- Table of Contents
- Intro
- Our Verdict
- Test Results
- Differences
- Compared To Others
- Deals
- Discussions
The NutriBullet Blender Combo is a full-sized blender with a tamper to help redistribute food inside the jar. However, the blender struggles to process hard food like nuts or fibrous fruits and vegetables like kale. The manufacturer also doesn't recommend crushing ice in it. On the upside, it can hot blend without a problem. Its additional single-serve cups also make it easy to take a blend with you on the go. While oil can easily stick to the jar and can be difficult to remove, the jars, lids, and blade assemblies are all dishwasher safe, which makes clean up a little easier.
Our Verdict
The NutriBullet Blender Combo is sub-par for multipurpose use. It produces a grainy-textured smoothie, and it has a hard time processing nuts and other hard food. The manufacturer also doesn't recommend using it to blend ice. If you're blending sticky foods like almond butter, it can be a little more difficult to clean too. However, it can easily handle hot food like soup.
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Comes with two single-serve jars.
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Can hold a lot of food in its main jar.
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Disappointing for making nut butter.
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Oils and sticky foods can be hard to clean.
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Not recommended for crushing ice without liquid.
The NutriBullet Blender Combo is passable for making smoothies and protein shakes. This decently-built blender can blend up fruits and veggies, although it produces a liquid with a slightly grainy texture. The manufacturer also recommends not to use it if you're blending only ice. However, if you're mixing ice into your smoothie, you should be fine.
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Comes with two single-serve jars.
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Not recommended for crushing ice without liquid.
The NutriBullet Blender Combo isn't recommended for crushing ice as the blender needs liquid in order to blend properly.
The NutriBullet Blender Combo is great for making soup. It's able to process most fruit and vegetables well. However, if you're working with more fibrous produce, it produces a blend that has a grainy texture. That being said, it has no problem with blending hot food.
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Can blend hot food.
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Can hold a lot of food in its main jar.
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Oils and sticky foods can be hard to clean.
The NutriBullet Blender Combo is disappointing for professional use. Although it has a decent build quality, it struggles to fully process hard foods like nuts or fibrous fruits and vegetables like kale. The manufacturer also doesn't recommend using this blender to crush ice. On the upside, it can hot blend, but it can still be a little difficult to clean sticky foods from it.
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Can blend hot food.
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Can hold a lot of food in its main jar.
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Disappointing for making nut butter.
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Oils and sticky foods can be hard to clean.
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Not recommended for crushing ice without liquid.
- 5.9 Multi-Purpose
- 6.3 Smoothies/Protein Shakes
- 3.1 Ice Crushing
- 8.3 Soups
- 5.7 Professional Use
Test Results
The NutriBullet Blender Combo is a bit smaller than other full-sized blenders such as the Vitamix Explorian E310 or the Ninja DUO. It's a little bulky, though, and you may need to make extra room for it on your countertop or in your cupboard.
The NutriBullet Blender Combo has a satisfactory build quality. There are clicky and easy-to-use buttons on its front, which make it easy to switch between modes. The transmission gear, the pitcher, and its additional jars are made from high-quality plastic, while the pitcher and extractor blade gearings are made from silicone. The to-go lids don't feel as durable though, as they're a bit brittle and could break more easily. The pitcher's handle is also a little loose, which can be a little annoying for some. Unfortunately, a part of our test unit's plastic base broke off, and while we assume that this breakage happened in transit, it feels like bumps or drops could easily damage parts of this blender.
This blender's main jar has a large capacity for most needs, and it has a spout for easy pouring. However, the blades aren't very long, so if there's food like almond butter stuck to the side of your blender, you may have trouble reincorporating it with the rest of your blend.
The NutriBullet Blender Combo comes with two additional single-serve jars: a 24 oz and a 32 oz jar. The cup and lid are both dishwasher-safe, but you have to hand-wash the blades.
The NutriBullet Blender Combo has blades that are filed down to a tapered edge. They don't feel particularly sharp, but they don't have a problem blending up food. Keep in mind that the main blade for the pitcher is dishwasher safe, but the extractor blade for the single-serve jars needs to be hand-washed.
The pitcher's lid uses friction to stay closed. However, due to this design, if there's any moisture on the lid's point of contact with the pitcher, it can be difficult for it to stay on, and it can pop out of place. The lid also has a removable center piece that acts as a 2 oz measuring cup, which is handy if you're making blended cocktails.
This blender has a long enough power cord to reach most outlets. On the downside, it doesn't have a stowaway compartment to hide the cables when it's not in use.
- Blender pitcher and lid
- Motor base
- Tamper
- 24 oz personal jar
- 32 oz personal jar
- 2x to-go lids
- Individual blade assembly (extractor blade)
- User manual/recipe book
The NutriBullet Blender Combo has five preset speeds and an on/off button, and that's about it. It's also pretty loud at max speed.
The NutriBullet Blender Combo makes disappointing almond butter. The manual suggests using its medium speed to process nut butter, but this speed produces a dry and crunchy paste that isn't very spreadable. Its rough texture has a lot of big almond chunks left behind, which not only makes the blend bland, but it can rip a hole in your toast as it isn't very spreadable. To get smoother nut butter, you'd need to blend it for more than 10 minutes.
The NutriBullet Blender Combo can make good smoothies when you use its additional personal jar. Kale is evenly processed, but it's still a bit gritty in texture. That being said, it mixes everything else well, resulting in a smooth pour. With the 'Extractor' mode, the blender has a harder time breaking up a frozen banana, but it produces a thick smoothie with a slightly foamy texture.
The main pitcher is also good for smoothies. Although the blender has a hard time fully processing kale leaves, the rest of the ingredients are thoroughly blended through. The result is a thick and slightly clumpy smoothie that's less gritty than the personal jar but is a little bubbly and foamy.
The NutriBullet Blender Combo isn't recommended for crushing ice as it requires liquids to work properly. If you want a blender that can crush ice, check out the NutriBullet PRO 1000 or the Vitamix 7500.
This blender has a single-serve mode called 'Extractor Mode', which is specifically designed for smoothies. However, it doesn't have a self-clean program like that of the Blendtec Classic 575.
The NutriBullet ZNBF30500Z is decently easy to clean. You can put the pitcher and lid into the top rack of your dishwasher, which is nice. You can also toss the personal jar into the dishwasher, but its extractor blade needs to be washed by hand. If you want to wash everything by hand, it's best to use a sponge as the blades are dull. However, kale and other leafy greens can get stuck underneath the blades or along the rim of the jar where the blades are screwed in. Cleaning up after making nut butter can also be a pain since it gets underneath the blades, and you need to scrub vigorously to remove all the oil. If you want a blender that's easier to clean, check out the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ.
This blender has a couple of extra features. With the main pitcher, you can blend hot food like roasted carrots for a smoother soup. There's also a tamper for the pitcher so that you can help move food around for better blending.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We've reviewed the NutriBullet Blender Combo (ZNBF30550Z), but there's another variant of this product called the NutriBullet 5-Speed Blender (ZNBF50550Z). NutriBullet describes this variant as having extra cups and accessories: a 24 oz handled cup, a 32 oz cup, and two to-go lids. However, it seems that the only difference between both variants is that the 24 oz cup has a carrying handle. If you come across a NutriBullet Blender combo that's different from ours, let us know in the discussions and we'll update our review.
Compared To Other Blenders
The NutriBullet Blender Combo is a full-size blender. Unfortunately, according to the manufacturer's guidelines, this blender shouldn't be used for processing ice as it can jam under the blades. That being said, it can hot blend and it comes with two single-serve jars so you can take your food with you on-the-go.
The Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ is a better, more versatile blender than the NutriBullet Blender Combo. The Ninja is better-built and easier to clean, and it can crush ice, unlike the NutriBullet. However, the NutriBullet comes with two additional personal-sized jars. It also makes a better-blended smoothie.
The NutriBullet Blender Combo and the NutriBullet PRO 1000 aren't the most versatile blenders so you may prefer one over the other. The Blender Combo is a full-size blender with a 32-oz additional jar, while the PRO 1000 is a personal blender with a 32-oz main jar and a 24-oz additional jar. The Blender Combo can hot blend, so it's better for making soups and sauces, and it comes with different speed settings and a pulse mode. However, unlike the PRO 1000, it can't crush ice.
The Vitamix Explorian E310 is a significantly better full-size blender overall than the NutriBullet Blender Combo. The Vitamix feels much better built, and it can produce almond butter and smoothies with better consistency in less time. It can also make bar-quality crushed ice, and it's easier to clean. However, the NutriBullet comes with an additional jar that you can take with you on the go.
The NutriBullet Smart Touch Blender Combo is better for most uses than the NutriBullet Blender Combo. The Smart Touch has a significantly better build quality, produces better smoothies, and does a better job of processing almonds into spreadable almond butter. However, the Blender Combo is easier to clean, and it has buttons instead of a touch screen, which some may prefer.
The NutriBullet Blender Combo is better for making smoothies than the Blendtec Classic 575. The NutriBullet feels better built, it comes with two personal jars so you can take your drinks with you on the go, and it produces a significantly better smoothie in less time. It's also much better for making soups. However, the Blendtec is easier to clean.
The Ninja Mega Kitchen System BL770 is a better full-size blender overall than the NutriBullet Blender Combo. The Ninja has a better build quality, and it can produce almond butter and smoothies with better consistency. It can also make snow-like crushed ice and cleaning it is significantly easier. However, the NutriBullet produces a silkier smoothie with its personal jar than that of the Ninja.
The Ninja DUO is better for making smoothies than the NutriBullet Blender Combo. The Ninja can produce silkier smoothies in less time, and you can pick up a variant with a micro-juicing attachment. It's also better at making almond butter. However, it's loud when blending. The NutriBullet, in comparison, has fewer cleaning needs, and it can make snow-like ice.
