The Hamilton Beach Smoothie Blender is a cheap, full-sized blender that features a 42-ounce BPA-free plastic jar and a fixed four-blade assembly. It offers four speed settings, each labeled for specific tasks such as making smoothies, milkshakes, salsa, and crushing ice. Additionally, it includes a cleaning setting and a pulse function, but it doesn't have automatic blending programs or a timer. The blender can also handle hot blending as long as you remove the center cap from the lid to allow steam to escape.
Our Verdict
The Hamilton Beach Smoothie Blender is okay for multi-purpose use, but it struggles with more demanding recipes. It's capable of making reasonably smooth drinks with fibrous ingredients like kale, though you may need to stop and scrape down the jar to help everything blend evenly. It can also handle hot ingredients, making it useful for soups and sauces. However, it's not a great choice for crushing ice, since it tends to leave large chunks behind, and making thicker spreads is a particularly frustrating process that requires constant attention. Its somewhat flimsy build and hard-to-clean areas are also worth keeping in mind if you plan to use it on a daily basis.
Supports hot blending for soups and sauces.
Makes reasonably smooth blends with fibrous ingredients.
Dishwasher-safe jar.
Making thicker spreads requires frequent stopping and stirring.
Small jar limits batch sizes.
Flimsy plastic construction and loose-feeling buttons.
Crevices around the jar and blades are difficult to clean by hand.
The Hamilton Beach Smoothie Blender is okay for making single-serving smoothies. It can turn ingredients like kale into a reasonably smooth drink, although some small bits will still remain. You'll also need to give the mixture a helping hand by scraping down the jar, and blending for longer tends to introduce more air rather than improve the consistency. It also has trouble breaking down ice cubes, so it's not ideal if you like your smoothies particularly icy. Since there's no personal blending cup, you'll need to transfer your drink to another container if you're taking it on the go.
Makes reasonably smooth blends with fibrous ingredients.
Can't crush ice into a consistent texture.
No personal blending cup for taking smoothies on the go.
The Hamilton Beach Smoothie Blender is mediocre for preparing smoothies for several people. Its smaller pitcher can accommodate a couple of servings, but you won't have much room to work with if you're making drinks for the whole family. It manages leafy greens like kale reasonably well, producing a fairly thick smoothie with only a little grittiness. However, larger pieces can get caught near the top of the jar, so you'll need to stir manually to ensure everything is incorporated. Blending for longer also introduces more air without noticeably improving the texture, and its poor ice-crushing performance makes it less suitable if you like to add ice to your smoothies.
Makes reasonably smooth blends with fibrous ingredients.
Can't crush ice into a consistent texture.
Small jar limits batch sizes.
The Hamilton Beach Smoothie Blender does a poor job of crushing ice. It can't produce the fine, even consistency you'd want for frozen cocktails or slushies, leaving you with large pieces mixed into partially melted ice. Making smaller batches doesn't solve the problem either, so preparing even a few icy drinks can be a hassle. Its relatively small pitcher also limits how much you can make at once.
Can't crush ice into a consistent texture.
The Hamilton Beach Smoothie Blender is very good for making soups, particularly if you're cooking for just one or two people. You can blend cooked vegetables and broth while they're still hot, without waiting for them to cool. It can puree ingredients like broccoli into a fairly smooth consistency, although some small fibrous pieces may remain. That said, its smaller jar is a bit limiting if you're preparing a big pot of soup, so you may need to work in a few batches. You'll also need to remove the center cap from the lid to allow steam to escape when blending hot ingredients.
Supports hot blending for soups and sauces.
Makes reasonably smooth blends with fibrous ingredients.
Small jar limits batch sizes.
The Hamilton Beach Smoothie Blender isn't designed for professional use. Its lightweight plastic construction and loose-feeling controls don't feel especially reliable for a busy kitchen. While it can handle hot ingredients and make reasonably smooth purees, it isn't dependable for tougher tasks. It struggles to process ice evenly, and preparing thick spreads like nut butter takes far too much hands-on work to be practical. Its relatively small jar also limits how much you can prepare at once, making it less convenient for bulk recipes.
Supports hot blending for soups and sauces.
Dishwasher-safe jar.
Can't crush ice into a consistent texture.
Making thicker spreads requires frequent stopping and stirring.
Flimsy plastic construction and loose-feeling buttons.
Crevices around the jar and blades are difficult to clean by hand.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Hamilton Beach Smoothie Blender comes in five colors: Black, White, Mint, Sage Green, and Steel Blue. We purchased and tested the Black version. Here's a photo of our label.
If you find another variant, tell us in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Popular Blender Comparisons
The Hamilton Beach Smoothie Blender is a cheap, full-size blender that's best suited to simple recipes like smoothies and soups. It's one of Hamilton Beach's more basic models, and even the similarly cheap, entry-level Hamilton Beach Power Elite Multi-Function blender offers better performance with fibrous ingredients like kale. The Power Elite also has a glass pitcher if you prefer to avoid plastic and removable blades that make it easier to clean by hand rather than the Smoothie Blender's fixed-blade assembly. The Smoothie Blender also has trouble fully processing tougher ingredients, which the Black+Decker Quiet Blender with Cyclone Glass Jar handles much better. Its smaller pitcher and lack of personal blending cups make it less convenient for everyday smoothies than the nutribullet Blender Combo, which comes with two personal jars and produces a much smoother consistency. The Hamilton Beach's limitations are especially noticeable with frozen drinks, since it struggles to crush ice evenly. The Ninja Professional Blender 1000 handles this task more easily and has a much larger pitcher.
If you're looking for a blender that can handle a wider variety of recipes, check out our recommendations for the best blenders. For models that do a better job of breaking down fibrous ingredients like kale and frozen fruit into smooth drinks, see our picks for the best blenders for smoothies. You can also explore the best blenders for frozen drinks if you regularly make icy cocktails, slushies, or other frozen beverages.
The Hamilton Beach Power Elite Multi-Function is better overall than the Hamilton Beach Smoothie Blender, particularly for making smoothies and soups. Both are basic full-size blenders with relatively small jars, but the Power Elite does a better job of breaking down fibrous ingredients like kale, producing a smoother consistency. It also has a glass pitcher and removable blades, making it much easier to clean by hand. Neither blender is particularly well-built or effective at crushing ice.
The nutribullet Blender Combo is a much better choice than the Hamilton Beach Smoothie Blender, especially if you regularly make smoothies. Its larger pitcher gives you more room to prepare drinks for several people, and it produces a much smoother consistency with tough ingredients like kale. It also comes with two personal jars and matching to-go lids. Both support hot blending, though the nutribullet makes smoother purees for soups and sauces. Neither is a good option for crushing ice, as the nutribullet isn't designed for this task and the Hamilton Beach struggles to do it effectively.
The Ninja Professional Blender 1000 is better than the Hamilton Beach Smoothie Blender for making frozen drinks, but the Hamilton Beach is more suitable for soups. The Ninja has a larger pitcher and can easily crush enough ice for several servings of frozen cocktails or slushies, while the Hamilton Beach can't process even small amounts of ice evenly. The Ninja also has a sturdier build, making it feel more durable. However, the Hamilton Beach supports hot blending, so you can puree cooked ingredients without waiting for them to cool. It also does a better job of breaking down fibrous vegetables.
The Black+Decker Quiet Blender with Cyclone Glass Jar is better than the Hamilton Beach Smoothie Blender for most uses. It handles fibrous ingredients much more easily, producing smoother results with less effort. It can also make creamy nut butter, which the Hamilton Beach struggles with. The Black+Decker runs considerably quieter and includes a glass pitcher and a personal blending cup for making drinks to take on the go. While neither is suited to crushing large quantities of ice, the Black+Decker does a better job with smaller batches.
Test Results
The listed width includes the jar's handle at its widest point. The motor base itself is narrower, measuring around 6.3 inches (16.1 cm) wide.
The Hamilton Beach Smoothie Blender has mediocre build quality. Its body is made of thin plastic that flexes easily, and the jar feels somewhat fragile, like it could crack if dropped. The rubber feet also show signs of wear, while the buttons feel loose and wobbly when you press them. The jar is easy to fit onto the base, but the plastic drive components and loosely fitting lid add to the overall flimsy feel. It comes with a three-year limited warranty that covers manufacturing defects but excludes normal wear and tear.
The jar is relatively small for a full-size blender. It's spacious enough to make a couple of smoothies at once, but you might find it limiting if you're preparing drinks for the whole family or making larger batches of soups and sauces. It also doesn't come with a personal jar for making smoothies to take on the go.
The jar is BPA-free and dishwasher-safe, making cleanup more convenient. However, you should avoid using your dishwasher's sanitizing cycle. The motor base isn't dishwasher-safe and needs to be wiped down by hand.
The blades on this blender are very dull. They aren't removable, which makes it a little tricky to clean underneath them, but at least you don't have to worry too much about cutting yourself on them. The whole jar is also dishwasher-safe, so you can skip cleaning around the blades manually if you'd rather not.
This blender has a two-part lid with a removable center cap that lets you add ingredients while blending or release steam when you're working with hot foods. The lid is easy to take off, but it feels flimsy and fits loosely on the jar.
This blender has a short power cord, so you'll need to set it up close to an outlet or keep an extension cord handy.
The Hamilton Beach Smoothie Blender is decent for smaller batches of fibrous ingredients. It makes a fairly smooth drink, but it struggles to fully break down tougher bits of kale, even with extra blending time. You'll also need to stop once to scrape ingredients back toward the blades. The mixture is smooth enough, but it does get quite foamy.
This blender is satisfactory for processing large batches of fibrous ingredients. It breaks down most of the ingredients within a few minutes, but larger pieces can get pushed toward the top of the jar, so you'll need to stop and scrape them back down. The finished smoothie is fairly smooth, though the consistency is a little uneven. The blender also incorporates some air into the mixture, but the result stays relatively thick rather than becoming overly foamy.
This blender is awful at crushing ice. The cubes tend to bounce around the jar and then get jammed down the sides of the blender instead of being caught by the blades, leaving you with a mix of shaved ice and large, unprocessed chunks. Smaller batches don't help much, and running it longer just melts the ice before it can break down evenly.
The Hamilton Beach Smoothie Blender struggles to make nut butter. It takes a lot of patience and constant intervention to keep the nuts moving toward the blades. Despite all that effort, the finished spread is only reasonably smooth, with a slightly grainy, sticky texture, which is probably due to the dull blades.
This blender is fairly loud at its highest speed, making it difficult to hold a conversation or hear the TV nearby. However, this is typical for a full-size blender.
This blender has a fairly narrow range of blade speeds. Even at its lowest setting, the blades spin quite quickly, making it harder to gently mix ingredients or maintain a chunkier texture in recipes like salsa.
This blender has a fairly basic control panel with four preset speeds, each labeled for different recipes like smoothies, milkshakes, salsa, and crushed ice. Despite those labels, there aren't any automatic blending programs. Each button simply runs the blender at a fixed speed, with some settings staying on until you release the button and others requiring you to hold it down. You can also pulse at maximum speed by pressing the Dice and Grind buttons together. There's no blending timer or speed dial for more precise adjustments. You can also use it to blend hot ingredients, provided you remove the center cap from the lid to allow steam to escape.
This blender is a little tedious to clean by hand. The jar and lid have quite a few small crevices where food can collect, particularly around the handle, so it's easy to miss spots when washing. It's also hard to reach underneath the blades, so you'll need to pay extra attention there. There's an Easy Clean button, but it just runs the blender at a preset speed instead of using a dedicated cleaning cycle with varying speeds or pulses.