The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender is a corded immersion blender with a five-speed dial. It comes with a 33-ounce jar and lid, can hot blend, and it makes decent smoothies. It comes with three blade assemblies, each intended for different purposes, like crushing ice or frothing milk, as well as whisk and food processing attachments, although we don't currently test them. There's also a plastic case for storing the blender and all of its parts. It's sometimes hard to clean the bell-shaped blade assemblies by hand, but fortunately, the blades, jar, and lid are all top-rack dishwasher-safe.
Our Verdict
The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender is decent for multi-purpose use. It can blend hot ingredients and make decent smoothies. It can also crush ice and make almond butter, although it's not ideal for those purposes. There are several blade assemblies and attachments included, advertised for different uses like chopping, whisking, and frothing, though we don't currently test them. Unfortunately, it doesn't feel very well-built. The blades are difficult to clean by hand when working with sticky ingredients, and the speed dial can be hard to use if your hands are wet or oily.
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Dishwasher-safe.
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Makes decent smoothies.
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Plasticky build quality.
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Blades can be difficult to clean by hand.
The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender is okay for making smoothies and protein shakes. It comes with a jar you can use for blending and takes roughly four minutes to make a decent smoothie, although it doesn't completely liquify kale. It's really easy to clean when you're working with liquid ingredients, and you can wash the blade assemblies, jar, and lid on the top rack of your dishwasher.
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Makes okay crushed ice.
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Makes decent smoothies.
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Plasticky build quality.
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Smoothies have a somewhat grainy texture.
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Plasticky build quality.
The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender is mediocre for ice crushing. It doesn't take too long to make crushed ice with an okay texture, which is nice if you like to make frozen drinks or add it to smoothies. Unfortunately, it's not very well-built since it's mostly made of cheap-feeling plastic.
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Makes okay crushed ice.
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Plasticky build quality.
The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender is decent for making soups. You can use it to blend hot ingredients directly in a pot or pan, and it comes with a guard to protect your cookware from scratches. It can incorporate kale into a decent smoothie, and it's easy to clean when working with liquid ingredients. There's also a 33-ounce jar you can use for blending or storing what you make that comes with a two-part lid. Unfortunately, this blender doesn't have a very good build quality.
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Hot blends.
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Plasticky build quality.
The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender isn't bad for professional use. It's not very well-built, and it's difficult to clean by hand when working with sticky ingredients. On the plus side, it comes with a jar you can use for blending with a lid. It delivers a fairly versatile performance since it makes a decent smoothie, and you can use it to blend hot ingredients. It also makes passable, spreadable almond butter and crushed ice with an okay texture.
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Hot blends.
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Big 33-ounce jar.
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Plasticky build quality.
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Blades can be difficult to clean by hand.
- 6.5 Multi-Purpose
- 5.4 Smoothies (Single Serving)
- 4.7 Smoothies (Multiple Servings)
- 6.0 Ice Crushing
- 7.0 Soups
- 6.8 Professional Use
- Updated Sep 16, 2022: Added a note that the newly-reviewed Ninja Foodi Power Mixer System has a sturdier build quality.
- Updated Aug 30, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Jul 06, 2021: Review published.
- Updated Jun 29, 2021: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender KHB2561 is available in a few colors: 'Coco Silver', 'Onyx Black', and 'Contour Silver'. We tested the 'Contour Silver' variant, and you can see the label for the unit we tested here.
There's also a 'Brushed Stainless Steel' variant with an additional longer blending shaft. We haven't tested the blender using this 13" blending shaft and don't know how it may affect the blender's performance, but otherwise, we expect that model to perform similarly to our unit. If you come across another variant or your blender is different, please let us know in the discussions below, and we'll update our review.
Compared To Other Blenders
The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender is a corded hand blender with a lot of extra accessories. Unlike most immersion blenders, it comes apart in two places. You can remove the blending shaft to use the food processing and whisk attachments while the bell-shaped blade assemblies twist on and off the bottom of the blending shaft. This blender makes decent smoothies and has a fairly versatile overall performance, similar to models like the NutriBullet Immersion Blender or the All-Clad KZ750DGT.
If you want to see other options, check out our lists of the best immersion blenders, the best mini blenders, and the best blenders.
The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender is better for making soups than the Braun MultiQuick 9. The KitchenAid does a better job of incorporating kale into smoothies, and its jar comes with a two-part lid. It also makes crushed ice with a better texture and comes with many accessories, including a food processing attachment, although we don't currently test it. On the other hand, the Braun has a much better build quality and is easier to clean when working with sticky ingredients.
The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender is better for most purposes than the KitchenAid KHBBV53. The 5-Speed Hand Blender has a significantly better build quality and does a much better job of incorporating kale into smoothies. It can also crush ice, makes more spreadable almond butter, and comes with more accessories, including whisk and food processing attachments; we don't currently test them. It comes with a bigger jar, and most of its parts are top-rack dishwasher-safe. The KHBBV53 is battery-powered, which some may prefer, and also comes in more colors.
The Ninja Foodi Power Mixer System is better for most purposes than the KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender. It's sturdier, easier to clean, and makes a smoother puree of fibrous ingredients. It converts into a hand mixer and comes with a whisk. On the other hand, the KitchenAid comes with an additional blade that you can use for ice crushing and comes with a food processing bowl. It's also quieter.
The KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender is better for soups than the KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender. The Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender incorporates kale into smoothies better and has a higher maximum speed setting. However, the 5-Speed Hand Blender is more versatile. It's significantly better at making almond butter and crushed ice and comes with several blade assemblies and a much wider variety of accessories, including whisk and food processing attachments, although we don't test those currently.
The NutriBullet Immersion Blender and the KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender have different strengths. The NutriBullet is a more basic immersion blender that doesn't come with many accessories. It has a better build quality and makes a smoother puree with fibrous ingredients like kale or broccoli, meaning you may prefer it for soups or smoothies. The KitchenAid comes with several jars and blades to help with different cooking tasks. There's a food processing bowl that makes it easier to use for nut butter and an additional blade assembly that helps it crush ice. It also comes with a whisk, a frother/beater attachment, and a jar you can use for blending.
The Bamix Mono M133 is better for soups than the KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender. The Bamix has a much better build quality, and its maximum speed setting is faster. It's also much easier to clean by hand and make crushed ice with a better texture. On the other hand, the KitchenAid makes better-blended smoothies and comes with more accessories, including a food processing attachment, although we don't test it currently. The blending shaft is also detachable, unlike the Bamix's, which some may prefer.
The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender is better for making soups than the All-Clad KZ750DGT. The KitchenAid has a significantly better build quality, comes with a jar you can use for blending, and does a better job of incorporating kale into smoothies. It also comes with many accessories, including whisk and food processor attachments, although we don't test them currently. On the other hand, the All-Clad is easier to clean when you're working with sticky ingredients and makes crushed ice with a better texture.
The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender is better for most purposes than the Braun MultiQuick 7. Both models come with a food processor attachment and extra blades advertised for different purposes, but the KitchenAid does a better job of incorporating kale into smoothies. It can also crush ice and comes with a case for storing all of its parts. Nevertheless, the Braun has a much better build quality, and it's easier to clean when you're working with sticky ingredients.
Test Results
The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender is a compact immersion blender with a long blending shaft that you can use to blend directly in pots and pans. It should easily fit in most kitchen drawers when not in use, and the shaft is detachable for easier storage.
The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender has an okay build quality. The blending arm is stainless steel, but the mechanism that connects it to the motor base is cheap-feeling plastic. The twist-on connection between the bell-shaped blade attachments and the blending shaft is also plastic, as well as the jar, lid, and blade guards. The handle is rubberized to help make it easier to grip, but unfortunately, the speed dial doesn't rotate very smoothly and may be hard to turn if you have wet or oily hands. If you're looking for a sturdier immersion blender, take a look at the Ninja Foodi Power Mixer System.
The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender comes with three interchangeable blade assemblies. They all have blades fixed to a bell-shaped assembly that twists onto the bottom of the blending shaft. The multi-purpose blade assembly (pictured) has four sharp blades and is advertised for purposes like liquifying fruit and making gravy. There's also an 'S-blade', which is advertised for purposes like crushing ice and making frosting while the 'frother/beater blade' is intended for mixing batter or frothing milk. There's also a food processing attachment with its own blade assembly. However, we only tested the S-blade and the multi-purpose blade. You can clean all blade assemblies on the top rack of your dishwasher.
The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender's jar has a two-part lid that seals with friction. The plastic middle part can be used as a measuring cup and has markings at one and two ounces. It's also top-rack dishwasher-safe.
The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender has a fairly long cord that should easily reach an outlet near your counter. There's no stowaway compartment for the cord, but you can use the built-in strap to wrap it up for easier storing.
- KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender motor body
- Blending arm
- Jar with two-part lid
- Chopper bowl and blades
- Gear box for chopper bowl (adapter)
- Whisk attachment and adapter
- Multi-purpose blade assembly
- S-blade assembly
- Frother/beater blade assembly
- 3x bell blade guards
- Pan guard
- Storage case
- Manual
The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender makes a decent smoothie. We started using the third speed setting and then increased to maximum speed to incorporate the kale. Because of the bell-shaped blade assembly, you may need to hold the blender at an angle to ensure that the ingredients get pulled into the blades. The result looks grainy and has a somewhat airy texture, but it's uniformly processed and cold.
The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender is okay for crushed ice. Using the S-shaped blade assembly, it can process the ice cubes quite quickly. You may need to hold the blender at an angle to get everything processed. The manufacturer says you can also use the multi-purpose blade for crushing ice, but unfortunately, it fails to crush the ice.
The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender makes passable almond butter using the 'S-blade'. The blades can send almonds flying at initial contact, so you may want to cover the jar with your hand to avoid a mess. It takes some time for the blender to incorporate the almonds into a butter-like mixture, but unlike the KitchenAid KHBBV53, the blades don't jam up and stop during the process. However, you have to stop the blender every so often to clean under the blades. After about 10 minutes, the result is dry but spreadable almond butter with some unprocessed chunks.
The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender has a power button and a speed dial with five settings on top of its handle. You have to hold down the power button continuously to blend, and it's possible to turn the dial to change the speed at the same time. You can also simulate a pulse mode by pressing and releasing the power button in short intervals. Unfortunately, at max speed, it's loud for an immersion blender.
The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender doesn't have any programs or modes.
The KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender is decently easy to clean. If you're working with liquidy ingredients like a smoothie, a quick rinse with water is all you need. Unfortunately, when you're working with sticky ingredients like almond butter, food tends to get caught in the rubber seal where the bell blade assembly connects to the blending shaft, which may require some scrubbing with a sponge to clean. If you're looking for an immersion blender that's easier to clean, check out the Smeg HBF02.
