The Ninja CRUSHiQ CO505 is a Costco-exclusive full-size blender with a 72-ounce plastic pitcher and a removable six-blade assembly. It has two speed settings, a dedicated Pulse button, and an automatic Crush program that alternates between speeds to break down tougher ingredients like ice. It also has a locking lid with a built-in pouring spout, and both the jar and blades are dishwasher-safe.
Our Verdict
The Ninja CRUSHiQ CO505 is a mediocre multi-purpose blender, though its performance varies quite a bit depending on what you're using it for. It crushes ice into a fine, snow-like texture with ease and can make exceptionally smooth, thick spreads, although the latter takes some manual intervention and caused the motor to overheat during our test. It struggles more with fibrous ingredients like kale, requiring frequent stops to scrape down the jar and leaving smoothies somewhat grainy and foamy. Cleaning can also be tedious, particularly around the sharp blade assembly, where food tends to get trapped in hard-to-reach areas.
Effortlessly crushes ice into a fine, snow-like texture.
Large pitcher accommodates party-sized batches of frozen drinks.
Produces exceptionally smooth, spreadable nut butter.
Struggles to fully break down fibrous ingredients like kale.
Requires frequent stopping and scraping when blending fibrous ingredients.
Food gets trapped in hard-to-clean areas around the blade assembly.
Extremely sharp blades make hand-washing tricky.
Can overheat when processing especially thick recipes.
The Ninja CRUSHiQ CO505 is decent for making single-serving smoothies, but its large pitcher isn't ideal for small batches. It handles frozen ingredients well, but you'll need to stop and scrape down the jar several times when blending fibrous ingredients like kale. Even after extended blending, green smoothies can have a slightly grainy texture, with some larger pieces left behind. The mixture can also turn foamy if you keep blending to try to smooth it out.
Effortlessly crushes ice into a fine, snow-like texture.
Struggles to fully break down fibrous ingredients like kale.
Requires frequent stopping and scraping when blending fibrous ingredients.
The Ninja CRUSHiQ CO505 is good for making multiple servings of smoothies at once, thanks to its large pitcher. It's especially well-suited to frozen fruit smoothies and icy drinks, since it crushes ice with ease. It struggles with fibrous ingredients like kale, though, so green smoothies can turn out thick, grainy, and foamy even after extended blending. You'll also need to stop frequently to scrape down the jar and help the ingredients blend evenly.
Effortlessly crushes ice into a fine, snow-like texture.
Large pitcher accommodates party-sized batches of frozen drinks.
Struggles to fully break down fibrous ingredients like kale.
The Ninja CRUSHiQ CO505 is outstanding for crushing ice. Its large pitcher makes it a great fit for party-sized batches of frozen cocktails or slushies, and it turns a full load of ice cubes into fine, snow-like ice in no time. You won't need to stop and shake the jar or stir anything along the way.
Effortlessly crushes ice into a fine, snow-like texture.
Large pitcher accommodates party-sized batches of frozen drinks.
Crushes a full batch of ice without needing to stop or stir.
The Ninja CRUSHiQ CO505 is a poor choice for making hot soups, since it isn't designed to blend hot ingredients. You'll need to let the cooked vegetables and broth cool before blending, then transfer the mixture back to a pot to reheat. The large pitcher can handle big batches of soup, but the blender struggles to break down fibrous ingredients fully, so recipes with vegetables like broccoli or kale may turn out slightly grainy rather than smooth and creamy.
Struggles to fully break down fibrous ingredients like kale.
Can't blend hot ingredients directly from the stove.
The Ninja CRUSHiQ CO505 has some limitations for professional use, especially if you need a blender that can handle demanding recipes repeatedly throughout the day. Its large jar is useful for preparing several servings at once, and it handles tasks like crushing ice with ease. While it can produce smooth, thicker spreads, the process requires frequent attention, and the motor overheated and temporarily shut down during our testing. It also isn't suitable for blending hot ingredients, which limits its usefulness for soups and sauces. The blade assembly has several hard-to-clean areas, too, which can make switching between recipes a pain.
Produces exceptionally smooth, spreadable nut butter.
Sturdy motor base and secure jar-locking mechanism.
Struggles to fully break down fibrous ingredients like kale.
Can't blend hot ingredients directly from the stove.
Food gets trapped in hard-to-clean areas around the blade assembly.
Extremely sharp blades make hand-washing tricky.
Can overheat when processing especially thick recipes.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
There's only a single variant of the Costco-exclusive Ninja CRUSHiQ CO505, which is available in Gray with a 72-ounce plastic pitcher. You can see a photo of the label for our unit.
If you discover another variant, let us know in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Popular Blender Comparisons
The Ninja CRUSHiQ CO505 is an entry-level, Costco-exclusive full-size blender that excels at crushing ice but struggles with some everyday blending tasks. Despite its lower price, it performs remarkably similarly to the mid-range Ninja UltraCrush, and its slightly improved blade design helps keep thicker mixtures like nut butter moving. Neither is particularly good at processing fibrous ingredients like kale, though. If smoothies are a priority, spending more on the higher-end Ninja Detect Duo Power Blender Pro gets you smoother results and personal blending cups for smaller servings. Outside Ninja's lineup, the affordable Oster Pro 1200 is another alternative worth considering, especially if you want to make hot soups and smoother green smoothies.
For more options, check out our best blenders for our top picks across different budgets and uses. If you regularly make smoothies with fruits and leafy greens, our best blenders for smoothies highlights models that produce smooth, consistent results. You can also explore our best blenders for frozen drinks for options that excel at crushing ice for cocktails, slushies, and other icy treats.
The Oster Pro 1200 is a more versatile blender than the Ninja CRUSHiQ CO505, particularly if you want to make a variety of recipes beyond frozen drinks. The Oster produces much smoother results with fibrous ingredients like kale, which makes it a better option for green smoothies. It can also safely blend hot ingredients, so you can puree freshly cooked soups and sauces, which isn't recommended with the CRUSHiQ. The Oster is much easier to clean, too, with fewer awkward areas where food can get trapped. The CRUSHiQ has a substantially larger pitcher, though, which makes it more convenient for making drinks for a group. It also has the upper hand when preparing icy drinks, since it processes large quantities of ice more thoroughly and requires very little effort on your part.
The Ninja Professional Blender NJ601AMZ is a better blender overall than the Ninja CRUSHiQ CO505. Both have large pitchers and removable stacked blade assemblies that crush ice with ease, which makes them great for frozen drinks. The Professional has an easier time with thick ingredients like nut butter, so you need less effort to get a smooth consistency. It also does a slightly better job with fibrous ingredients, but neither produces particularly smooth green smoothies. The CRUSHiQ has an automatic Crush program that makes icy drinks more convenient, while the Professional relies on manual speed controls.
The Ninja Detect Duo Power Blender Pro is a better blender overall than the Ninja CRUSHiQ CO505, especially if you regularly make smoothies. Both are outstanding at crushing ice, but the Detect Duo does a much better job with fibrous ingredients, so you get smoother blends with fewer unprocessed bits of kale or other leafy greens. It also comes with personal blending cups, so you can make a single smoothie without using the full-size pitcher. The CRUSHiQ is more basic, with fewer speed settings and just one automatic program, while the Detect Duo gives you more control over the blending process. The CRUSHiQ crushes ice just as well, though, so it's a good alternative if you mostly make frozen drinks for a group.
The Ninja CRUSHiQ CO505 and Ninja UltraCrush offer nearly identical blending performance. Both are full-size blenders with large pitchers, stacked blade assemblies, and basic controls, and both are exceptionally good at crushing ice, so either one works well for frozen cocktails or slushies. Neither does a great job with fibrous ingredients like kale, though. The CRUSHiQ does have an edge with nut butter, since its redesigned bottom blade seems to draw ingredients back into the mixture more effectively, resulting in a smoother texture. Thick recipes still need a lot of hands-on attention with either model. The UltraCrush is quieter, but the difference is small enough that you probably won't notice it in everyday use.
Test Results
The build quality of this blender is solid. Its motor base is mostly plastic, but it feels sturdy, with solid buttons and a secure locking mechanism that keeps the jar firmly in place without wobbling. The controls light up when the blender is on, and the lights blink to indicate an overheating issue. However, the removable blade assembly can shift out of place if you shake the jar too much, making it hard to reposition when the jar is full of ingredients. The blender also has a one-year limited warranty that covers manufacturing defects but excludes normal wear and tear.
The jar on this blender is very large and easily accommodates family-size recipes up to 64 liquid ounces.
Both the plastic jar and its components are dishwasher-safe.
This blender has a removable blade assembly with six sharp blades arranged in a spiral along a central shaft. Since the blades sit at different heights rather than just at the bottom of the jar, they help process ingredients throughout the pitcher. The bottom blade also seems better positioned to scoop up ingredients that settle at the base compared to the Ninja UltraCrush, whose bottom blade tends to push ingredients away rather than scoop them up. However, the blades are extremely sharp, so you'll need to be careful when removing or handling the assembly to avoid cuts. The blade assembly is dishwasher-safe, though Ninja recommends placing it on the top rack only.
The plastic lid has a rubber gasket that seals against the jar. It's easy to attach and remove: just align it with the jar and lock it into place using the built-in handle. There's also a small pouring spout built into the lid, so you can pour out your blends without taking the whole lid off. This is the same lid design found on several other Ninja blenders, including the Ninja Professional Blender 1000.
The cord is long enough to reach a nearby outlet, and you can wrap it around the back of the motor base to keep it out of the way when you store the blender.
- Quick start guide and safety manual
- Motor base
- 72-ounce jar with 64-ounce liquid capacity
- Container lid
- Removable blade assembly
The Ninja CRUSHiQ CO505 does an okay job of blending smaller batches of fibrous ingredients. You'll need to stop several times to scrape down the jar and keep the ingredients moving. Even after extended blending, some larger bits of kale remain, which gives the smoothie a slightly grainy texture. Running the blender longer doesn't help much, since it eventually stops breaking down the fibers and starts working air into the mixture, leaving it foamy without noticeably improving the texture.
This blender struggles with large batches of fibrous ingredients like kale. It takes quite a bit of effort to break everything down, and you'll need to stop several times to scrape down the jar and keep things moving. Even after extended blending, the smoothie still has some unprocessed bits that give it a grainy texture. By the time the larger pieces break down, the mixture has thickened and turned foamy, making the final result less pleasant to drink.
The Ninja CRUSHiQ CO505 is outstanding at crushing ice, quickly turning a full batch of cubes into fine, snow-like ice without you needing to intervene or run an additional cycle.
This blender makes exceptionally smooth nut butter, but getting there takes quite a bit of effort. Its Crush program quickly and evenly breaks down whole nuts, but the mixture needs frequent attention and tamping as it thickens. You'll have to alternate between speeds and occasionally stop to stir the ingredients with a spatula to keep everything moving. Once the nuts start forming a paste, switching to the high setting gives you a remarkably smooth, spreadable texture.
The motor overheated partway through our test, though, and the blender stopped temporarily. After we unplugged it and let it rest for about a minute, it started running again with no further issues.
The Ninja CRUSHiQ CO505 gets quite loud at its highest speed. You'll likely have trouble holding a conversation or hearing the TV while it's running, but it's not much more disruptive than other blenders of this size.
The Ninja CRUSHiQ CO505 has a limited range of blade speeds, with just two presets and no option for finer adjustments. It uses a powerful motor and a stacked blade assembly that spins faster than those of other Ninja models, such as the Ninja Professional Blender 1000 and the Ninja UltraCrush.
This unit has a fairly basic set of controls, with two speed settings, an automatic Crush program, and a dedicated Pulse button. The Crush program alternates between pulsing and running at different speeds to break down tougher ingredients like ice without much intervention. The Pulse button also gives you more control over texture, since the blades stop as soon as you release it. There's no speed dial for finer adjustments, though, and you can't set a custom blending time or see how much time is left in a cycle.
This blender is somewhat difficult to clean, particularly after blending thick or sticky ingredients like nut butter. The jar and lid are fairly easy to wash, but food can get trapped in the narrow crevices around the blade assembly and under the plastic gear attachment. These areas are hard to reach, so you may need to spend extra time scrubbing to remove leftover residue. The blades are also extremely sharp and awkwardly positioned, and our testers have accidentally cut themselves while cleaning similar Ninja blade assemblies in the past, so you'll need to be especially careful when handling them.