The Magic Bullet Essential is a no-frills personal blender. It's the base model of the Magic Bullet Blender MBR-1101, and it doesn't come with accessories like a cup ring or to-go lid. That means that only the necessary parts to make a single-serve blend are included in the box, so the versatility of this blender is quite limited. That said, it's compact and has a simple, one-speed design, like other Magic Βullet blenders.
Our Verdict
The Magic Bullet Essential is disappointing for multi-purpose use. It does a fantastic job of processing fibrous ingredients, so it works well for single-serve smoothies. It can also handle thicker mixtures like nut butter as long as you take the time to pause and shake the jar. However, you shouldn't use it to blend ice alone or process hot ingredients. It's also not very well-built, and the motor base heats up if you use it to process hard ingredients like almonds.
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Superb for fibrous ingredients.
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Makes spreadable nut butter.
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Not intended for ice crushing.
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Not safe for hot blending.
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Mediocre build quality.
The Magic Bullet Essential is good for single-serving smoothies. The 15-ounce jar can produce a silky smoothie with fibrous ingredients like kale. It's not too loud and decently easy to clean. According to the manufacturer, it can't crush ice alone, but you can add it if your recipe also includes liquid. However, it doesn't come with a to-go lid or cup ring to make it easier to drink from the jar, which is unusual for a personal blender. You can purchase a to-go lid and additional jars on Magic Bullet's website.
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Superb for fibrous ingredients.
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Jar is dishwasher-safe.
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No lid for jar.
The Magic Bullet Essential only comes with one 15-ounce jar included, so it's better suited for making smoothies for one. It can make a superb green smoothie even if you fill the jar to max capacity.
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Superb for fibrous ingredients.
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Jar is dishwasher-safe.
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One 15-ounce jar included.
The Magic Bullet Essential isn't intended for ice crushing. You can add ice cubes along with some liquid, but you shouldn't use it to process ice alone.
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Not intended for ice crushing.
The Magic Bullet Essential isn't a well-suited for making soups. It has no issue processing fibrous ingredients like broccoli or kale, meaning it can produce a silky soup or sauce. ฮowever, it can't hot blend and only comes with one small jar, so you need to use cool ingredients and work with multiple batches if you're making soup.
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Superb for fibrous ingredients.
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Not safe for hot blending.
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One 15-ounce jar included.
The Magic Bullet Essential is poor for professional use. It has a mediocre build quality, isn't intended for ice crushing, and using it for tough tasks like nut butter can overheat the motor. It can make a silky single-serve smoothie but can't stand up to the demands of a professional environment.
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Superb for fibrous ingredients.
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Mediocre build quality.
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One 15-ounce jar included.
- 5.4 Multi-Purpose
- 7.7 Smoothies (Single Serving)
- 6.1 Smoothies (Multiple Servings)
- 1.0 Ice Crushing
- 2.9 Soups
- 4.1 Professional Use
- Updated Aug 17, 2022: Review published.
- Updated Aug 11, 2022: Early access published.
- Updated Aug 02, 2022: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Jul 29, 2022: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Jul 17, 2022: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
- Updated Jul 05, 2022: The product has won our suggestion poll, so weโll buy and test it soon.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Magic Βullet Essential has the same silver, 250-watt motor base as the Magic Bullet Blender MBR-1101 but only comes with one 15-ounce jar and no to-go lids or other accessories. You can see the label for the unit we tested here. You can also buy extra jars, special blade assemblies, and lids from the manufacturer's website.
Compared To Other Blenders
The Magic Βullet Essential stands out from other Magic Bullet blenders since it only comes with a 15-ounce jar and blade assembly. It's a great choice for single-serve smoothies but isn't very versatile since it can't crush ice, and using it for nut butter strains the motor. That said, even though it mostly performs similarly to the Magic Bullet Mini, it's still less tedious to make nut butter. Some slightly more expensive blenders, like the Ninja Fit, feel better built and come with accessories like to-go lids.
If you're looking for other options, see our lists of the best personal blenders, the best blenders for smoothies, and the best bullet blenders.
The Magic Bullet Essential is better for smoothies than the Oster MyBlend. It does a better job processing fibrous ingredients, meaning it can make a silkier drink. The Oster is a sturdier blender with a slightly bigger capacity. Unlike the Magic Βullet, you can use it to make crushed ice, but it's not ideal for that purpose. It also comes with a resealable lid, so you may prefer it if you want to take your drink to go.
The Magic Bullet Essential and the Magic Bullet Mini are similar blenders, but the Essential has a more powerful motor and has an easier time with tough tasks like making nut butter. The Mini is slightly smaller, and you may prefer it if you want accessories like a lid and cup ring for the jar. It also comes with an 8-ounce jar for mixing small batches of sauce or dressing.
The Ninja Fit is a better personal blender than the Magic Bullet Essential. The Fit is sturdier and comes with two jars instead of one. There are also to-go lids for the jars. The two blenders are both fantastic at processing fibrous ingredients like kale, but the Fit also performs well for making nut butter and crushed ice.
The Magic Bullet Blender MBR-1101 and the Magic Βullet Essential come with different accessories. The MBR-1101 has two jars for smoothies and a smaller container for mixing things like salsa or salad dressing. There are also storage lids and a to-go lid included. On the other hand, if you like to make smoothies with ingredients like kale, the Essential produces a silkier blend.
Test Results
The Magic Bullet Essential has the same compact, round motor base as the Magic Bullet Blender MBR-1101. It's slightly taller and heavier than the Magic Bullet Mini but still doesn't take up much space in a cupboard or on a counter.
The Magic ฮullet Essential has a mediocre build quality. Like other Magic ฮullet blenders that we've tested, most of it is made of plastic that doesn't feel premium. If you use it for tough jobs like making nut butter, the motor can heat up and start to smell like warm plastic. The blade assembly gear is made of rubber that will be more durable, though. There are also four rubber feet to help it stay in place on your counter.
The Magic ฮullet Essential comes with a personal jar meant for single servings.
The jar is made of plastic and can go on the top rack of your dishwasher.
The blade assembly isn't dishwasher-safe and should be cleaned by hand with soap and water.
When you're blending something, the blade assembly screws onto the jar like a lid. Unlike most personal blenders, it doesn't come with a to-go lid or cup ring for the jar. However, Magic ฮullet sells one on their website.
The Magic Bullet Essential's power cord is a bit shorter than the Magic Bullet Blender MBR-1101's. The blender's small size will make it pretty easy to find space near an outlet, though.
- Magic Bullet Essential Motor base
- 15oz jar ('Tall Cup')
- Stainless steel cross blade assembly
- User guide and warranty registration card
The Magic ฮullet Essential is fantastic for processing small batches of fibrous ingredients. If you use it to make a personal smoothie with ingredients like kale, it produces a smooth drink with only small particles leftover. It's not as quick as some other personal blenders like the NutriBullet Pro 900, but it's an easy process.
The blender's full capacity is reached with the 'small batches' recipe, so the results here are the same as the previous test. While you can't make more than one smoothie at a time, this blender can still process fibrous ingredients very well.
The manual says you shouldn't use the Magic Bullet Essential to crush ice.
The Magic Bullet Essential does a passable job of making nut butter. It produces a tasty butter with a pleasant, crunchy texture, but it takes a lot of time and effort. You need to stop the blender several times during the process to shake the jar or scrape the sides with a spatula. After about nine minutes of blending, the motor base starts to heat up and smell like warm plastic, so it could damage the motor to process too many batches of hard ingredients like nuts.
The Magic Bullet Essential's noise level is good. Like all blenders, it's noisy when you're near it, but it's on the quieter side compared to many other personal blenders we've tested, including the Ninja Fit and NutriBullet Pro+.
Like most personal blenders, the Magic Bullet Essential has one speed setting. It's simple to use but doesn't allow you to adjust the speed when you're trying to achieve a specific texture.
Magic Bullet Essential is a bullet-style blender and doesn't have buttons or controls. You push down on the jar to blend and push again to stop.