Cuisinart Power Blend Immersion Blender: one-minute review

American manufacturer Cuisinart is known for its range of high-quality kitchen appliances at affordable prices. The Power Blend Immersion Blender follows suit, offering versatility and convenience for less than $70 / £50 / AU$90.

his powerful four-in-one stick blender comes with several convenient accessories and attachments, including a food processor (with a mixing/chopping blade and reversible shredding/slicing disc), a chef’s whisk, a blending shaft, and a prep-and-store cup that makes prepping and storing foods like whipped cream and omelette mix a breeze. It’s even got an ergonomic handle design to make use and maneuvering more comfortable.

The results are impressive, with the Power Blend’s pressure-controlled speed giving you more control over its use and quickly whisking eggs, blending soups, and grating cheese.

However, it’s not without its flaws. This appliance may leave some food unprocessed or blended, and the blenders' pressure controls may not be suited to those with restricted hand or wrist movement (especially when turning it on). These may or may not be dealbreakers for you, depending on your individual needs, but they’re enough to hold the Cuisinart Power Blend Immersion Blender back from a position among our top blender picks.

• £49.99 (about $70 / AU$90) direct from Cuisinart
• Available at third-party retailers, such as Amazon and Costco
• Regularly discounted to £42.99
• Not available in the U.S. or Australia

The Cuisinart Power Blend Immersion Blender is priced at £49.99 (about $70 / AU$90), making it more affordable than competitors such as the Ninja Power Duo Immersion Blender ($79.99, roughly £60 / AU$110) and the Bosch ErgoMaster Series 6 (£99.99, or about $140 / AU$210), which is one of the best blenders on the market. Unfortunately, this product isn’t available in the US or Australia.

Considering the versatility and power of the Cuisinart Power Blend Immersion Blender, it offers fantastic value for money. What’s more, third-party retailers like Amazon and Costco tend to offer a discount, bringing the price down to £42.99 – offering more bang for your buck.

• Value score: 5/5

Cuisinart Power Blend Immersion Blender: specifications

Cuisinart Power Blend Immersion Blender: design

• Comfortable ergonomic handle
• Dishwasher-friendly parts
• Pressure-controlled speed…
• …that can be tricky to use with the unlock button
• Motor can become warm

The Cuisinart Power Blend Immersion Blender has a silver base that houses its motor and an ergonomic handle design that makes it comfortable to use and maneuver – especially if you have restricted mobility in your hand or wrist. Near the top of the handle is a variable, pressure-controlled speed button (with an LED light at the very top indicating the speed) and an unlock/on button.

At the bottom of the base is an attachment release button, with attachments able to be inserted and locked in with ease. This versatile immersion blender comes with three main attachments: a blending shaft, a 950ml food processor, and a chef’s whisk. In addition, the appliance comes with a canvas storage bag to keep all the bits in and a convenient 700ml prep-and-store cup and lid – though the cup lid did come unstuck a few times for us.

The blending shaft comes with a protective blade guard, allowing it to be used in glass, enamel, and non-stick vessels, while minimising splashing, which we found very effective. It also comes with a blade storage cover to allow the shaft to be safely stored. The full-sized chef’s whisk is attached to the base with a detachable gearbox and works a treat, especially when combined with the prep-and-store cup.

The food processor features a lid with a decent-sized feed chute (that could fit a large carrot vertically) and pusher, with a reversible slicing/shredding disc and mixing/chopping blade included and easily inserted into the work bowl.

To turn the appliance on, you need to press the unlock button while pressing the speed control button, before releasing the unlock, a bit like the mechanism seen on some lawnmowers. While this is a great child-safe feature, it took us a few tries to start the blender initially. Even when we’d worked out the system, holding both buttons simultaneously was uncomfortable, especially as you need to be mindful of the pressure you’re applying to the speed control.

While testing the chef whisk feature with some eggs in the prep-and-store cup. While trying to apply enough pressure to turn the blender on, we accidentally applied too much, resulting in our raw eggs splattering all over the kitchen.

This brings us nicely on to cleaning. Certain parts of the Power Blend are dishwasher safe: the food processor bowl, pusher, chopping/mixing blade, slicing/shredding disc, and prep-and-store cup and lid. However, the blending shaft and food processor lid need to be hand-washed, and the base should be wiped down. While the blending shaft and base are fairly easy to clean, the food processor lid is less so; it can't be immersed in water, so cleaning inside the feed chute is somewhat challenging.

Another issue we found with this stick blender was the heat the motor emitted when blending soup. We used the appliance for about two minutes, occasionally stopping and starting, and the handle was warm to the touch, suggesting the motor may be overheating. As such, we recommend not using this immersion blender continuously for too long or taking breaks if the handle begins to get quite warm.

• Design score: 4/5

Cuisinart Power Blend Immersion Blender: performance

• Quickly blends chunky soups
• Convenient mini food processor attachment
• Impressive whisking
• Uneven cutting and some food left unprocessed

The first thing we tested was the Cuisinart Power Blend Immersion Blender’s blending shaft attachment. After boiling a chunky 1L of homemade vegetable soup (with carrots, onions, cauliflower, potatoes, and a leek) until the veg was soft, we let it cool before blending on a medium-to-high pressure.

After around two minutes of blending, the soup was pretty smooth, but a few rebel chunks of cauliflower remained. As mentioned previously, at this point, the handle began to heat up, so we didn’t want to push it any more.

Next, we tested the chef’s whisk attachment. While the whisk seems quite flimsy, it’s pretty impressive. After cleaning up our prior disaster – and becoming more mindful of how sensitive the pressure controls are – we applied minimum pressure to our remaining eggs (mixed with milk and herbs) and had perfectly whisked eggs in a matter of seconds. It was so quick, we didn’t have time to whip out our phone and time it.

The food processor was equally impressive, though it isn’t without its flaws. We tested the mixing/chopping blade first, adding all the ingredients for a saag paste (including garlic, wilted spinach, veggie oil, spices, and coriander). It took around 30 seconds to make the paste, but it was loud: around 88 to 90 decibels. While most of the paste was mixed well, there were some less mixed parts at the bottom, under the blades, though it wasn’t enough to be a dealbreaker.

We also tested chopping a red onion with this blade, chopped into large chunks. It only took three or four short, one-second pulses of high-speed power to chop the onion. However, this was also loud – between 90 and 94 decibels – the cuts were largely uneven. We were impressed that the results weren’t overly wet, as we’ve seen when chopping onions with other powerful food processors.

Next, we tested the shredding/slicing disc, beginning with shredding (or grating) 50g of mature cheddar cut into rectangular blocks to fit the feed chute. While the cheese was grated in under 10 seconds, there was a lot of unshredded cheese on top of the disc.

We also experienced this using the slicing disc with a large carrot. While it took less than five seconds to slice the carrot, the slices were uneven, and there were some unsliced carrot remnants on top of the disc afterwards.

Overall, the Cuisinart Power Blend Immersion Blender performs well, offering a lot of versatility and largely impressive results – but it does come with a few quirks that may irk some more than others.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Cuisinart Power Blend Immersion Blender?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Cuisinart Power Blend Immersion Blender: also consider

If you're not sure whether this is the right blender for you, here are two other options to add to your shortlist.

How I tested the Cuisinart Power Blend Immersion Blender

I tested the Cuisinart Power Blend Immersion Blender by preparing a wide variety of foods, including eggs, curry paste, and vegetable soup. I also used its food processor attachment to shred cheese, and chop various vegetables, and compared the results with those from a dedicated food processor. I cleaned the blender thoroughly after use, following the manufacturer's instructions. For more details, see how we test, review, and rate products at TechRadar.

First reviewed June 2026.

Do you like the sound of "a fun portable blender with a sippy-cup lid"? If so, the Ninja Blast Portable Blender is on sale at Amazon for £35.99 (was £49.99) — and it will suit you brilliantly.

Capable of creating smoothies and protein shakes as well as blending ice and frozen fruit, the Ninja Blast makes healthy eating an absolute breeze. It's also chargeable via USB-C, which makes it easy to keep it powered up.

The last time this blender was on offer was back in January, but the latest discount sees it drop in price by a further £5. Given Ninja's excellent track record, our four-star review, and now this £14 price cut, we think this deal is worth a look.

Today’s best blender deal

Our Ninja Blast review rated the popular blender a respectable four out of five stars with positive things to say about its ability to handle fibrous foods, its easy-to-clean design, and the inclusion of a base and blade cover. It's a fantastic all-rounder that punches above its weight, especially at this price point.

As we've come to expect from Ninja products, the Blast also boasts a stylish design, which means it'll look great on any kitchen counter or in a utility room. And when you've finished blending up your favourite smoothie, take it with you courtesy of the integrated to-go lid with handle.

When it comes to the point of needing to recharge the device, this can be done via a USB-C cable. If you're anything like me, and given the fact that iPhones now use USB-C, you'll have tonnes of those lying around.

If the Ninja Blast is not for you, then have a look at our best blenders and best juicers guides. Alternatively, if you're in the mood for other kitchen gadgets to improve your life, then our air fryer deals and coffee maker deals pages are a great place to start.

Ninja Power Duo Immersion Blender with Whisk: one-minute review

The Ninja Power Duo Immersion Blender with Whisk does just what you'd expect, based on the name. The device comes with two different attachments, one for blending and one for whisking. The attachments are easy and intuitive to swap out. You can use the provided container or use just about any pot, bowl, or container you'd like. Make your favorite sauces, smoothies, whipped food, and more. The Ninja Power Duo Immersion Blender with Whisk offers three power levels.

Working with an immersion blender is a bit different from a standing blender; you need a bit of coordination to get everything blended properly. You need to hold down the power button as you blend, use an up and down motion, and use another finger to toggle the speed up or down. I ended up with some tiny ice shards in some of my smoothies, but further blending probably would have taken care of that.

Cleanup couldn't be easier. The motor/handle can be wiped down with a damp cloth if needed. All other parts can be popped into the dishwasher (top rack) or hand-washed with warm soapy water. All of the parts are light and easy to stash away, freeing up valuable counter space for other appliances.

Ninja Power Duo Immersion Blender with Whisk: price and availability

• List price: $79.99 (about £60 / AU$113)
• Widely available online and in stores

The Ninja Power Duo Immersion Blender with Whisk can be found at many major retailers across the US, both online and in stores. You can purchase it at Ninja's own website or at Walmart, Target, Macy's, Amazon, and many more. There are two color options: Dark Gray, which you can see in my photos, and Deep Navy. Additional accessories available for purchase include a 3-cup Power Chopper and 4-cup Blending Pitcher.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Ninja Power Duo Immersion Blender with Whisk: specifications

Ninja Power Duo Immersion Blender with Whisk: design and features

• Use provided container or just about any other
• Three blending speeds
• 750-watt motor

The clever design of the Ninja Power Duo Immersion Blender with Whisk allows it to be used in a lot of different situations. From blending sauce on the stove to cottage cheese in its own container or whisking egg whites in a shallow bowl, this appliance offers a lot of flexibility. The provided 3-cup plastic container is handy and even has a lid for storing leftovers. The blending blade is surrounded by a splatter shield to minimize mess as you blend.

Other thoughtful touches include the ease with which you can swap out the blending blade and whisk. All parts that contact food are designed to be dishwasher-safe, which makes cleanup super easy. They can also be easily hand-washed if you prefer.

The power button must be held down as you use the device, which takes a bit of coordination, especially if you change speeds while blending. It does take some getting used to, but I can't fault Ninja for that choice: it is clearly a safety feature.

• Design score: 5/5

Ninja Power Duo Immersion Blender with Whisk: performance

I tested the Ninja Power Duo Immersion Blender with Whisk on a number of different foods. I blended pasta sauce, hummus, smoothies, frozen yogurt, and cottage cheese. I whisked egg whites. It handled everything well without excessive mess or noise.

I made some pasta sauce from canned whole tomatoes. I placed the immersion blender directly into the pot on the stove. In less than a minute, the tomatoes were blended into a smooth puree. I was a little nervous that I'd end up with sauce all over my stove, but that was not the case at all.

I made two different smoothies, one with frozen cherries, almond milk, and yogurt and another with frozen mangoes and fruit juice. Both came out smooth and delicious.

I also made some different "frozen yogurts," which are similar to smoothies but with frozen fruit, ice, yogurt, and no liquid, so they are a bit more challenging for blenders. I made a banana-peanut butter flavor, banana-chocolate, and cherry. The banana versions also included some hemp seeds and protein powder. All of the seeds and powders blended up smoothly. I did get the occasional ice shard; I probably could have taken more time to be sure I blended every inch.

I blended the cherry one directly in the yogurt container (which only had about a half-cup of yogurt left at the bottom.) I just added frozen cherries and blended for a super-simple and healthy dessert.

I had about half a container of cottage cheese and I blended it right in the container. Just a few seconds turned the curds into a smoother texture, which I later used to make a chia pudding.

I made an ultra-simple hummus with ingredients I had on hand: a can of chickpeas (rinsed and drained), lemon juice, olive oil, cumin, garlic, and salt. It actually came out delicious, though I suspect that the addition of tahini would have made it even better and smoother.

I've never actually whipped egg whites before, but the whisk attachment made it super easy. The pictures below speak better than words. It was kind of magic.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Ninja Power Duo Immersion Blender with Whisk?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Ninja Power Duo Immersion Blender with Whisk: also consider

If the Ninja Power Duo Immersion Blender with Whisk isn't exactly what you're looking for, you might consider the following:

How I tested the Ninja Power Duo Immersion Blender with Whisk

• I tested both attachments and all three power levels
• I made a variety of beverages and foods
• I cleaned it after every use, both by hand and in the dishwasher

I blended pasta sauce that started with a can of whole tomatoes. I made a simple hummus with a drained and rinsed can of chickpeas, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and spices. I made several different kinds of smoothies and frozen yogurt with ice and/or frozen fruit, some of which included powders and seeds. I blended cottage cheese, right in its container. I whisked egg whites until they formed peaks.

Read more about how we test.

• The Nutribullet Power Core Blender is an extra-powerful countertop blender
• It has a 1,400W motor, and its blades can spin at 20,000rpm
• It's on sale now direct from Nutribullet for $99.99 / AU$179.95 (about £75)

Nutribullet has moved beyond shakes and smoothies with a new countertop blender that can handle family-size portions and tough ingredients — and it looks like a great tool for preparing my favorite vegetable soups.

The Nutribullet Power Core Blender has a 72oz / 2.1 liter pitcher, giving you space to blend family-sized portions, and has a seriously powerful motor tucked away in the base to handle even tough and fibrous ingredients; stringy celery and frozen veg might have finally met their match.

Nutribullet is best known for making some of the best blenders for whipping up single portions of blended beverages (such as the Magic Bullet and Nutribullet Ultra) but it's also making a name for itself with full-size appliances like the Nutribullet Triple Prep System, which we awarded four and a half stars in our recent review.

Faster than fast

I recently got my hands on the Ninja BlendBoss — a compact but heavyweight blender with 1,200 watts of vegetable-liquidizing power at its disposal. The Nutribullet Power Core has an even beefier 1,400-watt motor at its heart, with six-point stainless steel blades that spin at up to 20,000rpm — those carrots won't know what hit them.

Clean-up should be simple as well, as the pitcher, lid, and lid cap are all dishwasher-safe, while the base can be wiped clean.

The Power Core Blender is on sale now direct from Nutribullet for $99.99in the US and for AU$179 at JB Hi-Fi in Australia (about £75). International release dates and official pricing are yet to be announced, but I'm hoping to put the new blender through its paces and bring you a full review very soon.

I’ve tested a lot of personal blenders and smoothie-makers here at TechRadar, including some super compact models that pack a real fruit-blending punch, but after using the new Ninja BlendBoss, I have a new favorite.

The BlendBoss was launched in the US late last year, and arrived here in the UK this week. Our US-based kitchen tech writer Karen Freeman has already given her verdict, awarding it an impressive four and a half stars out of five, but I was keen to try the funky-looking new appliance for myself now that it’s available on my side of the Atlantic.

The first thing you’ll notice about the BlendBoss is its unusual shape, a departure from most of our best blenders list. Its base, which contains its motor, is a flattened ball shape (or an oblate spheroid if you want to get technical), while its blending jug takes the form of a travel cup with a large carry handle. You can drink directly from the lid, or sip from the chunky straw provided (which has a soft silicone end to make sure you get every last drop from the bottom of the cup — a clever idea.

Lifting the BlendBoss out of its box, I was surprised just how much its base weighs. According to my kitchen scale, it’s 1.7kg (not including the plug), which is easily heavier than any other personal blender I’ve used to date. That makes sense when you check the specs, though. Whereas most of its smoothie-making rivals have a 800 or 1,000-watt motor, the BlendBoss’s base is packing a mighty 1,200 watts.

The weight helps keep the blender steady on your kitchen counter, too — aided by a set of three suction cups that hold it firmly in place. Got a wooden or textured counter that won’t give an airtight seal? No problem — the BlendBoss also has textured silicone between the suction cups for grip. That base isn’t going anywhere.

To really put the ‘smooth’ in ‘smoothie’, the blender comes with a guide telling you which order to add your ingredients for best results: liquid (at least 180ml), then dry or sticky ingredients like seeds or nut butter, fresh fruit and veg, yogurt, ice or anything frozen, and finally leafy greens.

To put it through its paces, I started off with a good dose of almond milk, with a scoop of vanilla protein powder, a tablespoon of chia seeds, a whole banana, two tablespoons of natural Greek yogurt, a handful of frozen berries (including several frozen together in a clump), and a handful of spinach leaves. I was particularly interested to see how the BlendBoss would fare with the seeds; I’ve tested some smoothie-makers recently that can tackle blackcurrant pips, but chia seeds are so tiny they could pose a real problem if not soaked first,

The BlendBoss has a handy preset for smoothies (Smoothie IQ), so I hit this button once and let it get to work. The blend cycle was thorough, with a couple of short pulses followed by a couple of longer ones. It’s one of the louder blenders I’ve tested, but if you’re not using ice or frozen ingredients then it won’t be quite so noisy.

Sipping my finished concoction, I found that I needn’t have worried about the chia seeds; the BlendBoss had pulverised them to oblivion, along with the seeds from my frozen berry mix. The clump of frozen fruit hadn’t been an issue either, and unlike some of my experiences with other blenders, there were no stray chunks of icy strawberry to worry about.,

So the BlendBoss had proved its ability to handle tiny ingredients. What about something bigger? I recently purchased a spiralizer for my stand mixer, which removes the core from your chosen fruit or vegetable while it slices. It works well on carrots, but at the end of the process you’re left with a hard stick of unspiralized carrot to deal with. I’ve been keeping them in the fridge for soup, but they seemed like an ideal challenge for the BlendBoss.

All blended drinks need a certain amount of liquid, so I started with 180ml of apple juice. I then added a carrot core (snapped in half) and half a conference pear for some more sweetness. I finished it off with the obligatory handful of spinach (mostly to ensure my creation turned out green rather than an unappetizing shade of beige).

It took about 10 seconds for the carrot to catch on the blender’s blades (I could see its orange form poking through the swirling mix of apple and pear), but once it hit them, it was instantly and effortlessly pulverised.

Once again, the resulting drink was extremely smooth. With other blenders I’ve often felt the need to peel conference pears to avoid the skin giving my juice a slightly gritty texture, but that wasn’t the case here. Once I was finished, cleanup was a breeze. Everything except the base can be washed with warm, soapy water, and all traces of smoothie will wash right off.

Having blended half the contents of my fridge’s salad drawer, I’m thoroughly impressed, and already considering more possibilities. Blended iced coffee has to be next on the list, and maybe even frozen spinach (though not together).

We’ll be making a video of the BlendBoss in action very soon so you can see how well this mighty smoothie-maker performs for yourself.

• The Ninja BlendBoss is available in the UK for £129.99 direct from Ninja
• It has a 1,200-watt motor to tackle tough smoothie ingredients
• Our US-based reviewer awarded it four and a half stars out of five

The Ninja BlendBoss – a funky-looking two-in-one blender and travel cup – is finally available to buy in the UK. Ninja has been teasing the arrival of the BlendBoss for several weeks now (a sneaky preview appeared on the company's website last month), and if you've been dying to get your hands on one, it's on sale now direct from Ninja for £129.99.

The BlendBoss consists of a circular base containing a powerful motor, with a travel cup that screws into place on top. Your smoothie is blended directly in the cup; once it's ready, just take the cup off the base, and replace the blade unit with the sip-and-straw-lid.

The travel cup is designed to fit in most cupholders, and the whole blender comes in a choice of fun colour combinations, so you'll actually want to carry it around. Options include Cyberspace (dark blue), Lavender Lemonade (lilac and pale yellow), Watermelon Bubblegum (pink and green), Stone Mint (grey), and Blue Raspberry (blue and turquoise).

The blender has three blending presets (smoothie, blend, and crush), which use different pulse, pause, and blend patterns to handle different ingredients. Want manual control? The BlendBoss also has a pulse button for exactly that.

I've tested a lot of portable blenders and smoothie-makers here at TechRadar, and although they all make light work of soft ingredients like bananas and strawberries, they often struggle with tougher customers like ice, frozen fruit, and kale. That's largely due to their motors, which are usually between 800 and 1,000 watts, and can't always power through anything especially hard or fibrous.

The Ninja BlendBoss is different. Although its base is larger than average, it's packing a 1,200 watt motor to make light work of troublesome ingredients. That's good news for anyone who enjoys slushies or green smoothies; trust me, having flakes of kale leaf stuck between your teeth is no fun at all.

Blending like a boss?

Our US-based writer Karen Freeman got her hands on the BlendBoss when it launched in the US, and was thoroughly impressed by its power — even when it came to tough ingredients.

"In every case, the blender was super fast and blended everything completely," she wrote. "Even the spinach in one of my smoothies was blended so fine that I couldn't see or taste the spinach at all."

After putting the BlendBoss through its paces with various different recipes, Karen concluded that "making silky smoothies has never been so much fun," and awarded the BlendBoss an impressive four and a half stars out of five.

I'm also putting the BlendBoss through its paces in my kitchen (a process that involves plenty of kale and blueberries), and I'll bring you a full video review as soon as I'm done.

Want more blender recommendations? Take a look at my complete roundup of the best blenders to find my top-rated options for whipping up homemade smoothies, sauces, soups, and dips.

As a fan of eating and drinking a little healthier each day, I invested in a portable blender last year – I’m so glad I did. Today, you can buy that same blender for even less than I paid. That’s because the Ninja Blast Portable Blender is at Amazon for £39.99 (was £49.99), which brings it down to its Black Friday price.

I love my Ninja Blast – even though I did pay full price for it back in the day. It’s Ninja’s most compact and quietest blender, meaning it can blitz frozen fruit or ice without a hitch. The cup has a 530ml capacity, so it's best for one drink at a time, which I can easily fit into my morning routine while I make breakfast. The rechargeable USB-C base is convenient, too, allowing you to take it anywhere you want.

Today’s best blender deal

Our Ninja Blast review is what sold the blender to me. Described as a “powerful portable blender”, it tackles fibrous foods with ease and has a "great to-go lid with a handle".

It’s lightweight and stylish wherever you use it. I tend to keep it in my kitchen, but it’s useful to be able to charge quickly via USB, which I only have to do once a week. I make a regular drink out of protein powder, frozen fruit, water, and some fruit juice. Once in a while, the frozen fruit gets stuck, but a quick shake gets it back on track.

While it’s not like one of the more conventional best blenders, as it’s a portable device focused on drinks rather than hot foods, it’s incredibly useful. I find it helps me keep hydrated in a more interesting manner.

Plus, it’s more convenient in many ways than the best juicers. I’ve found it to be one of my favorite devices in recent times, while being much cheaper than buying smoothies while out and about.

Thinking of other ways to improve your daily life? Check out the air fryer deals going on. They’re another game changer in life and a huge help when cooking. When improving your kitchen, take a look at the coffee maker deals going on right now too. They can all really benefit your life.

Nutribullet Flex Portable Blender: one-minute review

Nutribullet has cemented itself as a trusted name in the kitchen appliance space, with its blenders and juicers among the best in the market. The Nutribullet Flex Portable Blender offers this same quality in a more lightweight package, allowing for on-the-go blending.

The Nutribullet Flex is an upgraded version of the Nutribullet Portable Blender, adding a few welcome new features, including increased capacity and clear charge indicators. As such, it comes in slightly more than its predecessor, while still being affordable at under $100.

Considering the quality of this personal blender, it offers excellent value for money for those seeking a convenient, portable blender that produces optimal results with cold beverages and smoothies. Its lightweight design means you can easily disassemble the appliance and take it with you to work, the gym, or on vacation, while its rechargeability means you won’t be searching high and low for a plug socket.

Each of its four charges allows for approximately eight blend cycles (each lasts 30 seconds), meaning you can quickly mix your food and transport it with ease, using the convenient carry loop attached to its lid. If you’re looking for a personal blender that prioritises convenience, speed, and cold beverages, this is an excellent choice.

However, this blender lacks versatility and can struggle with some ingredients or recipes, so you’re best to stick to cold drinks and smoothies with this one. Its portability is always negatively impacted by its volume, which could restrict where you can use it, and the lack of storage for its sharp blades.

Nutribullet Flex Portable Blender: price and availability

• $69.99 / £59.99 / AU$99.95 at Nutribullet
• Available at third-party retailers, such as Amazon, Decathlon, and Target

Priced at $69.99 / £59.99 / AU$99.95, the Nutribullet Flex Portable Blender offers great quality for an affordable price. And, what’s more, we regularly see discounts on this appliance at Nutribullet and third-party retailers.

While it doesn’t offer as much versatility as many of the best blenders on the market, if you’re looking for a portable blender for cold drinks and smoothies, without breaking the $100 mark, this is a great choice.

For those who want to keep under the $50 mark, however, the Nutribullet Magic Bullet Portable Blender ($39.99 / £39.99 / A$79.95) offers a solid alternative. If you don’t mind splashing out a bit more for a more powerful, convenient on-the-go blender, we highly recommend the Nutribullet Flip ($99.99, roughly £80 / AU$150), especially if you intend to make a lot of frozen or icy beverages.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Nutribullet Flex Portable Blender: specifications

Nutribullet Flex Portable Blender: design

• Rechargeable, with plug-in option
• Tight seals prevent leaks
• Carry loop on sip lid for on-the-go drinks
• No storage for blade block

Out of the box, the Nutribullet Flex Portable Blender comes with a motor base, a 590ml cup, a sip lid featuring a carry loop for on-the-go use, and a blade block. While our model came in black, Nutribullet offers several colour options, including green and grey.

The blender is straightforward to assemble and takes up minimal space, making it ideal for smaller kitchens or communal work/living spaces. Disassembling the appliance also requires minimal effort; its parts are fairly compact, so they easily fit into an average-sized backpack or gym bag. Our only concern is a lack of storage for the blade block, which is sharp. Including a small hub for this could make the appliance safer to transport.

This portable blender’s 590ml cup offers enough space to make a single smoothie or drink for one, though it's worth noting that the 'max' line on ours was at 400ml, meaning, in reality, that’s the capacity you have to work with. The accompanying sip lid screws snuggly onto the cup, preventing any leakages, while its secure carry loop allows you to carry your finished drink in hand as soon as your blending is complete.

The blade block fits tightly onto the bottom of the cup and is locked into the motor base with a satisfying click. Again, we had no issues with leakages throughout our testing. The motor base has a minimalistic LED display, featuring a large power button. This simply requires one press to turn on. When turned on, a clockwise light ring appears around the button, confirming it's ready to be operated. Below this button are four LED lights, indicating the amount of charge the blender currently has.

The Nutribullet Flex Portable Blender is rechargeable, meaning it largely works wirelessly. A USB-C cable for charging is included, which plugs into a discrete port at the back of the motor base. However, no adapter is included. While you can use the appliance plugged in, it must have at least one charge (one white light) for this to work, and operating the blender plugged in pauses charging during the blend cycle. In addition, the provided cable is only 50cm long, restricting where you can place the appliance.

We found it took approximately 50 minutes for one light (charge) to appear, and the blender offered approximately eight 30-second blending cycles per charge. This does, however, seem to be variable and can depend on what you’re blending and if you’re overheating the appliance.

This blender’s lightweight design makes it fairly easy to transport, but you may want to consider where you use it. Nutribullet products are typically quite loud, and while the Flex Portable Blender is a bit quieter (depending on its use), we found it averaged a decibel reading of 82, roughly equivalent to the volume of traffic. So, while you can take it to work or the gym, your colleagues and peers may not appreciate it.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Nutribullet Flex Portable Blender: performance

• Best suited to beverages
• Blends smoothies consistently well
• Struggles with certain solid ingredients
• 30-second blend cycle may not be enough

We began our testing of the Nutribullet Flex Portable Blender with Nutribullet’s own Banana Kale smoothie recipe. Due to the size of the appliance, we had to half the recipe to ensure it fit the cup. This blender comes with a small leaflet instructing you on how to build a smoothie optimally, in other words, the order to add the ingredients. It’s a lifesaver for those new to smoothie making, and blenders, too, for that matter.

After adding the ingredients and securing the cup, we pressed the power button, which triggered a 30-second blend cycle – which you can stop at any time by pressing the button again. The results were impressive: the consistency was thick and creamy, but smooth. There were no lumps of unblended fruit or veg in the cup or under the blades.

Next, we used one of the recipes Nutribullet recommends for this appliance. Following the included QR code takes you to the Nutribullet app, which allows you to input your appliance type and dietary requirements and suggests recipes based on your needs. The app itself is a bit of a pain; it signed us out every time we closed it, and wouldn’t let us sign in again without creating a new account. The recipes, too, were limited to fewer than 10, primarily smoothies and lattes.

We tried the Strawberry Banana Smoothie, composed of almond milk, ice, chia seeds, half a banana, strawberries, and vanilla extract. We again built the smoothie as suggested, but found that – despite being recommended for the Portable Blender – the ingredients exceeded the max line. This is potentially because they’re for the non-Flex version of this device, but this isn’t specified in the app (nor is Flex specifically a choice when choosing your device). As a result, we had to remove a large amount of ice for the blender to function safely.

The results, again, were excellent. However, we did find a small lump of unblended banana in the final product, and some of our chia seeds had stuck to the side of the cup in a clump. Overall, this didn’t affect the final product and, again, there was no unblended residue stuck under the blades.

As part of our standard control testing for blenders, we don’t simply test smoothies, however. Nutribullet describes the Flex Portable as being for “on-the-go lifestyles,” and while that suggests it's primarily for beverages, it doesn’t specify it’s only for smoothies and cold drinks.

We tested Nutribullet’s hummus recipe, again halving the ingredients. While the bottom portion of the ingredients blended fairly well after one cycle, the top remained untouched. The blender struggled considerably with the thickness of the hummus, slowing it to a standstill at one point, despite our attempts to loosen the mixture. Similarly, the appliance struggled with ice.

We wanted to use our ice control tests to check the chopping abilities of the blade. Again, the bottom portion was chopped, but the top remained untouched.

Surprisingly, what did work well was mayonnaise, another of our controls. This recipe applies more to a standard blender, as it requires adding oil while the device is on. We, instead, stopped the blender short of its cycle to add more before blending further each time. The result was actually nice, well-blended mayonnaise.

While the Nutribullet Flex Portable Blender is capable of mixing some non-beverage recipes, it’s not recommended. This isn’t necessarily a big drawback for this product, which is likely aimed at those making beverages on-the-go rather than quick mayo for your lunchtime sandwich.

What is worth noting is its struggle with more solid, thicker ingredients and its lack of versatility. If you are in the market for a portable blender that focuses on making cold drinks and does that well, but doesn’t offer the capabilities of competitor products, this is an excellent choice.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Nutribullet Flex Portable Blender?

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Don't buy it if

Ninja BlendBOSS Tumbler Blender: one-minute review

The Ninja BlendBOSS Tumbler Blender with 26oz Travel Tumbler is ideal for people who want to quickly make smoothies, iced coffee, and other frozen beverages on the go. Just put your ingredients into the tumbler, screw on the blade lid, screw the blade lid onto the 1,200-watt motor base, and press one of the four blend mode buttons. There are three intelligent preset programs: Smoothie, Ice Crush, and Blend. These modes combine pulsing, blending, and pausing so you don't have guess. Unscrew the tumbler and screw on the drinking lid, grab a straw if you like, and you're on your way.

All three of the removable parts (tumbler, blade, travel lid) are easy to clean and dishwasher-safe. The base, which stays stable on your counter with suction cups, doesn't need to be washed. Simply wipe with a damp cloth if spills happen.

The Ninja BlendBOSS Tumbler Blender is aesthetically pleasing, with four whimsical colorways. The travel tumbler resembles trendy water bottle styles.

Ninja BlendBOSS Tumbler Blender: price and availability

• List price: $119.99 (about £90 / AU$180)
• Not widely available outside the US

The Ninja BlendBOSS Tumbler Blender with 26oz Travel Tumbler is available at all major retailers in the US, both online and in brick-and-mortar stores. Find it at Ninja's own website or at Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Amazon, and many more. It comes in four fun colorways: Lavender Lemonade (purple and yellow, as seen in my photos), Blue Raspberry (light blue and seafoam green), Watermelon Bubblegum (sage green and pale pink), and Cyberspace (gray and steel blue). It retails for $119.99 (about £90 / AU$180)

It's not widely available outside the US at the time of writing, though you may be able to find it imported via Amazon Marketplace.

• Value score: 4/5

Ninja BlendBOSS Tumbler Blender: specifications

Ninja BlendBOSS Tumbler Blender: design and features

• Blend directly into the travel tumbler
• Four blending modes (three are automatic)
• 1,200-watt motor

Ninja BlendBOSS Tumbler Blender with 26oz Travel Tumbler is well-designed for its purpose. The powerful 1200-watt motor quickly and easily blends ice and frozen fruit for smoothies, iced coffee, and other frozen beverages to go. The tumbler is large but the tapered base fits into most cars' cupholders.

The tumbler has measurement markings on it, so you can combine your ingredients directly into it. The six-ounce marking also serves as the minimum liquid marking, since you must use at least six ounces of liquid in order for the BlendBOSS to blend properly. There is also a max fill line near the top, at the 24-ounce mark. This gives you space at the top to add whipped cream or other toppings after you're done blending.

There are four buttons on the base of the Ninja BlendBOSS Tumbler Blender. Three of them are automatic settings that use a combination of pulses and pauses to take the guesswork out of blending. The first button, Blend IQ, runs for 60 seconds. The second, Smoothie IQ, runs for 55 seconds. Ice Crush IQ is the third button, and it goes for 50 seconds. The fourth button, Pulse, is the only manual button. Any blender can be pretty loud, though this one isn't louder than others I've used. The IQ buttons allow you to walk away while your treat is blending, so you don't even have to listen to it up close.

The base is pretty big and heavy for a tumbler blender, probably due to its 1200-watt motor. It does have two suction cups on the bottom to keep it from moving around when you blend. The blade lid and the travel lid both screw on securely and easily. The travel/chug lid has a button so you can pop it open, revealing the chug opening. When you close it, the lid is leak-proof.

I did have one issue with the chug lid. If you do indeed chug directly from the lid (as opposed to using a straw), the top of the lid falls down on your head when you're taking your last sips. I found that pretty annoying, and found myself either using a straw or removing the lid entirely and just drinking directly from the tumbler.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Ninja BlendBOSS Tumbler Blender: performance

I made a number of different recipes to test out the Ninja BlendBOSS Tumbler Blender, including several different smoothies, pancake batter, pasta sauce, and an iced drink. In every case, the blender was super fast and blended everything completely. Even the spinach in one of my smoothies was blended so fine that I couldn't see or taste the spinach at all. The ice in my iced lemonade was essentially turned to a slushy snow. I did try blending smoothies with less than the recommended amount (six ounces) of liquid, and ended up having to stop the blender, take off the blending lid, and stir around the contents. Everything else I made (with the proper amount of liquid) blended just perfectly without my having to do anything besides press the start button.

In the images below, I was making a smoothie with frozen blueberries and spinach, and it came out perfectly smooth. There were no chunks of blueberry skin or spinach.

Below are photos of the iced lemonade I made. The BlendBOSS turned ice into snow incredibly quickly and thoroughly.

I got a little creative below, making a protein pancake batter from cottage cheese, eggs, and oats. The result was a smooth liquid with no chunks at all.

Next I made some pasta sauce. Here I blended a can of whole tomatoes and cottage cheese. I didn't even do a whole blend cycle, a few seconds was all it took to turn that into sauce. I poured the contents of the blender into a pot I had on the stove with olive oil and browned garlic.

• Performance score: 5/5

Should you buy the Ninja BlendBOSS Tumbler Blender?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Ninja BlendBOSS Tumbler Blender: also consider

If you're not sure about the Ninja BlendBOSS Tumbler Blender, here are some other blenders you might like

How I tested the Ninja BlendBOSS Tumbler Blender

• I tested all four blender buttons
• I used it for weeks to make a variety of beverages and foods
• I cleaned it after every use

I made a variety of smoothies, all of them with the minimum amount of liquid and heavy on the frozen fruit and ice. I made a cherry-yogurt-almond milk smoothie, a banana-yogurt-almond milk smoothie that included a number of powders and seeds, and a banana-blueberry-spinach-hemp seed smoothie. I made an iced lemonade beverage that included ice, water, and lemon balsamic vinegar. I made protein pancake batter with equal parts egg whites, cottage cheese, and dry oatmeal. I made pasta sauce with cottage cheese and canned whole tomatoes (added to browned garlic and olive oil on the stove.) Everything I made blended perfectly smooth with no evidence of seeds or skins.

Read more about how we test.

I love my Nutribullet. It's as simple as that. It's powerful and easy to use, and I can have my favourite smoothie ready to go in a matter of minutes. That's why I have absolutely no reservations recommending the Nutribullet Blender 900 at Amazon for £69 (was £89.99).

The NutriBullet Pro, or Pro 900 Series in some regions, is NutriBullet's most popular model and an ideal option for anyone new to the world of homemade smoothies. This £20 discount sees the four-star blender return to its record-low Black Friday price. That means you're unlikely to see a better price any time soon.

Today's best Nutribullet deal

We put this blender through its paces and wrote about it in our Nutribullet Pro 900 review. This Pro version is just the US name for it, so it's the same model as the Nutribullet 900 that's available in this UK deal.

The headlines of our review say that it's compact, convenient, simple to use, and ideal for smaller kitchens. All in, we awarded it a very respectable four stars. It's fair to say that the blender struggles a bit with thicker smoothies, but a simple midway shake does the trick. Also, for context, it's 50% more powerful than the original Nutribullet.

The capacity makes it ideal for two-person households or families wanting a smoothie treat every so often. If you're planning on adding nuts and seeds to your mix, then the blender can handle those too.

We've tested and rated all types of blenders, including top models from Vitamix, Smeg, and Nutribullet. Read all about our top picks, based on budget and features, in our guide to the best blenders.

Nutribullet Triple Prep System: one-minute review

True to its name, the Nutribullet Triple Prep System is a blender combo that provides the functionality of three kinds of kitchen appliances in one. Nutribullet as a brand may have made its start with personal blenders, but the lineup has expanded to include

Alongside a 1,500 watt motor base, the system includes a long list of accessories: a 64oz pitcher, two travel cups with lids, a food processor work bowl, a shredding/slicing disc, a tamper, a food pusher, and a dough blade. So, it’s pretty much a full toolkit for any home chef looking to whip up smoothies, shakes, soup, dips, and more.

As expected, during my tests, there was almost no hurdle the Nutribullet Triple Prep System stumbled at. From chopping carrots to crushing ice, the machine proved to be an exceptionally useful assistant in the kitchen again and again. What’s more, it was more user-friendly than many

There are a few problems that held the Triple Prep System back from perfection though. For one, the blades in the pitcher can’t be removed, which makes hand washing a good bit more difficult than it needs to be. As well as that, it doesn’t perform well with very small batches, given its smallest container is 24oz.

Nutribullet Triple Prep System: price and availability

• List price: $244.99 / £229.99 / AU$349.95
• Available in the US, UK, and Australia
• Sold through Nutribullet’s website and other third-party retailers

The Nutribullet Triple Prep System is widely available to buy in the US, UK, and Australia. Across all three of these regions, you can pick up the Triple Prep System directly from the Nutribullet site or on Amazon. When it comes to third-party retailers in the States specifically, some of your other options are Target, Best Buy, and Walmart.

At over $200, the Triple Prep System is undoubtedly on the higher end of the Nutribullet range. It is one of the brand’s most multifunctional machines though, so it makes sense that it would set you back more than the rest. For context, you can get a basic Nutribullet personal blender for as little as $80.

Even with that higher price tag, if it saves you the cost of buying a blender and food processor separately, the Triple Prep System is incredible value for money. That said, it’s probably not a great idea to opt for it if you don’t plan to make use of its full suite of features.

• Value score: 4/5

Nutribullet Triple Prep System: specs

Nutribullet Triple Prep System: design

• Plenty of presets to choose from
• Smart attachment recognition
• Slightly large footprint, but accessories nest for storage

One of my favorite features of the Triple Prep System is how it smartly recognizes which container you have attached to the base, and changes which presets are available based on that knowledge. It even modifies the duration of presets depending on which attachment you’re using.

For example, the Smoothie preset runs for 50 seconds with the pitcher and 60 seconds when using the travel cups. More blending time for a smaller container may sound counterintuitive, but your ingredients having less space to move around means that the motor has to process for longer to ensure all of the mix comes in contact with the blades.

You wouldn’t have to know all that though, because the Triple Prep System makes that change for you. The touch button layout is clean and intuitive: you’ve got start/stop controls, a pulse button, and clearly labeled presets for smoothies, soups, frozen drinks, and food processing tasks. Any preset that isn’t suitable for your attached container conveniently disappears too, helping to make using the machine an almost foolproof experience.

The majority of parts are dishwasher-safe, which offers a welcome reprieve from having to scrub out smoothie remnants and soup leftovers by hand. The extractor blade isn’t suitable for dishwasher cleaning, but given the fixed pitcher blades caused me far more struggle when cleaning than the extractor blade, I didn’t find this to be too much of an issue.

Given the sheer number of functions this machine serves, its slighter larger footprint feels like a worthy trade. If you cook from scratch or make fancy drinks at home regularly enough, you can probably justify keeping the motor base on your kitchen counter between uses. When you go to store the Triple Prep System away in your kitchen cupboards, you’ll probably find its wealth of accessories and attachments more of a curse than a blessing.

Certain parts of the system (like the shred/slice disc) slot together or into each other so it does seem like there was some effort made to save space. However, it still is a system that requires some generous-sized kitchen cupboards.

• Design: 4.5/5

Nutribullet Triple Prep System: performance

• Consistently great results with smoothies and soups
• Does a great job crushing ice
• Struggles with very small batches

Blenders are Nutribullet’s bread and butter – particularly ones for making smoothies. With that in mind, it made a lot of sense to start my testing there.

The smoothie recipe that’s used during TechRadar’s testing processes is a doozy in a couple of respects. It includes blueberries, which have skin and tiny seeds for the blender’s blades to try to contend with. But it also contains kale: the fibrous leafy vegetable that’s the enemy of many at-home smoothie lovers. While kale is great for sneaking nutrients in your drinks, it can be really difficult to completely break down if your blender isn’t up to the task – and plenty of blenders aren’t.

Thanks to the Triple Prep System’s 1,500W motor and the guidance of its smoothie preset, I managed to blitz up a thick, tasty smoothie with virtually no off-putting ‘bits’. Any grittiness from the berries’ seeds disappeared entirely and no chunks of leaf remained.

Roughly the same was true when I tried to replicate the smoothie in one of the travel cups. Upon very, very careful inspection, there were minuscule flecks of unprocessed kale floating in the smoothie but these were few and far between, and weren’t large enough to detect in the mouth when drunk.

Crushing the ice in the travel cup gleaned far less than ideal results so I opted to try it in the pitcher instead. Don’t get me wrong, I was reasonably satisfied with what the travel cup produced: well-crushed ice with some little chunks that escaped the wrath of the extractor blade. However, I wanted to see if the added surface of the pitcher would produce a better end result.

Sure enough, without much fuss, the pitcher’s blades managed to pulverize the cubes into fine, icy grounds that were just perfect for a snow cone or daiquiri. The Triple Prep System’s volume output hit a peak of 96db during this part of the test (roughly equivalent to some power tools). While this level of noise is certainly not pleasant to be exposed to for too long, it is a good bit higher than the blender’s average which was closer to 87db.

As testing continued, the Triple Prep System continued to impress. After mixing up a hummus recipe in the food processor’s work bowl on the ‘dip’ preset and scraping the sides, I was treated to a creamy dip with zero unincorporated segments of chickpeas. Thicker blends sticking under the blades and on the edge of the container was a notable problem with the Nutribullet SmartSense that I found added extra time to making this simple, delicious recipe. Thankfully, the Triple Prep System avoids the same mistake.

Next, I put its shred/slice disc to work on a block of cheese and found that it provided a result that was really consistent. However, the slight inconvenience of chopping the cheese small enough to fit through the narrow gap in the food processor’s lid might make this a less attractive option in the future.

The only real disappointment I experienced during testing was how the Triple Prep System performed making mayonnaise. The pitcher was obviously too large to properly blend a batch, so I opted to use the food processor work bowl instead. The issue is that – even when I doubled the usual recipe – the container was still far too spacious.

An alternative mayonnaise recipe written specifically for a Nutribullet suggested using a 18oz cup, but the Triple Prep System not only doesn’t include a container that small but doesn’t have any more compact attachments that would allow you to gradually drip oil into the emulsion as it’s blending. So, unless you’re anticipating mixing up an industrial-sized tub of mayo, it’s worth doing this recipe by hand or with an immersion blender.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Nutribullet Triple Prep System?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Nutribullet Triple Prep System: also consider

If you’re on the look-out for options that are similar to the Nutribullet Triple Prep System, here’s some alternatives worth considering:

How I tested the Nutribullet Triple Prep System

Alongside my usual kitchen tasks, my testing involved using the Nutribullet Triple Prep System to make TechRadar’s standard test recipes.

Throughout this process, I assessed the effectiveness of both manual and preset blending. I used a decibel tracker to determine how loud the blender is during use and after each blend, I cleaned the blender attachments and accessories by hand.

Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo: one-minute review

Nutribullet is a brand most well known for its compact personal blenders which – while suited to blitzing up smoothies and protein shakes – aren’t exactly heavy duty pieces of culinary tech. But models like the Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo aim to up the power and functionality without compromising too much on simplicity or affordability.

By combining a full-sized pitcher with Nutribullet’s familiar single-serve cups, and adding a smart auto-cycle that adapts blending power on the fly, it aims to cover the needs of both speedy smoothie lovers and home chefs.

For the most part, it succeeds. Most everyday tasks are handled quickly and consistently. The SmartSense auto cycle is genuinely useful for hands-off blending and the 1,500W motor packs more punch than most people will ever need.

But all that isn’t without its caveats. The SmartSense Blender Combo struggles with thick or dry blends and requires you to intervene a couple of times during the blending process to ensure all the ingredients are within reach of the blades. You’ll also find that very small batches of dips don’t quite reach high up enough to get blended.

Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo: price and availability

• List price: $164.99 / £149.99 / AU$299.95
• Available in the US, UK, and Australia
• Reasonable price for a two-in-one blender combo

In the US, UK, and Australia, the Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo is available to purchase on the Nutribullet site. and from third-party retailers like Amazon.

In terms of cost, the Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo sits on the mid/high end of the Nutribullet range. Understandably, you’re paying more than you would for a dinky personal blender, but it won’t quite set back as much as a top-of-the-line food processor/blender combo.

Similar models from other brands include the Cuisinart Velocity Ultra Trio

• Value score: 4.5/5

Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo: specs

Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo: design

• Five blending speeds and an auto mode
• Pitcher with fixed blades and a vented lid
• Travel cups with extractor blades

The Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo consists of a blender base which can either be attached to the included 64oz pitcher, 32oz travel cup, or 24oz handled travel cup. All three of these add-ons are made from BPA-free plastic, meaning you can enjoy the lightness and durability of the material without worrying about harmful chemicals leaching into your soups and smoothies.

The SmartSense Blender Combo box contents also included a tamper but during testing, I found that it offered very little in the way of practical help. A far more useful tool was a cheap silicone spatula I tend to use while baking. It had the flexibility necessary to scrap the edges of the blender jug, but didn’t tend to get ingredients stuck to it like tamper did.

Like the rest of the build, the attachments of the SmartSense Blender Combo are sturdy enough to inspire confidence. The only real concern I’d have is the possibility of stains or scratches developing after long-term use, but even this would just be a superficial complaint. Not to mention, a good thorough clean after every use helps to prevent this. Thankfully, attachments for the SmartSense are dishwasher-safe so this task is a little easier.

Blending with the travel cups is done with a separate extractor blade but in the case of the pitcher attachment, the blade is sealed into the base. This means that, when you’re hand-washing your blender (which those of us without dishwashers are cursed to do) it’s a little difficult to clean. Without being able to pop the blade out and wipe it down, it’s best to blitz some warm water and soap in the pitcher to loosen some of the debris that tends to get stuck underneath. This isn’t a dealbreaker, but it definitely adds an awkward extra step to maintaining the machine.

One great thing about the pitcher’s design is that its lid has a vent which allows you to add ingredients mid-blend and – crucially – allows for steam to escape when making hot recipes. I’ll admit that throughout my years in the kitchen, I’ve occasionally taken my chances blending hot sauces and soups against manufacturers’ instructions. To try to reduce steam production and the chances of the lid blowing off from the pressure, I’d let everything cool down a bit before pouring it in. But even with these attempts to mitigate risk, the likelihood of getting scalded (or at the very least making a mess of your kitchen) means that blending hot food in an unvented blender is a terrible idea. A tiny gap in the lid makes a big difference when it comes to making this blender an even more versatile piece of kitchen kit.

Controls on the motor base are exceedingly simple to navigate. There’s an on/off button, which – alongside powering the machine on and off – also prompts the appearance of rather cute “hello” and “goodbye” messages on the base’s LED screen. The plus and minus buttons are used to adjust between the 5 power settings, but you can skip all that by using the Auto button that activates the load-sensing setting and estimates the right blending speed and time for you.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo: performance

• Makes stellar smoothies with virtually no nasty bits
• Crushes ice (with some assistance from you)
• Dry blends were a disappointment

Coming in at 1500W, the Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo should have more than enough power to handle most jobs. Testing started with a smoothie recipe from the Nutribullet site consisting of blueberries, milk, banana, and kale.

Fibrous green veg really puts blenders through their paces, so it’s a great way to reveal just how well it performs. Frozen kale tends to produce fewer gritty chunks than its non-frozen counterpart, but it turns out it’s oddly difficult to find pre-frozen kale in the UK, so I just proceeded with the fresh version instead.

Thankfully, the power of the Nutribullet SmartSense Blender managed to blitz away any unpleasant texture to produce a smooth, thick end result. Despite my expectations, the kale didn’t pose any problem for the SmartSense.

In fact, the only inconsistencies that were left after blending were the tiny seeds from the blueberries. Personally, this isn’t the kind of textural inconsistency that gives me the ick but even if it was, it seems a tad unfair to expect a blender under $200 to have the seed-pulverizing powers of something like a Vitamix A3500.

The SmartSense Blender Combo also makes light work of crushing ice cubes, on the condition you scrape the ice from the sides midway through. The blades certainly don’t have any difficulty slicing through rock solid chunks of ice (and in fact, the machine doesn’t even go past 95db while doing it) but the structure of the pitcher means that the ice tends to pool around the edges before it’s done being crushed. The good news is after a little intervention, you should be able to rustle up your own daiquiris or frappuccinos at home no problem.

Despite delivering a pretty stellar performance in the realm of drinkable delights, the next hurdles for the Nutribullet SmartSense Blender really exposed the machine’s weak points. One of the fatal flaws of the SmartSense Blender Combo is the placement of the pitcher’s fixed blades. They sit just a little too high and don’t cover enough surface area across the pitcher’s bottom so it’s frustratingly easy for ingredients to escape the blender’s vortex.

During the hummus-making phase of testing, I found that the machine consistently created a tasty, well-incorporated dip. However, achieving that result required me to intervene two or three times to redistribute the ingredients and make sure none of my chickpea mixture avoided blending.

This blade placement problem majorly impacted my ability to make mayonnaise with the blender too. Due to the sheer size of the pitcher, I found I had to double a normal batch in order to have my yolk/vinegar/mustard emulsion even touch the blades at all.

Even then, I couldn’t maintain a consistent enough vortex to create a satisfying result. If you’re truly set on making mayonnaise with the SmartSense Blender Combo, the best way to do it is to mix up your emulsion by hand and then put it back into the blender for the step where you gradually incorporate oil.

One other very notable development during my tests is just how redundant the Auto function felt. While the SmartSense name definitely provides a fancy selling point, I found that I actually didn’t appreciate the automation of the blending process. It’s not like the SmartSense Auto blending ever got things too far wrong but rather I preferred to keep my eye on what I was working on and adjust the power as needed.

I can definitely see the appeal of this for folks who find their attention pulled by kids or pets while in the kitchen, but the removal of control actually made things less convenient in my experience, so I mostly opted for the manual options.

• Performance score: 3/5

Should you buy the Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo: also consider

If you’re on the look-out for options that are similar to the Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo, here’s some alternatives worth considering:

How I tested the Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo

Alongside using it for some of my usual kitchen tasks, I put the Nutribullet SmartSense Blender Combo through its paces with TechRadar’s usual test recipes. During my tests, I alternated between using the Auto and manual speed controls to determine the best approach for each recipe. I used a decibel tracker to determine how loud the blender is during use. After each blend, I cleaned the blender attachments and accessories by hand.

If there's anything I've taken a liking to more this year than ever before, it's kitchen appliances. There's always something brewing in my kitchen, so when the opportunity arose to try out a gadget from the iconic Australian brand, Breville (known as Sage in the UK), I jumped at the chance.

I'm no stranger to Breville's extensive coffee machine line – a bucket list item for me is the Oracle Jet – and its range of air purifiers. However, I had yet to have a true hands-on experience with Breville's impressive range of food processors, particularly the Paradice 9.

The Paradice 9 acts as a mid-range option in Breville's food chopper lineup, costing a hefty $399 / £299 / AU$529, and a notable step down from its bigger sibling, the Breville Paradice 16 at $699.95 / £579.95 / AU$899. Cost aside, the Paradice 9 has received glowing reviews, including sister site Tom's Guide's 4.5 stars, as it is a beyond-capable processor and has a lifelong 30-year warranty on the heavy-duty induction motor. It's also storage-friendly, using its own bowl as a home for its multiple attachments (unlike the 16's two separate storage containers).

Speaking of attachments, included in the box is an adjustable slicing attachment, a dicing attachment, a dough blade, the 'S' chopping blade and a reversible shredding disc. It also comes with a wide chute and pusher, which acts as a safety precaution to accidental blending, as you need to have the pusher in place to start the machine. But once locked and loaded, the Breville Paradice 9 can slice and dice in under 10 seconds… or so most reviews say.

To put all the attachments to the test, I challenged them with three core recipes: homemade nut butter, shredded cheddar cheese and a pumpkin pie made from scratch.

But enough with the dillydallying – here's how the Breville Paradice 9 fared in my recipe round-up!

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

As a staunch Halloween fan and PSL drinker, it was only fitting to use the Breville Paradice 9 to make a pumpkin pie. Canned pumpkin pie mix is synonymous with Thanksgiving in the US, but here in Australia, I needed to make it from scratch.

After purchasing the finest Kent pumpkin I could find, I got to prepping, starting by locking the dicing grid and blade attachment to the Paradice 9 bowl. Setting up the attachment was a little finicky, as you have to place the separate, sharp blade in the direction specified on the attachment. But after I figured it out, I was dicing pumpkin cubes in no time.

The finished cubes were smaller than I'd hoped, but that's expected with this machine due to the smaller dicing grid. But, this doesn't discredit the machine's ability to dice, as my whole pumpkin only took 5 minutes to blitz.

However, the processor's performance was undermined by a frustrating design flaw: the dicing grid consistently trapped the last slice of pumpkin. I did use the provided pusher attachment to try to get it out, but found it was easier to push the remaining pieces out with a butter knife.

After roasting the pieces for 45 minutes, I popped the 'S' blade onto the processor base to puree the pumpkin. Much like the dicing grid, it took less than 2 minutes to pulverize the pumpkin into a soup-like consistency, evenly thinning out chunks into a fine puree.

Once the puree was done, it was onto doughing, using the pastel blue dough attachment. It was my first time making shortcrust pastry in a food processor, so I was rather skeptical about it. Typically, when making dough or pastry, I whip out my KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer and dough hook attachment, with dough drops forming within 10 minutes. But, in this case, the Paradice 9's dough attachment and pulse button cut my usual time in half, making a perfectly shaggy, ready-to-knead dough in under 5 minutes.

For quickening the manual processes of chopping, blending, mixing and kneading, the Breville Paradice 9 was a worthy addition to an already labor-intensive recipe. I appreciated the wide feeding chute and bowl capacity, especially while pureeing over a kilo of roasted pumpkin, as I could do it all in one go.

A point of annoyance, though – cleaning the 'S' blade was often a challenge, as food residue tended to fuse it to the spindle, making it difficult to separate.

Recipe Verdict: Was using the Breville Paradice 9 in this recipe magical? No. Useful? Yes, but it didn't bring any new tricks that a lesser-priced food processor couldn't also do. For the amount of money, it didn't prove its worth for the basic functions alone. For this particular recipe, it did save me time and energy, but I still had to do some manual work to get the job (and the cleanup) done.

• Value for money score: 3 out of 5

Nut Butters

Nut butters, particularly peanut butter, are a staple in our pantry, so making my own was right at the top of the agenda. For both recipes, I used store-bought roasted and salted nuts, though you could do the whole process at home with raw nuts if you prefer. But both recipes were simple enough, only needing two ingredients: nuts and oil.

First up was maple cashew butter, using a flavored bag of salted cashews. I poured the whole bag in and pulsed a few times, as per Breville's instructions. After a rough paste started to form, I added two teaspoons of oil and processed for another minute until it formed a spread-like consistency.

Next was peanut butter – a hot commodity shared between my dog and my husband. Peanut butter was even easier than cashew, blending into a thick and creamy paste shortly after my initial pulsing was done. I added in one teaspoon of oil for good measure (though in future, I'd probably leave it out), and I had a delicious peanut spread ready for consuming.

Recipe Verdict: The Breville Paradice 9 wowed me in how speedy it was, and in both instances, I was pretty impressed with how my nut butters turned out. Suffice to say, I was also convinced that the induction motor was going to give out at any second, but it didn't, and for that, I am grateful. Overall, the Paradice 9's blitzing abilities had me almost change my own value proposition.

• Value for money score: 5 out of 5

Grated cheese

Now, the true test in my eyes was seeing how the Breville Paradice 9 fared when grating cheese. I have had many issues with automatic graters in the past, including when using my KitchenAid shredder attachment, as more times than not, the cheese, no matter the hardness, would get stuck. And much to my surprise (not), cheese did get stuck in the Paradice 9.

But it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Breville's instructions say to freeze cheese for 45 minutes. I froze mine for a lot longer, keeping it in the freezer overnight, so it was firmer than required. Grating soft white cheeses, like mozzarella, is not recommended as per Breville's manual – and for most processors – as they tend to clog shredding attachments.

Cutting the cheese into cubes, I fed the pieces through the wide chute, using the pusher as I went. Initially, the reversible shredding disc performed exceedingly well, leaving very few crumbs behind. By the time I was halfway through my block, my fears actualized, as noticeable cheese buildup started forming on the disc.

Much like the dicing grid, there's always going to be some cheese left unshredded, regardless of what food processor you use. But to me, it was just another niggle that I wanted the Breville Paradice 9 to conquer, and it fell short of doing that.

Aside from that, the shredded cheese was evenly grated, and each strand was perfect for melting and folding into dishes. I also had a much easier time cleaning the shredding disc though, and getting out the cheese remnants felt like a breeze compared to pushing out pumpkin chunks.

Recipe Verdict: Ultimately, it suffers from the same buildup issue as cheaper models, which is a disappointing result for a premium machine.

• Value for money score: 4 out of 5

Final thoughts

While I thoroughly enjoyed my hands-on time with the Breville Paradice 9, I came away with mixed feelings. Despite it being seriously speedy in how it pureed, sliced and diced food items, it didn't perform anything revolutionary that a standard, non-Breville processor couldn't also achieve. My KitchenAid shredder attachment performs just as well, and other alternatives, such as the Ninja Quad Blade Food Processor or the Kenwood MultiPro Express, are just as capable – for less than half the price, too.

For a mid-range food processor, it certainly has strengths – it’s compact, powerful and comes with a solid range of attachments. I appreciated the wide chute and the clever storage design that keeps everything tidy in one bowl.

While the Paradice 9 excelled at making smooth nut butters, purees and doughs with incredible speed, it was let down by fiddly dicing and grating attachments that trapped food and made cleanup frustrating.

Sure, the Paradice 9 certainly saves time and effort, but it doesn’t entirely eliminate manual work – and at $399 / £299 / AU$529, it might not feel like a must-have for everyone.

So, who is the Paradice 9 for? If you're a heavy user who values raw power, a compact design and a long warranty, the high price might be a worthy investment. However, if you're looking for a machine that magically eliminates the common frustrations of food prep, you'll be disappointed.

At this price, you're also forced to consider if it's worth spending more for the larger Paradice 16 with more bells and whistles, including a French fry attachment. But regardless of what model you choose, you're still investing a pretty penny into a Breville appliance.

• Final verdict: useful, efficient, but not revolutionary.

Bosch ErgoMaster Series 6: one-minute review

The Bosch ErgoMaster Series 6 (sometimes known as the Serie 6) is an ergonomically designed stick blender, particularly well suited for users with limited hand mobility as a result of its curved body that sits comfortably in the hand, and trigger-style control.

The ErgoMaster has a 1,000W motor, and comes with a blending foot, a mini-chopper with two blades (one for general use, one for ice), a balloon whisk, and a 600ml mixing vessel. Attaching and removing accessories is easy, requiring no awkward twisting motions, and many of the components are dishwasher-safe for easy cleanup.

During my tests, the main blender foot produced silky-smooth sauce and soup in just a couple of minutes, while the mini-chopper attachment processed herbs, onions, garlic, cheese, and nuts quickly and evenly. The ErgoMaster's instruction manual offers advice on quantities, how to prepare ingredients, and the length of time for which you should blend.

The balloon whisk worked especially well, whipping egg whites to stiff peaks even faster than my hand mixer (ideal for meringue and light sponge cakes).

The only attachment that didn't meet my expectations was the mini-chopper's ice blade, which took a lot longer than anticipated, and produced ice that was quite unevenly crushed.

The ErgoMaster has a premium build, sporting a stainless steel body and soft-touch handle for comfort, but I found that the metal heated up noticeably when I'd been using the blender for several minutes (when blending soup and sauces, for example). Fortunately, the grip itself never became hot, but it did take the appliance some time to cool down after use.

Overall, the ErgoMaster Series 6 is a super-versatile multifunction blender that's particularly beneficial for those with hand mobility issues, although if you want to process ice regularly, you'd benefit from picking up a personal smoothie-maker as well.

Bosch ErgoMaster Series 6: price and availability

• List price £99.99 (about $140 / AU$210)
• Often available for less during sales events
• Not widely sold outside Europe

The Bosch ErgoMaster Series 6 stick blender was released in 2023, and has a list price of £99.99 (about $140 / AU$210), although it’s often available for a discount, particularly during sales events such as Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday.

It’s available direct from Bosch, and from third-party retailers such as John Lewis and Amazon. You’ll find today’s best prices below. Note that the ErgoMaster Series 6 isn’t sold widely outside Europe.

Its price is pretty much standard for a high-end hand blender, and similar to the Ninja 2-in-1 Immersion Hand Blender and Mixer, for example. If you want something a little less expensive, the ErgoMaster Series 4 sports a plastic body rather than stainless steel, and is priced at £84.99 (about $110 / AU$180).

• Value score: 4.5/5

Bosch ErgoMaster Series 6: design

• Comfortable to hold and easy to operate
• Particularly good for people with restricted mobility or hand strength
• Includes well-made mini-chopper and balloon whisk attachments

The Bosch ErgoMaster Series 6 is a solidly made stick blender that, as the name implies, is particularly comfortable to hold and use. The body of the blender, containing the motor, has a curved shape that sits better in the hand than a straight-sided cylinder, and rather than a button, the blender is activated by gently squeezing a large trigger-style control.

It’s a thoughtful design, and would be particularly good for anyone who doesn’t have full strength in their fingers, since the trigger doesn’t require much pressure and its operated using your whole hand, rather than just a single digit. The more firmly you hold the trigger, the faster the blender will mix.

The blender's body is stainless steel, while the hand grip is made from a soft-touch plastic. The trigger button is ridged to prevent slipping.

The ErgoMaster Series 6 comes with a set of attachments for different ingredients: the standard blender for soups and sauces; a mini-chopper with two blades (one for ingredients such as cheese, nuts, and vegetables, and one for ice), and a whisk. To remove an attachment, hold down two large buttons on the handle (one on either side) and pull gently. To attach one, simply push it gently into place. There’s no need for awkward twisting movements that you might find uncomfortable if you have limited mobility in your hands.

You also get a tall mixing vessel with a capacity of two and a half cups, or 600ml, which is useful for blending or whisking wet ingredients such as cream or eggs. It’s a useful addition, and its shape makes it possible to whisk relatively small quantities that might be tricky to whip in a bowl without spillage.

The only downside is that this vessel isn’t totally cylindrical, which means it can be difficult to remove thick ingredients with a spatula. Ingredients tend to become stuck on the flat sides where the volume measurements are embossed. The tall vessel also has no pouring spout.

Not all of the blender's components are dishwasher-safe, but the metal blending attachment, the whisk, the large vessel, the bowl of the mini-chopper, and the chopper’s two blades all are, which makes maintenance easy.

The blender is accompanied by a manual with diagrams explaining how to prepare different ingredients, and how long it will take to blend or chop a particular quantity. For example, a smoothie made using a 40:60 ratio of fruit to liquid should take 60-90 seconds to blend at full power in the tall mixing vessel.

• Design score: 5/5

Bosch ErgoMaster Series 6: performance

• Main blender foot works well for smooth sauces and soups
• Excellent mini chopper for small ingredients, with clear instructions
• Whisk attachment is particularly effective
• Ice blade is disappointing

I started testing by preparing some ingredients for a pizza sauce (you can find the sauce recipe on Good Food) using the mini-chopper attachment and the cutting blade, and following the preparation instructions in the manual.

Herbs don’t need any special preparation, so I added my basil to the bowl and gave it a few pulses of around one second each. After around six pulses, the leaves were chopped into small, even fragments ideal for cooking (the manual suggests it could take up to 10 pulses).

The chopper also worked very well for preparing onion (roughly chopped into wedges first) and garlic (peeled, but added whole). I was impressed by how evenly and quickly the ErgoMaster prepared all of these ingredients. If you have a condition such as arthritis, for example, you might find fine knifework difficult and usually opt for pre-chopped ingredients. With this blender, you’ll be able to buy cheaper whole produce and prepare it easily yourself.

Once my pizza sauce had cooked down, I used the main blender foot to whizz it all to a smooth consistency. Exactly how long this takes will depend on the quantity and consistency of the ingredients, and the desired texture. I wanted my sauce as smooth as possible, and found that blending took about three minutes.

It wasn’t much faster than using my jug blender (which would be my usual choice; it too has a 1,000W motor, the same as the ErgoMaster), but then you don't have to pour hot liquids, and there’s much less washing up afterwards. The only requirements are that you take the pan off the heat and ensure the end of the blending foot is submerged before you start the motor – and don’t immerse it beyond the "maximum" level.

I was surprised by just how quiet the blender foot was in use. It registered under 40dB, which is around the same as the hum of my fridge. It was louder when mixing harder ingredients, but still far less noisy than a jug blender.

I also used the ErgoMaster to prepare a roasted red pepper and sweet potato soup (the soup recipe is also from Good Food). Although the ingredients were tougher, the overall volume was lower, and the blending process took about the same time.

While blending the soup and sauce, I noticed that the body of the blender was heating up. The handle itself never became hot, but the metal part below was distinctly warm after the motor had been running for a few minutes, and it took quite a long time to cool back down afterwards.

The mini-chopper made light work of cheese, breaking it down into crumbs ideal for melting. It’s necessary to cut it into 1cm cubes first, but this is certainly easier on the hands than using a box grater, particularly for hard cheese such as parmesan. I used 100g of mature cheddar, and it was finely chopped in 20 seconds.

Our standard battery of blender tests here at TechRadar also includes nuts. I used 150g of shelled, toasted hazelnuts, which I was preparing to use in dukkah. The smaller the nuts, the longer you need to pulse the blender, and it took the maximum recommended 30 seconds to break them down; but there was none of the dust that’s usually created when I chop nuts using my Kenwood food processor. Another win for the ErgoMaster.

The only ingredient that the ErgoMaster really struggled with was ice. As per the instruction manual, I used the chopper’s ice attachment with 100g of ice, and pulsed for five seconds. When I released the trigger, the ice was barely touched. Chopping it to a usable texture took closer to a minute, and even then it was rather rough. If you want to chop ice regularly (particularly in large volumes), you’d be better served by a smoothie maker.

By contrast, the whisk attachment is superb, and performed even better than my Dualit hand mixer. I used the tall mixing vessel with the whisk, and it whipped two eggs to stiff peaks in 30 seconds. I used these to make a half-quantity of meringue (see the Lightest Ever Meringues recipe on Good Food) and they were ready to be baked within two minutes.

Overall, the Bosch ErgoMaster Series 6 is a great stick blender, particularly for those with mobility issues in their hands, and an excellent chopper and whisk. It’s a piece of cake to use, and could happily replace several small appliances in the typical kitchen. Just avoid ice, and you won’t be disappointed.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Bosch ErgoMaster Series 6 ?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

How I tested the Bosch Serie 6 ErgoMaster

I used the Bosch ErgoMaster Series 6 in my kitchen for two weeks, during which time I prepared a selection of my favorite recipes that I'd normally prep using a jug blender to compare the results for speed, texture, and noise.

As with all our stick and jug blender reviews, I also tested the ErgoMaster's performance with onions, cheese, nuts, and ice to see how quickly and evenly it could process these common ingredients. For more details, see how TechRadar tests, rates, and reviews products.

First reviewed August 2025.

Kuvings Hands-Free Slow Juicer AUTO10 Plus: One minute review

The Kuvings Hands-Free Slow Juicer AUTO10 Plus is a high-end juicer that tackles a variety of foods and drinks with ease. It definitely compares with some of the top picks on our best juicer guide.

The juicer comes with a hopper extension, so you can make larger batches of juice. There are three different strainers included: juice, smoothie, and blank (for thicker foods like sorbet). These accessories allow you to make so many different kinds of foods and beverages. It also comes with three different cleaning tools, which should give you some idea of what's involved in cleaning the machine after use. None of the parts are dishwasher-safe.

I found using the machine to be pretty easy once I figured out how all the parts go together, and it's even kind of fun watching it do its thing. I enjoying throwing a bunch of whole fruits; peels, seeds, stems, and all into the hopper and having delicious, healthy juice a few minutes later. It's kind of satisfying watching the pulp come out the side as fresh juice pours into your juice cup. Some of the pulps can even be used to make other recipes, which I did when I made oat milk.

Kuvings Hands-Free Slow Juicer AUTO10 Plus: price and availability

• List price: $739.99 (about £550 / AU$1130)

The Kuvings Hands-Free Slow Juicer AUTO10 Plus is currently only available on Kuvings' own website, but should be widely available soon. Other models of Kuvings juicers are available at most of the typical big box stores and high-end kitchen chains.

At $739.99 (about £550 / AU$1130) this isn't a cheap juicer. Additionally, I got the citrus attachment, which allows you to make citrus juice without peeling the fruits or putting them in the hopper whole. The citrus attachment, exclusively for the AUTO10 series, sells for $42 (about £30 / AU$60)

Value score: 3/5

Kuvings Hands-Free Slow Juicer AUTO10 Plus: design

• Various strainers included
• Hopper extension for large batches
• Powerful motor

Kuvings' Hands-Free Slow Juicer AUTO10 Plus is a big boi. It weighs 17.4 pounds (7.9kg) so you won't be sliding it in and out of your cabinet easily. It's also quite tall, at 20 inches (529 mm) and it does not fit under the upper cabinets in my kitchen, even without the hopper extension.

The footprint is 8 inches (209 mm) by 10 inches (256 mm), which is pretty reasonable. Just keep in mind that you'll also need clearance for juicing cups in front of the machine (for juice) and on the side (for the pulp).

Not only will you need adequate counter space for the juicer, but you'll need space to store all of the parts. Some of the parts do nest together, but not all of them, so keep that in mind.

Putting the parts together isn't terribly intuitive, but there are clear instructions in the owner's manual. If that's not enough, Kuvings has a number of instructional videos on their YouTube channel to help you get it all sorted out. Once you have put together the parts a couple of times, muscle memory takes over and it's pretty quick and easy.

The Kuvings Hands-Free Slow Juicer AUTO10 Plus is a low speed compression juicer. The juicer utilizes a juicing screw which nests into one of the three included strainers inside the juicing bowl.

There is a spigot on the front of the juicer, which you can open and close. Use the large plastic juicing cup which is included to capture your juice/beverage/food, or make your items directly into the container of your choice. Place the smaller included juicing cup on the side, underneath the pulp chute, to capture the pulp that is left over after making juices and plant milks. You can discard the pulp, compost it, or even use it to make recipes.

I also got the citrus attachment, which is sold separately. This reamer-style attachment lets you make citrus juices without having to spend time peeling.

Lemons and limes can be tossed into the main juicer whole, but orange and grapefruit juices are better without the peels. If you'll be making orange or grapefruit juice regularly, you'll either need to peel them before dropping into the hopper or buy the citrus attachment to avoid this tedious task.

Design score: 4/5

Kuvings Hands-Free Slow Juicer AUTO10 Plus: performance

• Handles a lot of fruits and veggies fast without removing peels, seeds, or stems
• Doesn't mix thicker items well
• Cleanup is a hassle

I made a delicious green juice from Kuvings' website called Spring Detox Juice. The recipe consisted of kale, grapes, kiwis, pears, and limes. Conveniently, I only had to remove the stems from the grapes. Everything else I just cleaned and then threw in whole, just as they are pictured above. As recommended, I used the juicing strainer, which has a fine mesh that keeps the pulp out of your juice. Even with all the tart and bitter ingredients, the juice was smooth and sweet without any added sugar or sweeteners.

Using the optional citrus attachment (sold separately), I made orange juice with navel oranges. Four small-to-medium oranges yielded just about 6 ounces of juice. I just washed each orange, sliced it in half and then pressed it onto the citrus attachment. The juice was good but a little bit tart. Obviously the oranges that you use will determine how the juice tastes.

This juicer lets you make a variety of nut milks and other plant milks. I’d never had oat milk before so I thought I would try making it. I used the recommended juicing strainer. The resulting oat milk did indeed look like milk. I put the oat milk on my cereal; it tasted kind of bland but OK. I also used it in smoothies, chia pudding, and even ranch dressing, and it was totally fine. I had heard that oat milk generally has a slightly slimy mouth feel and I did notice that, but only when drinking it plain.

I used this double recipe from Kuvings' website, Oat Milk & Oat Pulp Cookies. After making the oat milk, I used the pulp to make cookies, which reminded me of healthy cookies that I’ve made before with oats and bananas. They were pretty bland because there was no sweetener in them. If I were making them again, I would definitely add a sweetener or mashed banana. Using the oat pulp instead of whole oats was fine. I also think the oat pulp would be great for making dog treats.

Next, I wanted to test out the smoothie strainer, which has larger holes than the juicing strainer. Smoothies don't produce any pulp, as everything goes right into your cup. I make Kuvings' Banana Protein Smoothie Recipe, which was just bananas, milk, and nuts. This recipe was pretty disappointing. The taste was fine, since I do like bananas and nuts, but it was a bit liquidy and bland for my taste. I also noticed that the ingredients weren't fully blended together, as they would be if I'd used a blender.

I ended up pouring the results into a blender with some vanilla yogurt and ice to make myself a thicker and more flavorful smoothie.

To test out the blank strainer, I made Kuving's Dragon Fruit Sorbet. The recipe calls for just two frozen fruit ingredients, dragon fruit and bananas, but I couldn’t find frozen dragon fruit in the stores I checked, so I used cherries instead.

I’ve made fruit-only sorbets many times with other kitchen appliances. The Kuvings juicer does just as good a job as those other appliances and the sorbet is delicious. If you’d like a sweeter sorbet, you would need to add some kind of sweetener, but I like plain old fruit as is. The juicer does not mix the two fruits together. You have to add the two frozen fruits a little bit at a time, alternating between them. The result is a swirled rather than uniform sorbet.

The Kuvings Hands-Free Slow Juicer AUTO10 Plus does a great job making juices and plant milks, which is probably the primary reason anyone would buy it. Making juice is very easy, since you don't have to peel or cut the ingredients before popping them into the big hopper.

It also does a good job making sorbets, as long as you don't mind that the ingredients are somewhat swirled rather than fully mixed. Smoothies came out all right, but I really wouldn't bother making smoothies in this juicer unless you don't have a regular blender.

The hardest part of using this machine is cleanup, for sure. Not only are there a lot of parts to clean, but there are a lot of nooks and crannies. Three different cleaning tools are included in ensure you can get every part clean. None of it is dishwasher-safe, so you'll need to wash it all by hand.

Performance score: 4/5

Kuvings Hands-Free Slow Juicer AUTO10 Plus: Score card

Kuvings Hands-Free Slow Juicer AUTO10 Plus: should you buy it?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Kuvings Hands-Free Slow Juicer AUTO10 Plus: also consider

Kuvings Hands-Free Slow Juicer AUTO10 Plus: How I tested

I made orange juice with the citrus attachment (sold separately). I made a green fruit/veggie juice as well as an oat milk with the juicing strainer. I baked cookies from the oat milk's oat pulp. I made a fruit smoothie with the smoothie strainer. I made a frozen fruit sorbet with the blank strainer.

First reviewed: August 2025

Beast Mighty 850 Plus: two-minute review

If you're tired of personal smoothie makers that struggle with ingredients tougher than milk and bananas, the Beast Mighty 850 Plus could be the best blender for you. Rather than running on a rechargeable battery like many of its rivals, the 850 Plus is mains-powered and has a considerably more powerful motor, paired with a tough blade unit.

That means you won't be able to blend a protein shake in the changing room after a gym session, but if you're interested in making green juices and fresh smoothies using tough fruits and vegetables, it'll produce much smoother and more palatable results.

During my tests, it turned kale, oat milk, and blueberries into a very drinkable beverage with no flecks of leaf to get stuck in my teeth. It also totally blitzed frozen blackcurrants, eliminating the gritty seeds that usually make them a troublesome ingredient.

The disadvantage of this power is that the 850 Plus is relatively noisy. However, a single blending cycle is enough to tackle just about anything you can throw at it, so you'll only have to endure the noise for one minute.

This is an attractive appliance that comes in a range of colors, so you can pick one to suit your kitchen. (I chose white, but black, muted blue, and sand are other options.) It comes with three different-sized blending vessels (the small one is particularly good for salad dressings), plus a choice of lids for carrying your creations on the move.

The vessels have ridges on the sides that look interesting, but can be an issue if you're using a sticky ingredient like peanut butter, which can get a bit stuck. Beast supplies a long-handled cleaning brush to remove this debris, but almost all the components are dishwasher-safe, and I found this a much easier way to get everything squeaky clean.

Beast Mighty 850 Plus: price and availability

• Available in the US and UK for $149 / £149.99
• Beast Health also offers a more affordable model and a premium one
• Costs more than most personal blenders, but is more powerful

The Beast Mighty 850 Plus is available direct from Beast, and from third-party retailers, including Amazon, for $149 / £149.99. At the time of writing, Beast Health blenders aren't available in Australia. You'll find today's best prices listed below.

The 850 Plus sits in the middle of Beast Health's range of personal blenders. If you want something a little more affordable and don't mind sacrificing some power and accessories, the Beast Mighty 650 costs £119.99 and is only available in the UK.

The company's top-end model is the Beast Mega 1200 Plus, which is priced at $199 / £199.99. Extra blender vessels in various sizes are available to buy separately.

The Beast Mighty 850 Plus is relatively pricey for a personal blender (for example, the Ninja Blast Max and Nutribullet Flip are both around $89.99/£89.99), but the price difference is understandable considering what you're getting for your money. The 850 Plus has a more powerful motor than those other two, and runs directly from the mains rather than a rechargeable battery. It also comes with a bigger set of accessories, including three different-sized blending vessels.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Beast Mighty 850 Plus: design

• Stylish blender with three vessels and a choice of lids
• Controls are very simple to use
• Ingredients can stick in ridges after blending
• Dishwasher-safe components

The Beast Mighty 850 Plus is a particularly stylish blender with a large base that houses its powerful motor and a set of three blending vessels with ridged sides. It comes in a variety of colors, including Cloud White (shown here), Mist (slate blue), Sand, and Carbon Black.

Its vessels have capacities of 415ml, 638ml, and 786ml; the larger two are ideal for smoothies and protein shakes, while the smaller one works well for portions of salad dressing or sauce. You also get a screw-on lid, a drinking lid with a carry cap and straw lid, two drinking straws, and a set of two cleaning brushes (a large one for the vessels and a small one for the straws).

The large brush is particularly useful if you plan to wash the blender vessels by hand because ingredients (especially sticky ones) have a tendency to accumulate in the grooves on the sides. Many personal blenders can be cleaned by adding water with a squirt of dish soap and running a blending cycle, but the Beast blender needs more thorough cleaning.

Thankfully, the blade unit, blending vessels, and caps are all safe to wash in the top drawer of a dishwasher. and came out perfectly clean during my tests. The only parts of the blender that aren't dishwasher-safe are the base unit and the straws.

Unlike some personal blenders we've tested here at TechRadar, the Beast 850 Plus doesn't have a rechargeable battery. This means you can't use it to blend ingredients on the move, but the fact that it runs directly from the mains means it can offer more blending power than portable smoothie makers.

Its controls are very simple to use, with a large yellow power button at the back and a 'blend' button on the front. Pressing this button once will pulse the blender, and holding it briefly will initiate a minute-long blending cycle.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Beast Mighty 850 Plus: performance

The Beast Mighty 850 Plus lives up to its name, with the best blending performance of any personal smoothie maker I've tested to date.

I started by testing the blender with a particularly tough ingredient: mixed frozen berries. These pose two challenges: first, frozen strawberries are essentially big chunks of dense ice that many blenders struggle to break through, and second, blackberries and blackcurrants are full of tiny seeds that can leave a smoothie feeling gritty in the mouth if not completely blended.

I added a good handful of the frozen fruit to the blender along with oat milk and a scoop of vanilla protein powder, and was pleasantly surprised when a single minute-long blending cycle obliterated even the largest strawberries to create an icy shake, while also obliterating the gritty seeds.

The 850 Plus crushes ice cubes equally well, and one blending cycle turned a double shot of espresso with ice and milk into a perfect iced coffee.

I also tried the 850 Plus with our standard testing smoothie – Nutribullet's Banana Kale Blueberry Freeze, which often poses a challenge for blenders due to its high content of fibrous green veg. I added the ingredients to the largest blending vessel, then ran a single blending cycle to see how well everything was combined.

Some blenders (such as the Nutribullet Flip) require a second cycle to break up the kale, but the 850 Plus thoroughly blitzed all the ingredients first time, creating a very drinkable smoothie with no flecks of leaf to stick to my teeth.

The blender averaged around 80dB at the start of a blending cycle. dropping to 75dB once the ingredients started to break down. This makes it one of the loudest blenders I've tested to date, which can be explained by its more powerful motor, but is worth bearing in mind if you're particularly sensitive to noise.

• Performance score: 5/5

Beast Mighty 850 Plus: also consider

If you're not sure that the Beast Mighty 850 Plus is the right blender for you, here are two others to consider.

Should you buy the Beast Mighty 850 Plus

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

How I tested the Beast Mighty 850 Plus

I used the Beast Mighty 850 Plus for a week, making a variety of recipes, including TechRadar’s standard banana, blueberry, and kale smoothie, which we make with all the personal blenders we test.

I used the blender to tackle ingredients I knew to be particularly tough, including large frozen berries and ice, making sure to select the most appropriate blend setting each time.

I measured the volume of the blender during use with a decibel meter app on my phone.

For more details, see how we test, review, and rate products at TechRadar.

First reviewed July 2025.

We're coming to the end of Prime Day, and what a year it's been, with some of the best devices I've tried and tested as a home tech expert seeing huge discounts across the board. For example, my favorite portable blender, the Ninja Blast, is now on sale for $44.99 (was $69) at Amazon. A similar UK deal sees the device drop to £38.99 at Amazon (was £49).

• See all of today's best Amazon deals

We see some great deals on fan favorite appliances during Amazon Prime Day, and this one's a doozy. Now, it's not the lowest price we've ever seen on the Ninja Blast; that was last year's $39/£34 price tag, but it's only a $/£5 difference on a popular, highly capable product. In 2025, this is, in all likelihood, the lowest price we'll see, so don't miss out! Make sure you check the price before adding to your basket, too; only certain colorways offer this deal price.

Today's best Ninja Blast deals

I've had two years with the Ninja Blast, and in that time it's often been a constant companion. Whether for post-gym workouts, frozen drinks on a hot day or smoothies in my latest health kick; wherever I go, so too does my Ninja Blast.

Even at its retail price, it's far from expensive, but a $20/£10 saving is nothing to be sniffed at, too. It earned four stars in our review, mostly losing points for the fact that it'll occassionally get stuck. Nothing that a quick flip and shake of the blender can't fix, but worth noting!

If you'd like to explore your options, then our best blenders should be the next place you go.

Amazon's Prime Day sale - quick links (US)

• Amazon Prime membership: free 30-day trial
• Amazon Devices: up to 56% off smart home gadgets
• Appliances: 60% off Ninja and Tefal
• Gaming: gaming headsets from £22.99
• Headphones: Sony, Apple Bose from £19.99
• Health: up to 63% off Philips and Oral-B
• Laptops: Lenovo, HP, and Acer from £159
• Phones: Google and Samsung from £129
• Smart home: Ring & Blink cameras from £15.99
• Toys: up to 60% off Lego and Barbie
• TVs: cheap TVs from £139.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark and Dyson
• Wearables: up to 25% off Fitbit and Garmin

Amazon's early Prime Day sale - quick links (UK)

• Amazon Prime membership: free 30-day trial
• Amazon Devices: up to 56% off smart home gadgets
• Appliances: 60% off Ninja and Tefal
• Gaming: gaming headsets from £22.99
• Headphones: Sony, Apple Bose from £19.99
• Health: up to 63% off Philips and Oral-B
• Laptops: Lenovo, HP, and Acer from £159
• Phones: Google and Samsung from £129
• Smart home: Ring & Blink cameras from £15.99
• Toys: up to 60% off Lego and Barbie
• TVs: cheap TVs from £139.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark and Dyson
• Wearables: up to 25% off Fitbit and Garmin

There's nothing as refreshing as an ice-cold smoothie or freshly made slushie. Just throw some ice, fruit (ideally frozen) and juice or milk into a blender, and within minutes you can be sipping on a delicious frosty beverage. However, not all blenders are up to the challenge. Some struggle to crush ice, while others leave balk at the sight of a frozen strawberry, leaving you hot and bothered.

That's where I come in. I'm TechRadar's kitchen tech expert, and I've been hard at work blitzing heaps of frozen fruit to bring you this definitive list of the three best blenders for making smoothies and slushies at home.

All three of these are personal blenders, which means you can whip up a batch of your favorite beverage and then enjoy it straight from the blending vessel, with no pouring and no mess. Two of them are also cordless, so you can carry them with you to blend smoothies on the move, while the other has detachable drinking cups with an optional straw lid for easy slurping.

1. Ninja Blast Max

The Ninja Blast Max is, as the name suggests, supremely powerful, and is the only blender I've tested to date that's capable of obliterating big frozen strawberries in a single blend cycle. Frozen fruit is a super convenient and affordable way to make protein drinks more palatable while also cooling them down, and with the Blast Max, you can be sipping a delicious chilled smoothie in less than two minutes.

Like the Nutribullet Flip below, this is a cordless blender, which means you can take it to the gym to mix up a fresh shake as soon as you've finished your workout. It tucked nicely into the side pocket of my backpack and will fit in most cupholders as well.

The Blast Max is also superb when it comes to fibrous vegetables, so if you'd like to whip up a glassful of green juice, you can do so without worrying about unpalatable graininess. Every time I test a blender for TechRadar, I whip up a batch of Nutribullet's Banana Kale Blueberry Freeze, which is packed with an alarming amount of kale, and the Blast Max is one of very few that could make it palatable in one cycle.

It's not a quiet blender, and reached a maximum of 85dB when tackling particularly tough ingredients. It also had a slight tendency to wander across my kitchen counter when working hard, but the motor in the bottom is quite heavy, and I never felt like there was a risk of it tipping over.

Read my full Ninja Blast Max review

2. Nutribullet Flip

The Nutribullet Flip is a powerful personal blender with an ingenious design that eliminates any possible spillage when you're preparing your smoothie in a hurry. Most blenders have blades at the bottom, and when you've finished mixing your concoction, you have to turn them upside down, unscrew the blending unit, and replace it with a lid. It works OK, but there's a chance that you might end up with drips of sticky shake on your clean kitchen floor.

The Nutribullet Flip's blades are incorporated into the lid, so you simply load up your ingredients, tip it upside down and press the 'blend' button, then turn it the right way up and start sipping. No need to undo anything first.

Drinking directly from the part of the blender containing the blades and motor might seem alarming, but it's totally safe. The blender won't activate with the sip lid open, and the blades are well away from your mouth.

When it comes to the blending itself, the Nutribullet Flip makes light work of most ingredients and will whip protein powder, fresh berries, banana, and your choice of milk into a delicious smoothie in a single minute-long blending cycle. If you want to incorporate some leafy greens into the mix, I found that the Flip needed two cycles to properly process kale to avoid little bits that stick to your teeth.

Ice was no issue for the Flip (the iced coffees I made with it were divine), but frozen berries required two cycles as well – particularly chunky strawberries. The results are worth it, though, with the blender turning them into a fresh, fruity slush.

Read my full Nutribullet Flip review

3. Beast Blender Mighty 850 Plus

The aptly named Beast Blender is the only appliance I've tested to date that can turn blackcurrants into smooth puree, with no seeds. Usually, I try to avoid adding frozen currents to my smoothies because the results are almost always unpleasantly gritty, but the Beast Blender made light work of these tricky little customers.

This particular version of the Beast comes with three different-sized vessels and a choice of lids, including one that can accommodate a reusable silicone straw for easy sipping. Unlike with the Nutribullet Flip above, you'll need to remove the blade and motor unit and replace it with a cap before drinking, but in my experience this wasn't a particularly messy process (especially since this isn't a cordless blender, so you won't be doing the actual blending outside your kitchen).

I'll bring you a comprehensive review of the Beast Blender Mighty 850 Plus very soon, once I've tried it with a generous handful of kale thrown into the mix. Considering how well it copes with tiny pips, I've got high hopes.

Recipe ideas

If you need some inspiration, here are some slushies and smoothies that you can make with your brand new blender (including a couple of boozy evening options):

• Strawberry watermelon mocktail from Ninja Test Kitchen
• Spiked strawberry lemonade from Ninja Test Kitchen
• Pink power smoothie from Nutribullet
• The ultimate sangria from Nutribullet
• Minty watermelon strawberry refresher from Beast Health
• Cherry cream smoothie from Beast Health

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• The viral Ninja Creami Swirl ice cream maker is finally on sale, and I can't wait to start making protein ice cream at home
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I love a good smoothie, particularly on a baking hot day, but no matter how many blenders I try (and there have been a lot), there's one tasty ingredient they all seem to struggle with: blackcurrants. A big handful of mixed frozen fruit makes a delicious post-gym drink when blended with a scoop of protein powder, a banana, and plenty of oat milk, but without fail, I end up with gritty seeds that stick between my teeth and form a layer of silt at the bottom of the cup.

I sometimes manage to ignore it, particularly on a hot day, but it does spoil the enjoyment of an otherwise delicious drink. That was until I tried the Beast Mighty 850 Plus, which is the first appliance I've found that can successfully pulverize those little pips, leaving me with a berry-infused smoothie that's actually, well, smooth.

The Beast blender comes in three versions - the Mighty 650, the 850 Plus, and the top-end Mega 1000 Plus. The number of each model corresponds to the wattage of its motor, and the 'Plus' refers to a pack of additional blending vessels, lids, and straws for preparing and preparing different portions.

The 850 Plus that's currently gracing my kitchen is the mid-range model, and comes bundled with 638ml, 786ml, and 415ml vessels, plus a drinking lid with carry cap, a straw cap and two straws, a pair of cleaning brushes, a blade unit, and the base containing the blender's motor.

Despite its imposing name, the Beast is extremely easy to use, and I barely needed to glance at its modest instruction manual. After loading your chosen vessel with ingredients (you're advised to use plenty of liquid but take care not to exceed the 'max' line), just screw the blade unit on top, then flip it upside down and attach it to the base with a quick twist.

You'll notice a single LED on the front of the blender base. Orange means that the base is powered on (using a large yellow button on the back) but has no vessel attached, white means that it's ready to start blending, and green means blending is in progress.

I'll have to mix up a portion of TechRadar's standard test smoothie over the weekend (Ninja's Banana Kale Blueberry Freeze, which poses a challenge for any blender and can be a challenge to chug), but I wasn't able to face that amount of greenery first thing this morning, so instead I tossed in a ripe banana, a good glug of oat milk, and a big handful of frozen forest fruits into the largest vessel, and screwed it in place.

Sometimes I pick out just the strawberries and raspberries in the hopes of achieving a seedless smoothie, but by this point I was reaching the bottom of the bag and there was very little left except blackberries, redcurrants, and blackcurrants - all delicious, but full of tiny pips. Hoping this time would be different, I mentally crossed my fingers.

When the LED turns white, pressing the front button for less than a second will perform a quick pulse, while holding it briefly will start a one-minute blending cycle. I'll use a decibel meter to check how loudly the Beast roars during my full review, but my initial impression is that it's no louder than a typical smoothie-maker, despite its powerful motor. It is, however, more stable. Some compact blenders tend to wobble across the kitchen counter when tackling tough ingredients, but not this one.

I suspected that completely pulverizing the frozen fruit might involve running it twice, as it has for some other blenders I've tested, but after one minute my concoction looked sufficiently smooth, so I flipped over the Beast, removed the blending unit, attached the drinking lid, and pushed a straw through its silicone top.

The result? A smoothie that was startlingly seed-free, despite being loaded with pips that would be skipped by a lesser blender's blades. No grit – just a smooth, tasty concoction that was a pleasure to sip.

It's impressive stuff, and I'm looking forward to testing it out with some other tricky recipes over the coming days.

So far my only reservation is that all of the Beast's blending vessels have vertical ridges, which look stylish but seem to be a bit trickier to clean by hand than a conventional smooth blending jug. However, according to the manufacturer, everything except the blending base is dishwasher-safe, so hopefully that won't be an issue.

Come back soon for my full review, and to see whether the Beast can earn a place in TechRadar's roundup of the best blenders you can buy today.

• The KitchenAid Pure Power Blender is available to buy now in the US
• It's competitively priced for a full-size jug blender at $129.99
• It can crush ice, and is suitable for hot ingredients thanks to its steam valve

KitchenAid has launched a new blender that can blend hot and cold ingredients, and has a surprisingly palatable price tag. The KitchenAid Pure Power blender is available to buy now direct from KitchenAid for $129.99 (about £100 / AU$200).

That's pretty much what I'd expect to pay for a portable smoothie-maker from the likes of Nutribullet or Ninja, and half the price of the top-rated model in our roundup of the best blenders, the Braun TriForce Power Blender.

Despite its low MSRP, the KitchenAid Pure Power Blender is a full-size appliance with a 68oz / 1.8-liter jug that's big enough to whip up dishes for a family of four. It's particularly well suited to making soup thanks to a steam vent, which means it's safe for blending hot ingredients straight from the oven or pan.

The blender's asymmetrical blades are strong enough to crush ice, and according to KitchenAid the motor is powerful enough to handle frozen fruit for smoothies and slushes. From my experience testing blenders, I've found that frozen strawberries are the hardest to blend, so I'm interested to see how well the Pure Power Blender copes with these tough little customers.

Easy cleaning

The Pure Power Blender has a control dial on the front that lets you adjust the speed of the blades so you can create a chunky salsa or super smooth mayonnaise, and there are three presets available at the touch of a button: smoothie, ice crush, and clean (just add water and a drop of dish soap to the jug, run the cycle, then rinse it out).

The KitchenAid Pure Power Blender is available now in matt black, and will launch in extra colors in July. I don't yet have details of its pricing and availability outside the US, but I'll keep you updated as soon as I know more.

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• Salter's latest air fryer looks a lot like the award-winning Ninja Double Stack – and it's less than half the price
• Ninja's best coffee maker just got a makeover, and it looks so good it's selling out already

Amzchef Slow Juicer SJ-036: one-minute review

The Amzchef Slow Juicer SJ-036 is frankly a joy to use. Easy to assemble, use, and clean, this masticating slow-press juicer provides consistent, excellent results. If you want a juicer with a bunch of bells and whistles, you won't find it here. Instead, this appliance focuses on providing high-performance features, like its auto hopper, non-drip spout, and powerful auger, which reduces the need to pre-cut fruit and veg (though you may need to cut some) and allows for it to be largely automatic – with minimal mess.

You can add large chunks of food to this juicer, which makes prep easy, but the user manual advises removing seeds and peels from foods like oranges, lemons, and melons. After prepping, you simply add your food to the juicer, lock the lid, and turn the knob on the side, ensuring the pulp and juice cups are under their respective spouts. The juicer then uses its power auger to juice your items, pushing the solid fiber and pulp out the side, while its triple filter ensures the juice left is smooth. I found the auger left minimal residue in the feeding cup and it is incredibly satisfying watching the pulp ooze out the side.

While you can leave the appliance to automatically juice your food, you may need to utilize the pusher accessory to push down some foods – I only needed to do this once, however – or use the knob's Reverse function if any food gets stuck. You also need to watch for when the juicing is completed, as the appliance doesn't automatically turn off when finished and is surprisingly quick due to its 250W motor. In most cases, my juicing was complete in one to two minutes, though tougher foods took up to six.

The overall result every time was smooth juice with minimal pulp, enough to be healthy but not enough to make the juice unpleasant. That powerful auger utilized nearly every element of what it was fed, with the pulp spout churning out mostly solid remains that indicate it squeezed almost every ounce of juice from my foods. Clean-up was equally impressive, with the detachable parts easily hand-washed with only water.

If you're looking for a no-nonsense slow juicer that provides consistently high results, the Amzchef Slow Juicer SJ-036 is a worthy investment.

Amzchef Slow Juicer SJ-036: price and availability

• Price: $299.99 / £199.99
• Available in the UK and US, but not Australia
• Regular discounts available

The Amzchef Slow Juicer SJ-036 is a premium cold press juicer. Available in the US and UK at $300 / £199.99, respectively, this appliance is pricer than several others on our best juicers list. So, if this is a bit out of your price range, the Amzchef Slow Juicer ZM1501 is a more affordable alternative. However, we regularly see discounts (up to $100) on this product, so it's worth keeping your eyes peeled during sales periods.

While the Amzchef Slow Juicer SJ-036 is pricey, it's worth the investment if you regularly juice, as it offers a high-quality masticating juicer that's easy to use and maintain.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Amzchef Slow Juicer SJ-036: specifications

Amzchef Slow Juicer SJ-036: design

• Stylish modern design
• Surprisingly tall, needs unobstructed counter space
• Powerful auger and auto hopper
• Triple filter for smooth juice
• Anti-drip spout

The Amzchef Slow Juicer SJ-036 has a stylish, minimalistic modern design and comes in black or silver. Assembly is straightforward thanks to the handy user manual. You attach the juicing bowl to the power base, followed by the auger, and then the feeding cup, which locks into the bowl with ease. You then add the juice cup under the juice spout on the front and the pulp cup under the pulp spout on the left-hand side. The feeding cup lid has a safety clock, which you can click open and close fairly easily. The juicer won't function if the lock isn't clicked in, as this indicates the top is open, a welcome safety inclusion that should prevent any kitchen disasters.

What I like most about this juicer is how seemingly simple its design is and how easy it is to operate. On the right-hand side is just one knob with three options: on, off, and reverse. There's no smart control here, simply turn it on to juice and off when it's done. You need to manually turn it off when the juicing is finished, so an automatic option would be helpful, but this method does give you more control over its operation.

Turning the appliance on is when you see how impressive the design is. The automatic hopper pulls food into the powerful squeezing auger, churning it to extract the juice before using the triple filter to separate the pulp from the juice, satisfyingly spewing the pulp out of its respective spout and holding the remaining juice. The no-drip juice spout means the juice stays put until you've turned the appliance off and you're ready to open it. The juice spews out pretty fast, so I advise opening it slowly to avoid splashback.

Cleaning, likewise, is easy. The user manual advises handwashing with (it seems) just water and a cleaning brush is provided for tougher residue. Largely, I only needed the brush for the filter and chutes, with remains in the detachable parts easily washing away under the tap.

It's worth noting, however, that this juicer stands pretty tall when assembled, at 17.2in. Plus, you need to account for opening the lid. So, I had difficulty opening it due to my upper kitchen cabinets and needed to move it to a counter space that wasn't vertically obstructed. This may not be ideal if you have a smaller kitchen.

• Design score: 5/5

Amzchef Slow Juicer SJ-036: performance

• Smooth juice with minimal pulp
• Discarded pulp is largely solid
• Only takes a few minutes to juice
• Consistently good results

The Amzchef Slow Juicer SJ-036 performs to a high standard and I found it near flawless during my testing. I first tested a green juice, consisting of broccoli florets, ginger, celery, an apple, pear, and parsley. While the apple and pear needed de-seeding as advised in the user manual, and the celery cut into smaller chunks to fit the chute, minimal prep was required and all the ingredients easily fit in the feeding cup.

Within about two minutes of turning the appliance on, 197g of fairly solid pulp had been extracted and I was left with around 375ml of clear juice with minimal foam. Only some small remnants of parsley snuck into the juice, but these weren't overly noticeable or unpleasant. Very little was left in the juicing bowl that wasn't pulped or juiced. I was impressed that – while fairly loud at a max volume of 85.5 decibels – this juicer wasn't

I was particularly impressed with how the appliance juiced 200g of unpeeled carrots. The result, again, was 100ml of crystal clear juice with no foam, which only took one minute. This one minute is fairly loud, with a max decibel reading of 85.5, but wasn't as ear-splitting as some juicers can be.

Orange juice, using five large oranges, took a slightly longer six minutes, however. Mainly because I tested whether adding each ingredient one by one results, as Amzchef says in its juicer tips, in a higher yield. I didn't see a noticeable difference, so it's really up to you whether you'd rather juice more efficiently or quickly.

I added the oranges (unadvisedly) with their peels on but cut into wedges. This resulted in a lot of pulp (411g) and roughly 375ml of delicious orange juice, which had some nutritious pulp in it but not enough for it to be an issue.

Much like with my carrots, my 100g kale test resulted in wonderfully pure kale juice, with just a little foam. Unfortunately, I didn't realize how disgusting kale juice is and this juicer couldn't fix that.

• Performance score: 5/5

Should you buy the Amzchef Slow Juicer SJ-036?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

First reviewed April 2025

• Nutribullet and McLaren have teamed up for a set of three themed blenders
• Each blender features McLaren's signature gray and papaya livery colors
• The original versions of all three received high scores from our reviewers

Nutribullet, maker of some of the world's best blenders, has teamed up with the McLaren Formula 1 team for a set of F1-themed soup and smoothie-makers. The collaboration might sound like a belated April Fools joke, but it's very real, and the three race-ready blenders are available to buy now direct from Nutribullet.

According to Nutribullet, the three blenders are "infused with McLaren’s signature papaya aesthetic – blending speed, precision, and innovation from the racetrack to the kitchen."

The trio include the Nutribullet x McLaren F1 Team Portable – a new version of the Nutribullet Portable Blender we reviewed last year. Our tester Victoria Woolaston praised its light weight, which makes it ideal for carrying to the office or gym, and its very reasonable price tag. Its battery life was also impressive, and she found it lasted around two weeks between charges in typical use.

She did note that it struggled somewhat with particularly tough ingredients, and it was sometimes necessary to run two blending cycles to incorporate difficult vegetables into smoothies, but no more so than other single-serve blenders at this price point.

Pulp position

Also on the starting grid is the Nutribullet x McLaren F1 Team Pro 900: a papaya and graphite-hued version of the more powerful Nutribullet 900. Our reviewer Emily Peck found that the 900 produced consistently good results, and noted that it's a particularly good pick for small kitchens.

"There's only one setting, but it offers you 50% more power than the original Nutribullet, with the speedy blade delivering super-smooth results," she said.

Finally, there's the Nutribullet x McLaren F1 Team Ultra. The original Nutribullet Ultra earned four and a half out of five stars in our review, producing silky smoothies and nicely textured hummus with ease. It's also one of the quietest blenders we've tested to date.

There's been a trend in kitchen appliances recently for subtle, natural shades like buttery yellow and leafy green, but if that's not your style then one of these blenders could add a welcome shock of color to your kitchen. You could even use one to whip up a quick papaya and coconut smoothie for refreshment during this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix.

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Ninja Blast Max: one-minute review

The Ninja Blast Max is an updated version of the company’s portable smoothie blender, with a more powerful motor and upgraded blades – and it works brilliantly. The Max is more expensive then the original Ninja Blast, but the price difference is easily justified by the improvement in performance.

Unlike every other personal blender I’ve tested to date, the Ninja Blast Max transforms difficult, fibrous ingredients such as kale into a silky smoothie with just a single blending cycle, leaving behind no unpleasant fragments. In my time using the blender, I didn't experience any problems with ingredients becoming stuck to the sides of the cup and missing the blades either, which is unusual for a blender this size.

The Max fared equally well when it came to blending large frozen berries, which usually prove too much of a challenge for portable smoothie makers. The blender’s "crush" setting is made for tackling ice cubes, but works equally well for rock-hard frozen fruit, pulverizing it to slushie consistency within a minute.

The blender cup is easy to detach from the charging base, enabling you to sip your smoothie on the move, or take your protein shake to the gym. It fits into a typical cupholder or the side pocket of a backpack, and has a robust silicone carry handle. The only downside is that it isn't insulated to keep your creations cold. If Ninja could add a second, insulated cup to the package alongside the first, it would be pretty much perfect.

Ninja Blast Max: price and availability

• Available in US and Europe
• List price $89.99/£89.99 (about AU$140)
• About the same price as Nutribullet Flip

The Ninja Blast Max launched in September 2024. It’s available direct from Ninja, and from third-party retailers such as Amazon for $89.99/£89.99. That’s about AU$140, but at the time of writing it isn’t for sale in Australia.

That’s a significant price increase from the original Ninja Blast, which had a list price of $59.99 / £49.99 / AU$79.99; but it’s understandable considering the upgraded motor, blades, and battery.

The Blast Max is roughly the same as the Nutribullet Flip, which is a more direct competitor, and is priced at $99.99 (about £80 / AU$150). The Ninja Blast Max definitely delivers more blending power than the Flip, delivering more bang for your buck.

• Value score: 5/5

Ninja Blast Max: design

• Cup is easy to remove from the charging base and carry
• Simple to keep clean
• No leaks when blending, or carrying the cup

The Ninja Blast Max has two components: the base, which contains the battery and motor, and a removable cup with the blade unit at the bottom and a flip-top lid on top. The sip lid also has a silicone handle for easy and comfortable carrying. The cup easily tucked into the side pocket of my backpack, and will fit in most standard cupholders, too.

The base unit has a charging port at the back, with a rubber cover to protect against dust and splashes (although you should never immerse the base in water, and always remove the cup before cleaning).

The base has an attractive ombre finish, and is available in seven color options: Sea Glass, Ivory Cream, Dusty Pink, Gray, Silver, Lavender, and Navy (although not all retailers will stock all seven).

It has a central power button, with a green light that blinks during charging, and controls for three settings: Crush (for ice), Blend, and Smoothie.

The cup has a slightly tapered shape, becoming narrower at the bottom to encourage ingredients to fall onto the blades, but not so narrow that anything becomes stuck. The instructions explain that you can gently shake the blender to dislodge any pieces of fruit or veg that escape the blades, but during my tests I didn’t find this necessary.

The cup has a maximum fill line positioned at the 15.8oz / 450ml mark. That’s the same as the Nutribullet Flip, but the Ninja Blast Max’s removable base means it’s much lighter to carry. The lid creates an extra tight seal when you’re on the move, and I never noticed any leaking when I was blending or carrying it.

The Ninja Blast Max is very easy to keep clean. Like most portable blenders, all you have to do is add some water to the cup with a squirt of dish soap, run a brief blending cycle, then rinse the cup and lid thoroughly and allow them to dry. You can also wash the cup and lid by hand when they need cleaning more thoroughly.

The only downside is that, unlike the Nutribullet Flip, the Ninja Blast Max doesn’t have an insulated cup to keep your creations chilled on the move.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Ninja Blast Max: performance

• Excellent at blending tough vegetables such as kale
• "Crush" mode is great for ice and frozen ingredients
• Ingredients don't become stuck in cup and miss the blades

The Ninja Blast Max is the most powerful personal blender I’ve tested, capable of turning even tricky ingredients into a creamy smoothie.

After charging the blender for a few hours until the light on the front remained a steady green, I started off by making TechRadar’s test recipe – Nutribullet’s Banana Kale Blueberry Freeze.

Its ingredients are simple enough, but the kale usually presents a big challenge for small blenders, which tend to leave shreds of leaf intact. I loaded up the banana, kale, blueberries and almond milk, then hit the button for the blender’s Smoothie mode. This runs a series of pulses, which pulverizes the ingredients then allows them to settle before hitting them with the blades again.

The results were extremely impressive. Usually I have to run a portable blender for at least two cycles to create something smooth enough to drink, and even then I usually find scraps of kale sticking to my teeth. That wasn’t the case with the Ninja Blast Max, which blended everything together into a tasty and silky smooth drink (even if the color wasn't terribly appealing).

Frozen berries are another tough challenge for a portable blender, and defeated the Nutribullet Flip when I tested it last year. It took two full blending cycles to turn frozen forest fruits into something drinkable, so I was curious to see how the souped-up Ninja Blast Max would fare.

I decided to make a shake using a scoop of vanilla protein powder, oat milk, and a handful of large frozen strawberries, which are the fruits that seem to defeat most blenders. I used the Ninja Blast Max’s Crush setting, which is designed for tackling ice.

Blending the frozen fruit was quite loud, briefly reaching 85dB during pulses (about the same as a standard jug blender, or heavy traffic), but the noise was only brief and became quieter as each pulse of the Blast Max pulverized the strawberries. The blender has a tendency to move about slightly when blending tough ingredients, but it wasn't in any danger of falling over.

Once the cycle was over, I had a delicious pink concoction, with no pieces of unblended berry, and a much nicer texture than a typical protein shake. Again, the drink was silky smooth, with no graininess.

I also tested the blender’s ice-crushing abilities, using it to prepare a blended coffee drink. As with all personal blenders, you need to add a minimum amount of liquid before you can crush ice. For this test, I used barista-standard caramel plant milk, with a double shot of espresso.

Again, I used the Crush setting, and I could hear the ice being shattered even faster than the fruit with each pulse. The resulting blended iced coffee looked as good as anything you might get from a coffee shop, with a nice layer of foam on top and no chunks of unblended ice crystals.

You could also make an excellent espresso martini in the same way if you don’t have access to a cocktail shaker.

• Performance score: 5/5

Should you buy the Ninja Blast Max?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Ninja Blast Max: also consider

If you’re not sure whether the Ninja Blast Max is the right blender for you, here are two other options to think about.

How I tested the Ninja Blast Max

I used the Ninja Blast Max for a week, making recipes including TechRadar’s standard banana, blueberry, and kale smoothie, which we make with all the personal blenders we test.

I used the blender to tackle ingredients I knew to be particularly tough, including large frozen berries and ice, making sure to select the most appropriate blend setting each time.

I measured the volume of the blender during use with a decibel meter app on my phone.

For more details, see how we test, review, and rate products at TechRadar.

First reviewed April 2025.

If you're looking to kickstart your 2025 fitness goals early, then the one Cyber Monday deal you need to buy is an ice cream maker.

Hear me out. If you want to lose weight or transform your physique, the most important thing you can do is eat in a calorie deficit. By limiting calories (in a sustainable fashion), you can start to shed body fat, reduce your BMI, and get healthier.

But if you're anything like me, a killer sweet tooth can derail even the most intense gym regimen. So what if you could make delicious, healthy (er) ice cream at home, and satisfy those sweet cravings without torpedoing your diet? Step forward, the Ninja Creami.

Today's best Ninja Creami Cyber Monday deal

A Ninja CREAMi can be used to make delicious ice cream of any kind, but it's also a secret fitness weapon.

I use it to make pints of ice cream that only clock in at around 400 calories, with 40 grams of protein for good measure.

I can eat an entire pint every day, and come away completely satisfied that I've had my sweet treat for the day, helping me to ditch denser, unhealthy treats like sweets, cake, and chocolate.

Of course, you can always use one for an indulgent recipe too when the mood strikes.

More of today's Cyber Monday sales in the US

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More of today's Cyber Monday sales in the UK

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If you're serious about to trying to cut back on calories and trim down a little, then buying a Ninja Creami might be one of the best decisions you ever make.

Right now, Ninja's cult-status ice cream machine is on sale at Amazon in both the UK and the US for the Amazon Prime Day sale. Normally $200/£200, you can score one on either side of the Atlantic for just $159 in the US or £149 in the UK, the latter matching the UK's lowest-ever price.

• Shop more Prime Day deals

While the financial savings you'll make are pretty cool, the impact the Ninja Creami could have on your life is immense. I've had one for over a year, and don't regret buying it, even at full price.

Today's best Ninja Creami deal

My biggest downfall is my sweet tooth when it comes to staying fit and healthy. I've spent years trying to find a solution, and the Ninja Creami is the best I've found.

You can mind a multitude of recipes online that will help you create delicious macro-friendly ice cream that you can enjoy every single day and never get tired of.

Personally, I've adopted an almond milk-based recipe that packs in 40 grams of protein and is less than 400 calories. It keeps me full when I'm craving something sweet, and more importantly, it's delicious.

The Ninja Creami is really easy to use, it has a few different settings depending on the type of dessert you want, but otherwise, it's incredibly simple. It's also very easy to clean, and using it day-to-day is very straightforward. Most of the mechanism is packed into the top of the Creami too, keeping the profile narrow, so it doesn't take up too much room in your kitchen either.

Not in the UK? Check out more Ninja Creami deals where you are below:

More Amazon Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: up to 50% off
• Appliances: deals on coffee makers and blenders
• Health: 45% off Oral-B and Philips
• Laptops: best-ever MacBook Pro deals
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More Amazon Prime Day deals in the UK

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• Tablets: Fire tablets from £29.99
• TVs: cheap TVs from £139.99

The sequel to Amazon Prime Day (coined "Big Deals Day") is almost here and naturally, there are tons of early deals taking advantage of this period. Amazon is especially discounting some of the best blenders, including the Ninja Blender and Ninja CREAMi Deluxe.

The Ninja Blender is on sale for $119.99 at Amazon while the Ninja CREAMi Deluxe is on sale for $219.69 at Amazon. Both are excellent appliances, with the former being perfect for a wide range of tasks including blending, food processing, and making frozen drinks. Meanwhile, the latter uses a tech patent previously reserved for restaurants, which results in denser ice cream with less air and therefore much richer and more intense in flavor.

Ninja blenders open up your culinary forte with homemade salsas, smoothies, and sauces, while ice cream makers are the perfect way to customize frozen treats in your own home. If you want to get your hands on Ninja appliances close to their lowest prices ever offered, make sure to take advantage of these deals before they end!

Today's best Ninja deals

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Nutribullet has taken the wraps off a new blender that can automatically detect the ingredients you've loaded into the jug, and set the blend mode, time, and speed accordingly. No more lumpy, underblended smoothies or clumpy, overworked almond flour.

The Nutribullet SmartSense blender can handle hot and cold ingredients, and comes with a full-size jug with a vented lid and pouring spout to safely handle hot soups and drinks.

If you want to get more creative, there's also a Blender Combo pack, which adds two single-serving blending cups for making smoothies (much like the Nutribullet Pro+ 1200) and an extra durable extractor blade for crushing ice, cracking open seeds, and shredding the tough skin of vegetables that could pose a challenge for most blenders.

Milks without the mess

One of the SmartSense's most interesting promises is the ability to make fully emulsified plant milks (such as almond and oat) with no need for straining, which is usually one of the messiest parts of making DIY dairy alternatives.

According to Nutribullet, the SmartSense is also capable of making "delicate alternative flours", which we're hoping includes extra-fine almond flour suitable for macaroons (without turning the nuts into butter). We'll soon find out when we put it though a battery of tests in our own kitchen to see whether it deserves a place in our roundup of the best blenders.

The NutriBullet SmartSense Blender is available now from Amazon and direct from Nutribullet for $119 (about £90 / AU$170). The SmartSense Blender Combo Pack can be purchased from Amazon or Nutribullet for $149.99 (about £110 / AU$220).

You might also like...

• The Ninja Blast finally sold me on portable blenders
• Can a blender be used as a food processor?
• The five best dishes to make in a blender

NutriBullet sales are essential for anyone looking to save cash on one of the most popular blenders on the market. We regularly see discounts on the full range and some particularly strong discounts around major holiday events. That's why we're rounding up all the bets NutroBullet deals on a selection of the most popular models - from the NutriBullet Pro to the RX right here.

The NutriBullet was founded in 2012, with its first model introduced as a single-serve countertop 'personal' blender. Since then, the company has produced several different models with enhanced capabilities, such as nutrient extraction and Bluetooth technology. Each blender includes a powerful motor that can whip up a smoothie in seconds, and you can swap the extractor blade for a flip-top lid so that you can enjoy your concoctions on the go.

The top models we've listed below are the NutriBullet Pro 900 Series, the NutriBullet RX, the Original NutriBullet, the NutriBullet Baby Bullet, and the NutriBullet Balance. For each model, we've included the main features, as well as capacity, number of attachments, motor power, and, most importantly, the best online price.

The best cheap NutriBullet prices and deals

The original NutriBullet 600 Series is perfect for people who want to make the occasional smoothie. It features a 600W motor and extractor blade that blends fruits and veggies in seconds to create delicious and healthy smoothies. The compact blender is also dishwasher safe, and includes a 24oz / 710ml container with lid that you can take on the go.

The NutriBullet 600 retails for $59.99, but because it's an older model, you can typically find the blender on sale. It comes with a 24oz / 710ml tall cup with comfort lip ring, 18oz / 530ml short cup, and a handled comfort lip ring.

The Original NutriBullet is perfect for people who want to make the occasional smoothie. The Original NutriBullet features a 600W motor and extractor blade that blends fruits and veggies in seconds to create delicious and healthy smoothies. The compact blender is also dishwasher safe, and includes a 24oz / 710 container with lid that you can take on the go.

The Original NutriBullet retails for $59.99, but because it's an older model, you can typically find the blender on sale. It comes with a 24oz / 710ml tall cup with comfort lip ring, 18oz / 530ml short cup, and a handled comfort lip ring.

The NutriBullet Pro, or Pro 900 Series in some regions, is NutriBullet's most popular model and it’s a fantastic blender for smoothie newbies. It features a powerful 900-watt motor and extractor blade to pulverize and puree fruits and veggies effortlessly. You can easily make a smoothie in under 60 seconds – just push, twist, and blend for fast and convenient ‘NutriBlasts’, as NutriBullet calls your creations.

The NutriBullet Pro 900 Series currently retails for $79.99 / £79.99 and includes a 900-watt motor base, extractor blade, flip top to-go lid, 32oz / 909ml colossal cup with lip ring, and a 24oz / 680ml tall cup with a handled lip ring.

If you're trying to get the most out of your fruits and veggies, the NutriBullet RX is the blender for you. The RX is NutriBullet's most powerful nutrition extractor ever, featuring a 1700W motor that can easily liquefy even solid ingredients. The blender can create single and family-sized servings, and even features a heating cycle for soups and sauces. The NutriBullet RX also includes hands-free smart technology, with auto start/stop functionality.

The NutriBullet RX comes with 10 different attachments including an extractor blade with cleaning brush, 30oz / 890ml short cup with comfort lip ring, SouperBlast Pitcher with vented lid, 45oz / 1330ml oversized cup with pitcher lid, Nature’s Prescription Book, and a stay-fresh lid. Because of the extra power, attachments, and functions, the RX is more expensive than most NutriBullet blenders, currently retailing for $179.99 / £129.99

Make a week's worth of baby food in minutes with the NutriBullet Baby blender. Designed with parents in mind, the miniature mixer includes convenient attachments that allow you to easily store and keep track of your baby's food. The baby care system includes a silicon-based batch tray, so you can save your baby's purees in the freezer and pop them out when needed. The baby blender also comes with six date-dial storage cups to help you keep track of freshness, and a spill-proof tray to help you keep everything organized.

The NutriBullet Baby blender retails for only $49.99 / £53.87 and includes a motor base, extractor blade, batch bowl, easy pop freezer tray with lid, six storage cups with tray, short cup with lid, and a recipe book and user guide.

Shop more cheap NutriBullet deals

• Walmart
• Amazon
• Best Buy
• Bed Bath & Beyond
• Overstock

See more appliance deals with our list of the best cheap coffee maker sales and the best Instant Pot deals.

You can also see the best sous vide cooking machines and the best cheap air fryers on sale.

Nutribullet Flip: two-minute review

The Nutribullet Flip is designed to make the process of blitzing smoothies and shakes as mess-free as possible – and it works. Simply add all your ingredients to the cup, put on the blending lid, before flipping the cup upside down and pressing the power button; then simply flip it back the right way and drink straight from the cup. There's no need to pour out the drink into another vessel, nor remove the cap – and during several weeks of testing, the blender didn't leak at all, even when inverted.

The Flip's blades are positioned at the widest point, which means ingredients don’t become stuck, and the motor is more powerful than that of most personal blenders, which means it tackles ice with ease. During tests, we found that large pieces of fruit (such as frozen strawberries) sometimes required a second 30-second cycle to be completely blended; but the results were usually impressive.

The insulated cup keeps your finished creations cold for hours and you can swap to a lid without the integrated blender if you want to travel light. The Flip comes with a cover to protect the blades, if you decide to switch the cap, which is a nice touch.

Cleanup is extremely straightforward – just add a drop of dish soap and some water, run it for 30 seconds, and then rinse. There's no scrubbing necessary, and food doesn't accumulate around the seal or blades.

During tests, I was able to run it for 13 30-second cycles on a full charge (blending a banana milkshake) before it ran out of juice, so you should be able to use it for several days before having to reach for the USB-C charging cable. Note that thirty seconds after a blending cycle has finished, the Flip will go into sleep mode to conserve power.

The Nutribullet Flip isn't made for solids, and it isn't the cheapest portable blender around. However, if you’re looking for something that will fit in your cup holder in the car and is powerful enough to make an iced coffee in 30 seconds, this is the one for you.

Nutribullet Flip: price and availability

• List price: $99.99 (about £80 / AU$150)

The Nutribullet Flip launched in July 2024, with a list price of $99.99 (about £80 / AU$150). That puts it in between the Ninja Blast at $59.99 / £49.99 / AU$79.99 and the Smeg Personal Blender at $169.95 / £109.95/ AU$199. It's worth bearing in mind that Ninja's blender is considerably less powerful and struggles to blend frozen ingredients, so if you want a portable blender for icy drinks then the Nutribullet Flip may be worth the extra expense.

At the time of writing, the Nutribullet Flip is only available in the US, but you can find it for import via Amazon UK (built to US and Canadian electrical standards).

• Value score: 5/5

Nutribullet Flip: specs

Nutribullet Flip: design

The Flip is a new type of personal blender that aims to make the whole experience of making smoothies, shakes and the like as mess-free as possible by positioning the blades and motor in the top of the cup. Once your beverage is blended, you just turn the whole blender upside down, open the sip cap, and start drinking. There’s no need to remove the lid (unless you want to) and no risk of spillage. It’s a similar concept to the Ninja Blast, but while the Blast’s blades are in the bottom, the Flip has them in the lid.

Drinking through the part of the blender that contains the blade might seem strange, but the moving parts are well away from your mouth, so you won't come into contact with them. The blender won’t run with the sip lid open either, so there’s no chance it will activate while you’re enjoying your smoothie.

The box contains the main cup, the blending lid (with the blades and motor), a to-go lid that you can use to minimize weight if you don’t need to blend on the move, a stainless steel drinking straw with a cleaning brush (the lid has a hole to insert the straw), and an instruction booklet. The blender itself is available in black, stainless steel, or white (shown here).

To make your drink, load your ingredients into the cup (making sure that the liquid sits between the "minimum" and "maximum" markings inside), screw the lid into place, flip it upside down, and press the single button to start a 30-second cycle. Unlike some personal blenders, the Flip isn’t made for hot ingredients. It also requires a minimum amount of liquid, so you won’t be using it to make dukkah or crush nuts.

• Design score: 5/5

Nutribullet Flip: performance

The Nutribullet Flip isn’t intended for solid food, so I couldn’t run TechRadar's usual full battery of tests; for example, mayonnaise was out of the question, because you can’t pour in oil mid-blend. However, I did whip up several batches of our control smoothie recipe, which consists of almond milk, kale, blueberries and banana.

There were no leaks whatsoever during testing and after one 30-second cycle the smoothie was mostly blended. However, as you can see in the photo below, a chunk of unblended banana remained. Running a second cycle resulted in much better, smoother results.

It was a similar story when making a shake using milk, protein powder, and frozen berries. Nutribullet’s documentation says that the Flip can handle “most frozen fruit”, but the largest strawberries required two cycles to blend completely. Running the blender twice isn’t a big deal, but it might have been nice if there were two settings, one for 30 seconds and one for a minute for tackling tougher tasks; or, the blender defaulted to 45 seconds as a compromise.

The Flip performed best when making iced coffee, delivering perfect results. Considering my experience of making a smoothie with frozen berries, I had expected the Flip to require two attempts to crush ice cubes with milk and a shot of espresso; but it took only a single cycle to produce a perfect cold beverage. It proved much more effective than the Ninja Blast, partly thanks to the Flip’s more powerful motor (11.4V compared to 7.4V) and partly due to the design of the blender iteself.

Having the blades at the widest part of the cup means it didn’t suffer the Blast’s issue of ice cubes becoming stuck in the middle. As such, there was no need to shake the Flip mid-blend to loosen things up; it would make a mean espresso martini. Do ensure you heed Nutribullet's warning that never fill more than 25% of the cup's total volume with ice.

Although the Flip is decidedly top-heavy when used with the blending lid attached, it didn't at all feel awkward when being used as a drinking vessel. There’s no risk of any accidents with the mechanics when you're drinking from the blending lid; in fact, you’re so far away from the blade in the lid that you’ll have to hold the Flip at an angle for a few seconds before the liquid runs out if you’ve made a particularly thick drink.

One of the biggest advantages of the Nutribullet Flip is just how easy it is to clean. Simply squirt in a little dish soap, add some water, and run the blender for a 30-second cycle. Once complete, rinse out the suds and it’s ready to use again - no scrubbing required, with even bits of fruit skin and kale fully removed. The cup and to-go lid are dishwasher-safe, but both proved so quick and easy to clean by hand, I didn't find it necessary to add them to the appliance. Nutribullet warns that you should never try to clean the motor base, blade, and lid unit by immersing it in water or detergent, or putting it in the dishwasher.

I actually found myself using the Flip far more often than I might if it required more intense cleaning. Sure, I could use my usual shaker to prepare my post-run protein drink, but the flip did a better job of mixing the ingredients, and I could even throw in some fruit for good measure.

The Flip is charges using the USB-C cable supplied in the packaging. The color of the light around the button once you’ve screwed on the lid indicates the current charge level: green is high, orange is medium, and red is low; the color changes during charging, with solid green (not blinking) indicating a full charge. Before using it for the first time, you should charge the Flip for at least two hours.

During blending with ice, the Nutribullet Flip's noise levels reached a maximum of 79dB, which is similar to the Smeg Personal Blender (80dB) and around 10dB quieter than most countertop blenders we’ve tested. 

According to Nutribullet, the Flip can run up to 15 cycles on a single charge. After fully charging the blender, I added a banana, oat milk and cocoa to the cup, and was able to run 13 complete cycles before it ran out of power. That's pretty close, and means you'll be able to go several days between charges in regular use.

• Performance score: 4/5

Nutribullet Flip: should I buy it?

Nutribullet Flip: also consider

Nutribullet Flip: how I tested

I spent two weeks testing the Nutribullet Flip using a variety of different ingredients, both fresh and frozen, and different liquids including water, plant and dairy milks, and juice. For easy comparison with other devices, I used Nutribullet's own Banana Kale Blueberry Freeze recipe, which we use to test all blenders.

I weighed the blender with both of its lids to be certain of its weight, and measured the noise produced by the blender using a decibel meter.

I fully charged the Nutribullet Flip using the supplied USB-C charging cable, then added a banana, cocoa powder, and oat milk, and counted how many full cycles it was able to complete before the battery ran down.

Read more about how we test.

First reviewed August 2024

Right now, you can grab the Ninja Creami ice cream and smoothie maker for just £149.99 at John Lewis – A huge saving of 25% off the usual price, and the cheapest it's ever been. 

The Creami has proved enormously popular since its launch earlier this year thanks to its sheer speed, letting you churn a 500ml batch of ice cream or sorbet in three minutes or less, compared to half an hour for a conventional ice cream maker. 

"I was surprised by how easy it was to use considering its many features and functions and loved how many things you could use it for," said reviewer Bethan Girdler-Maslen at our sister site T3.com. "I’ll definitely be using it throughout the year and not just during the summer."

You can experiment with tastes and textures to your heart's content, and there's even a mix-in function that evenly distributes fruit, nuts, chocolate, or other delicious treats throughout the finished dessert.

Today's best Ninja Creami deal

The Creami includes a recipe book full of ideas for tasty desserts, and includes both dairy and non-dairy options.

When you buy it from John Lewis, you'll also get free click-and-collect delivery (to a Collect+ point, or a John Lewis or Waitrose store near you) and a two-year guarantee included. Now that's a cool deal.

Not in the UK? Check out more Ninja Creami deals where you are below:

KitchenAid Go Cordless blender: two-minute review

The KitchenAid Go Cordless Personal Blender (or Portable Blender, in the UK) is part of the brand's range of cordless kitchen appliances, all of which are compatible with the same removable, swappable battery. It's too bulky and heavy to be an on-the-go blender that you'd take out with you, but rather seems to be aimed at those that are short on power outlets and/or kitchen space.

The blending cup is a good size for a generous single-serve smoothie or protein shake. The blade section screws on to the top and then the whole thing flips over and is twisted on to the motor section. Blending is operated by button, and there's one speed and a pulse function. 

When you're done blending, you remove the cup and blade – carefully, as it is possible to twist the cup off the blade accidentally, leading to your mixture pouring all over the blender – and either decant or swap the blade for the to-go lid (well-designed, with a carry loop that screws off to become a smaller opening to sip from). The battery slots on and off easily and provides a maximum of 20 minutes' blending time. 

In terms of performance, the KitchenAid Go Cordless is a little underwhelming. On test, it coped well with soft ingredients and very liquid blends, but struggled a little with tougher ingredients and frozen fruit. All the corded options in our best blender guide pack more power and can deal with more challenging blending tasks. 

Price-wise, it's in the mid range. It feels well made and good quality, and perhaps worth it if you specifically want the Go range with its swappable batteries. However, depending on your priorities, there are cheaper options that are more powerful or more portable. That's the short version; read on for my full KitchenAid Go Cordless Blender review. 

KitchenAid Go Cordless blender review: price & availability

• List price with battery: $129.99 / £179 / AU$228
• List price without battery: $99.99 / £149 / AU$159
• Launched May 2024, available in the US / UK / AU

In the US the version with the battery is $129.99 (reduced to $99.99 at time of writing) while the version without is $99.99 (down to $79.99). In the UK it's £179 or £149 if you already have a battery. In Australia, the version with a battery is AU$228 or the version without is AU$159. That puts it in the mid-range price bracket of blenders overall. 

You're definitely paying for the convenience of it being cordless and part of the Go set, with swappable batteries. If that's not your priority, there are plenty of better-value options. 

In terms of performance, it's more similar to a personal, on-the-go blender (i.e. not super powerful), which you can pick up for a much lower price. For example, the Nutribullet Magic Bullet Portable Blender costs $39.99 / £39.99 / AU$79.95. Alternatively, the cheapest countertop model from that brand, the Nutribullet 600 Series, costs $69.99 / £59.99 /AU$99.95, and it's significantly more powerful than the Go.

With all kitchen appliances, it's worth shopping around major sales events like Amazon Prime Day or the Black Friday sales, as we often see discounts around then. And to save money on KitchenAid products, do check out our KitchenAid promo codes page. 

• Value for money score: 2.5 out of 5

KitchenAid Go Cordless blender specs

KitchenAid Go Cordless blender review: design

• Cordless with removable battery, but too bulky to be a to-go blender
• Well-designed to-go lid screws on to blend cup
• Dishwasher safe (apart from the motor section, obviously)

The KitchenAid Go Cordless Personal blender is part of the Go range, which includes six cordless appliances, all compatible with the same swappable, rechargeable battery.

The whole thing is cordless, but how useful that is is limited by the fact that it's not compact or light enough to be considered an 'on the go' blender. I guess the range is aimed at those who are short on outlets and/or space in their kitchen, because it is fairly compact. It's also quite nice to not have to be tethered to a power outlet in general, and especially so if you happen to run the Homes channel for a major tech website and have approximately 12 kitchen appliances all vying for socket space at any one time. 

The 12V battery charges via USB-C and clips off the main unit by pressing two large, squeezable buttons on either side. It comes on and off easily. On full charge, it offers up to 20 minutes of use, with the battery level indicated by four LEDs. You could keep a spare to hand if you were worried about being caught short in a blending emergency. 

The blade section is separate and can be screwed on to the blending jug, and then twisted into place on the motor unit. It's a motion similar to a Nutribullet, but unlike that brand it won't automatically begin blending when the blade is twisted on. Instead, blending is operated by two wide, narrow buttons on the front of the blender – one for 'on' and one for 'pulse'.

The blending cup is made from BPA-free plastic and feels nice and robust. With a capacity of 16oz / 473ml, it's a good size for a single-serve smoothie or protein shake. When you're done blending, the blade can be screwed off and a replaced by the to-go lid. This is especially well-designed; there's a carry loop that can be removed to reveal a narrow opening to drink through.

My main issue with the design is that if you're not paying attention, it's fairly easy to accidentally unscrew the jug from the blade, rather than the whole thing from the motor base, leading to whatever you were blending pouring out over your blender. It's obviously partly just user error, but I did manage this this twice while testing the Go, and have never had the issue with any Nutribullet I've tried. There's still hummus stuck in the buttons. 

Cleaning

The cup, blade and to-go lid are all dishwasher-safe; the latter two on the top rack. That makes cleaning super-simple, unless you don't have a dishwasher. Sadly, I fall into that camp. So how easy is it to hand-wash? It's okay. The blade isn't as fiddly as, say, a Nutribullet one (the bane of my life), but it's also not exactly a breeze to get clean, with a few inaccessible nooks and crannies. I think that's unavoidable with most blenders, though. 

The most annoying thing is that the cup is narrow enough that unless you have freakishly small hands, or a child who's keen on washing up, you're going to struggle to get to the bottom with a cloth or sponge. Of course, you can employ the method of adding soapy water, screwing a lid on and doing a vigorous shake, but that doesn't always dislodge stuck-on food. As with any blender, it helps massively if you remember to rinse everything straight after blending, so no food gets dried on in the first place.

• Design score: 4 out of 5

KitchenAid Go Cordless blender review: performance

• Blends soft ingredients effectively; good for smoothies 
• Not powerful enough for ice and hit-and-miss with frozen berries
• Best for liquid blends like smoothies and protein shakes

First I tested the KitchenAid Go Cordless blender's smoothie-making prowess with a banana, blueberry and spinach smoothie. I used sliced and frozen bananas and blueberries, and the motor wasn't powerful enough to deal with that – the mix jammed the mechanism. I wouldn't necessarily expect a smaller blender like this to be able to tackle frozen ingredients, although KitchenAid does claim this is powerful enough to blend ice (I did try with ice, with predictably underwhelming results; the cubes just pinged it about in the blending cup).

I left the ingredients to defrost, and then it had no issues whipping them into a mostly smooth concoction. Nothing got stuck up the sides while I was blending, and only a berry or two managed to elude the blades.

Blenders are designed mostly for drinkable/spoonable concoctions, but I also gave the Go Portable a go with hummus and pesto. It managed hummus pretty well, provided I added enough liquid (the pulse button was useful for getting ingredients moving when required), but it was useless when it came to pesto, leaving lots of unblended leaves at the top of the jug. Overall, I'd recommend it for smoothies and soft ingredients, but nothing more challenging.

When running, the blender makes quite a piercing sound. No blender is quiet, but I'd say this one is a bit more jarring than most.

• Performance score: 3 out of 5

Should you buy the KitchenAid Go Cordless blender?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the KitchenAid Go Cordless blender

• Made a smoothie, hummus and pesto, and tried crushing ice
• Hand-washed all components to see how easy it was to clean
• Compared the Go's performance to other blenders I've tried

To test the KitchenAid Go Cordless blender, I used it to make smoothies with frozen and then defrosted fruit, taking the results out with me to test the to-go lid. I also tried blending up hummus, pesto and ice. I made a note of the consistency of results, ease of use, and whether the ingredients needed a mid-blend shake-up. I also assessed the blender's build quality and noise levels in use. I hand-washed the cups and blade after each test to see how easy it was to clean. I compared my results to other blenders and choppers I've used.  

Read more about how we test

First reviewed July 2024

KitchenAid Go Cordless Hand Blender two-minute review

The KitchenAid brand needs little to no introduction, but the concept of battery-powered kitchen appliances like the KitchenAid Go Cordless Hand Blender might be unfamiliar to many people.

The beauty of the KitchenAid Go range of appliances is that they all use the same removable, swappable battery. This means if you invest in several appliances from the range they can share batteries, so you can save some cash and buy some of them without a battery included.

The KitchenAid Go Cordless Hand Blender is designed to be used just like any other hand blender. But because it doesn’t need to be near a power outlet, you have a lot more freedom to blend soups on the stove or blitz a fruit puree on the dining table, something you'd struggle to do with any of the best blenders.

On test it certainly proved it was up to the job, creating smooth soups, milkshakes, and pureed vegetables. But I did manage to break the pan guard on the first use, which was a bit of a negative. You can read more about that in the performance section below.

Overall though, I found it easy and comfortable to use. And if you get frustrated by the lack of available power outlets in your kitchen, it could be a game-changer.

• KitchenAid Go Cordless Hand Blender with battery for $99.99 at KitchenAid

KitchenAid Go Cordless Hand Blender review: price & availability

• List price: US$129.99 / £179 / AU$268
• Availability: US / UK / AUS

The KitchenAid Go Cordless Hand Blender is currently available in the US, UK and Australia. It can be purchased directly from KitchenAid.

It’s available with or without the battery. The prices above are for the model that includes a battery. Without a battery it’s around $30/ £30 / $69 cheaper at $99.99 / £149 / AU$199.

It’s important to point out that while KitchenAid does sell the compatible battery as a standalone accessory, it costs $49.99/ £69 / AU$69. Therefore if you're in the US or UK it's always cheaper to buy the appliance with the battery bundled in.

• KitchenAid Go Cordless Hand Blender with battery for £179 at KitchenAid

Being cord-free does come with a premium price tag. A standard variable speed corded hand blender from KitchenAid will cost significantly less at around $60/ £109.

Whether or not a cordless hand blender is worth the additional investment does depend on your individual budget as well as your kitchen setup. But for many people it does solve a frustrating problem of working around the position of power outlets.

Discounts are sometimes available, so if the premium price tag is a sticking point for you, it’s worth keeping an eye out for a discount. For example at the time of writing there was a $10 reduction on the hand blender on the US KitchenAid website.

• Value for money score: 4 out of 5

KitchenAid Go Cordless Hand Blender review: design

• Built-in safety feature
• Well balanced
• Straightforward controls

The main hand blender features a removable blending arm with a stainless steel blade. This twists easily onto the main body of the blender. At the very top of the body, above where you hold it, is where the battery attaches.

The blender dimensions when assembled, including the battery are: 16 x 2.8 x 3.1" / 40.5 x 7 x 7.9cm (h x w x d). The weight is 1.9lbs / 880g which will feel weighty for some people, but it’s pretty well balanced so that the weight is distributed down through the blender and not into your arm.

As well as the main hand blender, in the box there’s also a 23.6oz / 700ml BPA free blending jar, with a handy lid, so you can easily store your creations in the fridge. There's also a plastic pan guard that clips onto the end of the blender to avoid damaging pans if you’re blending something directly in a non-stick pan.

There’s one main power button and the firmer it’s pressed, the higher the blending speed. However, the blender won’t work unless the unlock button beneath it is pressed simultaneously. At first this can feel like a bit of pain, but you soon get used to it and it’s a great safety feature - something that’s often lacking with hand blenders.

The removable battery comes with a USB charging cable, but no plug, so you’ll have to supply your own or buy the separate charging dock for $29.99 / £29. The battery itself features four small lights that each represent 25% power. So by pressing a button on the side of the battery, you can get a rough idea of how much power is left depending on how many lights illuminate.

• Design score: 4.5 out of 5

KitchenAid Go Cordless Hand Blender review: performance

• Speedy blending
• Comfortable to use
• Good battery life

For my first try with the KitchenAid Go Cordless Hand Blender I made a protein shake. I added 8oz milk, a sliced banana, a scoop of protein powder and a heaped teaspoon of peanut butter to the blending jar and blended until it appeared smooth.

I stopped blending after 40 seconds and the drink was well mixed and pretty smooth. There was still a slight graininess so it wasn’t as smooth as if I'd made it in a high powered blender, but it was a pleasant texture nonetheless.

I tested the noise level when blending the protein shake and it hit 94dB on my noise meter, which is pretty loud and equivalent to a motorcycle at 50ft. But I must admit that I didn't think it was loud during use, I’ve certainly used louder hand blenders over my years of kitchen appliance testing.

I was concerned that with the battery on top, the hand blender might feel weighty or unbalanced, but thankfully that wasn’t the case. I actually found it very comfortable to use.

To test out its ability to puree I used it to make pureed potatoes. Now, to clarify, this is essentially a mash potato, but when you blitz the cooked potato with a hand blender it creates more of a silky puree texture than a fluffy mash.

This is where I had a bit of a mishap. I’d attached the pan guard so that I could puree the hot, freshly cooked potatoes in the pan. However, during blending I heard a funny noise and when I checked, the pan protector had come off and subsequently been chopped by the blade.

While I am pretty certain I had attached it correctly, I can’t say for definite whether it was the thick gloopiness of the potato puree that dislodged it, or incorrect installation. Either way though, I would urge you to exercise caution when using it in thicker foods. And it was disappointing to break it on the first use.

After retrieving all the broken plastic, I carried on pureeing the potatoes, which took around 90 seconds in total for a small pan of potatoes. I wouldn’t advise using this method for a big batch of potatoes though.

Next time I used it in a pan, I had to do so without the broken pan guard. This time, I was blitzing a homemade pea and mint soup. This task was a breeze for the hand blender and the soup was smooth after just 2 minutes of blending.

The variable speed button does noticeably increase the blending speed the firmer it’s pressed. But to be honest, I found that I naturally tended to press it all the way in and had to really think about loosening my grip for a slower speed.

Pancake batter was no match for this hand blender. In just 15 seconds my egg, milk, and flour were combined into a lump free batter. Similarly, 6.6oz of fresh raspberries were liquified in just 20 seconds. The seeds weren’t pulverized, but I’d have been very surprised if they were.

The battery takes around three hours to charge. But after all of the above tests it still showed 75% power on the battery level indicator lights. I had to use it for a further 6 minutes at full speed before the battery level was drained to 50%. It’s encouraging to know I could use it for several blending tasks and not need to recharge it too often.

The main blade is the only part that can’t go in the dishwasher. But on the whole, as long as I rinsed it immediately after use, it came clean very easily. The blending cup, lid, and pan guard can all go in the dishwasher. That said, none of it is too tricky to wash by hand either.

• Performance score: 4 out of 5

Should you buy the KitchenAid Go Cordless Hand Blender?

Buy it if…

Don't buy it if…

How I tested the KitchenAid Go Cordless Hand Blender

I set up the KitchenAid Go Cordless Hand Blender in my own kitchen at my house. I used it several times for a variety of foods, including soup, pancake batter, protein shakes, pureeing potatoes, and pureeing raspberries.

I used it in hot food in a pan as well as for smaller volumes in the supplied blending cup. During this time, I was paying attention to the ease and comfort of use, as well as any issues or problems that arose. I also kept an eye on the battery to see how quickly it was drained.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed July 2024

KitchenAid Go Cordless Food Chopper two-minute review

KitchenAid is a trusted kitchen appliance brand that already offers a range of food choppers, but the KitchenAid Go Cordless Food Chopper stands out for being battery-powered. Moreover, the same battery can be used across the KitchenAid Go range of appliances.

Whether you’re short on space, short on power outlets, or you simply want the best blender to use wherever you choose, having a battery-operated food chopper can offer the convenience you crave.

The size and functionality is similar to KitchenAid’s plug-in 5 cup food chopper, except the KitchenAid Go Cordless Food Chopper offers two speeds and the freedom of not having to place it near a power outlet. But with this convenience comes a higher price tag.

On test, it reliably chopped, mixed and whipped its way through a variety of ingredients. I was relieved that the battery lasted long enough for several uses and didn’t need charging at all during testing. Plus all the accessories can be easily washed in the dishwasher.

It’s compact and easy to move around, which also means it doesn’t take up too much storage space. But the flip side of this is that its capacity won’t be enough for everyone. Read on further for my in-depth review of its design and performance.

• KitchenAid Go Cordless Food Chopper with battery for £179 at KitchenAid

KitchenAid Go Cordless Food Chopper review: price & availability

• List price with battery: US$129.99 / GBP £179 / AU$228
• List price without battery: US$89.99 / GBP £149 / AU$159
• Availability: UK / US / AUS

The KitchenAid Go Cordless Food Chopper can be purchased with or without the battery. This makes a lot of sense because the KitchenAid Go Cordless Collection is a range of battery-powered small kitchen appliances that all work using the same removable, swappable battery.

The prices above are for the version that includes the battery, and buying it without the battery will save you $30/ £30 / AU$69. A word of warning though, a spare battery will cost $49.99 / £69 / AU$69. So if you're in the US or UK and think you may need it, then it makes sense to buy it bundled in with the appliance itself.

Being cord-free does come with a premium price tag, however: a standard variable speed corded food chopper from KitchenAid will cost significantly less at around $70/ £109 / AU$159.

Whether or not being cord-free is worth the extra investment will depend on your circumstances. For example, in a kitchen that lacks power sockets it’ll be worth considering spending the extra for the convenience of battery power.

Of course, you can always keep your eyes peeled for a discount. In the US it was on sale at the time of writing for $99.99 including a battery, so if it’s not discounted when you look, check back again later.

• Value for money score: 4 out of 5

KitchenAid Go Cordless Food Chopper review: design

• Compact and easy to store
• Streamlined appearance
• Simple to use and assemble

The KitchenAid Go Cordless Food Chopper is a 39.9oz / 1.18 liter capacity food chopper. In addition to a chopping blade, it comes with a plastic whisking accessory.

There are two speeds to choose from, each speed represented by a button that has to be held down for the duration of the chopping or whisking task. Alternatively, the buttons can be pressed briefly but repeatedly, for a pulse action. There are no other controls to worry about, so using it is very straightforward.

The removable, swappable battery is charged via the supplied USB cable, but you’ll have to supply your own plug. Or, you can invest in a charging dock if you prefer.

In terms of dimensions, it measures 10.4 x 5.7 x 7.2" / 26.5 x 14.5 x 18.4cm (h x w x d) and weighs just 2.9lbs/ 1.3kg. It’s compact compared with a standard food processor, but still a usable size for chopping small to medium quantities and portions. It’s small and light enough to store neatly away in a drawer or cupboard, without being a hassle to move around.

The BPA free clear plastic bowl slots directly into position without a twisting or locking action. The lid however, does have to be twisted to lock it into place. On top of the lid there’s a handy little hole for drizzling oil or water in during mixing.

Unlike many other KitchenAid appliances, it doesn’t come in a multitude of colors, just the matte black finish. The appearance overall is streamlined and inoffensive.

• Design score: 5 out of 5

KitchenAid Go Cordless Food Chopper review: performance

• Fast, efficient chopping
• Copes well with all ingredients
• Useable capacity for smaller batches

For my first test I added roughly 7oz of a mixed whole nut selection including brazil nuts, hazelnuts, and pecan nuts. I was looking for a chopped, not ground nut texture, so I pressed the lower speed button for quick one second bursts to pulse the nuts.

I stopped pulsing once there were no large nut pieces left, which took about 20 pulses. The finished texture of the nuts was a combination of chunkier chopped pieces and some powder. But in my experience it’s quite difficult to achieve a consistent chopped nut texture, especially when chopping a variety of nuts at once. With that in mind, this wasn’t a bad result.

When I needed to chop some whole dried apricots, I started off trying to pulse them like with the nuts, but it was quickly obvious this wasn’t doing a lot. So instead I kept the lower speed button pressed.

The apricots were chopped up in just 30 seconds and the pieces were impressively even given how sticky and difficult-to-chop dried apricots can be.

To make hummus, I put all the ingredients into the chopper and blended on the lower speed setting. It took just 25 seconds to create an evenly textured, slightly coarse hummus. It did wobble a little during blending but not so much that I felt the need to put a hand on the top to steady it.

Just before the end, I poured some extra olive oil in through the drizzle hole at the top. It’s very convenient to be able to do this without taking the lid off.

It’s not too noisy and since it’s generally only used for short bursts, I didn’t find the noise offensive. My noise meter registered 84dB on the lower speed setting and a slightly louder 88dB on the higher speed setting. These are pretty average noise levels for a blender or one of the best food processors.

When making a falafel mixture I used the chopper for several stages. First I chopped a small red onion. I peeled and quartered the onion before adding it to the chopper, then chopped on high speed for five seconds. I scraped down the sides and chopped for a further five seconds, which was all that was needed for a finely chopped texture.

Next I added roughly 1oz / 30g of parsley and cilantro including stalks, and again it speedily chopped the fresh herbs in just five seconds on the high speed setting. Finally I added all the falafel ingredients back into the chopper and blended it for 30 seconds on the lower speed, followed by 30 seconds on the higher speed.

The falafel mixture is relatively dry and heavy, so I had to stop mixing every 15 seconds and scrape down the sides. But the end result was beautifully evenly mixed and chopped.

To try out the whisk accessory I whipped up a ½ pint / 300ml carton of heavy cream on the high speed setting. After just 20 seconds I switched to the lower speed and it took only another five seconds before it was thick and whipped.

The battery life will vary somewhat depending on the type of use. But to give you a realistic observation from my time using the chopper, after all the chopping, mixing and whisking I’ve described above, the battery level still displayed 75%. After a further two minutes chopping on high speed, it was down to 50%, but I think that’s still pretty impressive, given how much I used it.

A full charge takes around three hours, but you can buy more batteries if you’d prefer to always have a backup charged and ready to go.

Any appliance with a sharp blade is always going to be a bit of a pain to clean. But all in all I didn’t find cleaning the parts by hand to be too tricky. In part this is because everything is small and cleans quickly. Additionally, though, after making particularly messy or oily mixes I just popped all the parts into the dishwasher, which was an easy and convenient way to clean up.

• Performance score: 5 out of 5

Should you buy the KitchenAid Go Cordless Food Chopper?

Buy it if…

Don't buy it if…

How I tested the KitchenAid Go Cordless Food Chopper

I used the KitchenAid Go Cordless Food Chopper in my own home. I kept it on my kitchen counter for several days and used it to chop a variety of single ingredients, as well as to mix up hummus, and even whip cream.

I kept a keen eye on the battery to see how much I could use the chopper before it needed a re-charge. And I also noted how easy it was to clean, as well as any other design quirks or ease of use issues that I came across during normal day-to-day use.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed July 2024

Breville Paradice 16: Two-minute review

When it comes to premium kitchen appliances, Australian brand Breville (known as Sage in the UK) has become synonymous with quality and innovation (just ask my mother – she’s still using her Breville mixer from circa 1987). And I’m convinced the Paradice 16 food processor is no exception – it’s so solidly built, and with a powerful 900W motor that comes with a 30-year warranty, there’s a good chance one of my kids will inherit it and continue using it.

The Paradice 16 is essentially a brawnier version of the Breville Kitchen Wizz 15 Pro, meaning it can handle a lot more than the older 5 star-rated food processor. It launched alongside the Breville Kitchen Wizz 16 (called the Sage Kitchen Wizz 16 in the UK and Breville Sous Chef 16 in the US), which is practically identical but doesn’t come with what the Aussie brand is calling the Paradice Kit.

And it’s this ‘kit’ that sets the Paradice 16 apart from any other food processor I’ve tried – it uses two attachments to perform precision dicing in two different sizes. It includes an 8mm and a 16mm dicing disc which are paired with their own slicing attachments to perform a 2-in-1 function simultaneously for the perfect dice. The kit also includes a potato peeler, but I found this attachment to be rather superfluous – it might be able to peel 6-7 potatoes at a time, but the peeling isn’t even and the potatoes need to be round and of a specific size.

Other than its peeling and dicing prowess, the Paradice 16 can help with all the other usual food-prep chores – slicing, shredding, pureéing, kneading dough and whipping. It even has a French fry attachment to cut evenly-cut chips.

While its 16-cup / 3.6L capacity bowl is great for large quantities, it inherits the Kitchen Wizz 15 Pro’s smaller 2.5-cup / 1L inner bowl for the smaller jobs. There’s also a smaller chute included that can shrink the 140mm main chute to just 45mm for when you don’t need to shove a large potato into the bowl below.

The Paradice 16 is remarkably easy to use and its 900W motor makes it quite powerful. It's also what makes it rather noisy and heavy too. Breville doesn’t specify how much the base alone weighs, but I suspect it comes close to the 9kg / 19.8 lbs that the Kitchen Wizz 15 Pro weighs with the bowls fitted. And that’s not taking into account the two large boxes filled to rafters with the various attachments and blades. Yes, there are two. So, unlike the Kitchen Wizz 15 Pro, which comes with one box of attachments, you’re going to need a lot of storage space for the Paradice 16.

You’re also going to need a decent amount of spare cash to get your hands on this kitchen pro, but then pros don’t come cheap, do they?

Breville Paradice 16 review: Price and availability

• Announced late 2023
• List price of $699.95 / £579.95 / AU$899

There’s no denying the Paradice 16 is an expensive food processor at its $699.95 / £579.95 / AU$899 price point. However, it can be a worthwhile investment if you really put all its functions and abilities to good use. Its performance and durability also justify the expense. It's a case of ‘you get what you pay for’ and, in this instance, you're getting a lot.

If you don’t need all the bells and whistles that the Paradice 16 offers, you can opt for the Kitchen Wizz 16 (Sous Chef 16), which is identical but misses out on the Paradice Kit for dicing. It will set you back $499.95 / £469.95 / AU$729.

If that’s also too high a price, the Kitchen Wizz 15 Pro will set you back £419.95/ $399.95 / AU$699. There are cheaper alternatives available from other brands like KitchenAid and Ninja Kitchen, but none of them do as much as the Breville Paradice 16.

• Value score: 4 / 5

Breville Paradice 16 specs

Breville Paradice 16 review: Design

• Similar design to older Breville Kitchen Wizz series food processors
• Heavy base
• Two large storage boxes for the attachments

Breville is doing well sticking to its design aesthetic – rounded corners on the brushed stainless steel base housing the motor and controls give it a slight vintage look, but that base is heavy as! Not only does it weigh quite a bit, it’s also a bulky appliance, measuring 45 x 28.7 x 23.4 cm (17.7 x 11.3 x 9.2 inches) for the main unit. You also need to factor in two storage boxes for the various blades and attachments – each measuring 21.1 x 32 x 27.7 cm (21.1 x 32 x 27.7 cm).

One of these boxes houses the Paradice Kit, which contains two dicing blades – one 8mm and the other 16mm – each of which has a paired slicing blade that works in tandem. The paired blades are color coded, which is handy. Also in the Kit is the potato peeler. The other box is home to the other attachments – adjustable slicer, reversible shredding disc, French fry disc, Quad blade, dough blade, mini blade and the smaller-capacity 2.5-cup / 1L inner bowl.

So this is an appliance that is best left on the kitchen counter, plus you’ll need the additional storage space for the attachments. While it might be space-saving if you stow the attachments out of their boxes, I wouldn’t recommend it – the blades are ridiculously sharp and accidents can happen.

No matter what you need the Paradice 16 for, all the parts quickly click together and setting it up is very intuitive. Labels are provided on the bowl and lid to mark which direction they need to be turned to lock into place. The main bowl has a pronounced lip for pouring and a chute that can be configured to fit different-sized foods – going from a wide 140mm to a narrow 45mm.

The magic happens in that heavy base, which has three large buttons – power, start/stop and pulse. There are also up and down buttons to set a timer, which is displayed on a small screen in the middle of the base.

Given the large number of attachments that ship with the Paradice 16, I would suggest you take a look at the user manual. While there are no recipes on there, it is helpful in figuring out what blade you can use for what purpose and, handily, how to get the best results with the peeler.

• Design score: 4.5 / 5

Breville Paradice 16 review: Performance

• Simple to assemble
• Powerful and noisy
• Very versatile

I’m a busy mum, so as soon as I got the Breville Paradice 16, I began experimenting with all the attachments to see which would best streamline my cooking process, so I got familiar with them rather quickly.

While I didn’t find myself reaching for the dicing kits too often, I found the others quite useful, particularly the S-blade (what Breville calls the Quad blade). It’s the go-to for a lot of chopping, mixing and pureéing. The Paradice 16 fitted with the Quad blade effortlessly blitzed right through cooked chunky vegetables to create a smooth, creamy consistency I wanted for a soup.

The slicing discs, which come in different thicknesses, I found to be incredibly useful for prepping salads – the uniform slices made for some beautiful presentations and also made sure I had even cooking in my gratins. I also used the shredding disc frequently for quick coleslaws and to hide vegetables in my Bolognese sauce – such a breeze to add extra nutrition into my kids’ meals without them noticing.

I found the julienne blade to be a bit of a novelty, but it worked wonders for making carrot-stick snacks and garnishes. The plastic dough blade surprised me with how well it kneaded dough for homemade bread and pizza for the kids, saving me time and effort.

My absolute favorite attachment, however, has to be the French fry cutter – fresh chips are always a hit in my home and the Paradice 16 makes it quick and easy to make fries for impromptu snacks or family meals.

The biggest disappointment was the peeler attachment. While handy, it’s a bit hit and miss. Breville says it’s best for potatoes, but I hoped it would work for other fruit and vegetables too. Unfortunately, the produce you need to peel has to be of consistent size, which isn’t ideal for anyone who shops for the ‘odd bunch’ at farmers’ markets.

Let’s talk about power. The Breville Paradice 16 boasts a 900-watt motor, which is quite powerful. During my tests, this strength translated into incredible speed and efficiency no matter the task at hand. It’s also what makes the appliance quite noisy, clocking up an average of 85dB in most of my sound tests measured using the Decibel X iOS app – that's about how loud heavy traffic would sound, or a noisy bar.

I used the Breville Paradice 16 to make a variety of dishes and each task was completed quickly and with professional-level precision, cutting my prep time in half.

That said, I found that food would occasionally spill out of the small bowl and into the main canister, which annoyingly increased my cleaning-up time when this happened.

• Performance score: 5 / 5

Should I buy the Breville Paradice 16 food processor?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

If you’re not sure if the Breville Paradice 16 is for you, I’ve listed a couple of other options below for you to consider.

How I tested the Breville Paradice 16

• Used over a period of two months for various food-prep tasks
• Tested the different blades to see how well they perform
• Different types of raw and cooked produced were used, plus flour was kneaded

As soon as I received the Breville Paradice 16, I first spent some time getting familiar with the different blades and spindles supplied in the box. I read the user manual to get an idea of what the appliance was capable of.

I used it to prep for various other dishes. Over a period of a couple of months, I used the food processor to knead dough for homemade bread and pizza, plus create fillings for quiches and sausage rolls. As I mentioned earlier in the review, I also used it to make Bolognese sauce with hidden vegetables and veggie soup, and also used it to slice fresh salad produce. I also tried the peeler and the grater attachments.

I took note of how easy it was to clean the different parts of the food processor, including the attachments. While Breville claims the bowls are dishwasher safe, the manual recommends not doing so regularly, so I resorted to using the dishwasher once only to clean the smaller bowl, but hand-washed everything else.

Read more about how we test

[First reviewed July 2024]

KitchenAid Mini Food Chopper: two-minute review

The KitchenAid 3.5 cup Mini Food Chopper (it's called the Mini Food Chopper 830ml in the UK) is the smallest appliance in the KitchenAid food processing range. It’s a sensible purchase if you want to chop, mix, or puree small quantities, and don’t want a full-sized food processor taking up precious countertop or cupboard space. 

The KitchenAid 3.5 cup / 830ml Mini Food Chopper currently has a list price of $54.99 / £89 / AU$129. This is a little on the expensive side considering it only has one accessory and limited functions, especially as KitchenAid also sells a larger-capacity version, the Food Chopper KFC0516,which comes with an added accessory for only $64.99/ £109 / AU$139.

The 3.5 cup / 830ml Mini Food Chopper arrived ready-assembled, and after washing the work bowl, lid, and multipurpose blade, it was simple to put back together, as there are only four parts. As the name suggests, the bowl has a capacity of 3.5 cups / 830ml. The dimensions of the Mini Food Chopper are 6.9 x 5.6 x 8.7 inches / 178 x 143 x 222mm, and it weighs 2.6lbs /1.2 kg.

There are two speeds to choose from which are engaged by moving the lever on the base unit of the processor to the left to chop, or to the right to puree. One element of the design that may not be a concern for some, but which I wasn’t very fond of, is that there's only one button on the processor that operates the chop, puree, and pulse functions. You press and release the button multiple times to pulse, and press and hold it to chop or puree, using the lever to determine which function is performed.

There's a little drizzle basin in the clear plastic inner section of the lid, which works well when you want to drizzle in liquid slowly while the Mini Chopper is in operation. Another convenient design feature is the spout on the work bowl, which enables you to pour out the finished product or drain off excess liquid.

The Mini Chopper’s design stays true to the classic KitchenAid aesthetic. The majority of the processor’s body is colored, with a black plastic base section, and a silver KitchenAid band wrapped around. Onyx Black, Empire Red, and Contour Silver models are available in the US, UK, and Australia. There are more colors available – White, Almond Cream, Pistachio, Ice, Blue Velvet, Aqua Sky, and Matte Black – but the availability of these depends on your location. The power cable is on the short side, but due to the chopper's small size and lightweight it isn’t much hassle to move it closer to a plug socket.

The noise level when the Mini Chopper is chopping or pureeing is quite loud. Worse still is the pulse mode. When I chopped some almonds during testing the sound was almost deafening, so this may be one to avoid if you have particularly sensitive ears, or if you plan to chop hard ingredients such as nuts on a regular basis.

Thanks to the minimal number of parts, cleaning up is quick and easy. The work bowl, lid, and blade are easy to hand wash, and they’re top-rack dishwasher safe.

While its functions may be limited compared with larger models like the KitchenAid 7 cup / 1.7L Food Processor, the Mini Chopper does its job well. It was able to turn two slices of wholemeal bread into breadcrumbs in 10 seconds, and made quick work of chopping an onion too, with no oversized pieces remaining. The multipurpose blade had no problems with cutting up carrots and cucumbers either.

Chopping almonds was an unpleasant experience, however. The amount of noise the pulse function makes is already loud, but after adding a bunch of almonds and firing them around a small plastic container, I thoroughly regretted not wearing ear protection. After processing, the sizes of the almond pieces were inconsistent, and there was lots of dust in the bottom of the work bowl, plus a thin layer up the sides of the work bowl and inside the lid. Some dust had found its way inside the fitment ring of the blade as well. 

As per our testing protocols, I attempted to combine a pastry mixture. At one stage when mixing the flour, margarine, and water, the mixture stopped combining; after a while it began to mix again, but there was a layer of unmixed ingredients at the bottom. To be fair to KitchenAid, they don’t claim that the Mini Chopper can mix something as dense as pastry dough, so I couldn’t blame it for struggling a little.

The cost of the KitchenAid 3.5 cup / 830ml Mini Food Chopper in the UK and Australia is a little on the steep side. There are cheaper alternatives from other reputable brands; however, they tend to have a capacity of around 1.5-2.5 cups / 350ml-550ml, so you wouldn’t be able to process as much in one go. This chopper lives up to the standard I would expect from KitchenAid – the materials are high-quality, and it feels solid and dependable in use, but with the larger KitchenAid Food Chopper KFC0516 costing just a little more, perhaps you could be getting better value for money.

KitchenAid Mini Food Chopper: price & availability

• List price: $54.99 / £89 / AU$129
• Currently available in the US, UK, and Australia

The KitchenAid 3.5 cup / 830ml Mini Food Chopper retails at $54.99 / £89 / AU$129. Curiously, the price of the US model is just over half the cost of the equivalent UK and Australian models – this might simply be due to the fact that KitchenAid is a US brand.

Although it's a good-quality appliance and chops ingredients well, the price tag is a little steep considering its limited capabilities. This is especially apparent when you compare it to its sibling, the KitchenAid Food Chopper KFC0516, which only costs $64.99/ £109 / AU$139, and has a larger capacity and additional features.

The Mini Food Chopper is available to purchase in the US, UK, and Australia now. Five color options are available in the UK and Australia, while in the US you can choose from nine colors. I’ll go into the colors available in more detail in the design and features section.

• Value for money score: 3 out of 5

KitchenAid Mini Food Chopper specs

KitchenAid Mini Food Chopper: design & features

• Compact and lightweight
• Single button and lever controls
• Useful spout and drizzle basin

I found that it could be a bit fiddly to mount the work bowl on to the base and put the lid on at times, due to the twist-to-lock mechanism, and on occasion the lid would go past where it’s supposed to stop. To be honest, I prefer the one-click system of some of their larger models, such as the KitchenAid 7 cup / 1.7L Food Processor. At this size and price point, however, you can’t expect everything.

At 6.9 x 5.6 x 8.7 inches / 178 x 143 x 222mm, the Mini Food Chopper is compact enough to leave on the countertop without it being obstructive, and small enough to stash away in a cupboard. It weighs just 2.6lbs /1.2kg, so it's easy to lift and move around. The design is simple, but efficient enough. The base unit has a lever that moves from left to right to go into chop or puree mode, and the single button protrudes out from the lid and sits at the top of the work bowl handle.

One small downside for me is that to chop or puree you need to hold the button down continuously. With this small capacity, I doubt there’s much I’d end up processing that would take long, but I prefer a one-press system over a press-and-hold. The Mini Food Chopper is capable of pulsing too, to use pulse it’s a case of repeatedly pressing and releasing the button until you have the desired result. The two different speed settings and the pulse function mean that it’s possible to chop, mix, or puree ingredients with one small appliance.

The outer edge of the lid is black plastic, with a clear circular middle section that has a built-in drizzle basin. The purpose of the drizzle basin is to allow you to fill it with a liquid, such as oil, so it can slowly incorporate with the ingredients in the work bowl as you continue to process them. Another simple but useful feature is the spout on the work bowl. This allows you to easily pour out what you’ve processed, or remove liquid from the contents of the work bowl.

There’s no doubt that this Mini Food Chopper is a KitchenAid. There are some attractive color options available, although most of the jazziest colors are only available in the US. Three colors are available whether you’re in the US, UK, or Australia: Onyx Black, Empire Red, and Contour Silver. The other color options are White, Almond Cream, Pistachio, Ice, Blue Velvet, Aqua Sky, and Matte Black, but availability will depend on your region.

I hand-washed the work bowl, lid, and blade multiple times between ingredients while testing, and all of the parts were easy to clean, and they can be placed in the top rack of a dishwasher.

• Design & features score: 4 out of 5

KitchenAid Mini Food Chopper: performance

• Processes quickly
• Made breadcrumbs in seconds
• Chopping nuts is unpleasant

The KitchenAid Mini Food Chopper’s capabilities may be limited, but what it can do it does well, and fast. It swiftly processed two slices of wholemeal bread, taking only 10 seconds to create fine breadcrumbs. It happily chopped through carrot, cucumber, and onion, producing fairly consistently sized pieces. 

The Mini Food Chopper could also chop up almonds, but I must admit this was a rather unpleasant experience. I found that the chop and puree settings sounded loud compared to other KitchenAid food processors I’ve tested, but the pulse mode was louder still, and I was very much unprepared for the near-deafening sound of pulsing the almonds. I’d suggest avoiding chopping up hard ingredients like this, or if you have to, wear some ear protection. This may sound like overkill, but as someone who has tinnitus, my ears were still ringing over a week later. You have been warned. 

To make matters worse, the resulting consistency of the chopped almonds was disappointing. The pieces of almond were inconsistent, ranging in size from large pieces down to dust. This dust also crept up inside the fitment ring of the multipurpose blade, which meant that almond dust got everywhere when I removed the blade as it caught me off guard.

When testing food processors, we use them to perform a variety of tasks, one of which is combining a pastry mixture. This isn’t something that KitchenAid claims the Mini Food Chopper can do, but I thought I’d give it a go. This is not an appliance for pastry-making, but given that fact it didn’t do terribly. At one point, it stopped combining the flour, margarine, and water, as everything stuck to the sides of the work bowl; it began to mix again after a while, but there was a layer of ingredients left at the bottom. It did okay though, all things considered – the motor showed no signs of struggleing, and there were no signs of it overheating, so despite the less-than-perfect results.

If you like the sound of the KitchenAid 3.5 cup / 830ml Mini Food Chopper but would like a slightly bigger capacity, or a bit more versatility, then the 5-cup / 1.19-litre KitchenAid Mini Food Chopper KFC0516 may be more up your street.

• Performance score: 4 out of 5

Should I buy the KitchenAid Mini Food Chopper?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

KitchenAid Mini Food Chopper: also consider

How I tested the KitchenAid Mini Food Chopper

• I assessed the setup and performance
• I processed a variety of ingredients
• I checked how easy it was to clean

To put the KitchenAid 3.5 cup / 830ml Mini Food Chopper through its paces, I used the chopping blade and different speed settings to chop carrot, cucumber, onion, and almonds. I also used it to process bread to make breadcrumbs and combine flour, margarine, and water to make pastry. These are the same tests we run for all food processors, making it easy to see how different models compare. 

I tested how easy it was to clean the processor parts by hand-washing, and using the dishwasher to establish how well you can clean the parts with either method. 

Read more about how we test

First reviewed June 2024

KitchenAid 7-cup Food Processor: two-minute review

The KitchenAid 7 cup Food Processor (known as the KitchenAid Food Processor 1.7L in the UK) is compact, thoughtfully designed and has proven to be a great time saver when meal prepping.

Something to mention straight off the bat is that the UK and Australian models have a couple more accessories than the US model, which is reflected in the price. At the time of writing, the 7 cup / 1.7L Food Processor is on sale for $84.99 / £143.65 / AU$219, while the list price is $99.99 / £169 / AU$299. The US model KFP0718 is essentially the same as the UK and Australian KFP0719 models, with all models coming with a multipurpose stainless steel blade and a reversible slicing and shredding disc, but only the UK and Australian models coming with a thick-slice disc and a plastic dough blade. For this review, I tested the UK version of the KitchenAid Food Processor 1.7L.

Setting up the KitchenAid 7 cup / 1.7L Food Processor was straightforward. All of the accessories were neatly stored inside the work bowl, which is a convenient feature, saving you from cupboard-diving each time you want to process something. And the accessories fit into place with ease: there are markers on the top of the disc and the drive shaft to ensure you place it in the correct position for either processing or storing. 

The 7 cup / 1.7L Food Processor is available in a range of colors that will fit in with most kitchen decors. It doesn’t take up unnecessary space, measuring 9.7 x 7.7 x 15.4 inches / 245 x 195 x 390mm and weighing just 6.6lb / 3kg. The work bowl easily clicked into place every time thanks to its convenient twist-free design, and although I had the occasional issue putting enough pressure on the lid to get the latch to shut, the lift-out design of the hinge made it simple to remove. One downside with the design, however, is that the work bowl handle can only be positioned on the right-hand side, which could prove inconvenient for some users. 

Using the two feed tubes and pushers was easy, but the bigger feed tube still isn’t big enough for larger-diameter fruit and veg, so if you want large, neat circles of sliced cucumber, you may be out of luck. If you get into the habit of buying slimmer cucumbers though, you’ll probably be fine. 

There are two speed settings labeled 1 and 2 on the easy-to-press buttons, with one being low speed, and two being high. There is also a Pulse button. Speed one and two aren’t overly noisy, but the noise level was uncomfortably loud when using the Pulse function, especially when chopping almonds.

Everything but the base unit is top-rack dishwasher-safe, which proved to be a great time saver. These parts were easy to hand wash too, although removing pastry from tight areas proved difficult. At the end of the testing, I put the work bowl, lid, and accessories in the dishwasher. Everything came out fine, although the work bowl did show some water marks.

The performance of the KitchenAid 7 cup / 1.7L Food Processor was adequate. For my tests, I used it to slice or chop carrots, onion and cucumber, as well as whizzing bread into breadcrumbs, finely chopping almonds and combining the ingredients for pastry. It managed all these tasks quickly and with no trouble. 

However, the consistency of the processed foods wasn’t the best. There is only one grade of shredding, which seems to be somewhere between fine and medium. For example, the processed carrot looked somewhat unappealing; it certainly wouldn’t have fared well if subjected to a Rate My Plate jury. A fair amount of carrot also ended up inside the lid, which wasn’t ideal. When chopping the almonds the results were inconsistent, with pieces that ranged in size from large to dust. There were also occasions where ingredients such as breadcrumbs, almond dust, and pastry mixture migrated inside the fitment ring of the chopping blade, which proved tricky to remove when hand washing.

Overall, there are a few issues with the KitchenAid 7 cup / 1.7L Food Processor, like that smaller feed tube and the uneven shredding, which may mean it doesn't quite stand up against the best food processors on the market. However, if you want something that is compact for the capacity available, has convenient accessory storage, and has a no-twist design, then this is a food processor to consider. The consistency of the processed food may not be Instagramable, but it’s the taste that counts, right?

KitchenAid 7 Cup Food Processor: price & availability

• List price: $99.99 / £169 / AU$299
• Often available for cheaper
• Currently available in the US, UK, and Australia

The KitchenAid 7 cup / 1.7L Food Processor is currently on sale at $84.99 / £143.65 / AU$219, (usually $99.99 / £169 / AU$299). If you’re querying why the US model is cheaper than the UK and Australian models, it is because it comes with fewer accessories. I will elaborate further on the accessories in the Design and features section below. 

The 7 cup / 1.7L Food Processor isn’t the cheapest. There are similar products on offer from our pick of the best food processors. These include the Cuisinart Easy Prep Pro FP8 food processor, which is slightly lower in price and comes with two reversible shredding and slicing discs, plus a small bowl add-on to use when the large work bowl feels excessive for the task. Or, you could spend just a little extra for more versatility with the Ninja 3-in-1 Food Processor with Auto-IQ, which is currently on sale for $179.99 / £169. The KitchenAid 7 cup / 1.7L Food Processor has some innovative design features and performed adequately during testing though, so it’s still worth considering.

The KitchenAid 7 cup / 1.7L Food Processor is available now, on the US, UK, and Australian KitchenAid websites as well as various third party retailers.

• Value for money score: 3.5 out of 5

KitchenAid 7 Cup Food Processor specs

KitchenAid 7 Cup Food Processor: design & features

• Feed tube could be larger
• Fixed handle position
• Different accessories per region

Setting up the food processor was quick and easy. All the parts and accessories were stored inside the work bowl, so it was a simple case of removing them, before washing them along with the work bowl, lid, and food pushers. After this step was completed, I had to place the drive adapter on the drive pin in the center of the work bowl. Installing the different cutting accessories was also a straightforward process, which I was thankful for, as it avoided any unnecessary delays when I was working through lots of different types of food.

The food processor doesn’t take up a load of unnecessary worktop space, the cable length is adequate at 35 inch / 90 cm, and the work bowl easily attaches to the base (a useful design feature that I much prefer to the twist-to-secure designs that are often used with some other food processors). Additionally, the lid catch is easy to unclip, and once the lid is in an upright position, the hinge design means that you can easily lift it off. 

On replacing the lid, slotting it into the hinge side was no issue, although sometimes I needed to put a fair amount of pressure on the lid to get the latch to close again.

Due to the way the work bowl sits on the base, the handle placement is somewhat limiting, as it can only be on the right-hand side. This was frustrating enough for me, as I like to hold the handle in my left hand while using a utensil to get the ingredients out with my right – but it could really make this product less accessible for people who aren’t able to use their right hand.

KitchenAid is known for having some enticing color options. In the 7 cup / 1.7L Food Processor’s case though, the color range is somewhat basic, with glossy-finished Onyx Black, and Empire Red available in the UK, US, and Australia, plus additional color variants including Contour Silver, Almond Cream, White, and Matte Black, depending on your region.

There is a 2-in-1 feed tube on the top of the work bowl lid, with a two-piece plastic food pusher. Together, they can be used to push in wider ingredients, or the inside section of the pusher can be removed to enable you to accurately feed in slimmer food items such as celery. Unfortunately, the bigger feed tube was not wide enough for a larger-diameter cucumber, so it needed to be cut down. Therefore if you want neat, round slices of cucumber this may not be the processor you’re looking for.

There are three operational buttons on the front of the 7 cup / 1.7L Food Processor’s base: setting one (lower speed), setting two (higher speed), and a pulse mode. You don’t need to worry about getting tired fingers with the two speed settings, as you don’t need to hold the button down for the processor to operate. It takes one press to set them off, and a second press or a press on the O/Pulse button to stop the processing.

There are two design features that I found particularly useful. Firstly, the lid, work bowl, and accessories are all dishwasher-safe when washed on the top rack. 

I also hand-washed all of these components repeatedly in-between ingredients during testing. All parts were easy to clean and dry; however, I did find that small amounts of the ingredients would easily end up inside the fitment ring of the multipurpose blade, so I had to pay particular attention to this area. 

Secondly, the accessories can easily be stored inside the work bowl when the food processor isn’t in use, saving cupboard space and preventing you from wasting time trying to find the desired accessory.

The 7 cup / 1.7L Food Processor doesn’t come with as many accessories as larger models such as the KitchenAid1319, but it is perfectly adequate for day-to-day food prep. Please note that some accessories are not included with the KFP0718 model, which is sold in the US. This model comes with a multipurpose stainless steel blade and a reversible slicing and shredding disc. The KFP0719 models, sold in the UK and Australia, include these accessories, along with a thick-slice disc and a plastic dough blade.

• Design & features score: 4.5 out of 5

KitchenAid 7 Cup Food Processor: performance

• Shredded and chopped effortlessly
• Some waste carrot from shredding
• Consistency of processed food varied

The KitchenAid 7 cup / 1.7L Food Processor performed well during testing. I tested its ability to slice, chop, mix, and grate a variety of foods. I used the shredding side of the reversible slicing and shredding disc to grate some carrots, running it on speed setting two as per the user manual. While it managed the job in a matter of seconds, the result was finer than I would have liked – some other models, such as the KitchenAid 13 cup / 3.1L Food Processor, have dedicated grating discs with fine and coarse options that give a more desirable result. Due to how fine the shredding was, the results were a little on the wet side, and a lot of carrot shot into the lid during processing.

Next I used the slicing side of the reversible slicing and shredding disc to slice a cucumber on speed setting one. Because the diameter of the cucumber was too large even for the larger feed tube, I had to manually cut a slice off of the side of it to enable it to be fed into the processor. The machine sliced the cucumber quickly, with next-to-no remnants left on the disc or in the lid. The slices were fairly even, although some were slightly wedge-shaped, thicker at the rind, and thinner where the cucumber was sliced down to fit.

I used the multipurpose stainless steel blade to chop onions, almonds, and to make breadcrumbs from slightly stale wholemeal bread. The onions and almonds were chopped using speed setting one. The food processor had no issues chopping up a large onion that I’d cut into quarters: it quickly chopped it into fine pieces and while the pieces weren’t that even, none of them were overly large. When I pulsed the almonds for 10 seconds, the result was again pretty uneven, with larger pieces, smaller pieces, and a fair amount of almond dust. Upon removing the accessories, I found that some of this dust had made its way inside the plastic cutting blade ring. 

When making the breadcrumbs, I used speed setting two to blitz two slices of bread. In just 45 seconds the processor had turned them into fine breadcrumbs with an even consistency, and no bread was left under the blades.

I also used the multipurpose stainless steel blade, using the lowest speed setting to combine flour, margarine, and water for pastry. At first, the ingredients didn’t mix evenly – a layer of flour remained at the bottom and didn’t begin to mix in until water was added and the mixture started to form a proper dough. Apart from that detail, the processor combined the pastry ingredients easily, it didn’t rock about on the work surface, or overheat, both of which can happen with food processors that don’t have strong enough motors for pastry making.

While conducting the tests, I found that settings one and two were not overly loud; however, the pulse mode may make your ears ache if you need to use it for a long period of time. At no point during testing did I encounter issues with ingredients getting stuck under the blade or disc inside of the work bowl – I did however find that ingredients would end up on the inside of the fitment ring of the multipurpose stainless steel blade that sits on the drive adapter. This was particularly evident when chopping the almonds, and combining the pastry ingredients. There was a layer of pastry mixture coating the inside of the blade's plastic ring, which was tricky to clean out.

• Performance score: 3.5 out of 5

Should I buy the KitchenAid 7 Cup Food Processor?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

KitchenAid 7 Cup Food Processor review: also consider

How I tested the KitchenAid 7 Cup Food Processor

• I assessed the setup and performance
• I ran our usual series of chopping, grating, and combining tests
• I checked how easy it was to clean

I spent time getting the KitchenAid 7 cup / 1.7L Food Processor setup, read the instruction manual, and assessed the design and accessories.

To put the KitchenAid 7 cup / 1.7L Food Processor through its paces, I used the chopping blade and reversible slicing/shredding disc to shred carrot, slice cucumber, chop onion, and almonds. I also used it to process bread to make breadcrumbs and combine flour, margarine, and water to make pastry. These are the same tests we run for all food processors, making it easy to see how different models compare. 

I tested how easy it was to clean the processor parts by hand-washing, and using the dishwasher to establish how well you can clean the parts with either method.

• Read more about how we test
• First reviewed: June 2024

Nutribullet Pro+ blender: two-minute review

The Nutribullet Pro+ 1200 personal blender sits towards the upper end of this brands range, with a more powerful motor and an added pulse button compared to cheaper models. 

This looks a lot like a standard Nutribullet, and for the most part it's the same straightforward but effective design. Add the blade part to one of the two included cups, twist it on to the main body of the blender and it starts to blend immediately, cutting out after 60 seconds to prevent pressure from building up in the cup. The more powerful motor (1200W) makes light work of even tough smoothie ingredients, and delivers consistently smooth results. To-Go lids can be attached directly to the blending cup once you've taken off the blade part, enabling you to blend and go. 

Another point of difference here is the addition of a pulse button. This is good for things like salsas, and make it easy to tailor your blend to the perfect consistency you're looking for.

Price-wise, it sits in the mid-range of the wider market, and I'd say it's worth it if you want that extra power and the versatility of the pulse function. If you don't want the pulse function and are happy with a lower-powered option, you might be just fine with a cheaper Nutribullet like the 900 (read TechRadar's Nutribullet Pro 900 review), or even the dedicated to-go version (read the Nutribullet Go review). If you want a quieter model with a fancy touchscreen rather than the twist-to-blend approach, you'll need to spend a bit more on the Ultra model (read TechRadar's Nutribullet Ultra review). However, in terms of effectiveness and value for money, the Pro+ 1200 is easily one of the best blenders I've tested, especially for smoothies.

The names are very slightly different in different territories, so for avoidance of confusion, here's what you're looking for:

• US: Nutribullet Pro+ 1200W
• UK: Nutribullet 1200 Pro+
• Australia: Nutribullet Pro+ 1200

For my review, I tested the UK version. There may be very minor differences between the models in different territories. 

Nutribullet Pro+ blender review: price & availability

• List price: $129.99 / £119.99 / AU$189.95
• Launched: 2023
• Available: worldwide

The Nutribullet Pro+ 1200 is available worldwide and is a mid-range blender. At ticket price, it's $129.99 in the US, £119.99 in the UK and AU$189.95 in Australia. 

Within the Nutribullet personal blender range, it's one of the pricier options, sitting between the 900 series and the top-of-the-range Ultra. If you're on a tighter budget, there's also the less powerful 600 Series. Here's how the pricing compares across this brand's different models (for more on how they all match up, head to our specs comparison table):

• 250-watt Magic Bullet ($49.99 / £34.99 / AU$72.95) 
• 600-watt Nutribullet 600 Series ($69.99 / £59.99 / AU$99.95)
• 900-watt Nutribullet Pro 900 ($109.99 / £89.99 / AU$99.95)
• 1200-watt Nutribullet 1200 Pro+ ($119.99 / £119.99  / AU$189.95) 
• 1200-watt Nutribullet Ultra ($149.99 / £149.99 / AU$189.95)

While the Pro+ 1200 isn't the cheapest, I think it's reasonably priced for a personal blender with a powerful motor. It's also worth keeping an eye out for deals around deals periods like the Black Friday sales. 

• Value for money score: 4 out of 5

Nutribullet Pro+ blender review: design

• Powerful 1200W motor
• Two cups with two To-Go lids and two Comfort Lip Rings
• Twist-to-blend, with 60 second auto-shut off
• Manual pulse mode that lasts up to a minute

The Nutribullet Pro+ 1200 sits neatly on the worktop and is held in place by four suction feet. The main machine, without cups attached, measures 5.4 x 5.4 x 15" / 13.6 x 13.6 x 37.5cm (W x D x H).

It has a black body with a silver trim, and while it's not quite as sleek as the Nutribullet Ultra or the eye-catching finish of the Pro 900, it's still compact and stylish on the countertop. 

It comes with a powerful 1200-watt motor which – like the Ultra – is designed to split through tough ingredients such as frozen berries and almonds. To start it, you simply need to twist on the cup and a 60 second blend will start. What makes it stand out from cheaper models in the Nutribullet blender range, is a dedicated illuminated Pulse button on the front of the motor base, which allows you to stop the auto-blend within 5 seconds of it starting and then manually pulse your ingredients yourself for up to a minute. 

There are two blending cups provided – an 'Oversized' 32oz / 900ml cup and a 'Tall' 24oz / 680ml cup. There's no 'Short' 18oz / 511ml cup provided (this is the best option for a single smoothie serving) but one can be purchased separately from Nutribullet. The larger cup sizes give you plenty of flexibility when it comes to making smoothies or dips for a few people. 

Both provided cups come with To-Go lids and Comfort Lip Rings, which means you don't have to decant your smoothie to a different cup before taking it out with you. 

The cups can simply be twisted off after use and while they are dishwasher-safe, I found that washing the blade and cups with warm, soapy water straight after use kept them looking box fresh. Note that if those cups don't suit your needs, you can purchase other sizes separately from Nutribullet.

• Design score: 4.5 out of 5

Nutribullet Pro 900 specs

Nutribullet Pro+ 1200 blender review: performance

• Creates super-smooth smoothies, and pulse function useful for chunky blends
• A little noisy in use – and louder than the Nutribullet Ultra
• Ingredients can get stuck at top for thicker blends
• Also decent at crushing ice

To give the Nutrbullet Pro+ 1200 a fair trial, I used it for a month in my kitchen to create smoothies and dips. I followed the recipe for a Creamy Coffee Smoothie, with banana, coffee, almond milk, Greek yoghurt, cinnamon and maple syrup, for example, which made a nice change from my hot morning coffee. I was also keen to find out how well it did at creating grainier dips such as hummus, as well as for a thick pancake mix.

With a 1200-watt motor base, the Nutribullet Pro+ 1200 has twice the power of the original Nutribullet 600. As soon as the cup is twisted on the blend cycle starts, and it will cut off automatically after a minute. I used the full minute for my Creamy Coffee Smoothie, and it created the smoothest of blends, and whipped the ingredients into up a delicious frothy texture. The 60-sec cutoff is so as not to cause a pressure build-up inside the cup, and it's important to wait until the motor cools before blending again.

Like the Ultra, the blades in the Pro+ 1200 are designed to work on tough ingredients, so ice, nuts and chickpeas will all work well here – provided you have enough liquid in the cup to help the mixture blend that is. If you don't have enough liquid, the ingredients tend to get stuck at the top of the cup. I had this issue when making my pancake batter – on my first attempt, the flour got stuck to the sides. I added more almond milk and shook the cup a few times, and after that it combined more effectively, and very quickly, too. 

My final test was to see if the Pro+1200 could handle crushing ice. It performed well in our ice test, blitzing through the majority of a cupful of ice so that it formed a powder like finish ideal for snow cones. After 30 seconds i gave the cup a shake and let it soldier on through the remaining ice cubes. 

One feature the Pro+ 1200 has that cheaper Nutribullets don't is a Pulse button. I used this to help when making a textured hummus, and I also think this would work well for chunky salsas, guacamole or anything else where there are tough ingredients that need breaking down into small chunks. 

To use the Pulse button, you need to twist the cup on the base and press the Pulse button within five seconds. You can then manually press the Pulse button for up to a minute to adjust the texture to your exact preferences.

Overall, I really enjoyed using this blender and appreciate how powerful and flexible it is. It's quite loud in operation, however. The Nutribullet Ultra (which is designed to be quiet) measured 88.9 decibels on my Decibel Meter App, while the Nutribullet 1200 Pro+ came in at around 93.3 decibels. This isn't something that would put me off buying it, however, as my household is more than used to hearing me say ‘cover your ears for 60 seconds' whenever I want to prepare my morning smoothie.

• Performance score: 4.5 out of 5

Should you buy the Nutribullet Pro+ 1200 blender?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Nutribullet Pro+ 1200 blender

I trialled the Nutribullet Pro+ 1200 personal blender in my kitchen to see if it was capable of blitzing up standard blending recipes with ease. I used it to make humus to see how well the pulse feature could work here, and also make pancakes and a creamy coffee smoothie to see if all the ingredients combined effectively. To get a good idea of how loud it is in use, I measured noise levels using the Decibel Meter App on my smartphone. I also gave it a good wipe down and washed it to see how easy it was to clean. 

Read more about how we test

• First reviewed May 2024

Black Friday is finally upon us which means it's open season on deal hunting. It's the perfect time to buy the more expensive, heavy-duty household items at a lower price, like air fryers, coffee machines, and juicers. 

If you've been wanting to get your juice on but are struggling to find a good deal, consider me your smoothie angel. The NutriBullet Juicer Pro is on sale right now in the US and UK with some healthy discounts. 

If you're in the US, you can get the NutriBullet Juicer Pro at 38% off the original price, bringing the cost to $99.95 down from $159.99 on Amazon. That's $60 off plus a bunch of accessories! 

If you're in the UK, you can grab the juicer for 46% off on Amazon, which drops the price to £239.39, down from £440.19, saving you a stellar £201 with accessories included so you can get to juicing right out the box.

Today's best Black Friday NutriBullet Juicer Pro Centrifugal Juicer Machine deal (US)

Today's best Black Friday NutriBullet Juicer Pro Centrifugal Juicer Machine deal (UK)

More NutriBullet juicer deals

NutriBullet sales are essential for anyone looking to save cash on one of the most popular blenders on the market. We regularly see discounts on the full range and some particularly strong discounts around major holiday events.

Looking for more NutriBullet juicer deals? You'll find all the lowest prices from around the web right here, with offers available in your region. 

More US Black Friday deals

• Amazon: 50% off TVs, air fryers, AirPods & clothing
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• Walmart: Apple Watch 9, cheap TVs, air fryers & toys

More UK Black Friday deals 

• Amazon: up to 65% off everything
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• Dyson: shop exclusive deals
• eBay: up to 60% off refurbished items
• Ebuyer: up to 45% off computing
• EE Store: huge phones and gaming sale
• Emma: up to 65% off mattresses + more
• John Lewis: best for tech, home and clothing
• Jessops: up to £550 off cameras
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• Scan: PC components and peripherals
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• Very: tech, decor, appliances and furniture
• Vodafone: half-price SIMs from £11.50

Follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings, and hot Black Friday deals!

•  See all of TechRadar's Black Friday coverage

One-minute review

The Ninja Blast is Ninja’s first portable blender, but it packs much the same punch as we’ve come to expect from the minds behind some of the best blenders you can buy. It’s stylish, it’s compact, and most importantly it makes quick work of smoothies.

Portable blenders make a fantastic addition to smaller household’s kitchens, and they’re perfect for putting in your gym bag as an easy way to guzzle down some nutrients post-workout, and the Ninja Blast is laser-focused on meeting these specific needs. 

The blender is immensely portable thanks to its to-go lid, handle, lightweight design and two extra caps – one to cover the blades and one to screw onto the bottom of the main blending chamber for when you’re out and about and don’t want to carry the heavy base.

It’s entirely cordless, and with a full battery can blend 10-15 times before it needs to be charged via the supplied USB-C cable, which takes approximately two hours. 

Design-wise, the Ninja Blast sports a stylish, slightly retro feel. From its colorways to the ribbed edges of its jar, it oozes both fun and sophistication, which is great for when you’re taking it on the road. The base sports a square start / stop button surrounded by an LED indicator, which will let you know the progress of your blend as well as any other status indicators you might need, such as when the blades are jammed or the blender is running low on power. 

There are no speed settings; every blend lasts for 30 seconds (unless you choose to stop it early), and while this does make it supremely easy to operate, it can be a little irritating when you’re certain the job’s not quite done. Thankfully, much of the time, one cycle is all you’ll need for effortless and consistent smoothies.

The main jar and the lid are both dishwasher-friendly, but it’s also very easy to clean the blades and vessel by simply adding some water and a drop of dish soap and running a 30-second cycle.

Now onto the drawbacks. As it’s a portable blender, it’s got to be light and easy to carry, and this comes at the expense of capacity, which is just 18oz / 510ml. At a push, you can make two smaller smoothie portions, but generally speaking this is a blender that’s best suited to single servings, though it’s worth noting this is a larger capacity than most personal and portable blenders offer. 

It’s powerful enough to handle most fibrous ingredients, but if you try to pack in your fruits and vegetables too tightly the Ninja Blast will get jammed, which happened to me more than once with harder ingredients like carrots. The Blast makes a good effort with ice, and can at the very least break cubes down a fair amount, but the results are far from even. 

All in all, though, this is a brilliant little blender that does what it’s designed to do very well.

Ninja Blast review: price and availability

• List price: $59.99 / £49.99 / AU$99.99

The Ninja Blast launched in 2023 and costs $59.99 / £49.99 / AU$99.99, which is fairly affordable for a portable blender this capable - by way of comparison, the Smeg Personal Blender sells for $169.95 / £109.95. It’s available directly from Ninja’s online store, as well as through retailers including Amazon, Target in the US, and Very in the UK. 

It arrives neatly packaged in a cylindrical cardboard box with the base, a sip lid with a built-in handle, and vessel as well as a USB-C cable and two caps, one to cover the blades when they’re not in use, and the other to seal the bottom of the vessel when you want to take your smoothie on-the-go.

It’s available in three colorways; Denim Blue, Black, Cranberry, Forest Green, Passion Fruit and White (at the time of writing, only Denim Blue is available in the UK.)

• Value score: 4.5/5

Ninja Blast review: specifications

Ninja Blast review: design and features

• Lightweight, stylish and portable design
• 18.0oz / 532ml capacity is sizeable for a portable blender
• To-go lid with flip-open cap and built-in handle

Standing at 10.6 x 3.5 x 3.3 inches/ 27 x 9 x 8.5cm (H x W x L) with its base attached, the Ninja Blast is a petite and stylish addition to your kitchen or your gym bag. It’s lightweight at just 2.4lbs / 1.09kg, making it easy to carry, too.

The Ninja Blast features a screw-on to-go lid not unlike a sippy-cup, with a see-through pop-open cap and a built-in handle for when you’re out and about. Below the lid is a 18.0oz / 532ml vessel, with bevels on the inside which Ninja claims are intended to create a vortex and draw ingredients down onto the blades. On the front of the vessel are measurement indicators all the way up to the max fill line of 16oz / 455ml. Both the lid and vessel are dishwasher safe.

Moving down to the base, there are six non-removable blades, meaning cleaning can be a little tricky, especially considering that the base isn’t fully waterproof. On the front is the sole control for the Ninja Blast: a square stop-start button, surrounded by an LED light which illuminates purple to indicate the progress of the blend cycle, and in a variety of other colors to communicate the status of the blender. The USB-C charging port is on the rear of the motor unit, and there are rubber feet on its underside to prevent the blender from slipping on surfaces.

Our review unit came with two screw-on caps, one for the base of the vessel and one to cover the blades; however, user reviews have indicated that certain models and regions don’t include these.

• Design score: 4/5

Ninja Blast review: performance

• Handles most fibrous fruits with ease
• Struggles a little with frozen fruits and ice cubes
• Gets stuck if the ingredients are too large

The Ninja Blast is operated by pressing the start / stop button on the base to begin its 30-second blend cycle. For a personal and portable blender, it’s pretty powerful; on a par with others we’ve been impressed with at TechRadar like the Smeg Personal Blender. 

I tried several different recipes to test the Ninja Blast’s moxy, and it performed consistently well, albeit, as can be expected, never quite as well as a traditional countertop blender might. 

First up, I tried a personal favorite recipe of mine for when I’m feeling under the weather: carrots, an orange, water, honey and turmeric. Here’s where I encountered my first hurdle: hard veggies. I’d cut the carrot into batons, and they got drawn right down to the blades and almost immediately jammed them. I removed them and cut them down to size further, and after ample poking and prodding managed to blend the mix down to a relatively smooth blend with two 30-second cycles. It was still a little bitty in places, but enjoyable to drink nonetheless.

Up next was our standardized TechRadar test: banana, spinach, greek yogurt, apple juice and pineapple chunks. I had to blend this one twice too, and there was one solitary pineapple piece that wasn’t broken down even then, but overall it was a decently smooth blend. Small pieces of spinach leaves were still visible, but they were small and evenly sized.

Lastly, I wanted to try a dryer, thicker blend, so I opted for a mix of frozen berries, cocoa powder, peanut butter and kefir with a dash of oat milk. As I expected, this was a bit of a struggle for the Ninja Blast; it got stuck a few times, and required two and a bit full cycles with some fierce shaking in between to break down the ingredients. However, the results were silky smooth and delicious. 

Despite Ninja’s assertion that the Blast is more than capable of crushing ice, there are three major caveats here. First, due to the shape, size and capacity of the vessel, it’s pretty hard to fit in more than a couple of cubes. Second, with the above in mind, it’s sometimes hard for the cubes to actually reach the blades at first, so you end up using multiple cycles and shaking the blender around a fair bit. Lastly, even when you’ve overcome the aforementioned hurdles, you then have to contend with an uneven blend that never really manages to sort itself out. If you add a small amount of water (up to the recommended liquid line on the front of the vessel) the process becomes a lot easier.

It’s nice and easy to clean the Ninja blast – you simply put a drop or two of dish soap into the vessel and turn on a 30-second clean cycle. You’ll probably need to rinse the vessel again, and clean the lid by hand; alternatively, both of these components are dishwasher safe. 

Considering that you have to cut ingredients down to a fairly small size if you don’t want to run the 30-second cycle twice, the battery often didn’t quite last as long as I’d hoped, making only 5-6 smoothies instead of the 10 suggested by the battery’s promised 10-cycle capacity. Thankfully, it’s quick to charge, taking just two hours. 

• Performance score: 4/5

Should I buy the Ninja Blast?

Buy it if...

Don’t buy it if...

Also consider...

If you’re not sure about the Ninja Blast, here are a couple of other options to consider...

How I tested the Ninja Blast

• I used the Ninja Blast for two weeks and made smoothies most days
• I tried a variety of recipes and ingredients
• I drained the battery and recharged it multiple times

I used the Ninja Blast as my main blender for two weeks, using it to make a variety of recipes with various ingredients. These ingredients included fibrous foods like spinach, kale, and pineapples, powdery and thick substances like flaxseed, protein powder, and nut butters, as well as hard ingredients such as carrots and ice. 

I tried putting in ingredients of various sizes to test how powerful the motor was and identify how easily it became blocked, and strained my smoothies to see how successfully the blades mixed and pulverized the ingredients.

I’ve used a variety of blenders, and compared my experience with the Ninja Blast to using countertop devices, as well as TechRadar’s reviews of comparable models. 

Read more about how we test.

[First reviewed Novembers 2023]

Breville the All in One: One-Minute Review

Anyone who enjoys a bit of kitchen craft knows just how useful a food processor can be for boosting your culinary skills. However, if you don't get into the kitchen often, it’s the kind of thing that's not necessarily top of mind, something that takes up a lot of space. If that describes you, you're probably better off with a more lightweight solution like the Breville All in One stick mixer. 

Sure, the motor isn’t as powerful as what you’ll get on top-shelf food processors or blenders, but this one device performs a much wider range of tasks and occupies a smaller overall footprint in your kitchen. The Breville All in One can be a food processor, a masher, an immersion blender or a whisk thanks to a quick-release motor handle that attaches to various tool heads. 

Obviously any tool’s usefulness will depend on the types of food you gravitate towards when cooking, and kitchen appliances that try to do too many things can often end up doing them all poorly, but the All in One strikes an excellent balance between versatility and usefulness that makes it an exceptionally helpful tool in a wide array of circumstances. This makes it an excellent base accessory for any home cook – I think it’s unlikely to sit in the cupboard unused for long periods of time.

This diversity can mean it gets overlooked since there really isn't one specific task you absolutely need it for… but it’s such a versatile tool that it’s helpful for the average cook and it’ll remain useful even if they do invest further in more capable appliances for tasks requiring more powerful and dedicated devices.

There really is value here for most home cooks and its starting price isn't too bad either.

Breville the All in One review: Price and availability

• Available in the US and Australia
•  List price:  $159.95 / AU$269 

The All in One Stick Mixer is available in both the US and Australia Breville online stores for $159.95 / AU$269, but isn't listed in the UK's Sage online store at the time of writing.  

It might be worth checking out TechRadar’s jug vs immersion blender explainer page to see if you’re more likely to need a dedicated blender than what is on offer here, but for anyone who frequently mashes, grates, slices, chops, whisks and blends food, it’s hard to imagine that this device won’t come in handy for a multitude of applications. 

While you can get basic food processors for less than this price point, they’re unlikely to offer any more power and will usually come with just the one dicing blade. The All in One has grating and slicing capabilities included alongside the standard food processing capabilities that practically justifies the price tag on its own.

You will only have basic blending capabilities, so I wouldn’t really consider this to be a blender replacement, but throw in the mashing and whisking tools and you have a tool with a heap of perks bundled in for an entry-level price.  

Breville the All in One: specifications

Breville the All in One review: Design and features

• Great entry-level food processor
• Grating and slicing blades included
• Also beats, blends and mashes

The 6-cup (1.6L) food processor bowl comes with a textured base to ensure chopped food doesn’t stick to the sides when using the S-blade attachment, and the reversible grating/ shredding disk saves you the hassle of having to manually grate vegetables for example. 

The variable slicing blade for the food processor isn’t as refined as what you’ll be able to achieve on a mandolin, but it does have 18 adjustable thickness settings – from 0.5mm to 6mm – so you can cut perfectly uniform slices in seconds. 

In addition to the food processing tools you also get a masher, a whisker and immersion blender heads. Each of these are pretty self-explanatory, and both the masher and whisker simply take some of the leg work out of processes you’d usually do by hand. While it doesn't always occur to the average home cook, but the stick nature of this appliance means it can be useful in several situations, meaning it will likely get used frequently.

There isn’t a jug accessory that comes bundled with the All in One like with some other stick blender kits, but it is an omission that most home cooks will be able to find a workaround solution for. This makes it a little less appealing as a proper blender solution, but when you consider its limitations with crushing ice you really do want something more dedicated if you’re going to be making a lot of smoothies. Blenders are also likely to be the most common device overlap here for products that people will already have, so it seems like a sensible omission.

Breville the All in One review: Performance

• Decent food processing capabilities
• Excellent mashing and whisking
• Reasonable immersion blending

During my testing, I used the Breville All in One to dice ingredients for a batch of peanut butter protein balls, a job that killed the motor on a Smeg Hand Blender that I used previously. The Breville device offered less power than its similarly priced Smeg competitor, but it was able to fully process all the raw ingredients as well as mix the dense combination of highly viscose date, peanut butter and maple syrup concoction. 

This task was definitely at the upper limits of what you’d want to use a handheld motor for, but the All in One proved perfectly capable of performing this task on this occasion. For those planning on regularly mixing batches of protein balls you might be better served by one of TechRadar’s best food processor, for a more powerful device. 

I also used the grater/shredder to process a few hundred grams of Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano for a cacio e pepe dish, a really simple task that would have been a lot more work using a hand grater. But just about every grating task is made infinitely simpler by the electric blade’s speed and consistency – once you have this tool in the kitchen it’s hard to imagine having to go back to manual grating.

The immersion blender works well enough as a traditional blender. You might want something a little more serious if you’re regularly trying to crush ice, but the All in One is more than capable of blending the vast majority of soups or smoothies.

Where the immersion blender shines is when you need to refine a sauce into a smoother consistency – you can simply plunge it into hot liquids rather than waiting for sauces to cool enough to put in a food processor.

The masher is great for anyone who likes a good potato mash (or anyone that makes their own baby food) and the whisk comes in handy a lot for baking and other egg-based recipes.

Should you buy the All in One from Breville?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

How I tested: Breville the All in One

• I used the All in One for a month
• I used it as my primary food processor
• I tested all the other features and functionalities

I tested the Breville All in One by using it over a month with general kitchen tasks like grating cheeses and vegetables, and other food processing tasks like dicing nuts and combining date and peanut butter protein balls. I also used the device on multiple occasions to mash potato, plus whisked eggs and other ingredients for baked goods.

The immersion blender capabilities came in handy when I refining a beef brisket sauce in a pot while on the stove and I used the All in One to blend a light banana smoothie without ice in a jug. I benchmarked this against the Smeg '50s-style Hand Blender, which offers a similar array of attachments and features. 

Read more about how we test

First reviewed: October 2023

Want to kickstart your day with a healthy cold drink? You're going to need a juicer or a blender, depending on what kind of drink you're after. If it's a glass of fresh fruit juice, you'll be looking for a slow juicer preferably. However, if you want to extract as much as possible from fruits, nuts and vegetables, then you should consider a blender.

But then how do you pick which one's right for you? This is where TechRadar's experts explain it all – the difference between a slow juicer and a super blender, a cold-press and a stick blender, which one is better and how they all compare with each other.

From Breville to Ninja Kitchen, NutriBullet to Smeg, and more besides, there are juicers and blenders galore across several price points. Allow us to explain which makes the better drink.

A Nutribullet is exactly the sort of appliance that I’d buy during Amazon Prime Day deals. For one, they’re very slender, so it doesn’t have to take up much countertop space. The massive discounts mean I get my money’s worth, as some of the best models frequently come down to under £50. And of course, as TechRadar’s resident fitness and wellness editor, I love that it’s going to keep me healthy.

• Browse the full list of Amazon Prime Day deals now

The two deals I’m eyeing up are both “beginner” Nutribullet products, the Nutribullet 600 Series Starter Kit (£59.99 down to £39.99) and the Magic Bullet 11-piece blender, mixer, and food processor set (£49.99 down to £29.99).

Both fit the bill for me: cheap, single-person blenders primarily used for breakfast smoothies and post-gym protein shakes. However, they can also be used in the kitchen to dice, chop, pulverize, and more. 

I think I’m going to opt for the Nutribullet: I already have a large food processor at home, so I’m really looking for a slim smoothie solution. But if you’re after an all-in-one, the Magic Bullet might be more versatile and a better buy for you. Check out both below:

Prime day deals - The best two Nutribullet deals

Not satisfying your need for kitchen kit? You can check out our comprehensive best blenders buying guide for more information, and our Prime Day Appliances deals section has everything you need for your kitchen and home, from vacuums to coffee machines.  

Amazon Prime Day sale: quick links

• Amazon Devices: up to 60% off Fire TV Stick
• Apple: AirPods, iPads & MacBooks from $89
• Back to school: essentials from $25
• Beauty: electric toothbrushes from $19
• Cameras: up to 20% off Canon
• Clothing: viral clothing trends under $30
• Headphones: Echo Buds from $34.99
• Kitchen: Instant Pot from $79.99
• Laptops: devices from $129.99
• Security: up to 50% off Ring doorbells
• Smartwatch: Fitbit from $59
• Tablets: Fire HD 8 tablet - $45 off
• TVs: smart TVs from $64.99
• Vacuums: 36% off Dyson

Amzchef ZM5003: One-minute review

The Amzchef ZM5003 blender sits at a price point where you won't find many options that can keep up with the best blenders. When it comes to blenders, even now, you have to spend more to get more – despite the fact that we're seeing an increasing number of impressive kitchen appliances that are surprisingly very affordable.

This may have a lot to do with the fact that when it comes to blending, the quality of the parts greatly affects a blender's overall performance. As such, it's more difficult to get the best value by opting for something cheap. 

The Amzchef ZM5003 might be trying to change that. With its 1800W motor (2000W on the UK model), this blender has plenty of power on tap to meet your daily blending, blitzing and grinding needs. It's lightweight, too, which makes it much easier to handle. And, it delivers a bit more value by throwing a couple of extras into the package.

However, it doesn't quite resolve the main issue with many a cheap blender. The blades here, while capable, will still struggle where more robust blenders won't. So, while the Amzchef ZM5003 is a great option for budget-minded folks who need a new blender, it doesn't do enough to convince us to retire our current model.

Amzchef ZM5003 price and availability

• How much does it cost? $109.99 / £149.99
• When is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US (slightly different version in the UK)

The Amzchef ZM5003 blender is an affordable model for those on a budget. Setting you back $109.99/£90, it's about $90/£110 cheaper than the Breville the Fresh & Furious, our top pick of the best blenders. Included in the Amzchef's price is a 20oz (600ml) travel bottle with its own blade cover and travel lid, plus a tamper.

This particular model isn't available in the UK. Instead, you get the Amzchef ‎NY-8088MJD blender, which has a slightly different control panel and doesn't come with a travel container included; otherwise, it's the same. It can be bought on Amazon for $182.59/£149.99. Unfortunately, this blender isn't available in Australia. 

US Amazon customers, according to the Amzchef website, have permanent technical support and a 24-hour premium service.

• Value: 4.5 / 5

Amzchef ZM5003 design

• Touch buttons and an LED display
• 63oz (1800ml) tritan pitcher and a 20oz (600ml) travel bottle
• Not a twist mount, just a centering pad

The Amzchef ZM5003 takes up space, but measuring about 7 inches (178mm) tall, 7 inches (178mm) wide, and 9 inches (228mm) deep, we wouldn’t call it massive, either. The black-on-gray base is relatively lightweight, at least next to our own blender, which makes it easier to put away and take back out if you're storing it in a cupboard.

The tritan pitcher, which has a 63oz (1800ml) capacity, is also lightweight. That may say something about its construction, but being BPA-free it certainly isn't toxic. We appreciate that it comes with a deep and wide spout, since this makes pouring out the contents a mess-free affair. And while its rubber lid with removable plug for adding ingredients doesn’t actually lock in position, it stays in place, which is what’s important.

Back to the base, which features a control panel with an LED display that presents the time and nine buttons. Four of those are presets (smoothies, ice crush, puree, blend), three are speed (low, medium, height), and one is for start/stop. There's a pulse button, too, but this one you have to hold down to keep it running for two minutes by default. Release it, and it will stop.

Unlike other blenders whose pitchers and cups twist and lock in place, the Amzchef only has a centering pad whose job is to ensure that its pitcher or its travel bottle are properly connected with the base. Since there’s nothing preventing the pitcher and travel bottle from popping out of place, there’s a chance you’ll interrupt the blending process if you accidentally knock against either. 

Unfortunately, in the case of the lightweight 20oz (600ml) travel bottle, this was a frequent occurrence, with it often popping off as soon as the motor began running. Amzchef even states in its manual that you'll have to keep the bottle in place with your hand when you’re using the blender. It’s a good thing the motor comes with an auto shut-off function, which works effectively.

Also disappointing is the lack of suction cup feet. The Amzchef ZM5003 has rubber feet, and while those do a good job of preventing it from moving around on the countertop, feet with suctioning would have made it all the more stable and minimized vibrations, too.

• Design: 3.5 / 5

Amzchef ZM5003 performance

• Powerful 1800W motor
• Blades aren’t as effective with frozen foods
• Travel bottle pops off if you don’t apply pressure

The Amzchef ZM5003 blender is surprisingly powerful, despite its low price tag. Its 1800W motor certainly packs a lot of power. However, if you don’t already know, wattage isn’t the only thing that determines how well a blender performs. Other factors such as construction and parts have an impact as well.

We have our own powerful Ninja blender, which, despite its lower 1200 wattage, simply demolishes pretty much any item we throw into it, including frozen fruits and ice. So, naturally, we had high expectation for the Amzchef ZM5003 and its more powerful motor.

Sadly, it took it about 20 seconds to crush six ice cubes, and even then, there were still some small pieces of ice remaining. Testing the blender some more, we also made one of my usual smoothies, comprising a cup of frozen strawberries, a cup of frozen blueberries, one frozen banana, and a cup of oat milk. 

It took the Amzchef ZM5003 much longer than our own blender to pulverize the strawberries and banana. Our Ninja blender barely requires assistance, but the Amzchef blender kept stopping after two to four seconds because its blades couldn't handle the items. We had to get in there seven times with a silicone spatula, as well as pour in a bit more oat milk, to help it along. It was frustrating.

The blender's two-minute smoothie preset is actually enough time to make such a drink. If only we didn’t have to keep intercepting it.

Making a smoothie with fewer frozen ingredients proved easier, however. When I attempted the same recipe with a fresh banana instead of a frozen one, the blender still required assistance – but not as much. Just be prepared for the noise; this isn’t the quietest blender we’ve tested.

The travel bottle, which comes with its own blade cover, would have been perfect for smoothies, especially when you’re short on time. However, it doesn’t stay put. It pops up every time we start the motor running, which then activates the blender’s auto shut-off function. When using this vessel, you’ll have to put pressure on it with a hand to keep it in place.

Finally, cleanup is annoying. Although having a removable blade cover can be tiresome, having a non-removable one is even more of a pain. The blades on the Amzchef ZM5003 sit pretty close to the bottom, which is great for blending small amounts of food. 

However, this also means that bits of food become wedged between small crevices, making them more difficult to reach as a result of the non-removable blade. A cleaning brush is included, and it certainly helps to access those areas under and around the blade, but it also means cleaning the tritan pitcher takes a bit more time if you’re doing it manually.

The blender does have a one-click self-cleaning function so you can try that first to see if it does the trick. The pitcher is dishwasher-safe, too.

• Performance: 3.5 / 5

Amzchef ZM5003 score card

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• First reviewed January 2022

How we test

We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained - regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it's on our radar.

Read more about how we test

The best blenders in Australia look to bring a balance of capacity, features and price to suit the lifestyle and cooking needs of most people well, and one person’s favourite blender may be vastly different to another's.

When comparing Australia's best blenders, offerings from experienced brands like Breville and Nutribullet are considered, and I also take price into account before diving into features. Setting a budget you're comfortable with is, in my opinion, the most important thing when shopping for tech or appliances.

The next feature I would look at are blenders’ noise levels, as some are louder than others. Other considerations include speed settings, presets and the layout of controls on the machine. The physical size also matters, especially if you’re short on bench top space.

Comparing blenders isn’t always straightforward when looking them up online, so our international team of experts here at TechRadar have thoroughly tested models of all shapes and sizes, which I draw upon to determine the best blenders you can buy in Australia. Based on our reviews, I've found these seven options to be the best ones for a variety of budgets and use cases.

Looking for something with a bit more utility? Check out our guide to the best food processors.

• Find out more about blenders vs food processors

If you’re looking for smoothie recipes, we have published guides to making green smoothies, berry smoothies, banana smoothies and mango smoothies.

Read on to find your next kitchen essential that would best fit your needs and household.

The best blenders in Australia for 2026

The best blender overall

Featuring a large blender with a triangular jug design and a powerful motor, the Braun PowerBlend 9 is an exceptional blender that’s perfect for households that want to blend up big batches in one go.

With a maximum capacity of 2L and 10 speed settings – plus a pulse setting for reaching appropriate consistencies – the PowerBlend 9 is quite a big piece of kit. It comes with a bunch of buttons on its face for easy use.

Our reviewer found that the blender quickly became their go-to thanks to the PowerBlend nailing the basics and for its quickness and efficiency.

It’s worth noting that the PowerBlend is quite loud, pricey and there’s only one colour option (the black as pictured above). Nevertheless, this is still our most recommended blender for most people for the speed and power on offer. For those looking for something more compact, check out our next recommendation below.

Read our full Braun PowerBlend 9 review

The best medium-capacity blender

Breville offers a range of stylish, durable, and powerful blenders that often have eye-wateringly expensive price tags, which may be out of reach for many consumers. The Breville the Fresh and Furious is a notable exception – this entry-level blender combines the brand's sleek styling with power to create a compact blender that's more affordable than other models the brand offers.

We were impressed with how simple the Breville the Fresh and Furious was to use. It was able to liquidise pineapple and leafy spinach into a completely smooth and lightly aerated drink, with no bits. It also managed to crush ice, chop nuts, and emulsify eggs and oil into mayonnaise.

The blender comes with a 1.5L jug, smaller than most other Breville blenders. We did find a slight amount of leakage when the blender was filled to maximum capacity, but this was only in the well of the lid and not enough to be a serious concern.

Read our full Breville the Fresh and Furious review

• Interested in this blender? Take a look at our Breville coupon codes page to see if you can save some extra cash when you buy direct from Breville.

The best small blender

A single-serve blender with a focus on less noise and more power, the Nutribullet Ultra is the brand’s top-of-the-line personal blender, sitting below only the larger Nutribullet Select 1200 in terms of price.

In our tests, the reviewer found the Nutribullet Ultra to be easy to clean and comparably quieter than many other blenders on the market. It’s a stylish blender with glowing controls, adding a premium touch to blenders of this size.

Although it’s not as loud as other blenders, it’s certainly not noise proof at 88 decibels. There are two versions of the Nutribullet Ultra in Australia, one with a 1,000W motor and another with 1,200W.

Read our full Nutribullet Ultra review

The best portable blender

The Ninja Blast Max Portable Blender is a completely cordless and portable blender, letting you take it anywhere to make smoothies or protein shakes on the go. This would be perfect for regular gym-goers or time-poor commuters that tend to rush out the door every morning.

Our reviewer found the motor to be quite powerful and the blade unit to be tougher than other portable blenders, making light work of just about any smoothie ingredients you can throw at them, including rock-hard frozen fruit and fibrous leafy greens like kale.

I personally own this blender and I like how well it handles those fibrous veggies and frozen fruit, and it's also a breeze to clean — making it perfect for when I'm rushing out the door before work.

For a blender this size, the 650ml cup will certainly only produce single servings. It's a little bit more pricey than other portable blenders, but you get what you pay for with how well the Ninja Blast Max handles tougher ingredients.

Read our full Ninja Blast Max review

The best retro-style blender

This retro-styled blender isn’t just a pretty face – our testers found the Smeg High Performance Blender (known as the Smeg Professional Blender in the US) delivered the best crushed ice of any blender they've tested, turning cubes into even and smooth snow that's perfect for margaritas or slushies.

While Smeg’s usual fare is a modern interpretation of 1950s aesthetics, the High Performance Blender’s design is slimline with a more grown-up, minimalist look.

There's a good range of blending options – nine speeds, four presets (including ice) plus pulse, and even an Auto Clean option. On test, we found these presets were very effective, but manual mode didn’t yield the same results.

Like most of Smeg’s range, the High Performance Blender sits in the premium price bracket. Although the performance is solid, it's really aimed at style-conscious buyers. If you want a more heavy-duty blender, you'd be better off with the Braun PowerBlend 9 at the top of this guide – or, if you're getting really serious, the Vitamix A3500i up next.

Read our full Smeg High Performance Blender review

The best professional blender

The Vitamix A3500i blender means serious business and made light work of combining ingredients in our reviewers’ tests without leaving any chunks behind. On test, this blender was used to create very smooth smoothies, as it can quickly blitz ice cubes too.

This Vitamix blender has 10 variable speed settings, a pulse function, and five programs with predefined speeds and durations for everything from smoothies to dips and spreads. There's also a programmable timer to set the blender to work and automatically switch it off once the timer is up.

With a powerful 1,600W motor, the A3500i is quite heavy and bulky, so consider this if you're short on space. It's also the most expensive blender we've tested, with a price tag that's double and, in some cases, triple that of other blenders on this list.

Read our full Vitamix A3500 review

The best food processor combo

If you're buying kitchen appliances for the first time or you're just short on space, the Nutribullet Triple Prep System is a great option. It consists of a base containing a 1,500W motor, with a full-size blending jug, single-portion smoothie maker, and food processor so you get three appliances in one.

Nutribullet hasn't skimped on quality here, and during our reviewers' tests, all three components performed as well as a standalone appliance. The jug blender was excellent for hummus and mayonnaise (though they found it best for large servings), the blending cup made light work of even tough smoothie ingredients, and the food processor was ideal for veggies and cheese.

You don't get all the discs and blades you would with a top-end food processor (there's no dough mixer, for example), but all the basics are covered well. (If you're a serious home chef, take a look at our full guide to the best food processors for some premium options.)

Read our full Nutribullet Triple Prep System review

How we test the best blenders

To compare each blender, our testers here at TechRadar spent hours in the kitchen preparing bowlfuls of mayonnaise while blending pineapple, spinach, and Greek yogurt into a smoothie. As well as assessing how smooth the sauce and smoothie are, we’re also looking for ingredients that are well-combined without any curdling and whether there is residue trapped under the blade or if the elements have leaked from the base lid during blending.

We also evaluate how finely and evenly the blenders chop ice and nuts and compare how easy they are to use. Finally, for each model, we rate how loud they are, how durable and easy to clean the body and parts are, and the valuable accessories they come with, such as a tamper for moving ingredients closer to the blade, extra jugs, or containers, and recipe booklets for inspiration.

How to choose the best blender for you

When selecting the best blender for you, start by identifying the type of blender you need. Jug blenders feature a blade inside the plastic or glass receptacle, which spins when connected to the motor in the base units. As a result, they can blend in large quantities but are usually bulky.

Meanwhile, smoothie blenders, also known as personal blenders, come with a small plastic cup rather than a jug. Fill the cup with your ingredients, then attach the blade, flip the cup upside down and connect to the base. When the ingredients are blended to your liking, remove from the base, unscrew the blade, and screw on a to-go lid, then take your drink with you.

Finally, there are also immersion blenders to consider. Often referred to as hand blenders or stick blenders, they are designed to be inserted into a saucepan or container of ingredients you want to puree. These compact appliances should be swirled around in the liquid while the blade spins to ensure it’s blended uniformly. You can detach the blade from the main unit containing the motor for easy cleaning. For more advice on this, it would be worth taking a look at our jug blenders vs immersion blenders guide.

The best blenders in Australia: FAQ

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One-minute review

If you’re looking to whizz up super-smooth soups, purees, and smoothies, one of the best blenders is an essential bit of kit to have in your kitchen. Nutribullet is a brand with a reputation for creating powerful blenders that will pulverize even the toughest ingredients into smooth liquids.

The Nutribullet Smart Touch Blender is Nutribullet’s best full-size blender to-date. It builds on the more basic features of the original Nutribullet blender (read our Nutribullet Blender Combo review). It features a similarly large 64 oz/ 1.85-liter pitcher, but this model has a lockable lid and won’t operate until this is in position – a welcome safety upgrade.

The smart black base houses 1500W of power, which is 300W more than the cheaper Nutribullet blender. And this model features a sleek touch-control panel that offers four smart blending programs in addition to the three manual speeds and pulse button. Overall, we’d say the Smart Touch Blender looks and feels more premium, but it is quite a chunky appliance.

We found it effortlessly easy to operate, but the locking lid can be tricky to remove. We can’t fault its blending power though; it pretty much aced all of our tests, and we were particularly impressed with its ability to create a lump-free smoothie. Price-wise it’s more expensive than budget blenders, but much cheaper than many of the top-end models, so it’ll suit someone looking for a mid-range model that still offers impressive performance.

Nutribullet Smart Touch Blender price and availability

• Blender on its own available in US and UK for $145 / £199
• Combo bundle available in US and AU for $209 / AU$329.95

The Nutribullet Smart Touch Blender is available directly from Nutribullet, and from Amazon and other large retailers.

In Australia it’s only available as the Nutribullet Smart Touch Blender Combo, and comes with two personal cup accessories with to-go lids and an accompanying blade. The main full-size blender is the exact same model though.

The Combo model is also available in the US for $209, but it’s not available in the UK.

Price and availability score: 4.5/5

Nutribullet Smart Touch Blender design

• Can blend hot or cold ingredients
• Touch-sensitive control panel
• Three speeds, pulse button and four smart programs

The Nutribullet Smart Touch Blender isn’t exactly petite, measuring 17 x 10.7 x 8.1 inches / 44 x 27.5 x 21cm (h x w x d). That said, the black base is understated, and looks more premium than previous full-size blenders we’ve seen from Nutribullet. And we like that the touchscreen controls go completely black when it’s switched off, giving the appliance it a streamlined appearance.

Once switched on, you’ll see three speed options as well as a pulse button. There are four auto programs to choose from, for purees, soups, frozen drinks, and smoothies. In the center there’s a clock that counts down for the duration of the auto program, or counts up when you’re using the manual speeds.

The large 64oz / 1.85-liter pitcher can be twisted onto the base with the handle to either the left or the right side, making it comfortable for both left and right-handed users. It’s made of BPA-free plastic with a large handle, and is lightweight and easy to lift.

The lid locks onto the pitcher via two side clips as well as a metal pin that plugs into the pitcher. For safety, the blender won’t switch on until these are all locked into position. In fact, it won’t even illuminate the speeds or auto programs on the display until everything is correctly positioned.

The blender lid has a pouring spout with a flip-up lid, which means you don’t need to fully remove the lid when pouring out drinks. There’s also a removable insert in the center of the lid so you can pour in extra ingredients, or insert the tamper to help move around tricky mixtures while blending.

The pitcher is dishwasher safe for easy cleaning, though the manual makes no mention of whether the lid can be cleaned in the dishwasher.

Design score: 4/5

Nutribullet Smart Touch Blender performance

• Buttons are responsive
• Loud
• Very effective smoothie program

We decided to start with something simple, so we used the Nutribullet Smart Touch to crush some ice cubes. With just five short presses of the pulse button, it turned six ice cubes into a snow-like powder. The process was loud though, and hit 87dB on our noise meter, which is a typical noise level for a blender, although there are other models that are quieter. Thankfully we didn’t have to put up with the noise for too long.

We chose the 50-second smoothie program to blend yogurt, spinach, pineapple, and banana with apple juice. Again it was loud; it wasn't quite as loud as when crushing the ice, but the sound was piercing, and we had to walk away from it because it wasn’t pleasant to stand next to. The smoothie, however, was an absolute triumph. The ingredients were all completely liquidized, and it had a silky-smooth mouthfeel. There wasn’t a hint of fiber from the pineapple or even any tiny flecks of spinach in the drink; it was as smooth as it could possibly be.

To crush hazelnuts we chose the pulse button again. It took 10 presses of the pulse button before the biggest of the chunks were chopped down. The result was a slightly uneven combination of chopped nut and powder, which is a typical result when trying to chop nuts in a blender. The noise level in this case was the same as when crushing ice.

Finally, we used the low speed setting to make fresh homemade mayonnaise. At the beginning, when there were just two egg yolks and two teaspoons of vinegar in the blender, the quanity was too small for the blades to mix it. We slowly poured the oil in through the center of the lid, and in a little over two minutes the Nutribullet Smart Touch emulsified the ingredients into a thick, glossy, homemade mayo. Even on the low speed setting, though, it was loud, and we didn't have the option to walk away from the appliance this time.

The strong suction cups on the base keep the Nutribullet Smart Touch firmly in place while blending. If you're washing the blender by hand, it’s best cleaned with a brush so you can keep your fingers away from the blades. It is dishwasher safe, though frustratingly the underside of the pitcher fills with water, so when you open the dishwasher you’re faced with a pool of mucky water to deal with.

Performance score: 4.5/5

Nutribullet Smart Touch Blender score card

Should I buy?

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• First reviewed: December 2022

One minute review

The Nutribullet Juicer Pro is an upgraded version of the Nutribullet Juicer, which has already featured in our best juicer guide. And while the Nutribullet name might be synonymous with smoothie makers and blenders, Nutribullet is a company that knows how to build appliances that will turn fresh produce into tasty drinks.

While it might be better than its sibling, the Nutribullet Juicer Pro doesn’t actually cost very much more, so we’d still class it as a budget-friendly juicer. But with this model you get two different-sized freezer trays as well as two glass to-go bottles bundled in. Note that if you’re buying this model in the UK, you get only one of each.

Other upgrades include a dual-sized food pusher as well as a third juicing speed thanks to increased wattage. It also has a larger pulp container than the Nutribullet Juicer, so won’t require emptying as frequently. Otherwise, the two models are quite similar and come with the same lidded juice pitcher and identical configuration.

Like the Nutribullet Juicer, the Pro model makes quite a pulpy, frothy juice, extracting similar juice yields, too. It didn’t manage to juice kale, but for other fruits and vegetables it proved very speedy. It’s easy to use and is a great entry-level juicer for those who might be new to juicing and don’t want to spend too much money. But if you’re looking for premium-quality smooth juices and an appliance that can juice green leafed veggies, it won’t be the model for you.

Nutribullet Juicer Pro price and availability

• List price: $159.99 /£129.99/ AU$249.95

The Nutribullet Juicer Pro is readily available direct from Nutribullet in most countries. It has different model numbers depending on the region. In the US it's NBJ50200, UK 01558 and Australia NBJ07200.

It’s Nutribullet’s top-of-the-range centrifugal juicer, but is only slightly more expensive than the standard Nutribullet Juicer. The Pro includes upgraded features and a greater number of accessories, yet it will set you back only an extra $50/ £30/ AU$70. On that basis, we think it represents excellent value for money.

Price and availability score: 5/5

Nutribullet Juicer Pro design

• Three speed settings
• Drip stop
• 27oz/ 800ml juice pitcher

The Nutribullet Juicer Pro doesn’t take up too much space on the counter because it’s narrower at the base, but it does become wider at the top and it’s tall, too. The measurements are 16 x 10.3 x 9.3 inches/ 41 x 26 x 24cm (h x w x d).

The 27oz/ 800ml juice pitcher sits below the juice spout during juicing, and the sealable lid can remain on the pitcher during use to stop any splashes. The pitcher is handy for keeping excess juice in the fridge, but is also cleverly designed with a froth separator to stop the worst of the froth getting into your glass.

There isn't an external pulp container taking up counter space with this model, since the pulp stays inside the juicer. But this does mean it needs to be disassembled to remove the pulp when it becomes full – which might become annoying if you’re juicing large quantities of fruit and veggies. However, the Juicer Pro has a 0.44oz / 2-liter capacity, which Nutribullet claims is enough space to juice up to 17 apples before needing to be emptied.

Assembly and disassembly is straightforward; there are just three parts that stack on top of the motor. Once stacked, they get locked into place with the big stainless steel locking handle – and the machine won’t start until this is in position.

The 3in / 7.6cm feed chute is wide enough for whole apples – or, if you’re juicing smaller foods, a second pusher can be pulled out of the center of the large pusher. This opens a smaller chute, making it easier to feed in items such as leaves and berries.

The juice spout has a handy drip-stop cover and is positioned high enough so a standard drinking glass can be placed beneath it, should you wish to juice directly into your glass. On the front of the juicer is an on/off button surrounded by three buttons for the three speed levels. In the manual, you'll find a table that lists which speed setting is best suited to a variety of fruits and vegetables.

Arriving with two 12oz / 350ml glass to-go bottles, you can take the juice you make in the Nutribullet Juicer Pro with you anywhere. Plus, there are two silicone freezer trays. Note that if you’re in the UK, you’ll get only one bottle and one freezer tray in the box.

All the Juicer Pro components – except the pusher – are dishwasher-safe, so clean-up is simple. Nevertheless, a brush is supplied as well if you choose to wash by hand.

Design score: 4.5/5

Nutribullet Juicer Pro performance

• Noisy
• Juices whole apples very fast
• Poor results juicing kale

To create a mixed green juice we combined celery with ginger, parsley, apple and pear. The wide feed chute meant we could leave everything whole, so there was really no prep to do. We followed the guidance in the manual for speed, starting on low speed for the parsley, moving to high speed for the pear, and then turbo for everything else.

It took around 1 minute 15 seconds to juice everything; the Nutribullet Juicer Pro was quite noisy, hitting 85dB on our noise meter. We weighed the ingredients before and after juicing to work out the juice yield, which was 71%. This is a respectable yield, although it’s in part due to the pulpiness of the juice, which means lots of fibers get through the strainer. A few whole leaves of parsley had also made their way into the drink. In addition to a layer of froth on top, the juice was very aerated – which, when combined with the pulpiness, gave it more of a smoothie texture than a traditional juice. 

Next up we peeled five oranges and popped them in whole on the turbo setting. The Juicer Pro made short work of the oranges, blitzing through them in under 20 seconds. Unfortunately, though, noise levels remained the same as when we were making the green juice. In addition, the yield this time was 62%, which isn’t as high as we’ve seen from other juicers we’ve reviewed.

There was a thick layer of froth on top of the juice, which was kept in the pitcher by the froth separator. But the juice in our glass was still very aerated. Unlike the green juice, the orange juice contained very little pulp, although we’d be lying if we said it was completely smooth. It was a tasty drink, nonetheless.

This Nutribullet juicer can extract the juice from a whole apple in just 5 seconds. And when you consider that you don’t need to do any prep first, that’s pretty darn quick.

We wanted to juice kale straight into the glass bottle that comes bundled with the juicer; but, surprisingly, it doesn’t sit flat on the counter when under the spout, so we abandoned that idea and put a standard glass in its place. We juiced the kale on high speed, feeding it into the narrow chute, which took about 1 minute 30 seconds.

We can unequivocally say that if you’re looking for a juicer to make kale shots, you shouldn’t buy the Nutribullet Juicer Pro. It barely extracted any juice at all; there was less than a mouthful in the glass and the yield was a pathetic 6%. Safe to say, then, that this was a waste of both time and kale.

Lastly, we were hoping for better luck juicing carrots. The Juicer Pro juiced two big carrots in only 15 seconds, producing a vibrant orange carrot juice with a decent 52% yield. The juice wasn’t smooth, though – it had a powdery, pulpy texture.

As mentioned, the majority of the machine's parts can be placed in the dishwasher for cleaning. However, we did notice that our dishwasher didn’t remove all the pulp fibers from the sieve. Our advice would be to scrub the sieve clean with the brush. Note that the various parts of the Juicer Pro do take up a fair bit of space in the dishwasher, so we found a rinse with hot water was often a quicker way to clean the bulkier components.

Performance score: 4/5

Nutribullet Juicer Pro score card

Should I buy?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

• First reviewed: October 2022

Surely a blender is a blender, right? Actually, when it comes to the best blenders, there’s quite a lot more to it. Ninja makes some of the most innovative kitchen appliances around, offering a wide range of blenders including multi-functional models. Meanwhile, Vitamix blenders are known to pack a punch, but they’re pricey and usually offer less functionality.

But with both of these well-respected brands offering several blending appliances, figuring out which one to buy can be a bit of a minefield. This is the reason we’ve put them up against each other for range, price and the features they offer, to give you a breakdown of what you can get from each brand and which is most likely to meet your needs.

With 2022 Black Friday deals incoming, now would be a really good time to invest in a Vitamix or Ninja blender. Prefer to have an alternative brand? No worries – these Black Friday KitchenAid deals would be worth a look, too.

Read on to discover the pros and cons of Ninja vs Vitamix, so you can decide which of these brands offers exactly what you’re looking for.

Vitamix vs Ninja: Best deals

US:

UK:

Vitamix vs Ninja: Range

The Vitamix range varies slightly from country to country, but there’s a core range of blenders that appear to be quite consistently available worldwide. The top-of-the-range standalone blender is the Vitamix A3500, which is also known as the A3500I in the UK and Australia. It’s a 64oz / 2-liter blender that arrives with digital controls and five auto programs – and it’s currently top of our best blenders list.

Virtually all Vitamix blenders come with an ample 64oz / 2-liter pitcher, including the mid-range A2500 and the A2300 models. The E310 would be considered the more entry-level blender on offer from Vitamix, as a result of its cheaper price tag, simple controls and smaller 48oz / 1.4-liter pitcher.

While Vitamix does offer a few blender bundles, the majority of the range comprises large standalone blenders. Those looking for a personal cup blender from the brand will have to purchase cup attachments for use with its full-size blenders. 

In the US, the Vitamix range includes the A2300 Smart Prep Kitchen System, which is supplied with a food processor attachment, as well as slicing and shredding discs. This is comparable to the Ninja Foodi Power Blender Ultimate System since both offer shredding discs in addition to chopping blades. However, the Ninja lacks a slicing disc, but it does come with a coffee and spice grinder, as well as a single-serve cup and smoothie bowl attachment.

It’s typical for Ninja to combine different appliances to create multi-functional kitchen gadgets. And, as such, Ninja’s range of blenders incorporates some of the best food processors as well as single-serve blenders. Often its range will differ by country, which can make it frustrating when trying to compare them like-for-like. 

Unlike Vitamix, Ninja makes single-serve blenders that are ideal for those just wanting to make smoothies and protein shakes to-go. The model that’s most widely available is the Ninja Nutri-Blender Pro with Auto-iQ. But the brand has also recently launched a powerful single-serve blender system that includes a cleverly developed smoothie bowl attachment for blitzing hard-to-blend frozen ingredients into a thick smoothie bowl consistency. The Ninja Foodi Smoothie Bowl Maker and Nutrient Extractor is known as the Ninja Foodi Power Nutri Blender 2-in-1 with Smart Torque & Auto-iQ in the UK, and the Ninja Foodi Power Nutri Duo in Australia.

The simplest blender Ninja offers is probably the Professional Plus Duo, known as the 2-in-1 Blender with Auto-iQ in the UK. If you want a blender that isn’t a cross between several appliances, this is the closest you’ll get from Ninja, although it still comes with a single-serve cup bundled in. In the UK, the Ninja range of blenders includes the Ninja Foodi Blender and Soup Maker, but this isn’t available in the US nor Australia.

Vitamix vs Ninja: Price

The Vitamix A3500 will set you back $575 / £699 / AU$1699, which is a pretty hefty investment. By contrast, the most expensive standalone blender you can buy from Ninja (without additional attachments bundled in) costs significantly less at around $119.99 / £129.99 / $249.99

At the lowest end of the scale, the Vitamix E310 costs $350 / £399 / AU$699, which is still far in excess of even the most expensive model that Ninja offers.

The Vitamix A2300 Smart Prep Kitchen System is priced at $650 (only available in the US), whereas Ninja’s equivalent, the Ninja Foodi Power Blender Ultimate System, would cost you less than half that at around $240 / AU$450.

For Ninja's most widely available single-serve blender, the Ninja Nutri-Blender Pro with Auto-iQ, you can expect to pay $99.99 / £99.99 / AU$199.99. If you want a single-serve option from Vitamix, you’ll be looking spending $40/ £35/ AU$60 for a 20oz / 600ml personal cup to attach to the Ascent series of blenders. However, do keep in mind that this price is in addition to the price you pay for the blender.

Vitamix vs Ninja: Features

Ninja’s range of appliances blurs the line between blenders and food processors and incorporates single-serve models, too, whereas for the most part Vitamix blenders sit firmly in the blender category. As such, the features offered by Vitamix focus on ensuring they're the best possible full-size blenders they can be. 

The top-of-the-range Vitamix A3500 includes 10 variable speed levels as well as a programmable timer and five auto settings. Similarly, the top-of-the-range Ninja Foodi Power Blender Ultimate System offers 10 variable speeds as well as seven auto programs.

Both brands feature smart technology that allows the blenders to detect which accessory is attached, thereby automatically adjusting the available settings to suit.

As we've already mentioned, the largest and most common pitcher supplied by Vitamix is the 64 oz / 2-liter pitcher. Ninja pitcher sizes vary. The largest in the current range is advertised at 72 oz/ 2.1 liters, but since the max liquid volume is 64oz/ 2 liters, it’s safe to say they’re pretty comparable across the board for capacity.

Ninja’s highest-power blender has a 1600W motor, whereas the top model from Vitamix is equipped with a 1400W motor. Both are capable, powerful motors – and, at this level, blending performance relies as much on blade configuration as it does on the shape of the pitcher. Consequently, this small difference in wattage isn’t really much of an indicator as to which offers the best blending power.

On the whole, in their top-tier models the two brands offer similar blending speeds, power levels and capacity. However, the biggest distinction between the brands has to be in the range of compatible accessories and bundles.

We’ve mentioned already several times throughout this article that Vitamix blenders are generally models with a big pitcher and some optional extras such as single-serve cups. But Ninja has a wide range of hybrid blenders and not very many traditional standalone blenders. Consequently, the two brands differ quite dramatically in the features on offer, since the Vitamix standalone blenders can by design perform fewer functions than Ninjas multi-purpose blenders.

Vitamix vs Ninja: Verdict

There’s no denying that Vitamix blenders are well made and powerful, but if price is top on your priority list, you should consider a model from Ninja. You’ll be able to bag a multi-functional Ninja blender for a fraction of what you’ll pay for even the cheapest standalone blender on offer from Vitamix.

Having said that, if it’s pure blending muscle you're looking for, a Vitamix won’t let you down. This heavyweight blender delivers the power to pulverize pretty much anything – and it won’t clutter your cupboards with unwanted accessories.

If you want more information about the differences between blenders and food processors, check out our blenders vs food processors article.

One-minute review

Unless you’re an athlete or regular gym-goer, you might not have come across the ShakesSphere range of shakers, which are designed to mix up protein shakes through the manual shaking of a tumbler. Well, now the brand has also launched a cordless portable blender that could be up for a spot in our coveted list of the best blenders.

Launched by elite-level sprint athlete Rick Beardsell, with backing from UK TV show Dragon’s Den, the brand has gone from strength to strength over the past five years. And the ShakeSphere Portable Blender E-Lid is the next logical step in its journey, building on the functionality of the brand’s manual shakers, allowing you to blend ice and frozen fruits while remaining portable.

Charging via USB-C, the unit can blend up to 14 times before needing a recharge. It’s supplied with a Tritan tumbler, but fits onto almost all of the brand’s 24.6fl oz/ 700ml tumblers, which are available in a range of colors and finishes.

The blender itself comes in a sleek matte black or fluorescent yellow, with the ultra-modern shape reminiscent of a space rocket. It looks especially sleek when its three lights are illuminated while it’s charging or in use. But all this style doesn’t come cheap; the ShakeSphere Portable Blender E-Lid is expensive for a single-serve blender.

However, in comparison to other cordless blenders – such as the Nutribullet Go – it aced our tests, proving that it isn’t all style over substance. So if you can afford to splurge on a trendy appliance for making smoothies on the go, it’s a great choice. But its limited functionality and capacity mean that it’s quite a niche product – and the smoothies it makes aren’t as smooth as you’ll achieve from a plug-in blender.

ShakeSphere Portable Blender E-Lid price and availability

• List price: $90 / £72/ AU$129

The ShakeSphere Portable Blender E-Lid is available worldwide directly from the ShakeSphere website or from Amazon. It’s expensive for a single-serve blender, but it comes with a ShakeSphere Tritan Clear Tumbler bundled in, which would set you back $25 / £23/ AU$36 if bought separately.

The unit is compatible with all the tumblers in the ShakeSphere range, whose prices start at $20 / £20/ AU$30 for the Original Tumbler and go up to $60 / £55/ AU$85 for the Steel Tumbler.

Price and availability: 4.5 / 5 

ShakeSphere Portable Blender E-Lid design

• 24.6fl oz/ 700ml capacity
• Rechargeable cordless base
• Cup isn’t dishwasher safe

This sleek and stylish cordless blender will appeal to those who appreciate simple, fuss-free design. But with its rocket-like shape and fun color-changing lights on its feet,  this ShakeSphere blender still presents a playful edge. The logo and overall style are clearly aimed at the brand's sporty target market, rather than general kitchen appliance consumers. And it arrives in either a subtle matte black or vibrant fluorescent yellow finish.

It’s a compact blender that, when assembled, measures 9 x 4 x 4 inches/ 23 x 10 x 10cm (h x w x d). The blender lid with its cover weighs just 16.6oz/ 470g, while the Tritan Tumbler and lid come in at just 8.8oz/ 250g when empty, so you’ll barely notice the extra weight in your sports bag.

The clear Tritan Tumbler has a 24.6fl oz/ 700ml capacity, and while the blender lid is compatible with most other tumblers from ShakesSphere, none have a larger capacity, which means you’re limited to this size of drink.

When the unit isn’t in use, a blade cover screws on top of the blender lid for safety. The cup has a separate leak-proof lid, with a steel slide cap that covers the drinking spout. A finger loop aids easy carrying. When the blender lid is screwed to the cup, the lights illuminate blue to indicate it’s correctly sealed and ready to go. If they’re alternating between blue and red, it isn’t attached correctly.

A power button on the base of the blender lid becomes visible when you invert it to screw it to the cup. The button has to be pressed for three seconds to initiate the automatic blending cycle, which runs for a set time before stopping automatically.

The blender charges via a USB-C cable that’s included in the box, but you’ll need to supply your own wall plug or plug it into a laptop or other device for charging.

Design: 5 / 5

ShakeSphere Portable Blender E-Lid performance

• Quiet
• Simple to operate
• Copes well with ice

For our first go at making a drink with the ShakeSphere, we added mixed frozen berries, protein powder and milk to the tumbler. Having twisted the blender lid into position on top, we pressed the start button for the required three seconds for it to begin blending. However, it took us a few seconds to realize that once started, the whole unit needs to be inverted so that the ingredients meet the blades.

With the first blending cycle complete, there was still some protein powder stuck to the side of the tumbler, and we could also see some large pieces of berry skin. So we started a second blending cycle, which blended most of the protein powder and reduced the size of the fruit skin.

The resulting drink was pretty well blended. Its texture was gritty as a result of the berry seeds that remained whole and some small pieces of skin, but the protein powder and the rest of the berries were liquidized. The drink wasn’t as well pulverized as we’d expect from a powerful, full-sized blender. Nevertheless, the results were impressive given that this is a cordless blender and the cup was about 1/3 full of hard, frozen berries – which it broke down in under 80 seconds.

Our second blend consisted of banana, protein powder, cocoa powder, peanut butter and milk. The ShakeSphere blender took only one blend cycle to liquefy these ingredients. The protein and cocoa powders were well mixed as was the peanut butter. The drink was virtually smooth, although there were some very tiny pieces of banana present – and by tiny we mean the size of a grain of sugar, so small enough not to bother most people. That said, if your preference is for a completely smooth drink then you’d probably have to blend it a second time.

Next up was a smoothie recipe that’s used to test all the blenders that we review, consisting of pineapple, spinach, apple juice, banana and Greek yogurt. It took just one blending cycle to turn these ingredients into a tasty drink. Some specs of spinach were visible, and the smoothie had a slightly pulpy texture; it wasn’t the silky-smooth drink that we’d expect a full-size blender to produce. But, for a small cordless blender it was an impressive result in under 40 seconds.

We did a blend with just water and six ice cubes to assess how well it crushed ice – and we were impressed. One blend cycle was sufficient for all the ice to be completely pulverized. What’s more, the blender remained stable on the counter throughout the blending cycle.

Despite being advertised as performing 30-second blend cycles, in our tests each cycle lasted for approximately 39 seconds. However, it’s noticeably quiet in comparison to most blenders we’ve reviewed, maxing out at just 75dB, which is similar to a vacuum cleaner.

One downside evident in all tests was that, despite being correctly screwed to the cup, the blender often didn’t display the blue lights that signal that it’s correctly attached. As such, it wouldn’t begin blending; we had to unscrew and rescrew it several times, which became quite irritating. Especially since it wasn’t at all obvious why the blender couldn’t recognize that it was correctly installed.

The ShakeSphere Portable Blender E-Lid’s tumbler cups aren’t dishwasher safe, but they clean very easily. Simply fill with water, pop on the lid and give the tumbler a good shake, or you can add water to the cup, screw on the blend lid and start up a blending cycle. We found both methods effective.

Performance; 4 / 5

ShakeSphere Portable Blender E-Lid battery life

• Charges via USB-C
• Red lights indicate a low battery
• Battery exceeded manufacturer’s claimsty list

In our tests, the blender was able to complete 26 blending cycles before it needed a recharge. This is almost double the 14 cycles stated by the brand. The three lights turn a solid red if you try to start it when the battery is too low.

A full recharge of the battery took four hours, which is at the lower end of the 4-6 hours claimed by the manufacturer. The lights remain red for the duration of the charge. Once the blender is fully charged, the lights switch to green; but there’s no way to check the battery percentage mid-way through.

Battery life: 5 / 5

ShakeSphere Portable Blender E-Lid score card

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• First reviewed: September 2022

One minute review

Magimix is a brand synonymous with some of the best food processors, but the brand offers so much more than these must-have chopping and mixing appliances. Having expanded on its food processor expertise, the brand now has a whole range of other countertop kitchen appliances including blenders, and this juicer.

The Magimix Juice Expert 3 markets itself as a cold press juicer, though confusingly it appears to be configured more like a centrifugal juicer. We’d call it a hybrid juicer, it works like a centrifugal juicer but at slower speeds to give some of the benefits of a slow juicer.

The central spinning filter basket cuts up the fruits and vegetables and pushes them through the filter for smooth pulp-free juice drinks. And the extra press attachment means it can handle typically tricky-to-juice fruits like banana and berries, creating thicker pulpy smoothie style drinks, there’s even a citrus press for OJ on demand.

We like that it comes with a recipe book packed with plenty of ideas on how to get the most from the juicer, from coulis to ice-lollies and even cake recipes to use up that fibrous pulp waste. It doesn’t come with a juice container though, so you’ll need to provide your own jug or simply pop a glass under the spout. And annoyingly all the pulp remains inside the filter, so when making bigger batches, you’ll have to keep disassembling it to remove the pulp.

In our tests it produced exceptionally smooth, clear juice, though there was some froth on top. It made short work of raspberries, removing the seeds and leaving a thick smoothie style drink that you wouldn’t get from other juicers. The citrus press is easy to use, makes delicious juice and is less wasteful than juicing citrus in a regular juicer. Overall we found it straightforward to use and more versatile than many of its competitors, but it’s not a budget choice and it doesn’t produce the same high juice yields as a typical slow juicer for ingredients like kale.

Magimix Juice Expert 3: price and availability

•  List price: £250 / AU$649 

The Magimix Juice Expert 3 is available direct from Magimix or through other retailers such as Amazon UK and Australia AU, but it’s not currently available in the US.

Although it’s double the price of the most budget slow juicer we’ve reviewed, it’s also half the price of those at the most expensive end of the scale. So while, on the face of it, this is a lot of money to pay for an appliance that just produces freshly squeezed juice, it’s actually a mid-range option in comparison to the rest of the market.

• Price and availability score: 4/ 5

Design

•  Pulp collects in filter basket 
•  Dishwasher safe parts 
•  Two citrus cones for different size fruits 

This juicer is striking in its streamlined compact design, yet it has a weighty and robust construction that gives it a quality feel. It measures 41.5 x 21.4 x 18.3cm/ 16.3 x 8.4 x 7.2inches (h x w x d) so doesn’t take up too much counter space. It is tall, though, so it’s best not to place it beneath wall mounted kitchen cupboards or you may struggle to feed fruit and vegetables into the chute.

In Australia it’s available in black or red, with a stainless-steel base, whereas in the UK, there’s only the black version available. If you’re planning to store it in a cupboard, keep in mind that it’s 7.5kg/ 16.5lbs so it feels a little heavy to lift and move around. You’ll also need to find storage space for the citrus press attachment which, apart from the included spatula, is the only part that can’t be stored inside the juicer.

When putting it together we found it all slots together intuitively and with just one on/off button, there are no complicated settings to master. The extra wide feed chute is large enough to leave some fruits whole, so you don’t need to spend ages cutting everything into tiny pieces before juicing, apples just need cutting in half.

The main juice filter is designed for use with harder fruits and vegetables, and it’ll produce smooth clear juice. If you want to juice softer fruits like berries or bananas to create thicker pulpier smoothie style drinks, you can insert the extra press accessory. And if citrus juice is what you fancy, then all you need to do is remove the filter basket and pop in the citrus press attachment. It has two cones, one for smaller citrus fruits like lemons and limes, and there’s a larger cone for juicing oranges and grapefruit.

Unlike many other juicers, this one doesn’t have a separate pulp container, the pulp collects in the filter basket so you’ll need to disassemble it regularly to empty out the pulp.

• Design score: 4.5/ 5

Performance

•  Produces very smooth juice 
•  Some pips get into citrus juice 
•  Pusher requires some force 

To get started, we juiced a couple of carrots and weighed the carrots before and after juicing to work out the yield. Impressively the juice yield was 53% which is amongst the highest yields we’ve seen for carrots across all the juicers we’ve reviewed. Plus, the juice itself was exceptionally smooth and clear.

Next up we tried out the citrus press. It’s not common to get a citrus press attachment with a juicer but it certainly enables you to get more juice from citrus fruits. Juicing oranges is easy and the arm that comes down onto the orange to hold it in place, means it’s safer than holding it with your hand.

It takes about 15 seconds to juice each orange half and you have to switch the machine off when you need to remove and replace the orange. First we tried making smooth juice with the pulp system in place, a few bits of pulp and pips made their way into the drink but for the most part the juice was smooth. When the pulp system was removed to create a juice with pulp, annoyingly even more orange pips made their way into the drink along with some pulp, but perhaps our oranges just had lots of small pips. The drink wasn’t overly pulpy, but it was about 1/3 froth.

As we do in all juicers, we attempted to juice kale and it produced a very smooth shot of this green health drink. The juice yield was 26% which is lower than the best cold press juicers, which can achieve kale yields of up to 50%. But that said, it’s much better than many centrifugal juicers, that can be as low as 15%.

Juicing berries is often very wasteful and not something we usually attempt in our juicer reviews, but since this juicer comes with the Extra Press attachment for just this type of fruit, we gave it a go. Opting for raspberries, we were pleasantly surprised that it gave us a thick raspberry smoothie with a 78% yield. Most of what was left to discard was the raspberry seeds, none of which made it into the drink. This thick raspberry smoothie would be a great base for a raspberry sauce or ice cream.

Finally we made a mixed green juice containing celery, apple, pear, broccoli, parsley and ginger. This was no problem for the juicer, but we had to apply quite a bit of pressure to the pusher to get all the ingredients juiced. The yield was 67% which is fairly typical for this juice, and the juice itself was beautifully smooth with just a little froth on top.

To juice a whole apple, you will need to cut it in half and it takes around 15 seconds. But, as with all the other juices we made, lots of juice continues to dribble and drip from the spout for a while after you’ve switched it off. So it’s best to leave the container where it is for a minute or so to catch the last of the juice. A drip stop would have been a welcome addition.

It didn’t get much louder than about 78dB in most of our tests, which isn’t too noisy. And cleaning is easy if you’ve got a dishwasher as all parts can be cleaned in a dishwasher. If you don’t have a dishwasher, like all juicers, the parts are a bit fiddly to clean, we’d recommend using a brush and having a read through our guide on how to clean a juicer for some top tips.

• Performance score: 4.5/ 5

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One minute review

Zwilling J. A. Henckels is a German kitchen brand that was founded almost 300 years ago. Originally the brand was known for its kitchen knives, but over the years its product range has expanded significantly through innovation as well as acquisition of other brands. It’s only recently got involved with the kitchen appliances market with the launch of its Enfinigy range of countertop appliances in 2020.

It now has three blenders on offer, two full size and one personal blender – though only one full size blender is currently available in the US. The Zwilling Enfinigy Power Blender is the best blender of the bunch, the most expensive and feature-rich blender you can buy from the brand.

It comes with a 64oz/ 1.8 liter Tritan pitcher and as you’d expect from a knife manufacturer, a quality stainless-steel serrated blade, with what they call piranha teeth. There are four auto programs as well as pulse and an auto clean program. Additionally, you can choose from 12 levels of manual speed, and everything is operated via one central control dial, making it simple to use and giving a streamlined appearance.

Our test results were somewhat mixed, the ice crush program produced chopped ice that was chunkier than we expected, but the smoothie program did a great job of pulverizing a bunch of ingredients into a lump-free drink. We made a thick glossy mayo successfully, but only on the second attempt. Having said this, it’s a fast, powerful blender that’ll stand up to most blending tasks. It’s expensive though, so it’s best suited to those with plenty of disposable income, who want a good-looking blender to complement a modern streamlined kitchen.

Zwilling Enfinigy Power Blender: price and availability

•  List price: $400 / £349/ AU$576 

The Zwilling Enfinigy Power Blender is available direct from Zwilling in the UK and US as well as through other major retailers such as Amazon. In Australia it’s known as the Zwilling Enfinigy High Performance Stand Mixer and can be purchased via Amazon AU.

It’s an expensive blender and is the top-of-the-range model on offer from Zwilling. The brand also offers the more budget friendly Zwilling Enfinigy Table Blender in the UK and Australia for £199/ AU$365 – though it’s called the Zwilling Enfinigy Universal Blender in Australia and it’s not available in the US.

• Price and availability score: 3.5/5

Design

• Available in black or silver 
• Simple settings 
• Non-slip feet

With an uncomplicated and contemporary appearance, this blender is ideal for modern kitchens. While the blender is switched off, none of the settings are visible, so it has a very sleek and streamlined look. But once switched on, with the pitcher in position, the backlit display illuminates all the available settings around the dial. You can choose from 12 manual speeds, pulse, smoothie, cocktails, ice (for ice cream), ice cube crushing and there’s an auto clean program too. Which is handy since the lid and tamper are the only parts that can be washed in a dishwasher.

Size wise, it’s about average for a blender, measuring 16.65 x 7.6 x 7.6 inches/ 39.9 x 16.5 x 16.5cm. The pitcher isn’t glass, it’s made of Tritan, a hard plastic that’s BPA-free and cold resistant, and the benefit of it not being glass is that it’s lightweight, weighing just 2.9 lbs/ 1.3kg including the lid. The blender won’t start unless the lid is in position, a useful safety feature that means it’ll also stop blending if the lid is removed during use.

The pitcher simply has to be placed on top of the base, there’s no awkward twisting and locking maneuver that needs to take place to position it. Though we were somewhat disappointed that it can only be placed on the base with the handle positioned to the right, making it easier to use for right-handed people, but a bit more awkward if you’re left-handed.

The lid pushes on with ease, securing a tight seal, but it’s not tough to remove like some others. It features a removable central cup that allows you to insert the tamper to stir your mixture or pour extra ingredients in during blending. The cup also doubles as a small measuring cup, with handy markings at 1oz/ 2oz/ 20ml/ 40ml/ 60ml.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Performance

•  Blades don’t reach low enough for small quantities 
•  Crushed ice was chunky 
•  Auto clean program works well 

We started with a simple test, but one that most blenders struggle to do effectively, which is chopping hazelnuts. It took seven presses of the pulse button for all the larger chunks to disappear, but by this point most of the nuts were over chopped with a fine, ground texture. When we tipped the nuts onto a plate, it was apparent that there were still some bigger chunks amongst the fine powder, so the overall texture was quite uneven. But, as we said, this is a tricky test and if it’s fine, ground nuts you’re after, this blender is up to the task.

Next up we tried out the ice program using just six ice cubes. The program takes 35 seconds and at the end we were presented with chopped ice that still contained some bigger chunks. It was far from the fine, snowy crushed ice that we’re used to seeing from other blenders. If you just want your ice chopped and you don’t mind it a bit uneven, you won’t be disappointed, but if you’re looking for a fine crush, that’s not what you’ll get.

After crushing ice, we filled it up the max line with water and turned the dial up to the highest speed. This allows us to check for any leaking, but we were pleased to see the lid retained a tight seal despite the very fast blending speed.

To try out the smoothie auto program, we filled the pitcher with yogurt, apple juice, spinach, pineapple, and banana. The program took just 36 seconds and delivered a delicious, smooth, lump-free drink that was lightly aerated. Virtually all the ingredients were completely pulverized with just a few tiny flecks of spinach still visible, a great result in well under a minute.

Our first attempt at making mayo didn’t go so well; the blades don’t reach low enough to blend very small quantities and our recipe contains just two egg yolks. We persevered but the mixture didn’t emulsify. So we tried again, this time doubling the recipe. This did the trick and after two minutes gradually pouring the oil in on the slowest speed setting, the ingredients emulsified into a thick, glossy mayo. We removed the central cup insert to pour in the oil which meant some splashing out of the hole during the early stages of mixing, though this is quite common.

Figuring out how to clean a blender, especially after making an oily mayo mixture, is always going to be a chore, so this was a good time to test out the auto clean program. We followed the directions in the manual and added 17 oz/ 500ml water along with a squirt of dish soap and started up the program. It took just 42 seconds and did indeed remove all the mayo residues. After emptying, the pitcher and lid just needed another quick wipe to ensure they were thoroughly clean. It was far quicker and easier than trying to wash it by hand.

All blenders are noisy and this one’s no different, it maxed out at 87dB on our noise meter when crushing ice. But it was a more pleasant 64dB when we mixed up mayo on the slowest speed setting.

• Performance score: 4/5