The 5 Best Immersion Blenders - Fall 2023 Reviews

The best immersion blender we've tested is the Ninja Foodi Power Mixer System. This blender is a great option if you're looking for one that can process hot ingredients for pureed soups and sauces. With the blending arm, it can make a smooth blend with fibrous ingredients, which is important for recipes with vegetables like broccoli and kale. It stands out from other immersion blenders because it converts into a hand mixer. With the included beater attachments, you can use it to mix cookie dough or cake batter. A beaker's also included for blending, and there's a whisk attachment for whipping cream or stirring salad dressing. The blending arm and all the accessories are dishwasher-safe.

There are downsides: it's loud for an immersion blender, and the motor body is heavy, so it's more tiring to hold onto than lighter models. However, you might prefer a blender that doubles as a food processor instead of a mixer. The Breville Control Grip is a sturdy option with a bowl and blade meant for chopping vegetables. It's a good choice for blending directly in a pot or pan as well, but it doesn't handle raw fibrous ingredients as well as the Ninja. If all you need is a blender, and any extra attachments will accumulate dust in a cupboard, one of the cheaper options below is worth considering.

The KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender is a cheaper, more straightforward option. This model isn't as well-built as the Ninja Foodi Power Mixer System, and it doesn't come with as many extra attachments, but it's a good choice if you're looking for a good but basic immersion blender. It comes with a beaker for blending, a matching storage lid, and a plastic pan guard to protect non-stick pans from getting scratched by the blade bell. There's a pressure-sensitive button on the motor body to adjust the blending speed, and it's very quiet for a blender.

However, it doesn't blend fibrous ingredients as well as the Ninja, so if you use it to blend a big pot of broccoli soup, there will be some unprocessed bits left over. It does a better job of processing smaller batches, so it's well-suited for something like a cup of soup or a single-serve smoothie. It takes longer to process ingredients than the Ninja, but it's also a little lighter, which is nice if you need to blend for several minutes. Unfortunately, some parts of the blender feel cheap or plasticky, and the blending arm isn't dishwasher-safe.

The best hand blender in the budget range we've tested is the NutriBullet Immersion Blender. This simple blender doesn't come with accessories like a beaker or a pan guard. Still, its blending performance is comparable to pricier blenders' like the KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender. It's not as well-suited for processing smaller batches of ingredients for something like a single-serve smoothie but makes a fairly smooth blend with fibrous vegetables, like kale and broccoli, so it produces well-blended soups and sauces. There's also a whisk included for making whipped cream or hollandaise sauce.

Unfortunately, since it doesn't come with a beaker, you need to use your own container for blending when you're not processing ingredients directly in a pot or pan. The blender is decently well-built and quiet but makes more noise when running than the KitchenAid, so you'll find the noise more irritating, especially when blending for several minutes. The detachable blending arm is not dishwasher-safe, but it's easy to clean by hand.

If your kitchen is short on outlets or you want to avoid managing a cable near the stove, you might prefer the cordless version of the KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender, the KitchenAid KHBBV53. This battery-powered blender is similar to our mid-range pick, but its design gives you more freedom to move around the kitchen. It can make a decently smooth blend with fibrous vegetables like broccoli, even if you're blending in a deep pot. It can also manage smooth dips and spreads like hummus or nut butter, but like most immersion blenders, processing thicker recipes takes quite a bit of effort on your part.

It has a plastic pan guard to stop the blades from scratching non-stick cookware. There's also a beaker for blending with a matching lid. However, the blender is a bit heavier than its corded version, making it more tiring to use. It's advertised to have enough battery life to blend 25 bowls of soup, but it may only last for a short time if you blend hard ingredients or thick mixtures. Its build doesn't feel sturdy or premium, but on the plus side, it's easy to clean by hand and quiet when running.

If you're looking for a compact immersion blender, the Braun MultiQuick 5 is the best option we've tested. This well-built model is the lightest on the list, so you might prefer it if you use your blender often and sometimes find it tiring to hold onto. The blending arm is quite short, limiting if you need to blend in deep pots, but it makes it easier to store the blender in a kitchen drawer. It's a little more expensive than the KitchenAid KHBBV53 but has a sturdier build and comes with a whisk attachment for making whipped cream and salad dressing. There's also a 20oz beaker included to use for blending.

The blending arm makes a reasonably smooth puree with stubborn elements like kale. The narrow blade guard makes ice crushing almost impossible, but it can power through thicker mixtures and produce smooth nut butter or hummus. It's not very loud and is easy to clean by hand—however, the KitchenAid and the Ninja Foodi Power Mixer System are better for processing fibrous ingredients. Cooked ingredients are easier to blend, so you may not notice as much of a difference in recipes like soups, but the Braun isn't ideal for silky blueberry or kale smoothies.