The 5 Best Immersion Blenders - Spring 2023 Reviews

The best immersion blender we've tested is the Ninja Foodi Power Mixer System. If you're looking for a blender that can help with pureed soups and sauces, it's a great option. The blending arm is meant for processing hot ingredients directly in a pot or pan, and it can make a smooth blend with fibrous ingredients, which is important for smooth soups with vegetables like broccoli and kale. The arm is detachable for easier cleaning and storage. It also stands out from other hand mixers because it converts into a hand mixer. With the beater attachments, you can use it to mix cookie dough or cake batter. There's a beaker included for blending, as well as a whisk attachment for whipping cream or stirring salad dressing.

Immersion blenders aren't ideal for crushing hard ingredients like ice cubes or processing mixes like nut butter, partly because the design means you have to hold the blender for the whole process. While it's a long process, it can produce smooth, spreadable dips and spreads like nut butter if you work in small batches. The blending arm and all the accessories are dishwasher-safe. There are downsides: it's loud for an immersion blender, and if you need to blend in a deep pot, remember the blending arm is on the shorter side.

The KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender is a cheaper, more straightforward option. This blender isn't as well-built as the Ninja Foodi Power Mixer System, and it doesn't come with as many extra attachments, but it's a good choice if you're looking for a more basic blender. It comes with a beaker you can use for blending, a matching storage lid, and a plastic pan guard to protect non-stick pans from getting scratched by the blade bell. There's a pressure-sensitive button on the motor body to adjust the blending speed, and it's very quiet for a blender.

However, it doesn't blend fibrous ingredients as well as the Ninja Foodi Power Mixer System, so if you use it to blend a big pot of broccoli soup, there will be some unprocessed bits left over. It does a better job of processing smaller batches, so it's well-suited for something like a cup of soup or a single-serve smoothie. It takes longer to process ingredients than the Ninja, but it's a little lighter, which is nice if you need to blend for several minutes. Unfortunately, some parts of the blender feel cheap or plasticky, and the blending arm isn't dishwasher-safe.

The best hand blender in the budget range we've tested is the NutriBullet Immersion Blender. This cheaper model doesn't feel as well-built as the previous pick, but if you're looking for a compact blender for soups or smoothies, its blending performance is comparable to the Braun MultiQuick 5's. Like the Braun, it doesn't make a perfectly smooth puree with fibrous ingredients, but it can still do an adequate job with recipes like broccoli soup or a kale smoothie. It makes a smoother blend when working with smaller amounts of ingredients, like for a small batch of sauce or dip.

It doesn't come with a beaker, but you might not mind if you mainly want to use it for hot blending in a pot or pan. Like the previous picks, it does come with a whisk attachment that you can use for emulsions like homemade mayonnaise or salad dressing. Unlike the more expensive blenders, the blending arm and whisk are not dishwasher-safe. The blending arm is detachable, and it's an easy blender to clean by hand.

Our top pick is an immersion blender that converts into a mixer, but it's more common to find blenders with food processing attachments for chopping and slicing. If you're not much of a baker but could use a food processor for prepping ingredients for recipes like soup and sauce, you might prefer the Breville Control Grip. In addition to a beaker you can use for blending, it comes with a separate food processing bowl with its own lid and blades. There's also a whisk attachment for whipping cream or making emulsions like hollandaise sauce.

However, it's not as good for processing fibrous ingredients as the Ninja Foodi Power Mixer System, making a grainier blend with tough ingredients like leafy greens. It still makes an adequately smooth blend, even with bigger batches, and if you're working with softer vegetables like potatoes or carrots, it'll be less of an issue. It's also suitable for processing the occasional thicker mixture like nut butter. It's well-built and easy to clean by hand. The detachable blending arm and beaker are dishwasher-safe.

If there aren't any outlets near your stove or you want more freedom to move around the kitchen with your blender, you might prefer the KitchenAid KHBBV53. This model has a very similar design to the KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender, except it's battery-powered. Like that blender, it has a beaker for blending and a pan guard to protect non-stick pots and pans. It makes a decently smooth blend with big batches of fibrous ingredients, so it can help with making recipes like kale or broccoli soup.

Like the corded version, it has a pressure-sensitive switch that gives you control over the blending speed. There's also a 'palm switch' on one side of the motor body that needs to be pressed at the same time for the blender to run, which is a safety feature that ensures the blender is in your hand when the motor starts. Unfortunately, it doesn't have any attachments like a whisk or beaters. Its design also doesn't feel very sturdy. If you want a better-built option, the Crux Artisan Series Cordless Immersion Blender feels more durable and comes with a whisk for making salad dressing or sauces. However, it makes a less smooth blend with fibrous fruits and vegetables.