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Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender Blender Review

Tested using Methodology v1.0
Reviewed Sep 08, 2020 at 08:37 am
Latest change: Writing modified Dec 02, 2022 at 11:14 am
Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender Picture
8.7
Multi-Purpose
8.7
Smoothies (Single Serving)
9.0
Smoothies (Multiple Servings)
9.6
Ice Crushing
9.3
Soups
8.7
Professional Use

The Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender comes with a 56-ounce glass jar that has a heating element built into it. You can use it to hot blend or warm up ingredients for recipes like soup. Unlike most Ninja blenders, it comes with a 2-part lid and tamper. There aren't any extra jars included, but it has a large selection of automatic blending programs for hot and cold recipes.

Our Verdict

8.7 Multi-Purpose

The Ninja Foodi Cold and Hot Blender is excellent for multi-purpose use. It makes a silky-smooth blend with fibrous ingredients, can hot blend and heat ingredients, and makes snow-like crushed ice. It's great at processing hard ingredients like nuts. It's also very sturdy. However, because of the jar's heating element, it's not dishwasher-safe and is a bit tricky to clean by hand.

Pros
  • Excellent build quality.
  • Large-capacity jar.
  • Smoothly blends fibrous ingredients.
Cons
  • Hard to clean by hand.
  • Not dishwasher safe.
8.7 Smoothies (Single Serving)

The Ninja Foodi Cold and Hot Blender is excellent for making single-serve smoothies. It only comes with a 56-ounce jar, but it does a fantastic job of processing small batches of fibrous ingredients, so you can use it to make a silky personal smoothie with ingredients like kale. Unfortunately, it's not very easy to clean by hand, so it's not the most convenient choice for whipping up your morning smoothie.

Pros
  • Excellent build quality.
  • Large-capacity jar.
Cons
  • Hard to clean by hand.
  • Not dishwasher safe.
9.0 Smoothies (Multiple Servings)

The Ninja Foodi Cold and Hot Blender is superb for multiple smoothie servings. With the 56-ounce jar filled to its full capacity, it makes a very smooth blend with fibrous ingredients like kale, so you can use it to make a big batch of smoothies. It can also make snow-like ice for frozen drinks like slushies. However, its jar isn't dishwasher-safe, and it's not the easiest blender to clean by hand.

Pros
  • Excellent build quality.
  • Large-capacity jar.
  • Smoothly blends fibrous ingredients.
Cons
  • Hard to clean by hand.
  • Not dishwasher safe.
9.6 Ice Crushing

The Ninja Foodi Cold and Hot Blender is a superb ice crusher. It can make snow-like crushed ice very quickly for blended cocktails or frozen drinks like slushies.

Pros
  • Excellent build quality.
Cons
  • Hard to clean by hand.
  • Not dishwasher safe.
9.3 Soups

The Ninja Foodi Cold and Hot Blender is superb for making soup. It can hot blend or heat room temperature ingredients for soup. The 56-ounce jar can hold most recipes in one batch, and it makes a very smooth blend with fibrous ingredients, meaning it can produce a well-blended soup with additions like kale. However, you can't submerge the jar in water because of the heating element built into its base, and it's not that easy to clean by hand.

Pros
  • Excellent build quality.
  • Large-capacity jar.
  • Heating element.
  • Smoothly blends fibrous ingredients.
Cons
  • Hard to clean by hand.
  • Not dishwasher safe.
8.7 Professional Use

The Ninja Foodi Cold and Hot Blender is excellent for professional use. It's well-built, has a large-capacity jar, and has a motor powerful enough to handle the toughest ingredients. However, it has a harder time processing smaller particles, resulting in a grainy texture.

Pros
  • Excellent build quality.
  • Large-capacity jar.
  • Smoothly blends fibrous ingredients.
Cons
  • Hard to clean by hand.
  • Not dishwasher safe.
  • 8.7 Multi-Purpose
  • 8.7 Smoothies (Single Serving)
  • 9.0 Smoothies (Multiple Servings)
  • 9.6 Ice Crushing
  • 9.3 Soups
  • 8.7 Professional Use
  1. Updated Dec 02, 2022: Compared its performance for nut butter with the newly-reviewed Ninja Chef Blender's.
  2. Updated Sep 30, 2022: Revised text due to Test Bench 1.0.
  3. Updated Aug 25, 2022: Compared its jars and accessories with the newly-reviewed Ninja Foodi Power Blender Ultimate System's.
  4. Updated Aug 17, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
  5. Updated Sep 08, 2020: Review published.

Differences Between Sizes And Variants

We tested model HB152. The same blender is sold with model number HB150C in Canada, so we expect our results to be valid for that variant as well. There's also model HB100, which has fewer automatic blending programs: it's missing the 'Ice Cream' program and the 'Water' option for infusions. However, aside from that difference, we expect our results to be valid for the HB100 model as well. 

If you come across another variant, please let us know in the discussions below and we'll update our review. 

Compared To Other Blenders

The Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender is a full-size blender with a heating element built into its main jar. It's well-built and versatile and can easily make smooth, spreadable nut butter, bar quality crushed ice, and silky blends with fibrous ingredients. However, it isn't dishwasher-safe and can be tricky to clean by hand.

If you're looking for other options, check out the best blenders, the best blenders for smoothies, and the best Ninja blenders.

Ninja Professional Plus Kitchen System with Auto-iQ

The Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender and the Ninja Professional Plus Kitchen System with Auto-iQ have different features, and you may prefer either, depending on what you're looking for. The Foodi can hot blend and heat ingredients, and it's much more suitable for blending big batches of fibrous ingredients for recipes like smoothies or soup. Meanwhile, the Ninja has a pair of personal jars with resealable lids, so it's better suited for single-serve smoothies. It also has food processing accessories like a dough blade and a chopper blade.

KitchenAid K400

The Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender and the KitchenAid K400 have different strengths. The KitchenAid makes a smoother blend of fibrous ingredients, so it's better for making silky smoothies and soups. Its speed dial gives you more control over the blending speed and it's easier to clean by hand. On the other hand, the Foodi can heat up room temperature ingredients. It's slightly better for ice crushing and much easier to use for thicker mixtures like nut butter.

Vitamix Explorian E310

The Vitamix Explorian E310 is better than the Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender for most purposes. The Vitamix is better-built and does a better job of processing fibrous ingredients and making nut butter. Its easier to clean by hand and dishwasher-safe. On the other hand, the Ninja's main jar has a bigger capacity. It offers a lot of automatic blending programs, while the Vitamix only has a speed dial. It's also a better choice for ice crushing.

Vitamix 5200

The Vitamix 5200 is better than the Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender. The Vitamix has a better build quality and is easier to clean by hand. It makes a smoother blend with fibrous ingredients like kale and does a much better job of processing hard food like nuts. On the other hand, the Ninja is a better ice crusher. It has automatic blending programs, unlike the Vitamix, and some may prefer that its main jar is made of glass.

Ninja Mega Kitchen System [BL770, BL770AMZ, BL771]

If you want to blend hot mixes, the Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender is a better option than the Ninja Mega Kitchen System. On the other hand, the BL770 might be a better option if you don't plan on making soup or other hot mixes. The BL770 is better at crushing ice and comes with more jugs and accessories than the Foodi, including a food processor bowl.

Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ

The Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender is better than the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ for most purposes. The Foodi can hot blend and makes a much smoother blend with ingredients like kale, so it's much better for making smoothies and soup. It has a better build quality and a greater number of automatic blending programs. The Professional is quieter when it's running and has a somewhat bigger capacity.

Ninja Blender Duo with Auto-iQ BL642

You may prefer either the Ninja Blender Duo with Auto-iQ BL642 or the Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender, depending on what you're looking for. The Foodi can hot blend and heat ingredients. It's much better for processing big batches of fibrous ingredients like kale, so it's more suitable for recipes like soup. On the other hand, the Duo comes with three personal jars with resealable lids, so it's the better choice if you want to use your blender to make single-serve smoothies to-go.

NutriBullet Blender Combo

The Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender and the NutriBullet Blender Combo have different strengths. The Ninja is more versatile, since it can heat up ingredients, crush ice, and does a much better job with tough tasks like making nut butter. On the other hand, the NutriBullet comes with a personal jar for single-serves and makes a smoother puree of fibrous ingredients, so you may prefer it for smoothie-making. It's also easier to clean by hand and dishwasher-safe.

Ninja DUO

The Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender is more versatile than the Ninja DUO. The Foodi has a better build quality and can hot blend and heat ingredients. On the other hand, the DUO comes with a pair of personal jars meant for single-serve drinks. It makes a silkier blend with ingredients like kale, so it makes a better-blended smoothie, too.

KitchenAid Diamond

The Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender and the KitchenAid Diamond have different strengths. The Ninja is better built, has a bigger capacity, and you can use it to heat cool ingredients. It's a better ice crusher as well. On the other hand, the KitchenAid makes a smoother blend of fibrous ingredients, so it can make a silkier smoothie or soup. It's also much easier to use for thicker mixtures like nut butter. It's also quieter when it's running. The jar and lid are dishwasher-safe and easier to clean by hand.

KitchenAid K150

The Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender is a little better than the KitchenAid K150. The Ninja has a bigger capacity and better ice-crushing performance. It can heat room-temperature ingredients and offers more automatic blending programs. However, the KitchenAid K150 performs similarly overall. It has a smaller 48-ounce main jar, but it's dishwasher-safe and easier to clean by hand. It's also much quieter when it's running.

Hamilton Beach Power Elite Multi-Function

The Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender is a significantly better full-size blender than the Hamilton Beach Power Elite Multi-Function. The Ninja has a much better build quality and a better performance when it comes to processing fibrous ingredients, crushing ice, and making nut butter. You can also use it to warm up room temperature ingredients.

Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher System [CO351B, SS351]

The Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender and the Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher System are two full-size blenders with different advantages. The Cold & Hot has a glass jar that can hot blend. Its body also contains a heating element, which is well-suited for making soup. However, the Power Pitcher System makes smoother almond butter and smoothies. It also comes with two personal jars, which is great if you like to make blends to take with you on the go.

NutriBullet Smart Touch Blender Combo

The Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender is better for most purposes than the NutriBullet Smart Touch Blender Combo. The Ninja is more versatile, since it can heat up ingredients, crush ice, and make smooth nut butter. It also has a better build quality. On the other hand, the NutriBullet makes a smoother blend with fibrous ingredients like kale. It's much better for making single-serve smoothies, since it comes with personal jars with resealable lids. Its jar is dishwasher-safe, unlike the Ninja's, and it's easier to clean by hand. 

Ninja Chef Blender

The Ninja Chef Blender is better than the Ninja Foodi Cold & Hot Blender for most purposes. It can make a silkier fruit smoothie or broccoli soup and is better at processing recipes like nut butter or hummus. It's easier to clean by hand and dishwasher-safe. It can hot blend but with a few limitations, like a smaller capacity for hot ingredients. 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.

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Test Results

perceptual testing image
Design
Design
Dimensions
Blender Type
Full Size Blender
Height
17.9" (45.5 cm)
Width 7.8" (19.8 cm)
Depth 8.7" (22.1 cm)
Weight
12.1 lbs (5.5 kg)
Shaft Length (Immersion Blenders)
N/A

The Ninja Foodi Cold and Hot Blender (HB152) is on the bulky side and is quite heavy. Due to the blender's size and weight, it's best to leave it on the counter for storage to avoid carrying it around and potentially damaging it.

8.5
Design
Build Quality

Its build quality is excellent. The base is made of plastic and feels well-built. The main jar is made of glass, while the bottom portion of the jar is plastic and wrapped with a thin sheet of metal. Unfortunately, the rubber feet don't have enough friction to keep the blender from moving around when it's operating at its highest setting. An annoying sound comes from the bottom of the jar, likely due to friction between the metal and the surrounding silicone. However, this blender feels much sturdier overall than the Hamilton Beach Power Elite Multi-Function, which also has a glass jar.

9.0
Design
Jar Capacity
Main Jar Capacity
64.0 oz (1,893 ml)
Additional Jar Capacity
N/A

It comes with one 64-ounce jar. Many other Ninja blenders come with more accessories like personal jars for smoothies or extra blades for food processing, like the Ninja Foodi Power Blender Ultimate System, although that model can't hot blend.

Design
Jar/Beaker Materials
Jar/Beaker Material
Glass
Dishwasher Safe
No

The main jar has a 56-ounce capacity. Unlike other Ninja blenders we've tested, the jar is made of glass, which you may find less prone to scratches and discoloration than plastic. There's also a heating element built into the base that allows the blender to heat ingredients, but it means you can't immerse it in water or put it in your dishwasher.

Design
Blades
Blade Type
Sharp
Blade Count
6
Removable
No
Dishwasher Safe
No

The blades aren't removable. There are six horizontal blades, plus two smaller vertical blades that sit on top of them. Because you can't remove them from the jar, you have to clean the blades by hand.

Design
Lid
Two-Part Lid
Yes
Lid Closing Type
Lock Mechanism

The lid comes in two pieces: the lid itself and the center cap. It has a locking mechanism and needs to be locked down to begin operation. The center cap is removable while operating the blender, allowing you to add ingredients or push the ingredients down towards the blades with the provided tamper.

Design
Power Cord
Stow-Away Compartment
Yes
Cord Length
2.6 ft (0.8 m)

The power cord is long enough for most people, and there's a small stowaway compartment on the back of the blender where you can tie the cord up for storage.

Design
In The Box

  • User guide
  • Motor base
  • 64oz glass pitcher with precision heating element
  • Tamper
  • Cleaning brush
  • Lid and center cap

Performance
9.3
Performance
Fibrous Ingredients (Small Batches)
Jar Used
Main Jar
Fibrous Ingredients Processing
8.5
Fibrous Ingredients Texture
9.5

This blender is incredible for processing small batches of fibrous ingredients. If you use it to make something like a single-serve smoothie with kale, it makes a silky-smooth puree with just a few small grains left over. It's a very easy process, although you have to stop the blender in the middle of the process to scrape the jar's walls with a spatula. Some blenders, like the Vitamix Explorian E310, can do it a little faster without needing to stop partway through.

9.1
Performance
Fibrous Ingredients (Full Capacity)
Jar Used Main Jar
Fibrous Ingredients Processing
9.5
Fibrous Ingredients Texture
9.0

It's superb for processing fibrous ingredients at full capacity. There are a few more grains of kale left over compared to the smaller batch, but it still makes a very smooth, well-blended puree. There's no need to stop and use the spatula, so it's a very easy process.

10
Performance
Crushed Ice
Crushed Ice Preparation
10
Crushed Ice Texture
10

It's a superb ice crusher. Like most of the full-size Ninja models we've tested, it produces snow-like crushed ice in less than a minute if you blend on high speed. You have to pulse a few times towards the end of the process to get the best results, but it's a very easy blender to use for crushing ice.

8.0
Performance
Nut Butter
Nut Butter Preparation
6.5
Nut Butter Texture
9.0

It's great at making nut butter. It takes more time and effort than some blenders but produces fantastic nut butter that's easy to spread on toast. Depending on the size of your recipe, the tamper may not reach the ingredients, and in that case, you need to stop the blender several times, take off the lid, and use a spatula to scrape everything down towards the blades. Making nut butter with the Ninja Chef Blender is an easier process.

6.4
Performance
Noise
Noise @ Max Speed
96.0 dB

The Ninja HB152 is on the loud side for a full-size blender. Practically all blenders are pretty loud, but you can find options that make less noise, like the NutriBullet Smart Touch Blender Combo and the Ninja Professional Plus Kitchen System with Auto-iQ.

Performance
Blade Speed
Min Speed
13,600 RPM
Max Speed
18,500 RPM
Power
1,400 W
Speed Adjustment Based On Jar Type
No

It doesn't offer a very wide range of speed settings. The lowest speed isn't that slow, which is limiting if you want to start at a low speed and gradually ramp up.

Ease Of Use
Ease Of Use
Controls And Programs
On/Off Switch
Yes
Speed Presets
3
Speed Dial
No
Hot Blending
Yes
Pulse/Turbo Mode
Yes
Programs
8
Blending Time Indicator
Yes
Programmable Timer
No

This blender has a lot of different automatic blending programs. Each runs the blender for a set duration, and some heat up or cook ingredients.

  • Smoothie - 0:45
  • Extract - 1:05
  • Frozen drink - 0:55
  • Ice cream - 1:10
  • Saute - 5:21
  • Sauce/Dip - 20:30
  • Hearty soup - 20:00
  • Smooth soup - 20:00
  • Mixer - 10:30
  • Water - 10:30
  • Cocktail - 10:30

There are also three different speed presets that you can use for manual blending with or without the heating element. The manual 'Blend' mode has a 60-second time limit, after which the blender stops automatically.

6.0
Ease Of Use
Cleaning

The Ninja HB152 isn't easy to clean by hand. The six-minute 'Clean' preset program works quite well but doesn't completely eliminate sticky debris inside the jar. The jar is heavy, and you can't immerse it in water, which makes it a little awkward to clean in a sink. You need to use a brush with a handle to clean around the sharp, non-removable blades, and the lid has ridges that can trap debris, so it needs extra attention with a sponge.