Best blender 2022: for smoothies and soups

Buy the best blender and you'll be able to make endless smoothies and delicious seasonal soups. With a range of bullet blenders and multi-serve blenders, we've included top options for large families and personal use. 

Many of our top picks for the best blenders have been tried by members of the Real Homes team, meaning you can click through to see our reviews, or check out our hands-on pros and cons for more information. You'll find top brands like Ninja, NutriBullet, KitchenAid, Smeg, and Philips in our guide. 

Things to look out for are dishwasher-safe attachments to make cleaning a cinch, and the material of the pitchers. It's nice to use a blender to make soups, but some of them can't take hot ingredients because of the material of the pitcher, so check this before buying. For more healthy home cooking solutions, check out the best juicers. 

The best blender you can buy in 2022

The NutriBullet Blender Combo is a smart multitasker. It's got eight attachments and three speeds, as well as a pulse setting. You can use this blender to crush ice and even blend up soup until perfectly smooth.

Covers all bases
Use the 1.8 litre pitcher for family-sized soups and choose between the 900ml colossal cup, 700ml travel cup and 500ml short cup for personal smoothies. It also includes two to-go lids for dashing around and drinking frozen treats on the go. 

Complete control
There are three different speeds to choose from with the NutriBullet Blender Combo. Extract is designed to make the most of the nutrients in your drinks, and pulse can give you that extra push you need to blend up soups and crush ice. 

Hot and cold
Not all of the best blenders can be used to blitz up hot ingredients, but the NutriBullet Blender Combo can. Use it for soups and other piping hot drinks without worrying. 

We put this blender to the test and found it practically faultless. From its charming exterior to its powerful 1200watt motor, it has the power we expect from the very best blenders and the looks to win it that spot on your kitchen counter. But then, what else do you expect from KitchenAid? 

Safe
Thanks to the Intelli-Speed control feature built-into this blender,  the speed will automatically adjust to suit the texture of your food. Accidents = avoided.

Family-sized
With a 1.6 litre capacity, it'll be able to make enough servings for the entire family, and you may even have some leftover. There are also optional add-ons including a personal-sized cup and even a juicer attachment for citrus fruits.

Durable
It's made from a die-cast metal base, meaning it's robust and is built to last, and it has six settings in total, as well as a pulse button.

• Read our full KitchenAid K400 Artisan blender review

The best blender for making drinks such as milkshakes and smoothies? The NutriBullet Pro 900. It can liquidise fruit, nuts, ice, vegetables, seeds and much more. 

One-man blender
A good purchase if you're making smoothies and other drinks mostly just for yourself, as it has a small-ish capacity. However, this does mean it will fit nicely on your kitchen worktop or in your cupboard.

When we tried the NutriBullet Pro 900 we were so impressed by how well it handled tough ingredients like kale stems, spinach leaves, frozen mango, and blueberries. The result was a smooth and bright green smoothie, with no seeds or fragments of stems left at the bottom of the glass. Delicious. 

Easy to use
While the fact that it only has one setting may be a disadvantage for some, it does mean that your job will be made easier as there'll be no faffing switching between speeds – you just press the button until the ingredients are liquidised. For nutrient-rich drinks with no unwanted lumps, there really is no better option.

In our opinion, this blender from Nutri Ninja is the best blender for baby food. Much of the food we eat doesn’t naturally release the full extent of its nutritional value but with the help of this powerful blender, you can make sure whole foods and seeds are completely broken down to extract their full potential.

Quick and easy
This 2-in-1 jug blender is pretty smooth to operate; just add ingredients and let the pre-set Auto-iQ programmes do the rest. The super-sharp blades will slice through fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and ice in just a matter of moments.

Settings
This brilliant blender features several settings from smoothie to blend, ultra blend and food puree. So, whether you’re blending the evening’s dinner into something consumable for your baby or creating a delicious smoothie with lots of lovely ingredients, the power of the Nutri Ninja will blend down the toughest of veg and fruit into the ideal smoothie.

If you’re starting out on your smoothie journey or a seasoned protein shake fanatic, this blender from Ninja is our top pick of 2021. When we tested it, we found it could power through both fresh and frozen produce with ease, and its Auto-iQ settings make it one of the smartest blenders you can buy. 

Single serve only

With two 700ml cups (which come with lids for taking on the go) this is a blender that's best suited to making large smoothies for one. The pitcher is easy to take around, so for trips to the gym or the morning commute it can meet all your single-serve needs, but will struggle to blend for a family. 

As smart as they come

The Ninja Blender with Auto-iQ BN495UK has two Auto-iQ modes which run for a preset amount of time to deliver perfectly blended smoothies. the Max setting is great for frozen items, and we found that it blasted through even frozen chunks of spinach for a smooth and even blend. 

Sturdy and stylish, this Smeg blender is the ultimate kitchen appliance for those who are looking for something for families: it can liquidise just about anything, including ice. 

Construction
It's made from die-cast aluminium and has anti-slip feet, making it a sturdy find. It's also a lightweight appliance, despite its sturdiness. The jug itself is BPA free, and it has handy measurements on the side for a little helping hand when you're cooking.

We enjoyed that the blender jug slots into the base instead of having to be screwed on. It's also very sturdy feeling, and the tritan design is easy to clean. 

Functions
It has four-speed settings, as well as pre-set programmes for ice crushing and smoothie making. Despite the retro look, there's no faulting the modern design that makes it very easy to use. 

Featuring one-touch operation, the Breville Blend Active is the best blender for those who are looking for something easy to use and happily affordable. 

Function
Its blade can cut through everything from ice to nuts, seeds and frozen fruit, and it comes with two dishwasher safe and BPA free cups.

Easy to use
Since it has just one button, this blender features one speed setting. Press and hold the button until your food is blended to the right consistency then remove the bottle from the blender, swap the blade to the bottle lid and you're off. Not only is it easy to use, but thanks to the fact it has dishwasher safe parts, it's easy to clean too.

The Philips Viva Collection Pro Blend 5 has markings on the side of the jug that show its capacity up to 1500ml. 

Function
With a range of strength that goes up to 600 watts, you can vary the power needed for smoothies, soups, and even crushing ice. The pulse setting is particularly good for tough tasks.

Straightforward
Ideal for family use, this blender has a screw-on pitcher that's easy to clean and made of break-resistant BPA-free plastic. 

How to buy the best blenders

When it comes to choosing the best blenders, there are a few factors worth considering if you want to ensure you're investing in the best piece of kit to suit your needs. We'd recommend considering the following...

How will you be using your blender?
If it's for your morning smoothie, it's best to go for a model geared towards that purpose, such as the Nutribullet 600 series. However, if you're looking for a blender to liquidise the ingredients for Yorkshire puddings or to mix a pancake batter, a more powerful model will be more suitable. High wattage models aren't always better, so be sure to check what the blender you've picked is best designed for.

How many speeds does the blender have?
Smoothies only? One speed is enough. However, if you'll be using your blender for all sorts of recipes, invest in a model that has a range of different speeds and settings, and look out for those with a pulse setting, an ice-crushing setting and a hot food mode.

What is the size of the blender
Consider this both in relation to how much storage space you have for it and how much food it needs to cope with at a time? Most range from 0.5 litres to 1.5 litres; smaller ones are obviously best for making that single morning smoothie; larger models will be needed for tackling dinner party recipes. 

Are there any useful additional attachments
These may include extra blades, or even extra cups for convenience? 

Are the blender cups and jugs BPA free
This is a factor worth considering if you're conscious of your health and the research surrounding BPA plastics. To read all about BPA plastics and why you should avoid them, visit HealthLine (opens in new tab).

What is the best blender?

In our opinion, the best blender currently available, and in stock, is the NutriBullet Blender Combo. This machine can blend coffee beans, salad dressings and batter, as well as smoothies and all the rest. So, if you're looking for an all-around piece of kit that's perfect for a modern kitchen, you really can't go wrong with this model.

How to choose the best blender

There’s a lot to consider when buying the best blender. For a start, think about the size of your household and how often you’ll be using a blender. Most blenders come with parts that are dishwasher-safe, but it’s rare to find that one that can be cleaned in the dishwasher entirely. 

Cleaning a blender is a fiddly process, so look for one with as many dishwasher-safe parts as possible. Another thing to consider is the amount of speeds. For pulsing and chopping, you need something with a variety of settings, which means the one-speed NutriBullet may not be ideal. .

Looking for more small kitchen appliance recommendations?

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