The Brentwood Blender is a budget-friendly blender with a 42oz glass jar. The manufacturer says not to use it for chopping nuts or crushing ice without liquid in the jar, so it's mostly suitable for smoothies. However, its glass jar feels sturdy, and the blender isn't very loud when running. Its removable blade assembly makes it easy to clean by hand, and its components are dishwasher-safe.
Our Verdict
The Brentwood Blender is poor for multi-purpose use. The manufacturer says not to use it for crushing ice without liquid in the jar or for chopping nuts, so it's not a very versatile blender. It's also not safe to use for hot blending. However, it's good for processing fibrous ingredients in recipes like smoothies and soups, assuming you use ingredients at room temperature.
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Good at processing fibrous ingredients.
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Quiet for a full-size blender.
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Sub-par build quality.
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Not meant for ice crushing or making nut butter.
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Unintuitive controls.
The Brentwood Blender is adequate for single-serve smoothies. When working with small batches of ingredients, they splash up the sides of the jar, so you have to stop and scrape the sides to get the best results. However, in the end, it makes a mostly smooth blend with ingredients like kale and fruit. You can't use it to crush ice or frozen fruit without liquid, but adding those ingredients to a smoothie recipe is okay. The blender's removable blades also make it easy to clean by hand.
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Good at processing fibrous ingredients.
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Quiet for a full-size blender.
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Sub-par build quality.
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Not meant for ice crushing or making nut butter.
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Unintuitive controls.
The Brentwood Blender is mediocre for multiple servings of smoothies. It comes with a 42oz main jar, so you can blend several smoothies at once, and it does a decent job of processing common smoothie ingredients, like leafy greens and fruits. However, it doesn't make a perfectly smooth blend even after several minutes of blending. You can't use it to crush ice on its own, but you can add ice and frozen fruit along with liquid.
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Good at processing fibrous ingredients.
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Quiet for a full-size blender.
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Sub-par build quality.
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Not meant for ice crushing or making nut butter.
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Unintuitive controls.
The Brentwood Blender isn't intended for crushing ice. The manual says to add at least one cup of liquid when blending ice, so it's unsuitable for preparing crushed ice for cocktails. It's also not very well-built.
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Good at processing fibrous ingredients.
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Sub-par build quality.
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Not meant for ice crushing or making nut butter.
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Unintuitive controls.
The Brentwood Blender can't be used for hot blending, so you must let any cooked ingredients cool before blending. However, it's good at blending big batches of fibrous ingredients like leafy greens and broccoli, so it can produce a well-blended soup or sauce.
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Good at processing fibrous ingredients.
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Sub-par build quality.
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Not meant for ice crushing or making nut butter.
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Unintuitive controls.
The Brentwood Blender is bad for professional use. Aside from the jar, it feels very flimsy. There are a lot of limitations on what you can use it for since the manufacturer says not to use it to chop nuts or crush ice without liquid.
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Good at processing fibrous ingredients.
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Sub-par build quality.
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Not meant for ice crushing or making nut butter.
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Unintuitive controls.
- 4.0 Multi-Purpose
- 6.6 Smoothies (Single Serving)
- 6.2 Smoothies (Multiple Servings)
- 2.2 Ice Crushing
- 3.8 Soups
- 2.8 Professional Use
- Updated Oct 16, 2024: We've updated the results to more accurately reflect the blender's performance. The score for Fibrous Ingredients (Small Batches) processing changed from 7.0 to 5.0 because of the blending time and the need to use a spatula. The score for Fibrous Ingredients (Full Capacity) processing changed from 7.5 to 6.0 because of the blending time.
- Updated Jul 31, 2024: Added a note that the Magic Bullet Combo Blender comes with a personal jar under jar capacity.
- Updated Feb 26, 2024: Compared the build quality to the Oster Master Series Blender with Texture Select Settings'.
- Updated Feb 14, 2024: Review published.
- Updated Feb 09, 2024: Early access published.
- Updated Jan 23, 2024: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Jan 19, 2024: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Jan 15, 2024: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
This blender is available in several different colors: 'Red,' 'Green,' 'Purple,' 'White,' and 'Black.' We tested it in 'Red'; you can see the label of the unit we tested here.
If you come across another variant, let us know in the forums, and we'll update our review.
Compared To Other Blenders
The Brentwood 12-Speed Blender is a budget-friendly blender with a glass jar. Like other similarly-priced blenders, like the Hamilton Beach Wave Crusher Multi-Function and the Black+Decker Quiet Blender with Cyclone Glass Jar, it doesn't feel very well-built. It's also less versatile than similar blenders since it's not meant for crushing ice or chopping nuts. Unlike the Black+Decker, it doesn't come with a personal jar and isn't easy to use for single-serve recipes. However, it's relatively quiet and inexpensive for a full-size blender, so it's alright for liquid recipes like a big batch of smoothies.
If you're looking for a recommendation, check out the best blenders under $100, the best budget blenders, and the best blenders for smoothies.
The Oster Pro 1200 is better than the Brentwood 12-Speed Pulse Blender with Glass Jar. The Oster is sturdier and has a better overall blending performance. It can hot blend and comes with a personal jar for blending single-serve smoothies. However, the Brentwood is much quieter.
The Calphalon ActiveSense is better than the Brentwood 12-Speed Pulse Blender with Glass Jar. The Calphalon is sturdier and has a bigger capacity. It has a better overall blending performance since it can crush ice, make nut butter, and make a smoother blend with fibrous ingredients. However, the Brentwood has a glass jar, which is less prone to scratches and discoloration. It's significantly quieter when it's running as well.
The Hamilton Beach Wave Crusher Multi-Function is better than the Brentwood 12-Speed Pulse Blender with Glass Jar. The Hamilton Beach makes a smoother blend with fibrous ingredients, and you can use it to crush ice or make nut butter, although it's not very good for that. You can also use it to hot blend. The Brentwood is quieter when it's running, though.
The Black+Decker Quiet Blender with Cyclone Glass Jar is better than the Brentwood 12-Speed Pulse Blender with Glass Jar. The Black+Decker is sturdier and quieter and has a better overall blending performance. It can make a smoother blend with fibrous ingredients, and you can use it to make crushed ice and nut butter. It also comes with a personal jar for blending single-serves.
The Brentwood 12-Speed Pulse Blender with Glass Jar and the Ninja SMOOTHIEiQ have different strengths. The Brentwood makes a smoother blend with fibrous ingredients, so it's a better option for smoothies with fruit or leafy greens. It's also easier to clean. However, you can't use it for crushing ice or making nut butter. The Ninja easily makes nut butter and crushes ice. It also has a bigger capacity in its main jar.
Test Results
The Brentwood 12-Speed Pulse Blender with Glass Jar isn't very big for a full-size blender. It takes up some space on your counter, but it's not that heavy.
It has a disappointing build quality. The jar sits on top of the motor base, with no locking mechanism or safety feature that stops the blender if you pick up the jar. The gears on the jar and motor base feel sturdy but are both made of plastic. The main part of the lid is made of very cheap-feeling black plastic. However, the removable center piece feels higher quality. The blades are quite blunt and not very thick. Like other budget glass blenders, like the Hamilton Beach Wave Crusher Multi-Function, the glass jar is the only part that really feels well-made. If you're looking for a similar blender with a better build quality, check out the Oster Master Series Blender with Texture Select Settings.
The main jar has a 42oz capacity, which is on the small side for a full-size blender. It only comes with one jar. If you want a budget-friendly full-size blender that comes with a personal jar for smoothies, try the Magic Bullet Combo Blender.
The jar is made of glass, which is less prone to scratching and discoloration than plastic. The jar is dishwasher-safe.
The blade assembly is removable, making it easier to clean. The four blades have blunt edges and are all at different angles.
The lid seals with friction and is easy to remove, although the grip to remove it is quite small. You remove the center piece by twisting it to align the tabs and pulling. This allows you to add ingredients mid-blend, and you can use the center piece as a 30mL (1oz) measuring cup.
The cable is long enough to reach a nearby outlet, and when it's not in use, you can wrap it up under the blender.
- Brentwood 12 Speed Blender motor base
- Blade assembly
- Blade assembly collar
- Blade assembly gasket
- 42oz glass jar
- 2-part lid
- Manual
It's decent for processing small batches of fibrous ingredients. You have to manually ramp up the speed, and if you're using a small volume of ingredients, they'll splash up the sides of the jar. To get the best results, stop the blender and scrape the jar's walls with a spatula. It's not an easy process, but it ultimately makes a mostly smooth blend with some small unprocessed bits left over.
It's decent for processing fibrous ingredients at full capacity. It's an easier process than with smaller batches since splashing isn't a problem when the jar is full. However, it produces somewhat worse results. After about four minutes of blending, the blender starts to struggle to pull the ingredients into a vortex. The result is a bit grainier than a smaller batch.
The manufacturer says not to use it for crushing ice or frozen fruit without liquid in the jar. The manual says to add at least one cup of liquid along with frozen fruit or ice cubes.
The manufacturer says not to use the Brentwood Blender for chopping nuts. There are quite a few restrictions on what you can put in the blender. The manual says not to use it for processing breadcrumbs, coffee beans, whipped cream, egg whites, dough, mashing potatoes, meat grinding, or extracting juice. Dry ingredients like nuts and coffee beans can be difficult for blenders to process, and in general, blenders aren't ideal for mashing potatoes or making whipped cream.
It's not that loud for a full-size blender. It doesn't have a very powerful motor and is quieter than models like the Oster Pro 1200.
It has a fairly small range of speed settings. The lowest speed isn't as slow as blenders like the Oster Pro 1200, so you can't start at a very low speed to avoid splashing. However, the fastest speed is quite fast, which helps with blending fibrous ingredients.
There are six buttons for 12 speed settings. You press the hi/lo button on the right to use speeds 1-6. When the hi/lo button isn't pushed in, the same buttons correspond with speeds 6-12.
The off/pulse button on the left switches off the blender. This also resets the hi/lo button, allowing you to switch from the low speeds back to the high speeds. When the blender isn't running, the same button is for pulse mode and will run the blender for as long as you hold the button down.
This design isn't very intuitive and can even be hazardous since it's possible to switch the blender on with the 'off/pulse' button. The blender will also run forever once you start it instead of switching off after a minute or two.