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The 5 Best Immersion Blenders - Winter 2024 Reviews

Updated
Best Immersion Blenders

Immersion blenders, also called hand blenders or stick blenders, are handy kitchen tools that can save you the trouble of transferring your recipe into a blender jar. You can stick their blending arms directly into a pot or pan, making them helpful for turning hot ingredients into soups and sauces. The best stick blenders can also work as multi-purpose blenders, especially if you want to save space with something that can fit in a kitchen drawer. Many immersion blenders come with jars that you can use for blending, and some include attachments like whisks or extra blades, so they can help with a wide variety of cooking tasks, like making smoothies, frozen drinks, batters, and dips.

Cordless immersion blenders can offer a comparable performance to conventional plug-in models and give you the freedom to move around the kitchen. However, some immersion blenders come with a warning not to run the blender continuously for more than a few minutes. Also, most aren't as well-suited as a full-size or personal blender if you want to make smoothies for the whole family or process tougher ingredients like nuts and ice cubes.

We've tested 20 immersion blenders, and below are our recommendations. For more options, check out the best blenders, the best personal blenders, and the best blenders under $100.


  1. Best Immersion Blender

    The Ninja Foodi Power Mixer System is the best immersion blender we've tested. As you'd expect from an immersion blender, It's great for blending hot ingredients for soups and sauces. If you want something small and easy to store, it's a better option for multi-purpose use than most immersion blenders. It smoothly blends fibrous ingredients, which is important for smooth vegetable soups and purees. It also converts into a hand mixer. With the included beaters attached, you can use the blender to mix cookie dough or cake batter. A beaker and a whisk attachment for whipping cream or mixing salad dressing are also included. The blending arm and all accessories are dishwasher-safe.

    There are downsides: it's loud for an immersion blender, and the motor body is heavy, so it's more tiring to hold onto than lighter models. If you're not a baker, you might not have much use for the mixer attachments. If you'd prefer an immersion blender that doubles as a food processor, the Breville Control Grip is a sturdy option with a bowl and blade meant for chopping vegetables. However, its blending arm doesn't handle raw fibrous ingredients as well as the Ninja. If all you need is a blender and any extra attachments will accumulate dust in a cupboard, consider one of the cheaper options below.

    See our review

  2. Best Mid-Range Immersion Blender

    The KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender is a more basic and less expensive option. It doesn't feel as sturdy as the Ninja Foodi Power Mixer System and doesn't come with mixer or food processor attachments, but it's still a good choice for pureed soups and sauces. It comes with a plastic pan guard to protect non-stick pans from getting scratched by the blade bell and a beaker that you can use to blend smaller quantities of dip or dressing. A pressure-sensitive button on the motor body controls the blending speed, and it's quieter than the previous pick.

    However, it makes a grainier blend with fibrous ingredients than the Ninja, so if you use it to blend a big pot of soup with kale or broccoli, there will be some unprocessed bits left over. It also takes longer to process these ingredients, but it's a little lighter, so it's less tiring to hold onto when 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.

    See our review

  3. Best Budget Immersion Blender

    The best budget immersion blender we've tested is the NutriBullet Immersion Blender. This straightforward blender doesn't come with a food processing attachment, a pan guard, or even a beaker. However, there's a whisk included for making whipped cream or hollandaise sauce. Its blending performance is comparable to pricier options like the KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender. It makes a fairly smooth blend with fibrous vegetables like kale and broccoli, so it can produce well-blended soups and sauces.

    Since it doesn't come with a beaker, you need to use your own container when you're not blending directly in a pot or pan, which is a little inconvenient if you want to make a quick smoothie or whip up some salad dressing. The blender is decently well-built and quiet but makes more noise than the KitchenAid, so it'll be more annoying when you need to blend for several minutes. The detachable blending arm isn't dishwasher-safe, but it's easy to clean by hand.

    See our review

  4. Best Cordless Immersion Blender

    If your kitchen is short on outlets or you want to avoid managing a cable near the stove, you might prefer the cordless version of the KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender, the KitchenAid KHBBV53. This battery-powered immersion blender is similar to our mid-range pick, but its design gives you more freedom to move around the kitchen. It can make a decently smooth blend with fibrous vegetables like broccoli, even if you're blending in a deep pot. It can also manage smooth dips and spreads like hummus or nut butter, but like most immersion blenders, processing thicker recipes takes quite a bit of effort on your part.

    It has a plastic pan guard to stop the blades from scratching non-stick cookware. There's also a beaker with a matching lid for blending. However, the blender is a bit heavier than its corded version, making it more tiring to use. It's advertised to have enough battery life to blend 25 bowls of soup, but may only last for a short time if you blend hard ingredients or thick mixtures. Its build doesn't feel sturdy or premium, but on the plus side, it's easy to clean by hand and relatively quiet when running.

    See our review

  5. Best Small Immersion Blender

    If you want something a little more compact, consider the Braun MultiQuick 5. This well-built blender is lighter than the other picks on this list, so you might prefer it if you use your immersion blender to blend big batches and sometimes find it tiring to hold onto the whole time. The blending arm is quite short, which is limiting if you need to blend in deep pots, but it also makes it easier to store in a kitchen drawer. It's a little more expensive than the KitchenAid KHBBV53 but has a sturdier build and comes with a whisk attachment for making whipped cream and salad dressing. There's also a 20oz beaker included to use for blending.

    The narrow blade guard makes ice crushing almost impossible, but it can power through thicker mixtures and produce smooth nut butter or hummus. It's not very loud and is easy to clean by hand—however, the KitchenAid and the Ninja Foodi Power Mixer System are better for processing fibrous ingredients. This blender leaves behind more noticeable grains and leafy bits when blending ingredients like raw kale or broccoli. Cooked ingredients are easier to blend, so you may not notice as much of a difference in recipes like soups, but the Braun isn't ideal if you want the silkiest blends from fruits and vegetables.

    See our review

Notable Mentions

  • All-Clad KZ750DGT: The All-Clad KZ750DGT does a good job of processing fibrous ingredients into a smooth blend. It has a longer blending arm than the Ninja Foodi Power Mixer System but has a much less sturdy design. See our review
  • KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender: The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender has a bowl and blades for food processing. It's not as well-built as the Ninja Foodi Power Mixer System and isn't as good at blending fibrous ingredients, but it comes with various extra blades, including an 'S-blade' that works well for ice crushing. There's also a frother/beater attachment for mixing batter or foaming milk. See our review

Recent Updates

  1. Feb 27, 2024: We've checked that the picks represent the best recommendations and that the products are in stock.

  2. Feb 01, 2024: We've updated the text and verified that the picks are easy to find in stock.

  3. Jan 05, 2024: We've checked that the picks represent the best recommendations in each category and made minor updates to the text.

  4. Dec 06, 2023: We've made minor updates to the text and made sure that the products are easy to find in stock.

  5. Nov 08, 2023: We've checked that the picks represent the best recommendations in each category and that the products are in stock.

FAQ

What is an immersion blender?

Immersion blenders, also called stick blenders or hand blenders, are meant for processing hot ingredients directly in a pot or pan. They can also be used for a variety of other blends, although they don't usually offer the same power as full-size blenders. Their smaller design can save space in your kitchen.

Unlike other kinds of blenders, you must hold onto an immersion blender while using it. They usually aren't as powerful as full-size blenders and process ingredients more slowly. We've found the blender's weight, controls, and the shape of the motor body can all affect how easy a particular immersion blender is to use.

How do we test immersion blenders?

We test them almost the same way as we do with full-size and personal blenders, with some small differences. We measure blending arm length as well as other dimensions. We don't crush a dozen ice cubes at once with an immersion blender like we do for full-size blenders. Immersion blenders aren't given a capacity score since even if a beaker is included, you can use the blender in your own container.

What are immersion blenders used for?

They were originally designed for hot blending and are well-suited for that. You can blend pureed soup or sauce without pouring hot ingredients into a blending jar. Their compact design is also helpful for blending small batches of dips, dressing, or even single-serve smoothies without pulling out your big full-size blender. You can usually store them in a kitchen drawer, so they can also appeal to people looking to save valuable counter space.

Can you use immersion blenders for smoothies?

Yes, but other blender types are better. Some can make a mostly smooth blend with fibrous ingredients like blueberries and kale in liquid recipes, which is important for well-blended smoothies. Some models come with beakers you can use for blending that are a good size for single-serve smoothies. However, immersion blenders usually don't process ingredients as quickly as personal or full-size blenders.

Can you froth milk with an immersion blender?

Generally, blender blades aren't the right shape for frothing or foaming milk and can't produce the same quality foam as dedicated milk frothers. You also need to heat the milk beforehand, unlike frothers, which also heat the milk. If you want an appliance for lattes and cappuccinos, some immersion blenders have special accessories for milk frothing, like the KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender and Bamix Mono M133.

How do you clean immersion blenders?

Immersion blenders are usually pretty easy to clean. You don't need to deal with blades fixed to the bottom of a jar, which is the most common design for full-size blenders. The blending arm is almost always detachable, so you can easily rinse it in the sink.

All Reviews

Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best hand blenders for most people. We factor in the price, feedback from our visitors, and availability.

If you'd like to do the work of choosing yourself, here's the list of all our immersion blender reviews. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. While no blender is perfect for every use, most are good enough to please almost everyone, and the differences are often not noticeable unless you really look for them.