Need A New Blender/Food Processor….Any Recommendations?

[jfmorris]

Panhead John I don't know if you've made a decision yet, but after having a Kitchenaide blender for years, I am super impressed and pleased with the Ninja I replaced it with. I got this one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Back in November I got that one on sale for $79.99, and I love it so far. I use it almost daily for smoothies and such, and this thing will take a pitcher full of ice cubes and turn them literally into snow/powder. I've never seen anything like it. I also like cleaning - you just lift the blade OUT of the pitcher, making it easier to pour/spoon out whatever you've mixed, and it makes cleaning so much easier than the old Kitchenaide.

I can't comment on how long this one will last compared to the 20 year old metal and glass Kitchenaide that I donated to the Goodwill store, but from a performance standpoint this Ninja is head and shoulders above it. I could never get a frozen drink or anything like that mixed in the Kitchenaide without stopping to pack it down with a spoon after it would cavitate, which was like every 5 seconds. Took several minutes of that to get a blender full of frozen drinks mixed. With the Ninja, it literally has a "Smoothie" or an "Ice" option and other similar functions, and it goes through a 65 second program of changing blade speeds, pausing, etc, and it does a darned good job of getting everything chopped up without me touching a thing.

[Panhead John]

Thanks for your help Jim and the time you took for me! Much appreciated. I would be moving mine after each use to store, just not crazy about having suction cups. I was pretty excited at first about it because it also can be used a food processor if I ever needed it. And it wasn’t that expensive.

[texastweeter]

Just broke my 3rd ninja blender last night...this one at the vacation house. My experience has been opposite of yours, the KA I bought seems FAR superior.

[jfmorris]

texastweeter as I said, I've only had the Ninja for a couple of months. Had the Kitchenaid for 20 years. The performance on icy drinks is where I am judging the Ninja. Jury is out on longevity, and I hope it lasts at least a few years. I just got SO tired of packing stuff down in the KA after it would cavitate every 5 seconds when trying to make breakfast smoothies, margaritas, etc.

[Caffeine88]

Panhead John


I'm in the Blendtec camp, too. My sister and mom both have Vitamix, and I'd take ours all day long. We bought at Costco probably 15 years ago, and it shows so sign of stopping now. Their blender jar is pretty great, it doesn't require anything like the poking and shoving the Vitamix needs (Vmix gives you a purpose-built stick, Blendtec does not). The Will It Blend videos are awesome, you get the idea how much power it has. My wife absolutely loves it, and we'd have a mutiny if I tried to replace with something else.

To be honest, we don't use the programs much. The milkshake or smoothie gets by far the most. It's so fast and powerful, we generally either pulse it (pesto) or just full bore blast (any pulverized sauce). Like jfmorris says, the varying speeds in the program mkae pretty short and effective work for ice-heavy blends.

It'll do ground coffee or flour, but I'm a coffee snob so that ain't happening! My wife is a flour snob (is that a thing?) so that ain't happening, either. We've done both, but there's better tools for it. The jar volume is way too large for effective spice grinding, although I guess you could use this for a Pepper Cannon alternative when you're making a couple pounds of rub...

Both Vitamix and Blendtec are workhorse beasts, and come with a matching price tag. If you want one that'll still be going strong in 15 years with some bells and whistles - definitely do it. If you want muscle without toys, I love the bar blender idea above. If you're not sure you're reaaalllly gonnna use it regularly , I'd go with one of the less pricey models like the Ninja.

Good luck!

[Panhead John]

Thanks for the great recommendation. Honestly, I’m just not sure I wanna drop $400. or more for a blender I won’t use that often. If it’d get more use than what I’d give it, I wouldn’t hesitate.

[58limited]

Panhead John, I'll add a little to this: Don't spend big bucks if you aren't going to use it much, get something cheaper or a refurb unit. Up until now my blender was an antique but cool looking Waring Blendor. It works fine, two speeds, sharp blades but it does not fully puree stuff like the reconstituted dried peppers in some of the Mexican recipes posted recently. I bought the refurb Vitamix and it does. No experience with Blendtec but lots of good advice already in this thread.

[58limited]

Also, check ebay - there are a lot of older but working Blendtecs and Vitamixes on there for cheap(er).

[Panhead John]

BREAKING NEWS!..PJ FINALLY BUYS BLENDER….NO ONE CARES ANYMORE!

Well, this decision took longer than I thought it would. I swear, I must have spent 3 or 4 hours researching all of y’all’s great suggestions the last several days. I know that many of you probably postponed your New Year’s celebrations waiting on my decision… Sorry about that.

Well folks, the wait is over! No more sleepless nights tossing and turning, wondering what I was gonna buy. 🙄 I decided to take jfmorris recommendation and I bought the Ninja Foodi Power Blender and Processor. I like the fact it doubles as a blender and food processor..2 in 1. I know I mentioned I wasn’t crazy about the suction cups on the bottom. Well, if a grown man can’t occasionally remove a blender from the countertop, I shouldn’t even be here at AR. It got lots of great reviews and Jim himself likes it, good nuff for me.

As mentioned, as little as I’ll probably use it, it’s perfect for me. Otherwise I’d have gone with the majority of the suggestions here, the Blendtec or the Vitamix. Thanks for everyone taking the time to help with your recommendations. Ok….party on people!

[CaptainMike]

Thank gawd, the wait is over...

[barelfly]

Now make some carne adovada with it! Looks like it will work great! I don’t blame you for not spending a ton on it. I don’t remember what the KA Diamond cost, but it works great for what I need. I don’t make a ton of blended stuff, but it works!

[jfmorris]

Now everyone has me worried that PJ is going to come after me for making a bum recommendation if his Ninja busts. If anything happens for him or me, hopefully it is while under warranty.

[MBMorgan]

BREAKING NEWS!..PJ FINALLY BUYS BLENDER….NO ONE CARES ANYMORE!

Huh? Wha ... ???

[texastweeter]

Panhead John not to steal your thunder, but this happened last night... this is ninja number 3 that has broke on me.

[texastweeter]

barelfly all 3 ninjas have been gifts from employees and such. Since this is our vacation house, ill wait and see how this new kitchenaid does. If it does well I will order one for here too. Both the blender and the processor. Ninja has always seemed kinda gimmicky to me.

[barelfly]

Vacation house! Excellent! That is right - like you, I try to get a few things here an there for our lake house. You forget how nice it is to have everything at your finger tips until you go to the lake house and reach for something and not have it!

[Panhead John]

I know! In my vacation home on The French Riviera, I was without a blender for 6 days! I immediately fired my butler when I got there and made the shocking discovery.

[theroc]

We were in the same boat as you regarding limited space when we were looking to add a blender. Decided on a hand/immersion blender. It does most things we want from a blender (except maybe mix margaritas!), plus has the added bonus of being great when you need to emulsify sauces and things right in the cooking pan. We have a KitchenAid, but there are plenty of other fine brands out there.

Sorry - posted this just before seeing that you made purchase already. Disregard!