Published on Dec. 18, 2024
"Smoothies should be chunky," said nobody ever. We tried 14 different blenders to find the best blender for smoothies on every budget.
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If you’re looking to level up your healthy breakfasts, nothing is easier or tastier than a smoothie. Registered dietitian Nancy Snyder addresses the health benefits of smoothies in her review of the best smoothie delivery services.
“As a dietitian, I often recommend smoothies as a convenient way to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your day,” she say. “And with a scoop of your favorite plant butter or protein powder of choice, it also makes for a great pre- or post-workout treat.”
While we love the idea of signing up for on-demand smoothies delivered right to your door, making them at home is fairly simple. All you need is access to the best blender for smoothies to achieve silky smooth results. Our team of product testers put 14 different options to the test to find the best blenders. Below are their three favorite options specifically for smoothies, according to their experience.
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The Cuisinart Hurricane Pro is hands down the best blender for smoothies out of all 14 blenders we tested. Our testing team was blown away with the gorgeous, yogurt-like consistency it produces in just 90 seconds—no tamping required. It crushes competition with an ultra powerful 2,000-watt motor that makes the most silky smooth mixtures we’ve seen. Hello, restaurant-quality, healthy smoothies!
Sure, it excels at smoothies, but it also works great across the board, even for hot soups. Not to mention the abundance of settings, including buttons for smoothies, ice crushing, soups and pulsing, along with adjustable speed arrows for additional control. It can even whip up nut better that’s so smooth, it rivals store butters.
While we love most aspects of this blender, there are a few things we’d love to see improved. Firstly, the measuring lines are dark and easy to read, but they’re not engraved. We could see them eventually wearing off if you put it in the dishwasher or own it for years. Additionally, crushing ice is a tricky task. Most of the ice lodges on the bottom with the preset mode, though the pulse mode worked much better.
That said, the build quality impressed the team. It feels sturdy and heavy-duty, and the motor seems like it’ll last for a while. The handle has a rubber grip, which is great for traction and doesn’t allow your hand to slip at all.
Bonus: There’s a self-clean mode that makes cleanup so simple. We used the clean cycle for 30 seconds (the length of time can be adjusted), and it actually did pretty well, requiring just a little more scrubbing afterwards. Or, pop the jar, blades and lid into the dishwasher. Simple!
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While something like an immersion blender typically costs much less than the average blender, they’re not the best pick for smoothies. Instead, opt for the Ninja Professional Plus Kitchen System with Auto-iQ. At nearly half the price of a Vitamix (while still boasting all the bells and whistles of a blender twice the price), this option offers some of the best smoothies of the 14 options we tested.
It boasts an ultra-powerful 1,400 watt motor and buttons for smoothies, ice and ice cream, plus low, med, high and pulse settings. Our favorite feature is the stacked metal blade, which makes short work of fruit and ice cubes. It removes easily for cleanup, though we suggest removing it prior to pouring in case it comes loose in the process.
Many additional features make this one a standout, including a release button on the lid, which is nice for added safety and security, and doesn’t take any wrestling to remove. You can even pour out your concoctions with the lid on, thanks to a clever flap covering the spout. Additionally, all attachments are top rack dishwasher safe.
A user-friendly setup also makes this a great pick for families and those seeking an intuitive interface. While it’s a bit on the bulky side and works better with larger yields, the mid-tier price point coupled with the high-end features make it a great value for folks who want a solid all-around performer.
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For top-of-the-line features and a heavy-duty motor that’s built for years of use, look no further than Vitamix. Not only is the Vitamix Ascent X4 one of the best blenders for smoothies, it’s also one of the best Vitamix blenders overall—and it’s well worth the splurge.
The stacked metal blade easily slices through thicker cuts of fruit and large ice cubes with the assistance of its impressive 1,500-watt motor. The blender also offers a range of easy-to-use settings. Choose from the smoothie, frozen dessert, soup, frozen cocktail and dips and spread buttons. Or, opt for the manual low, med, high and pulse settings for things like hot soups (really!) or salad dressings.
The smoothie setting in particular is incredibly useful. The screen changes to reflect the blender’s current setting throughout the cycle. In our smoothie test, the screen started at setting two, then jumped to five, then ended at ten. After 45 seconds of blend time, it was perfectly smooth, edging out the rest of the Vitamix blenders with its silky smooth results.
This lid is the best out of the Vitamix models we tested. Instead of a rubbery material with finicky tabs, it’s made out of plastic. It also boasts a better, more user-friendly interface than the other Vitamix blenders we tried. Sure, it’s pricey. But the blender also comes backed by a generous 10-year warranty, ensuring that your investment stays well-protected for years to come.
Shakes and smoothies are some of the most quintessential blender recipes. When buying a blender for smoothies, make sure the motor is nice and strong. Aim for a blender with at least 1,500 watts of power to ensure that everything blends up quickly and smoothly.
Additionally, while some blenders offer a range of speeds, others have settings specifically calibrated for smoothies. Choosing one with a built-in smoothie setting streamlines the process and eliminates any guesswork.
Our testing team has three years of experience testing and evaluating everything from the best coffee subscriptions to the best flower delivery services. Many of us have backgrounds in kitchen and culinary careers ourselves. The remainder of our team are simply passionate home cooks who want to recommend the very best products using honest and fair testing practices. We would never recommend a product we don’t love, regardless of how popular it is or the size of the brand.
To find the best blenders, our expert product testing team spent hours in our testing lab making homemade peanut butter, smoothies and crushed ice with 14(!) different blenders. They performed roughly 10 tests on each. In total, the testing team collected roughly 400 data points—that’s over 75 hours of research, sourcing and testing!
While we blended a variety of things (including peanuts and ice), we focused on our smoothie test results for this piece. For this test, the testers prepared a smoothie in each blender, following the manual’s instructions regarding ingredient order and settings, if available. Each smoothie was blended for 90-120 seconds (or according to the automated smoothie preset), then poured through a colander to catch any chunks.
According to our tests, the best blender for smoothies is the Cuisinart Hurricane Pro. In addition to delivering perfectly smooth results, it also offers a heavy-duty motor that should last through years of use.
A dedicated smoothie blender should typically offer a “smoothie” setting. It also does a better job overall of incorporating fruits, veggies, nuts and other ingredients into a silky smooth mixture.
