Whether you’re looking to make nutrient-packed smoothies, velvety soups or ice-cold frozen drinks, your blender is an important kitchen appliance.
If you’re in the market for a new blender, we recommend that you look for one with a high-performance motor capable of crushing the toughest produce. Plus, a good blender should have intuitive controls and extra bells and whistles, like pulse options.
1. Vitamix 5200
If you’re looking for a blender that can handle a wide range of tasks, the Vitamix 5200 is one of the best options. It has a powerful motor and is versatile enough to handle nut butters, hot soups, and whole spices.
It can also crush ice to make frozen drinks, purees, and desserts. It’s quieter than other blenders and comes with a tamper, making it easy to move food around while the machine is running.
In the test kitchen, the 5200 performed well for blending smoothies and hot soups, blending nut butters, and crushing ice for snow cones or slushies. It was also great for grinding up ingredients like grains, beans and spices for things like porridge or quinoa.
The control knob on the Vitamix 5200 has a variable speed dial that lets you choose lower speeds that produce chunky consistencies and higher speeds that liquify ingredients. You can also use the pulse button to create a more precise texture.
It has five pre-set programs (cleaning, smoothie-making, frozen desserts, hot soup, and pureeing) that help you quickly get started. It also has a 7-year warranty and is backed by the brand’s Perfect Blend app, which includes 17 preset programs, recipes and commands.
2. Cuisinart DLC-8N
The Cuisinart DLC-8N is an all-in-one food processor that comes with a number of different attachments. It includes a slicing disc, which is great for making thin slices of potatoes or other veggies to be used as chips, and a versatile shredding disk.
The chopping blade is made from stainless steel, which will work well for any coarse chopping of vegetables or fruits. It can also be used as a dough blade, though you’ll need to be careful not to overdo it and ruin the dough.
Similarly, there’s a dicing disc that can be used for things like mincing herbs or onions, as well as slicing softer foods such as carrots and apples. It can also be used for grinding spices or beans.
It’s a bit more expensive than the Kitchenaid, but it comes with a better motor, a better shredding blade and a better warranty.
However, it lacks some of the features that make the Kitchenaid stand out, such as the UltraTight Seal. This feature allows you to fill the blender up to its maximum capacity without worrying about a spill.
Nevertheless, the Cuisinart DLC-8N is still a good option for anyone who needs a powerful machine that can handle a variety of tasks. It can help you prepare salsas, coleslaws, stir-fry ingredients and more, and it’s also great for blending fruits and vegetables into smoothies.
3. Cuisinart DLC-7N
Cuisinart is one of the most popular brands of food processors in the market, and this model is no exception. It offers all the essential functions you need to prep your ingredients: slicing, dicing, kneading dough and shredding cheese.
In addition to a 7-cup work bowl and large feed tube, this food processor also includes medium slicing disc, shredding disc, and chopping blade, as well as large and small pushers. It has a detachable disc stem and specially designed spatula, and it comes with a comprehensive manual and lots of recipes.
It also has a powerful 600-watt induction motor, which makes it reliable and quiet in use. This is a big plus for any kitchen, especially if you’re kneading a dough or grinding meat.
Another positive is that all the parts are dishwasher-safe, so clean-up is a breeze. The only drawback is that the unit is a little heavy, and it can be difficult to move it around.
Besides the standard chopping and shredding blades, this food processor also comes with a blade for blending and mixing. It’s a great way to prepare a variety of foods, and it will save you time in the kitchen.
4. Breville Boss
If you’re in the market for a high-performance blender that can handle everything from soups to frozen desserts, and even grinding nuts, this is an excellent choice. It’s cheaper than other top-of-the-line models like the Vitamix Professional 750 and has a bit more power, which is great for home chefs.
The Boss comes with a 76 page cookbook that’s packed with recipes and lots of helpful blending information. The manual also includes visual guides, component explanations, safety warnings, and cleaning instructions.
This blender also performed well in our blending tests and outperformed other personal blenders when it came to pureeing fibrous ingredients like kale, and berries with seeds. This is important for green smoothies and icey drinks like non-alcoholic pina coladas, since these are both made with raw, unprocessed vegetables that require more aggressive blenders to break them down.
We also found that the Boss blended carrots into a creamy soup with no problems, which is a big deal for a personal blender. It also has some nice features, such as the Clean button that allows you to remove the majority of food particles from the container walls and blades immediately after use.
5. Ninja Master Prep
The Ninja Master Prep is an affordable blender that has a lot of positive reviews on the internet. It is very versatile and can perform a lot of tasks. It is a great alternative to a standard blender and food processor.
The Master Prep can blend smoothies and ice cream, chop up fresh vegetables, make soups and sauces, and even grind meat for burgers! It comes with a 48 oz pitcher and a 16 oz chopper bowl.
This is one of the best blenders to buy if you want to make smoothies regularly. The single-speed control and ability to pulse are popular selling features that have made this model very successful.
It doesn’t do a good job with very soft fruits and vegetables, however. It will definitely pulverize them to the right consistency for smoothies but it won’t produce a silky smooth beverage like a high-end blender will.
The Ninja Master Prep’s Power Pod is very innovative and a big improvement from most blenders in the market. It’s a unique design that allows the motor to be positioned at the top of the container instead of the bottom.
6. Cuisinart DLC-6N
We’ve tested a variety of immersion blenders, and this one stood out as a great value. While it didn’t crush ice as well as some of our top-tier models, it made delicious smoothies and blended well with frozen fruits and vegetables.
It’s a solid choice for a home kitchen, as it’s easy to clean and comes with a dishwasher-safe base. We also liked the reversible shred disc, which makes it possible to switch between slicing and shredding tasks with minimal effort.
The blades in the Cuisinart DLC-6N are designed to handle a wide range of food preparation jobs, from finely chopping onions and herbs to grinding beans or nuts. It also has a dough blade, which is ideal for baking.
The Cuisinart DLC-6N’s motor is a 600-watt induction type that requires little maintenance and is extremely quiet in operation. It’s also an excellent choice if you’re looking for a machine that can easily handle heavy loads like kneading dough or grinding meat without stress.
7. Cuisinart DLC-7N
If you want a high-performance blender that can handle a wide variety of food, the Cuisinart DLC-7N might be a good choice. It has a powerful 600-watt motor, and it also comes with two work bowls and two blade attachments that you can use to process different foods.
The DLC-7N is also easy to operate and has a great user manual. It includes instructions on how to use the blades, how to clean the machine and how to store it after use.
You can buy a few additional attachments, like a dicing disc and a shredding disc, to expand its versatility. These can be used for things such as chopping or slicing herbs and onions, or for grinding beans.
It can also be used to make dough or breadcrumbs, so it is a great tool for anyone who loves to bake.
The DLC-7N has received a lot of positive reviews, and it is a popular pick among consumers. However, there are some people who have had trouble with the device not functioning properly, so it is important to check the instruction manual when putting it together.
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