Yahoo News 9 best bullet blenders to make a speedy smoothie
A bullet blender is an essential kitchen tool when you want a smoothie in a hurry.
They’re designed to whizz up whole fruit, vegetables, ice, juice and milk to make a healthy and satisfying breakfast in seconds, but they also come in handy for smaller blending tasks such as grinding nuts, whipping frozen desserts, or making pesto too.
What’s the difference between a blender and a bullet blender, you may well ask. Well, if you flip the ingredient compartment upside-down, it’s a bullet.
Traditional blenders are good all-rounders for hot or cold soups, sauces and smoothies too, but bullets are often more powerful and aimed at the smoothie-to-go market with portable cups and re-sealable lids. If you like a quick health fix in the morning, you’d better take a bullet.
Look for a bullet blender that’s easy to clean or dishwasher safe, as sticky fruits and stubborn nuts can get caught around the blade. Not all bullets can blend ice or dry ingredients, so check your product’s engine speed and capacity depending on the kind of smoothie you’ll be making.
If blades are hand wash only, whizz lukewarm water with a drop of washing up liquid to clean the blades and cup in a few seconds.
Never immerse the blade unit fully in water as it could malfunction, and do not attempt to blend hot ingredients, because they create a vacuum seal and you won’t be able to undo it again!
Generally, bullet blenders are designed for short, powerful bursts, and they shouldn’t be used for more than 30 seconds to one minute at a time, otherwise they overheat.
Our testers took each blender for a spin with frozen and fresh fruit, as well as ice, kale, carrots, nuts and thicker shakes. They reviewed each blender according to ease of use and cleaning, noise levels and smoothie texture.
Here’s our roundup of the best bullet blenders.
You can trust our independent reviews. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Salter NutriPro super charged multi-purpose nutrient extractor blender, 1200W: £46.44, Amazon
This straightforward blender has a powerful motor, which made light work of carrots, and kept kale’s bright green colour while also blending it super-smooth. The large one-litre cup and two 800ml cups meant we could whizz up more than one smoothie at a time, and the flip-top and drip-proof storage lids were great for drinking on the go. The surface sucker pads kept the blender fixed to the counter while the powerful blades seamlessly absorbed ingredients into the smoothie with no splashing back up. It’s also not too noisy. This is a great family bullet blender that will keep your smoothie habit running smoothly.
NutriBullet Balance smart food blender, 1200W: £149.99, John Lewis & Partners
NutriBullet is credited with popularising the bullet blender trend, and is leading the way with this digitally activated blender aimed at gadget-loving gym bunnies. The in-built scales detect and analyse ingredients, and the NutriBullet app gives nutritional information in real time while you make your smoothie. Our testers enjoyed building and saving personalised recipes on the app, especially when it recommended the best pre-set blending function depending on what ingredients were being used.
It felt futuristic (the less tech-savvy testers preferred manual mode), but the app took the guesswork out and the clever super-blend function pulsed intermittently to pulverise harder ingredients. Cups were huge at 930ml and the two matching flip-top lids were leak proof and portable. The cups are dishwasher safe, but the blades are hand wash only and easy to clean with shorter blades. The NutriBullet gave one of the smoothest blends on kale, and is best suited to committed smoothie addicts who want to keep track of their nutritional intake.
Nutri Ninja blender with freshvac technology, 1000W: £129.99, Argos
The Nutri Ninja is high-tech like the NutriBullet, but slightly more accessible as the pre-set blending functions are on the main body of the blender base rather than an app. The vacuum system was quick and easy to use, and draws oxygen out of the cup before blending to preserve nutritional content and colour. It had less foam and separation than some of the other blenders tested, and an ice crushing function for cocktails.
Two 700ml cups were good for single servings and it gave an incredibly smooth finish to the kale while retaining excellent colour. The only downside to the impressive results was that it was quite noisy, but it wins on convenience, as the cups, blade and lids are dishwasher safe. This high-end bullet blender would suit smoothie lovers who are keen on quality and don’t mind a little bit of tech.
Sage ‘The Boss’ to-go blender, 1000w: £104.99, Lakeland
Sage’s bullet blender whizzed fruit and vegetables so finely the smoothie had an almost bubbly mouth feel. The Kinetix blade system and serrated stainless steel blades pulled all ingredients into the smoothie quickly and the push and twist function was easy to turn on or pulse. Its two 500ml cups are sturdy, like the die-cast metal blender body, and the blades, lids and cups are all dishwasher safe.
The cup had a smooth, curved lip, which made it the most comfortable cup to drink from. The grind and mill unit comes separately; it whizzed up nuts and seeds to a fine powder and the resealable spout was useful to keep nuts fresh or sprinkle on cereal. With both a smoothie and milling attachment, this multi-use, Heston Blumenthal-approved bullet blender would suit a family or keen cooks.
Vitamix A2500i Ascent series, 1400W: £549, Vitamix
If you’re in the market for a new blender (and you’ve got the budget), look no further than the Vitamix A2500i with bullet blender attachment. The 1400W engine puts it in a league of its own, and once you’ve had a Vitamix you never look back. The Vitamix is primarily a blender, but the bullet jars and mill attachment make it utterly versatile, with variable speed and pulse control to fine-tune texture in any recipe.
Our testers liked the built-in digital timer for smoothies (and hot soups or frozen desserts), with pre-set blending patterns to process harder ingredients. It takes up more room on the counter than other blenders tested, and you can’t drink straight from the cup either. However, it made one of the finest smoothies, which didn’t separate over time. This is a blender for pro cooks-who are willing to invest to get the smoothest of smoothies.
Smart Master bullet blender, 700W: £59.99, Harts of Stur
The versatile Smart Master bullet has a six-prong extractor blade for smoothies, juices and shakes, and a two-prong milling blade for grinding oats, nuts, seeds and coffee. The large and small cups are dishwasher safe but the blades are hand wash only. It’s got 700W power, which was less than other blenders tested, but it still blended harder carrots and tough kale easily. The push-pulse functionality was easy to use, but the mechanism to click it in for continuous blending was a bit stiff. This is good entry-level bullet blender, which would suit cooks who want a more versatile piece of equipment.
Wilko Power Blender Plus, 1000W: £35, Wilko
This offering from Wilko is an excellent budget option with a twist-on function rather than a button. It comes with a large and small jar depending on the serving size, but the flip-lid wasn’t leak proof, so use the cover-lid if you want to transport it. All parts are hand wash only, but the blade is relatively easy to clean. The Power Blender Plus crushed ice easily and wasn’t too messy when testers undid the lid, and it also made light work of larger frozen fruit and fresh ginger. This is a solid, no-frills option if you want an easy to use power bullet blender.
Tower Xtreme Pro Red, 1000W: £54.99, Tower
Tower’s blender comes well equipped with three different sized cups (900ml, 800ml and 450ml), which were useful for double servings. It’s versatile, with an extractor blade which, as well as making smoothies, chops onions, mixes pancake batter or grates chocolate at speed, and a milling blade to whip cream or grind nuts and spices. Our testers found it easy to use with a push-pulse function and twist-on for a longer blend, and it was also one of the quieter machines tested.
The blades are hand wash only, but jars are dishwasher safe, and suckered feet kept it stable on the kitchen surface. The serrated blades made light work of kale, but it had some trouble blending heavier ingredients such as carrot, until the testers chopped them finer. It’s a great multipurpose bullet blender, which would be useful for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Breville blend active, 300W: £19.99, Harts of Stur
Breville’s blend active blender is a colourful budget option for smoothies on the go. It thoroughly blended frozen and fresh fruit and crushed ice well considering its size. The removable blades made it easy to clean, and the blade unit, bottle and lids go in the dishwasher. The one-touch control was convenient, but might be frustrating if you like to vary the speed.
The Breville coffee express bottles also fit on this machine, so you can make iced frappuccino too if you have that model. It comes with two 600ml bottles, the lids are totally leak proof, and the spout made drinking on the go easy. It struggled a bit with a very thick banana and peanut butter shake, but otherwise blended all fruit and juice smoothly.
The verdict: Bullet blenders
The Salter NutriPro is our best buy as it’s reasonably priced with a strong motor and excellent blending. If you like to count your calories and power up on protein, splash out on the tech-savvy NutriBullet, or for ultimate smoothness and nutritional retention, get yourself a Nutri Ninja.
