The Ninja Chef Blender is a versatile full-size blender. It stands out from most of this manufacturer's other blenders because it can hot blend. It has 10 speed presets for manual blending, several automatic programs or different recipes, and a programmable timer, which is an uncommon feature. Its blades aren't as sharp as most Ninja blenders' either, which makes it safer to clean by hand. It comes with a 72-ounce jar, 2-part lid, and tamper, along with a 24-ounce personal jar and to-go lid. However, the blade assembly for the personal jar isn't included, so you can't use it as a blending jar unless you buy the blades separately. There are also some issues with its build quality.
Our Verdict
The Ninja Chef is fantastic for multi-purpose use. It has a large capacity main jar and does a great job of processing big and small batches of ingredients for recipes like smoothies and shakes. It's very easy to use to make nut butter and easily crushes ice cubes into snow-like ice. It can also blend hot ingredients into smooth pureed soups but comes with some limitations for hot blending, including a smaller 40-ounce max capacity. It feels decently well-built but not as much as Ninja's other full-size blenders. Although it may not affect all units, ours left a sooty imprint on the counter after use.
- Easy to clean and dishwasher-safe.
- Versatile performance.
- Big capacity.
- Programmable timer.
- Fantastic at processing fibrous ingredients.
- Extremely loud.
The Ninja Chef is excellent for making single-serve smoothies. Although the jar has a big 72-ounce capacity, it's very easy to process small batches of ingredients when you're making a smoothie for one person. It completely incorporates fibrous ingredients into the mix, so your drink won't have bits of kale or blueberry skin left over. It comes with a 24-ounce personal jar and a resealable spout lid, but it doesn't include a blade assembly. You can buy blades separately, but it's still disappointing, especially because most other Ninja blenders with personal jars come with both sets of blades.
- Easy to clean and dishwasher-safe.
- Fantastic at processing fibrous ingredients.
- Extremely loud.
The Ninja Chef is incredible for making multiple servings of smoothies. The main jar has a 72-ounce capacity and easily processes big batches into a nearly perfectly smooth blend, even if your recipe includes fibrous ingredients like leafy greens. It's easy to wash by hand and dishwasher-safe. It's very loud, although it has blending programs and a programmable timer, so you can step away from the machine while it's running.
- Easy to clean and dishwasher-safe.
- Big capacity.
- Fantastic at processing fibrous ingredients.
- Extremely loud.
The Ninja Chef is a superb ice crusher. Using pulse mode, it has no problem crushing ice cubes into snow-like ice. It's decently sturdy but not as well-built as other blenders from this manufacturer.
- Easy to clean and dishwasher-safe.
- Extremely loud.
The Ninja Chef Blender is fantastic for soups. You can use the main jar to process hot ingredients like roasted vegetables into a silky smooth puree. However, you should only use the jar to process up to 40 ounces of hot liquid (its capacity is 64 ounces for room-temperature ingredients). Also, the manufacturer says to only use the 'Soup' blending program when you're working with hot ingredients. It won't affect your result, but it's unusual and a bit inconvenient that you can't choose to blend manually instead.
- Easy to clean and dishwasher-safe.
- Fantastic at processing fibrous ingredients.
- Extremely loud.
- Smaller capacity for hot blending.
The Ninja Chef is fantastic for professional use. It has an extremely versatile performance and a big capacity. It's very well-suited for processing fibrous ingredients common in soups, sauces, and smoothies. It can make snow-like crushed ice for slushies and snow cones and is decently easy to make very smooth nut butter or hummus. However, it's not ideal for hot blending because it has a smaller 40-ounce capacity for hot ingredients. It's decently well-built, but you might want something sturdier for daily use.
- Easy to clean and dishwasher-safe.
- Versatile performance.
- Big capacity.
- Programmable timer.
- Extremely loud.
- Smaller capacity for hot blending.
Changelog
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Updated Oct 18, 2024:
We've updated the results to more accurately reflect the blender's performance. The score for Fibrous Ingredients (Small Batches) processing changed from 10 to 8.5, and the score for Fibrous Ingredients (Full Capacity) processing changed from 10 to 9.5 because of the blending time. The preparation score for Crushed Ice changed from 10 to 9.0 because you must pulse manually. The preparation score for Nut Butter changed from 9.0 to 7.0 because of the blending time and the need to use the tamper.
- Updated Dec 06, 2022: Added details about the blender's blending programs in the 'Nut Butter' section.
- Updated Dec 02, 2022: Review published.
- Updated Nov 28, 2022: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
You can buy the Ninja Chef Blender in a few different variants that come with different jars. We tested the CT810C, and you can see the label for the unit we tested. There's a variant that doesn't include a personal jar (CT800). As long as you're using the 72-ounce pitcher, we expect our results to be valid for any variants that come with a different set of accessories.
| Model Number | Included Accessories |
|---|---|
| CT810C | 72oz pitcher, pitcher lid, tamper, personal jar (without blades), to-go lid |
| CT800 | 72oz pitcher, pitcher lid, tamper |
Popular Blender Comparisons
The Ninja Chef Blender is a little more versatile than most other Ninja blenders since it can hot blend. Like the Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender, it doesn't have Ninja's usual blade stack design, which makes it easier to clean and allows you to use a tamper. It performs extremely well for most uses and stands out for how easy it is to use to make recipes like nut butter. That said, it's one of the loudest blenders we've tested and isn't as well-built as other full-size models from Ninja.
If you're looking for other options, check out our lists of the best blenders, the best blenders for smoothies, and the best Ninja blenders.
The KitchenAid K400 is better than the Ninja Chef Blender for most purposes. It's much sturdier and significantly quieter. It offers a somewhat wider range of speed settings and is better suited for hot blending. However, you might prefer the Ninja because it's much better for recipes like nut butter, hummus, thick dips, and smoothie bowls. It comes with a tamper and has a programmable timer.
For most purposes, the Vitamix Explorian E310 is better than the Ninja Chef Blender. The blenders perform similarly, but the Vitamix has a significantly better build quality. It's also quieter, although both blenders are on the loud side. You may prefer the Ninja if you want features like automatic blending programs and a programmable timer. Its main jar also has a larger capacity.
The Ninja Chef Blender is better than the Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender for most purposes. It blends small and big batches of fibrous ingredients much more efficiently and with smoother results. It's easier to clean by hand and is dishwasher-safe. It can hot blend but with a few limitations, like a smaller capacity for hot ingredients. Unfortunately, it's also extremely loud. If you care about noise or if you make a lot of hot recipes like pureed soup or sauce, the Foodi is the better option. It's more versatile when hot blending and has a built-in heating element for warming up cool ingredients. It also has a much better build quality.
The Ninja Chef Blender and the Ninja Foodi Power Blender Ultimate System have different strengths. If you're looking for a straightforward blender, the Chef is a better choice. It's better at making a smooth blend with fibrous ingredients like kale. It can hot blend. On the other hand, the Foodi is a blender and food processor combo and comes with lots of accessories, including a personal jar with its own blade assembly and extra blades for grating and slicing. It's also better built and much quieter.
Test Results
The Ninja Chef Blender is bulky, so it probably needs to be stored on your counter rather than in a cupboard. It's pretty heavy and around the same size as other Ninja models, like the Ninja Mega Kitchen System BL770.
It's decently well-built. Like other Ninja models like the Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher System, it's made of plastic but feels well-built. The display screen is bright, and the jars, lids, and tamper are sturdy. The suction cup feet under the blender do a good job of stopping it from jiggling around on your counter.
However, it's not as well-built as the other full-size Ninjas we've tested because our unit gave off a plasticky smell whenever it was blending anything. It's not that uncommon for a new blender to create a bit of a motor smell at first, but it usually goes away with time. The smell didn't go away, and afterward, the counter was stained where the blender had been sitting. It appeared to be soot or dust coming from the motor through the vents, and luckily, we could wash it away. It could be a problem limited to some units, but doesn't seem to be unique to only ours since some online reviews report experiencing similar issues.
The Ninja CT800's main pitcher has a total capacity of 72 ounces and a 'max liquid' capacity of 64 ounces when you're blending cold ingredients. The max capacity for hot liquid is 40 ounces. There's a max fill line at 24 ounces for the self-cleaning cycle.
The jars, lids, and tamper are made of plastic and are all top-rack dishwasher-safe.
The blade design is different from most other full-size blenders from Ninja. Instead of the removable spiral blade stack, it has a more conventional set of fixed blades at the bottom of the jar. There are four horizontal blades and a pair of small blades pointing up from the middle of the blade assembly. This design is easier to clean and allows for the use of the tamper. The pitcher with its blades can go on the top rack of your dishwasher.
Unlike most Ninja blenders that come with a personal jar, it doesn't come with an additional blade assembly to go with it. You can purchase one separately if you want to use that jar as a blending cup.
There's a 2-part lid for the main jar. You can remove the center piece so you can add ingredients or use the tamper while the machine is running. The lid is easy to attach and remove from the jar and is held in place by two clips. There's also a to-go lid for the personal jar, so you can use it as a travel cup.
The power cord is long enough to reach a nearby outlet. There's no place to store or wrap the cord when it's not plugged in, though.
- 72oz jar
- 2-part lid
- 24-ounce double-walled to-go cup
- Spout lid
- Tamper
- Motor base
- Instruction booklet and recipe guide
The Ninja CT800 is fantastic for processing small batches of fibrous ingredients in the main jar. If you use manual mode at the highest speed setting, it quickly blends tough ingredients like kale into a practically perfectly smooth mixture. The only downside is some blenders can do it faster.
The Ninja CT800 is fantastic for processing big batches of fibrous ingredients. Using the same process of running the blender on high, it easily blends ingredients like kale into a smooth mixture. That said, some blenders can do it faster, and it leaves behind a few tiny unprocessed bits.
The Ninja CT800 is an outstanding ice crusher. It makes snow-like crushed ice in less than a minute using the manual 'pulse' mode. You can also use the high-speed setting for a more hands-free process, although you may end up with more unprocessed chunks that way.
The Ninja CT800 is fantastic for making nut butter. It easily processes nuts into a buttery, smooth mixture without much work on your part. You may need to use the tamper once to push everything down towards the blades, but it's easier to use to make nut butter than the Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender and the Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender.
This blender also has a 'nut butter' blending program that lasts around two minutes. Blending programs generally don't produce better results than manual blending but will shut the blender off after a set amount of time, which is convenient. However, we had to blend for longer than two minutes to achieve the best results, so if you do use the blending program, you may need to run it a few times, depending on your recipe.
It's one of the loudest blenders we've tested. Even though the majority of blenders are loud, it stands out as a very noisy machine.
It has a somewhat wide range of speed settings. This means you have more room to start at a lower speed and slowly ramp up. However, the lowest speed isn't very slow, so ingredients will splash up the sides of the jar if you want to mix a small amount of something like salad dressing or hollandaise sauce. Blenders like the Vitamix Explorian E310 have a wider range of speeds.
The blender has a speed dial with 10 speed settings. When blending in manual mode, the blender will turn off after two minutes of continuous blending. There's also a programmable timer that you can use to have the blender shut itself off automatically after a set amount of time, which is a feature you generally only find on high-end blenders like the Vitamix A3500. When the 'pulse' button is activated, you can push the button on the dial to pulse at the speed selected. When you press the 'iQ' button, the control panel lights up and shows the automatic blending programs that you can also use the dial to select.
There are ten blending programs, which each last for different amounts of time:
- Flour Mill: 1:30
- Frozen Drink: 1:00
- Extract: 1:10
- Smoothie: 0:50
- Soup: 1:30
- Ice Cream: 0:45
- Puree: 1:03
- Dip/Salsa: 1:04
- Dressing: 1:00
- Nut Butter: 2:00
The manual says to always use the 'Soup' preset when you're blending hot ingredients. It's a little unusual since the mode simply starts at a low speed and ramps up to high speed. Only the main pitcher can be used for hot blending since the personal jar won't allow steam to escape. There's a max fill line for hot liquids at 40 ounces, while the maximum liquid capacity for cool ingredients is 64 ounces.
Most of Ninja's full-size models are hard to clean by hand since you need to be careful handling the blades, and the design of the blade assembly and lid can cause food to get stuck in tough-to-reach places. In comparison, this blender's fixed blades are easier to clean. Its self-clean mode does a pretty good job of rinsing away sticky food like nut butter. The 2-part lid and jar also need some attention with a sponge, but it's an easy and fairly quick process overall.