4 Best Blenders for Smoothies, Soups, and Slushy Cocktails

Once upon a time best blender was a simple thing: It had “high” and “low” settings and, for the home cook, probably had a limited set of uses. Now, in the era of the high-performance blender—kitchen appliances with motors powerful enough to move a small boat—a blender can do a whole lot more than just blend. It can crush ice and turn it to snow with ease, it can mix nut butters, heck, it can clean itself. But do you need it to?

The best blenders

When it comes to blenders, Institute of Culinary Education chef instructor Richard LaMarita says you should ask yourself a few things first: How do you plan to use it? Will it just be single-serve green smoothies in the morning, hummus in the afternoon, and blended margaritas at night? Will you make batches of hot soups and purées? For the former you may be able to get away with a little personal blender, for the latter you’ll want to go with something more heavy-duty.

Next, assess the functions you want and how they’re presented on the machine. Is it digital, just a few buttons, or a dial? “Some of these [blenders] are very complicated. Some are very simple,” LaMarita says. “They maybe have just two or three things to press. Others can have up to 15 little buttons to press.”

Then, think about what makes up the blender itself. Is it durable? What’s it made of—glass or BPA-free plastic? How’s the motor? According to LaMarita, lower-end blenders will have 200 to 300 watts. Medium range will have 300 to 500 watts, and over 1,000 watts will do some “serious blending” (though the more powerful a blender, the louder it’ll be).

Feel a little overwhelmed? Don’t worry. Read on for our expert-recommended blender options.

Who among us hasn't coveted a Vitamix blender? They are steadfast kitchen stalwarts that are consistently a favorite among our testers, year after year. The only problem is that they are pretty expensive, which is why it's always worth waiting for them to go on sale before committing to the purchase. And so, here we are at the launch of the holiday shopping season: Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The deals on these beloved appliances, during this annual weekend of sales is the best time to get one of these bad boys at a discounted price. The biggest price drop is on the oft-overlooked Vitamix Propel, which does everything our beloved 5200 does but it also comes with three programs for smoothies, soups, and sorbets.

Pros: High power blender and easy to use
Cons: You can’t take the blade apart for cleaning

When asked for his opinion on the best blender, food director Chris Morocco said, “If you get anything other than a Vitamix 5200, price better be the only reason.” Indeed, Vitamix holds a similar place in the blender space that Le Creuset does with Dutch ovens and KitchenAid with stand mixers. The brand makes a ton of different high-performance blenders, some with specialized functions and programs, some without. While you could opt for the more compact and affordable Explorian model or one of the souped-up Ascent series models, Morocco recommends Vitamix 5200 for its mix of simplicity and power. Working the 5200 is pretty easy for the average home cook, something Morocco especially likes about the 5200. You turn the knob to your desired speed setting and flick the blender’s switch on. There’s an additional switch for pulsing as you’re blending.

“The haptic feedback (the process of a machine providing physical stimulus in response to its use): Turn the blender on, crank up the speed, and then hit the max power—it’s a sequence that you progress through three distinct, physical control interventions in a graduating sequence,” Morocco says. If that sounds a bit academic, what he’s getting at is that the manual controls and variable speeds make using the 5200 really intuitive. Especially when developing and testing recipes, the blender’s simplicity combined with its sheer power allows him to better tailor his blending to exactly what he needs, as opposed to dealing with the presets that come with other Vitamix models.

Power: 1,380 watts
Speeds: 10
Volume: 64 oz.
Warranty: 7 years

Pros: Wide container, high power, easy to use, and super durable
Cons: High price point, very heavy

Another high-end blender model from Vitamix, the Professional Series 750 is actually part of the same Legacy line that the 5200 is. The 750 brings the same powerful motor as the 5200, though the 750 does have some additional features. It offers programmed settings for making smoothies, frozen desserts, soups, and purées in addition to the standard 10-speed options—all manually selected by turning a simple knob. The containers for the 5200 and 750 Professional blender hold the same volume, but the 750’s is wider and shorter; a style that Vitamix calls “low-profile.” That means it will fit more easily under cabinets. (Note: You can get a low-profile container for the 5200 if you prefer that style or have a small kitchen that demands it.)

ICE’s LaMarita refers to his own Professional blender as his “baby.” He’s found it super durable thanks to features like a metal bottom, and its stainless-steel blades have held up for years. “I can’t remember when I bought this—it was so long ago—and it works like the first day I got it,” LaMarita says. “I want something with a powerful engine. I want a nice, big capacity container, because I’m going to be filling it up with things.” The 750 offers all of that to him, with the Vitamix’s characteristic powerful, high-speed motor. Like Morocco, he likes the tactile experience of the dial on this type of blender over the digital interface of Vitamix’s techy Ascent series (read more about the Ascents here). And though the 5200 and 750 have the same container capacity, LaMarita likes the wider container so he can really see all the ingredients getting blended.

Power: 1,440 watts
Speeds: 10 plus 5 automated blending programs
Volume: 64 oz.
Warranty: 7 years

Pros: Good power without a high price tag
Cons: Not great with harder tasks like peanut butter or tough smoothie ingredients like kale

During testing, the KitchenAid crushed ice cubes and blended basic smoothies better than some of the high-performance, higher-priced competitors.

As the name implies, this is a very simple and easy-to-use blender: Its dial has just three speeds and a pulse setting, with no preset programs like you find on some pricier blenders. Still, it’s well-equipped to handle most blending tasks, though testers did find that it struggled with very hard ingredients, like nuts, and fibrous ones, like raw kale, especially in comparison to true high-performance blenders.

Power: 650 watts
Speeds: 3 
Volume: 48 oz.
Warranty: 1 year (option to purchase longer warranties available)

Pros: Very powerful for personal blender, affordable
Cons: Not a full-sized blender

Not everyone needs to blend a whole pot of soup in a Vitamix. Truthfully, for lots of blending projects something smaller might even be preferable—a morning smoothie, a single dinner's worth of pesto, or hummus as an hors d'oeurvre for a dinner party. For all those projects check out the Zwilling Enfinigy Personal Blender. It's still got plenty of power with a 500 watt motor, and its 20 ounce jar is an ideal size for most sauces. Another thing that really sets the Zwilling apart from lots of other personal blenders is that it actually has multiple settings: normal, smoothie, and pulse. Our testers over at Epicurious liked it so much they actually preferred it to a number of full-sized blenders.

Power: 500 watts
Speeds: 3 
Volume: 20 oz.
Warranty: Limited lifetime warranty

In addition to to seeking recommendations from our own test kitchen and the culinary educators at ICE, we worked with dozens of blenders including models from brands like Breville, Blendtec, Ninja, and Nutribullet. We made smoothies, pesto, and crushed ice, looking machines that were easy to use, produced smooth and creamy results, and didn't leave any ingredients intact or unincorporated.

Aside from the obvious difference in shape, the biggest differences between blenders and food processors are the strength of their motors and the sharpness of their blades. For the most part, blender blades aren’t very sharp. Instead, blenders rely on high-powered motors to break down and purée ingredients. You’ll want to use a blender when preparing things with a lot of liquid—like smoothies, protein shakes, and other frozen drinks. A blender’s taller, narrower shape also makes it better for blending liquids (read more on why the shape of your blender really does matter).

Food processors, on the other hand, have razor-sharp blades and less powerful motors. They work best for pulverizing dry ingredients: Use them when you’re making breadcrumbs or cutting butter into flour for pastry. When you want to purée a sauce, but keep a little texture—say, when you’re making pesto—you’ll want a food processor. Processors are also great for chopping fresh ingredients like onions or garlic. Check out more on them in our review of the best food processors.

Unlike countertop blenders, immersion blenders—a.k.a. hand blenders—are quite small gadgets that can fit inside a drawer. They’re handheld wands that typically break down into two pieces: the blades and the motor. They work without a blending cup or container and they’re wonderful tools for whipping, emulsifying, and puréeing food right in the pot or pan you’re cooking them in, so they’re perfect for blending creamy potato soup or marinara sauce. Senior writer Emily Farris actually prefers her immersion blender to a hulking full-size blender. Looking for the best immersion blenders? We like this 600-watt stainless-steel model from All-Clad, and this humble 300-watt model from Cuisinart.