Not every kitchen needs a blender. Some people we know don’t care to make velvety smoothies, silky-smooth soups, or any kind of slushy treats at home. However, if you do enjoy making all those things, then a blender is definitely a kitchen upgrade your countertop will appreciate.
A powerful blender is one of the most versatile small appliances for any kitchen. Not only can it crush ice and turn it into a snowy consistency with relative ease, it can perform the same pulverizing magic with any ingredient you decide to throw into its jar, allowing you to make soups, purees, and sauces with a consistency you won’t be able to otherwise achieve using other kitchen tools.
There are compact, low-powered blenders out there that may be tempting to get for smaller kitchens. However, those will usually lead to more frustration than they’re worth, requiring a lot of attention and manual interference, all while frequently failing to mix your ingredients at the desired consistency. Not to mention, they’re prone to overheating before you even finish what you’re making.
If you want the best blenders, it’s best to go for a high-powered model. Not only can they make quick work of tough ingredients, they can handle the thickest, slushiest consistencies without ever getting stuck. Some have very simple controls with only basic settings available. Others have over a dozen settings to enable more precise function, allowing you to mix slowly, puree quickly, and crush ice with violent force. Most blenders come with one jar and one blade type. which is all that most people need, although some offers swappable jars and swappable blades, allowing them to be more versatile in the kitchen.
These are the best blenders for all your high-powered crushing, pureeing, and mixing needs.
Oster Pro 1200 with Food Processor Attachment
Pros
- Affordably-priced
- Blends everything well
- Bi-directional blade with lots of power
Cons
- No tamper tool
- Limited settings
- Cheaper build quality
The best blenders can get very expensive. However, there are lower-priced options that can do a good job for most people’s needs. This model from Oster, from instance, is equipped with a 1,200-watt motor that allows it to tear through ice and frozen food with ease, mixing your smoothies to an excellent consistency. Seriously, it makes an extremely smooth blend even at full capacity. It only comes with three speed settings, as well as three presets (smoothie, salsa, and milkshake), along with a pulse function for recipes that need that stop-and-start action. Despite the limited settings, it did everything well, including soups and nut butter, although it does get stuck occasionally doing the latter, requiring you to stop the blender and manually stir it to get everything moving again. It also tends to leave a few chunks here and there, which we don’t mind for something more affordable. This also comes with a food processor attachment that you can use alternatively for salsa, spreads, and dips, which we find extremely useful.
Cuisinart Hurricane Pro
Pros
- Powerful motor churns through everything
- More settings than any other blender
- Heats soup with friction
Cons
- Heavy
- Generous settings can overwhelm some people
Cuisinart’s most powerful blender, this model has a 1,500W motor that allows it to make consistently velvety smoothies, with no scraping necessary. It has different preset programs for juice and green smoothies, by the way, which we found confusing, although the manual does offer full instructions about which ones to use for particular drinks, so you should be able to figure out easily enough. There’s a lot more options here than your usual blender, complete with memory for changing the preset blending times for each recipe, while the power knob lets you adjust on the fly while it’s blending, allowing you to speed up or slow down the motor as needed. Beyond smoothies, it did everything we tried really well, even heating up the soup just from sheer friction. Do note, this thing is heavy, so you’re not going to have a good time if you have to stash it on a cabinet and take it out to the counter each time out.
Vitamix 5200
Pros
- Wide range of speeds, with 10 available settings
- Quieter than other blenders of similar power
Cons
- Blade isn’t removable, so you have to clean it on-spot
- No preset programs, just speed settings
Many swear by Vitamix as the best blender brand around. There’s a reason many pro kitchens and home enthusiasts use them. This model is one of the best ones for home use with its combination of a 1,380-watt motor and 10-speed settings, allowing you to go hard and heavy when you need to pulverize frozen items, while slowing down to a lazy crawl if you need some gentle mixing. The range of speeds it offers is more versatile than anything we’ve seen, making it very handy for any recipe you can think of, all while blending everything smoothly, from smoothies and milkshakes to soups and cocktails to nut butters and mayo, especially with the included tamper. It also made less noise than we anticipated, even when we were blending at full power, with a solid build that feels like it can last you for the long haul.
Blendtec Classic 575
Pros
- Very powerful
- Use blunt blades, making it safe to handle
- Heats up soups using pure friction
- Fits six smoothie servings in one go
Cons
- Very noisy
You probably heard of Blendtec from those “Will it Blend?” series of videos that were popular a few years back. While this isn’t quite the professional-grade blender from those clips, their home kitchen model does borrow a good load of elements from their commercial counterpart.
For instance, you get a massive 90-ounce jar designed to pull everything towards the blade and a powerful 1,570-watt motor, allowing it to rip and shred through anything you throw its way. It makes smoothies, milkshakes, and nut butters with perfect consistency, with the friction from the blades even heating up soups you make right on the machine, so you can pour it out and eat it warm. There are five speed settings and four preset cycles, which should cover most anything you plan to do on a blender. We’re especially impressed that it does all that while using blunt blades, making it very safe to clean and handle. Do note, all that power and the thick blunt blade does make it noisier than your average blender, so this will make an absolute ruckus in the kitchen.
Breville Super Q
Pros
- Commercial-grade motor
- A dozen speed settings with four preset programs
- Solid build
Cons
- Big and heavy
- Lid seals in a little too tightly
The most powerful blender in the list, this one is equipped with an 1,800W motor that can send the tip of the blade spinning at a whopping 186 mph at full power. If that sounds like the kind of power reserved for commercial blenders, well that’s exactly what Breville was going for, since they are marketing this to home users who want the same performance you typically find on commercial options.
This thing churned through ice and fruits like it’s nobody’s business, producing velvety-soft smoothies faster than any other blender in the list, all while producing everything from nut butter and hummus to soups and purees with excellent consistency. The way it pulverized ingredients and funneled ingredients on top down to the bottom were downright impressive to watch, especially because of how fast it all happens. Heck, we didn’t even use the included tamper once. It has 12 speed settings and five preset programs, so you get plenty of options for whatever recipe you’re making, all while being intuitive enough that you won’t find it confusing, even if you do skip reading the manual. Despite having an even more powerful motor than the Blendtec above, this actually runs quieter, making just slightly more noise than the Cuisinart model above.
