The 5 Best Immersion Blenders - Fall 2024

The Ninja Foodi Power Mixer System is the best immersion blender we've tested. It's an excellent choice for blending hot ingredients directly in a pot or pan, and its features make it a convenient and compact multi-purpose appliance. It has a detachable blending arm, so you can easily store it in a drawer, and it makes a mostly smooth puree with fibrous ingredients, which is important for well-blended soups and sauces. It also converts into a hand mixer. With the included beaters attached, you can use the blender to mix cookie dough or cake batter. Beaker and a whisk attachments for whipping cream or mixing salad dressing are also included. The blending arm and all accessories are dishwasher-safe.

There are a few downsides: it's loud for an immersion blender, and the motor body is heavy, so it's not as comfortable to hold onto as lighter models. If you don't bake much or already have a hand mixer, you might not use the mixer attachment and could prefer one that doubles as an immersion blender instead. The Breville Control Grip is an immersion blender with a bowl and blade meant for chopping and slicing. However, its blending arm doesn't handle raw fibrous ingredients as well as the Ninja's. If all you need is a blender and any extra attachments will gather dust in the cupboard, consider one of the cheaper options below.

The KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender is a more basic and less expensive immersion blender. Unlike the Ninja Foodi Power Mixer System, it doesn't include mixer or food processor attachments, so you can only use it as a blender. However, if that's what you're looking for, it's a good option for blending soups, sauces, and other liquid recipes like smoothies. It comes with a plastic pan guard to protect non-stick pans from getting scratched by the blade bell and a beaker for blending smaller quantities of dip or dressing. A pressure-sensitive button on the motor body controls its blending speed, and it's quieter than the previous pick.

However, it doesn't blend fibrous ingredients as smoothly as the Ninja, so you'll notice more unprocessed bits left over in pureed soups and smoothies. It also takes longer to process 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.

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 a beaker. However, its whisk attachment can help make whipped cream or hollandaise sauce. Its blending performance resembles the KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender's. It makes a fairly smooth blend with fibrous vegetables like kale and broccoli, so it can produce well-blended soups and sauces, although they won't be as smooth as our top pick.

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 slightly inconvenient if you want to make a quick smoothie or whip up a small batch of 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.

If your kitchen is short on outlets or you'd rather not manage a cable near the stove, you might prefer a cordless immersion blender. The best one we've tested is the KitchenAid Go Cordless Hand Blender. This decently well-built blender comes with a beaker you can use for blending with a matching storage lid. While it takes longer to process fibrous ingredients than our top pick, it produces similar results, so recipes like kale smoothies or broccoli soup will only have a few small unprocessed pieces left over. There's also a plastic pan guard included to protect non-stick cookware.

The manufacturer advertises 30 minutes of battery life, although thicker mixtures and harder ingredients deplete the battery faster. That said, it stands out from other battery-powered hand blenders because the battery is removable. You can use the same battery with five other KitchenAid Go appliances, including a personal blender, and you can save money by purchasing the other appliances without the battery included. This blender isn't very loud when it's running, but keep in mind that it's not as well-built as the Ninja Foodi Power Mixer System despite its higher price. It's even less suitable for tough blends like nut butter or hummus.

If you want a smaller, lighter immersion blender, consider the Braun MultiQuick 5. This well-built blender doesn't weigh as much as 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 might be a problem 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 it's 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.