that consciousness arsenic patient and refreshing arsenic nan ever-mutable smoothie. You tin make them virtuous, pinch tons of greens and seed milk, aliases luscious, pinch full-fat dairy and cocoa powder – but successful bid to make a bully one, you request a really bully blender.

And while smoothies are nan classical usage for a blender, these appliances tin do so overmuch more; a genuinely awesome blender is simply a room workhorse that tin make your greeting smoothie, your day dip, your evening crockery and moreover a stiff portion if you’re emotion frisky.

While blender exertion has decidedly improved successful nan past fewer decades – we now person high-speed contraptions that tin make peanut food successful little than a infinitesimal – they’re each fundamentally attempting to move ample pieces of nutrient into a smoother result. If you’re looking for a caller one, we’ve tested nan champion successful nan business.

At a glance

• Best overall:
  Vitamix 5200
  $499.95 astatine Vitamix

• Best fund blender:
  Breville Fresh & Furious
  $186 astatine Amazon

• Best individual blender:
  The Beast Mega 1200 Plus
  $219 astatine Beast

• Best blender for smoothies connected nan go:
  Nutribullet Pro 900
  $89.19 astatine Amazon

• Best blender for nan plastic-averse:
  Oster Classic Series Heritage Blender pinch 6-Cup Glass Jar
  $99.99 astatine Walmart

All prices existent astatine clip of publication.

Why you should spot me

I’ve been penning astir nutrient for much than a decade, whether that’s penning recipes, editing cookbooks aliases reviewing restaurants. I’m an obsessive location navigator pinch a mini kitchen: I emotion an businesslike kitchen tool and don’t person patience for useless bits and bobs. I’m besides a habitual smoothie maker, meaning that I’ve made hundreds of greeting drinks, arsenic good arsenic plentifulness of pesto and endless sauces, successful my ain refurbished Vitamix – and cleaned it by manus each time.

How I tested each these blenders

After spending a fewer weeks researching nan wide world of blender options, I selected 9 blenders to test: six full-sized blenders and 3 individual blenders. (I skipped immersion blenders, because comparing them to high-powered blenders felt for illustration comparing a motorcycle to a Hummer: they person different uses and vastly different powerfulness levels.)

Photograph: Marion Bull/The Guardian

I tested each blender’s expertise to make nan following: crushed crystal (to replicate stiff drinks), peanut butter, pesto, smoothies and a broccoli-potato-white legume soup. After each test, I washed nan blenders by hand, making statement of really annoying they were to lavation without nan luxury of a dishwasher. I besides made statement of what “extras” they came with, really they were packaged and what they were made of.

Photograph: The Guardian

I’m donating nan blenders I tested to St Mary’s Clothing Drive successful Brooklyn, a awesome kindness adjacent my apartment.

Best overall:
Vitamix 5200

Photograph: The Guardian

$464.99 astatine Amazon
$499.95 astatine Vitamix

Why we emotion it
Across each my rounds of testing, nan 2 Vitamix blenders I tested consistently produced nan smoothest product, though this 1 – nan 5200 – had nan edge. Whether I was sipping a smoothie, spooning a crockery aliases (let’s beryllium real) dipping a digit into a batch of pesto, this blender produced luscious, vibrant results, moreover keeping greenish and purple smoothies from turning muddy successful color. It besides worked quickly, turning a chunky crockery into a puree successful little than a minute, while different competitors took 90 seconds aliases much to create a mulchier result.

After a fewer rounds of testing, nan touchscreen of nan much costly Ascent ($750 compared to nan 5200’s $470) stopped working, and nan blender was unusable. Even if nan Ascent had kept moving passim my testing, nan results were fundamentally nan aforesaid arsenic those of nan 5200.

I besides appreciated that nan 5200 offered an array of speeds, without an excess of settings. There’s an on/off move and a move that lets you take precocious velocity aliases adaptable speed; if you take variable, a dial astatine nan halfway of nan power sheet lets you spell from zero to 10 arsenic you like. The instrumentality will besides “pulse” successful lawsuit you want to make thing chunkier, specified arsenic salsa. And it comes pinch a tamper, to thief break down thing ace heavy for illustration peanut butter. Finally, it has a seven-year warranty.

It’s a shame that … It’s decidedly loud. At conscionable complete 20in tall, it’s besides excessively ample to fresh nether immoderate people’s cupboards.

Capacity: 64 ounces
Power: 1,380 watts / 120 volts
Speeds: 10

Best budget blender:
Breville Fresh & Furious

Photograph: The Guardian

$198.99 astatine Target
$186 astatine Amazon

Why we emotion it
Out of nan gate, I was impressed by nan Breville because it was 1 of only 2 blenders that could crush crystal without nan assistance of a tamper aliases a scatter of water. If you’re looking to make stiff margaritas connected nan cheap, this blender is for you. The Breville website claims that nan blades connection a operation of blending and nutrient processing functionality; I tried chopping immoderate carrots, and it was much of a shred. Still, it’s a useful option. It besides whipped up a bright-green pesto quickly. While it wasn’t arsenic silky soft arsenic nan Vitamix pesto, it sewage beautiful close. The smoothie, too, had a spot much texture than nan Vitamix smoothie, but astatine astir a 3rd of nan price, it feels for illustration an acceptable tradeoff.

I besides liked nan lid design: it fits very tightly and securely into nan jug and features a loop that helps you propulsion it disconnected easily.

It’s a shame that … Although it comes successful 7 different colors, from “red velvet cake” to “olive tapenada”, this isn’t nan sleekest-looking blender of nan bunch. And if you’re obsessive astir texture, you whitethorn find that your smoothies and soups aren’t perfectly smooth.

Capacity: 50 ounces
Power: 1,100 watts
Speeds: five, positive different features specified arsenic crushed crystal and pulse

Best personal blender:
The Beast Mega 1200 Plus

Photograph: The Guardian

$219 astatine Macys
$219 astatine Beast

Why we emotion it
The Beast is nan newest marque connected this list. Their individual blenders person a very beardown centrifugal astatine 1,200 watts, and this option, nan Mega Plus, comes pinch 3 jars, for XL smoothies, small batches of condiment and everything successful between. The Mega Plus came pinch much bits and bobs than immoderate different blender I tried: successful summation to nan jars location are a drinking lid, 2 straws, a straw cleaner and a leaf cleaner. If you for illustration gear, this is apt nan blender for you.

Of nan 3 individual blenders I tested, nan Beast consistently produced nan champion results, blending everything evenly from pesto to soup. While it couldn’t blend seed food aliases crush ice, I’m not judge that there’s a individual blender connected nan marketplace that can, and it was decidedly nan champion for heavy smoothies. I besides liked nan colour options – I tested a acheronian bluish model. It offers 2 speeds: “pulse” and “blend”.

It’s a shame that … While nan Beast’s jars are made of integrative – nan aforesaid BPA-free worldly that nan Vitamix uses – they’re truthful dense I concisely thought they mightiness beryllium made from very heavy glass. I precocious deadlifted astir 240lbs, but moreover I wouldn’t want to transportation a smoothie this dense to nan gym.

Capacity: 28.75 ounces
Power: 1,200 watts / 120 volts
Speeds: two (pulse and blend)

The champion of nan rest

Best blender for smoothies on nan go:
Nutribullet Pro 900

Photograph: Marion Bull/The Guardian

$89.19 astatine Amazon
$79.99 astatine Kohl’s

If you want a individual blender that will make bully smoothies and shakes you tin return to nan gym – aliases you balked astatine nan Beast’s $219 value tag – nan Nutribullet is your friend. At conscionable $88, nan Nutribullet blended smoothies that were only somewhat much textured than those of its much costly counterpart, and it handily blended crockery and pesto without immoderate problem. It besides comes pinch a 2nd jar, a lid for drinking and a clunky-looking but wholly effective detachable handle. This jar was fundamentally designed to beryllium thrown successful a gym bag.

It didn’t make nan last trim because … Its smoothies weren’t nan smoothest, but they still did nan trick.

Capacity: 32 ounces
Power: 900 watts
Speeds: one

Best blender for nan plastic-averse:
Oster Classic Series Heritage Blender pinch 6-Cup Glass Jar

Photograph: Marion Bull/The Guardian

$99.99 astatine Walmart

The Oster felt decidedly nostalgic – I’m beautiful judge that my parents had nan aforesaid 1 successful nan 90s, pinch its flip-on move and tapered solid jug. It’s besides nan only blender that arrived pinch zero integrative packaging: each cardboard, nary useless baggies. If you’re looking for a blender that will minimize imaginable exposure to microplastics, this is simply a awesome option, acknowledgment to its solid jug. The lid is still plastic, but has little interaction pinch your food. It besides offers a 10-year warranty – moreover longer than nan Vitamix’s.

It didn’t make nan last trim because … Its blending capabilities near thing to beryllium desired: it produced a decidedly mulchy greenish smoothie, and it ne'er sewage crockery arsenic soft arsenic its competitors. Because nan guidelines is truthful narrow, it’s difficult to cleanable by hand, arsenic nan area beneath nan blades is simply a situation to reach.

Capacity: 48 ounces
Power: 1,000 powerfulness watts/600 blending watts
Speeds: two

What cardinal features should I look retired for?

Choosing your blender will person a batch to do pinch really you want to usage it. Do you conscionable want to make shakes for nan gym, aliases are you an obsessive location navigator who has ever wanted to make hummus? When it comes to jug blenders, nan motor’s powerfulness is nan facet that astir contributes to nan blender’s expertise to do its job, but jug style besides comes into play. A much narrow, information guidelines will blend mini quantities amended than a wider, quadrate base.

If you’re conscionable looking for a smoothie-making machine, aliases you person very constricted antagonistic abstraction aliases budget, a individual blender is apt your champion bet, acknowledgment to its mini footprint and because nan jar turns into a to-go alloy for your drink. Jug blenders are amended for larger jobs, aliases thicker mixtures, specified arsenic heavy smoothies, seed butters, spreads and soups. A higher-power blender is going to connection a smoother consistency and faster results.

How do I cleanable my blender?

Photograph: Marion Bull/The Guardian

Most high-speed blenders tin cleanable themselves pinch a small help. Rinse retired your blender arsenic champion you can, adhd a compression of crockery soap and capable halfway pinch water. Then blend connected precocious for a minute. Unless you were blending thing peculiarly sticky, this should cleanable retired your blender, and each you person to do is rinse it. You whitethorn person to lavation nan lid by hand.

Personal blenders are a small different. Cleaning nan jars is nan aforesaid arsenic cleaning a h2o glass. Be observant erstwhile cleaning nan blades. I for illustration to soak them successful basking soapy h2o for astir 20 minutes, which will loosen immoderate bits of crockery that person lodged successful crevices.

What other did you test?

These are nan blenders that I tested, successful alphabetical order:

• The Beast Mega 1200 Plus

• Blendtec Total Blender Classic

• Breville Fresh & Furious

• Cuisinart Hurricane

• Nutribullet Pro 900

• Classic Series Heritage Blender pinch 6-Cup Glass Jar

• Vitamix 5200

• Vitamix Ascent X5

• Zwilling Enfinigy Personal Blender

Marian Bull has 10 years’ acquisition successful look reviewing – and successful cleaning her blender. She has written astir nutrient for publications including Bon Appétit, nan New York Times and nan Los Angeles Times.