- Table of Contents
- Intro
- Our Verdict
- Test Results
- Differences
- Compared To Others
- Deals
- Discussions
The Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher SS201 is a full-size blender with a 10-speed dial and various preset modes. It comes with a 72-ounce jar you can use to make incredible, snow-like crushed ice and creamy almond butter. It also makes a very good smoothie, although its stacked blade assembly minces leafy greens into very small pieces, resulting in a grainy drink. Cleaning it is easy, since its jar, lid, and blade assembly are all dishwasher-safe. Unfortunately, you can't use it for hot blending.
Our Verdict
The Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher is satisfactory for multi-purpose use. Its build quality doesn't feel very premium, but it makes fantastic crushed ice, excellent almond butter, and very good smoothies. However, it can't safely blend hot ingredients, so it's not suitable for making soups or purees.
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Large capacity main jar.
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Dishwasher-safe.
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Makes snow-like crushed ice quickly.
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Plasticky motor base.
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Can't hot blend.
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Doesn't come with any additional jars.
The Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher is excellent for smoothies and protein shakes. It processes ingredients like frozen banana and kale very quickly with its 'Smoothie' preset and produces a uniform but grainy drink. You can also use it to make outstanding, snow-like crushed ice. It's decently well-built and easy to clean, although you may need to use a sponge if you've been working with sticky ingredients.
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Large capacity main jar.
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Dishwasher-safe.
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Makes snow-like crushed ice quickly.
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Plasticky motor base.
The Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher is incredible for crushing ice. It's fairly well-built and crushes ice into a snow-like consistency in less than a minute.
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Large capacity main jar.
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Dishwasher-safe.
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Makes snow-like crushed ice quickly.
-
Plasticky motor base.
The Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher isn't safe to use with hot ingredients, so it's not suitable for making soup.
The Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher is an excellent choice for professional use. It makes outstanding, creamy almond butter, snow-like crushed ice, and a very good smoothie. The jar has a large, 72-ounce capacity suitable for large batches, and it's easy to clean in the dishwasher or by hand, although you may need to use a sponge in some cases.
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Large capacity main jar.
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Dishwasher-safe.
-
Makes snow-like crushed ice quickly.
-
Plasticky motor base.
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Can't hot blend.
- 7.1 Multi-Purpose
- 8.1 Smoothies/Protein Shakes
- 9.2 Ice Crushing
- 7.6 Soups
- 8.6 Professional Use
- Updated Feb 16, 2021: Review published.
- Updated Feb 12, 2021: Early access published.
Test Results
The Ninja SS201 is a fairly bulky full-size blender. It's roughly as tall as the Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher System, and its base is slightly bigger. You can store it directly on your kitchen counter or in a spacious cupboard.
The Ninja SS201 has a decent build quality. The motor base is made of plastic that doesn't feel particularly premium, and it sits on four anti-slip suction cups. The jar twists into place and is made of thick plastic. It's easy to install the blades, which just need to be fitted inside the jar. The blade assembly doesn't lock into place, but when the lid is on, the top of the assembly fits into a small hole on the underside of the lid. The control panel is simple but feels a bit sluggish to respond. If you're looking for a full-size blender with a better build quality, check out the Breville the Fresh & Furious.
This blender comes with a large-capacity main jar. It holds 72 ounces, although its maximum capacity for liquids is 64 ounces. It needs to be properly oriented to clip into place on the motor base. The handle is comfortable to hold and the jar is dishwasher-safe.
The Ninja SS201 doesn't come with an additional jar.
The Ninja SS201's blade assembly is shaped like a column, with six sharp blades at different heights. It's removable and dishwasher-safe. There's also a dough blade assembly included, which is advertised for mixing dough for baked goods, but we don't currently test it.
The plastic lid locks onto the jar and has a button on top to release it. It's not a two-part lid, but there is a small opening on the spout corner of the lid. There's a metal bar across the opening that should prevent bigger chunks of food from coming out if you're pouring from the jar. You can use the opening to add more ingredients to the blender without taking off the lid, but it may not be big enough unless you're adding small pieces of food or liquid.
This blender's power cord isn't particularly long but it should be able to reach an outlet near your counter. Unfortunately, there's no stowaway compartment to help store the cable when it's not in use.
- 72 oz 'Power pitcher' and lid
- Motor base
- Stacked blade assembly
- Dough blade assembly
- Cleaning brush
- Manual and recipe book
The Ninja SS201 has a manual mode and an 'Auto-iQ' mode. In manual mode, you can use the 10-speed dial to fine-tune your blend. The blender runs for 60 seconds before shutting off. You can also select 'Auto-iQ' mode to use the various presets, or push and release the 'Pulse' button to run the blender in short intervals. It's one of the quieter full-size blenders that we've tested and isn't as loud as the Ninja Mega Kitchen System BL770 at maximum speed.
This blender makes fantastic almond butter using its 75-second 'Dip' preset followed by a few minutes of manual blending. You may want to stop the blender partway through to scrape any almonds off the sides of the jar. The result is creamy, very spreadable almond butter with no chunks. The motor base also has exhaust fans, so it stays relatively cool during this process.
The Ninja SS201 makes a very good smoothie in about a minute with its 'Smoothie' preset. The ingredients are uniformly processed, but unlike the Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher System, leafy greens like kale are minced up into tiny pieces instead of being liquified, which gives the smoothie a noticeably grainy texture.
This blender is exceptionally good at crushing ice. The 'Ice Crush' preset runs the blender for one minute, but it doesn't take that long to make very fine, uniform, snow-like crushed ice.
This blender has several preset modes that you can access by pressing the 'iQ' button and then using the dial to select the desired program.
- Smoothie: 65 seconds
- Bowl: 40 seconds
- Chop: 5 seconds
- Ice Crush: 60 seconds
- Dip: 75 seconds
- Dough: 45 seconds
According to the manual, the 'Bowl' setting doubles as a cleaning cycle if you run it with hot water and soap in the jar. You can also press the 'Pulse' button and release it as you see fit to blend in short intervals. There's also manual mode, which allows you to choose the speed yourself. The blender doesn't display a timer for that mode but shuts off automatically after 60 seconds.
The Ninja SS201 is very easy to clean. After rinsing it, you can fill it with warm water, add a few drops of soap, and run the 'Bowl' preset as a cleaning cycle. If you've been working with liquid ingredients, it should be clean after another quick rinse. On the other hand, if you've been making almond butter or another sticky food, it may be necessary to take out the blade assembly to rinse the underside or to scrub it with a sponge. It's important to be careful because it's easy to cut yourself on the blade assembly.
The Ninja SS201 doesn't have many extra features. It comes with a dough blade, which we don't test currently, but is intended for preparing dough for baked goods. It's also not safe for use for hot blending. If you're looking for a blender that can process hot ingredients for recipes like soup, take a look at the Calphalon ActiveSense.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Ninja SS201 comes in one color variant, 'Silver'. You can see the label for the model we tested here. It's sometimes sold with a 24-ounce 'Nutrient Extraction Cup', a personal jar advertised for making smoothies and frozen drinks, and a 14-ounce 'Smoothie Bowl Maker' advertised for mixing frozen food with less liquid. We haven't tested those accessories. If you come across another variant or your model is different, please let us know in the discussions below so we can update our review.
Compared To Other Blenders
The Ninja SS201 Foodi Power Pitcher is a versatile full-size blender with a large capacity. It's similar to the Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher System but doesn't come with any additional jars. It can't hot blend, but it makes outstanding crushed ice and almond butter. It doesn't feel as well-built as some other Ninja blenders, like the Ninja Mega Kitchen System BL770. If you want to see other options, check out our lists of the best blenders, the best blenders for frozen drinks, and the best blenders for smoothies.
The Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher SS201 is better for most purposes than the NutriBullet Blender Combo. The Ninja makes very smooth, spreadable almond butter and snow-like crushed ice. It also produces significantly better smoothies. On the other hand, you can use the NutriBullet to blend hot ingredients for soups and sauces. Also, it comes with two personal jars with matching to-go lids.
The Vitamix Explorian E310 is a better blender than the Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher SS201. The two blenders perform similarly when it comes to crushing ice and making almond butter, but the Vitamix has a much better build quality. It also makes a silkier smoothie. On the other hand, the Ninja has a bigger main jar and is easier to clean.
The Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher SS201 and the Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher System are very similar blenders, but the System is better for most uses. The System has a better build quality, makes a better smoothie, and comes with a pair of personal jars. On the other hand, the SS201 is better at crushing ice.
The Ninja Professional Plus Kitchen System with Auto-iQ is better for most purposes than the Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher SS201. The Kitchen System is easier to clean and has a significantly better build quality. It comes with two personal jars with matching to-go lids as well as a food processor bowl, although we don't test that attachment currently. However, the Foodi Power Pitcher makes significantly smoother, more spreadable almond butter.
The Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher SS201 is a better blender than the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ. The Foodi Power Pitcher SS201 makes a much better smoothie and significantly smoother almond butter. On the other hand, the Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ has a better build quality and is easier to clean.
The Ninja Foodi Power Nutri DUO and the Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher SS201 have different strengths, and you may prefer either one depending on what you're looking for. The DUO is a personal blender with a much better build quality. It comes with three personal jars and takes less time to make fantastic smoothies and almond butter. On the other hand, the SS201's main jar has a much larger, 72-ounce capacity. It's also equipped with a speed dial, although its maximum blending speed is much slower than the DUO's single speed setting.
The Ninja Mega Kitchen System BL770 is a better blender than the Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher SS201 for most uses. The BL770 is better-built and easier to clean. It also makes a better smoothie and comes with two personal jars and a food processor bowl. However, the SS201 has a dial that lets you manually fine-tune the blending speed.
The Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher SS201 is better than the Ninja Professional Blender 1000 for most purposes. The Foodi takes less time to make smooth, spreadable almond butter and makes better-blended smoothies in its main jar. It has preset modes for different recipes and has a separate blade assembly for making dough. On the other hand, the Professional is much easier to clean by hand.
The Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher SS201 is better for most purposes than the NutriBullet Pro. The Ninja is a full-size blender with a bigger capacity and more than one speed setting. It's easier to clean by hand and does a better job of making crushed ice and almond butter. On the other hand, the NutriBullet is a personal blender intended for making single-serve drinks. It makes better-blended smoothies in its 20-ounce personal jars, which come with matching to-go lids, cup rings, and lip rings to make them easier to drink out of.
The Ninja Blender Duo with Auto-iQ BL642 is better than the Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher SS201. The BL642 has a much better build quality, is easier to clean, makes snow-like crushed ice. It blends a silkier smoothie if you use its 32-ounce personal jar. However, the SS201 produces a much better smoothie in its 72-ounce main jar than the BL642 does in its main jar.
The Vitamix 5200 is better than the Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher SS201. The Vitamix can be used to blend hot ingredients. It's much better-built, has a much higher maximum speed, and comes with a two-part lid and tamper. It makes a better-blended smoothie and takes less time to make smooth almond butter. On the other hand, the Ninja makes crushed ice with a better texture. It also has a few preset modes in addition to a speed dial.
The Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher SS201 is better for most purposes than the Oster Pro 1200. The Ninja makes smoother almond butter, better-blended smoothies, and does a better job of crushing ice. It's also better-built, and its main jar has a larger capacity. On the other hand, the Oster comes with a glass main jar, which some may prefer, and you can use it for hot blending. There's also a 24-ounce jar included with a to-go lid, so it's better-suited for making single-serve drinks.
The Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher SS201 is better for most purposes than the KitchenAid K400. The Ninja makes significantly better almond butter and snow-like crushed ice. It's also easier to clean. On the other hand, the KitchenAid has a much better build quality and can blend hot ingredients.
The Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher SS201 is better than the Ninja Smart Screen for most purposes. The Foodi has a speed dial and a few preset modes, including a self-clean cycle and a crushed ice program. It makes smoother, more spreadable almond butter and better-blended smoothies. On the other hand, the Smart Screen is much easier to clean by hand.