10 best blenders to buy now

Want a pretty product at any price? Go straight to KitchenAid. These guys know how to make kitchenware sexy and their artisan blender is no different. Its simple but sleek design starts with a satisfyingly solid metal base in retro pistachio or almond cream. A silver dial gets the asymmetric stainless-steel blade going within the glass jug, which loads for both left- and right-handed use. After you’ve blitzed, say, a smoothie, flip it onto the self-clean setting and you’re ready to go with a soup or sauce. The K400 is made for heavy-duty daily use, so you shouldn’t run into any problems, but if you do there’s a five-year guarantee included.

Giving the KitchenAid a run for its money is the Smeg blender, which combines a 1950s aesthetic with modern practicality. Smeg takes the lead in colourways – seven, including three non-pastels – and it has a slightly bigger jug (1.5l compared to 1.4l) that’s made from durable, scratch-resistant, BPA-free Tritan plastic as opposed to glass. But if it’s power you’re after, the Smeg’s impressive 800 watts is no match for KitchenAid’s 1200. However, it does come in at £100 less, so is worth the sacrifice. The Smeg even comes with an optional extra ‘Bottle to Go’ that can attach directly to the blender, similar to the NutriBullet.

What the heck is a bluicer, we hear you cry? It’s a new-fangled portmanteau created by Sage, an award-winning division of the Breville Group. This two-for-one will fulfil all your blending and juicing needs with ten speed settings and five one-touch pre-sets. The Kinetix bowl and blade system allows for crushing, chopping, folding and aerating, resulting in super silky soups and smoothies. It has an 88mm feed chute that can take fruit and veg whole, saving on chopping time. Plus it comes with a party-friendly 1.5l jug and a nozzle attachment, should you wish to juice directly into a glass.

Having hit the market this summer, Enfinigy is Zwilling’s latest range of sleek, stainless steel kitchen appliances. The German brand is renowned for its knives, so you can expect the cross blades in their blenders to be razor-sharp, with a serrated edge to aid dicing and added extra bite from something dubbed ‘piranha teeth’. The motor is a powerful 1200 watts, churning out hot or cold mixtures in the 1.4l Tritan jug. There are five pre-sets and 12 speed settings available, plus a clean cycle. Rather usefully, the machine shuts off if the lid is removed whilst in use, and it comes with a tamper and a built-in measuring cup.

While many blenders are suitable for making soups, there are few that can cook it for you too. Enter the Ninja Foodi, which contains a heating element that can cook ingredients directly in the non-stick glass jug within 20 minutes. It has a powerful 1000-watt motor, a sizeable 1.7l glass jug and ten programmes that will automatically create smooth or chunky (depending on preference) soups, shakes, sauces, jams, smoothies and more. It also comes with a bunch of handy accessories, including a measuring cup built into the splash-free lid, a tamper and a specially designed brush to safely clean around the blades.

You’ve no doubt heard of the NutriBullet, a convenient blender for single-serving smoothies, but it comes with a sizeable price tag that inches towards the £100 mark. This Breville Blend Active is a fraction of the cost at just £30 and does the same job. Chuck your choice of fruit, veg and ice into the bottle part, screw on the lid with the blades, slot it into the base and blend. Then simply detach it, swap the blades lid for the drinking lid and hey presto! You’re ready to head out, smoothie in hand.

If nothing but the name will do, then you won’t be disappointed with the NutriBullet 900. For starters, it has a more powerful motor than other NutriBullets. With 900 watts (hence the name) it can blend at 50 percent more power, making it easier to thoroughly pulp seeds, stems and skins. It comes with convenient accessories too, such as a choice of cup sizes and lids – select from the flip top, handle and lip ring, or resealable stay fresh lid. Plus, it comes in a lovely champagne colour as opposed to the standard grey.

From hot to freezing, this American-made blender can handle it all. Throw in ice or frozen ingredients and you can have ice cream or sorbet within seconds. Alternatively, roughly chop raw vegetables and the Vitamix Explorian will not only liquidise them but heat the mixture too. Now, it may not be the only blender out there – or on this list even (see: Ninja Foodi) – that can cook soup, but it is one of the only ones that does it without a heating element. The laser-cut blades are made from hardened stainless steel, which create so much friction that if you leave it for five to ten minutes it’ll heat up whatever’s in the 1.4l jug.

Coming in at just under £100, this Nyyin is the most affordable family-size blender on the list and gives the others a good run for their money. The jug holds an impressive two litres and the motor is a powerful 2000 watts. It has triple-layer blades, which enables the machine to mush fruit, veg and the like, but also grind tougher stuff like nuts, coffee beans and meat. It’s super simple to use, with a ten-speed dial and a pulse button, and it’ll shut off automatically if it gets too hot or the jug has been overfilled.

They’re known for their slip-happy pots and pans, but it turns out Tefal also make tabletop blenders and they’re not half bad. This PerfectMix has a sturdy stainless-steel base, which contains the 1200-watt motor that avoids overheating thanks to the accompanying air-cooling system. Its 2l glass jug is thermoresistant, so can withstand ice cold or hot temperatures for all kinds of shakes, smoothies, ice cream, soups and more. The six blades ensure silky results and are easily restored to sparkling afterwards thanks to the auto-clean function. There’s even a miniature spatula included to guarantee you get every inch of the mixture out and ensure a deep clean.