Are you looking to find the best immersion blender to buy? You’re in the right place! Our guide will help you find the best one for your needs and budget…
Below you’ll find…
- These are our picks for the best immersion blender (and why we selected it).
- What immersion blenders are good for and what they aren’t.
- Our other top immersion blender picks for specific applications.
- Our answers to common questions about hand blenders.
Let’s begin!
QUICK SUMMARY
| Product Name | Grade |
| All Clad Immersion Blender | A+ |
| Breville BSB510XL | A+ |
| Mueller Ultra Stick | A |
| The Betty Crocker model | A |
| Nespark Portable Drink Mixer | A |
| Cuisinart CSB-79 Smart Stick | A |
Out of all the immersion blenders that were considered, the Breville BSB510XL was our favorite.
- It has a stainless steel shaft with a guard to prevent scratching on pots.
- It is designed to handle ice cubes without breaking.
- Includes useful accessories (chopping bowl, blending jug, and whisk) at a fair price.
- It will work for all the applications discussed in this guide.
What Are These Good For?
Immersion blenders — also known as hand blenders or stick blenders are suitable for a number of things in the kitchen.
They excel at doing large batches of ingredients where a normal counter-top blender might be too small.
Applications include:
- Blending soups in a large pot.
- Whipping creams (or vegan-friendly aquafaba).
- Make tomato sauce go from chunky to smooth.
- Salad dressings (both thin and thick).
- Certain varieties of thin smoothies.
- Mashes and Purees.
- Pesto or other chunky sauces.
If you can think of anything that needs to be chopped or pureed in a vessel, then an immersion blender can probably do it.
Important Immersion Blender Features
- Variable Speeds: Being able to control the speed allows the user to control the degree to which they blend ingredients. For example, you may want to do a rough chop on certain things and a full-on puree on others.
- Power: For obvious reasons, power is essential but not always necessary. For applications such as big pots of soup, power will help get that nice vortex going. But if you’re looking to blend some wet ingredients in a small vessel, you don’t need to go for something extremely strong.
- Shaft Length: A long shaft on an immersion blender means that you’ll more easily be able to reach the bottom of your vessel. Some uses call for a shorter shaft, such as mixing coffee.
- Material: For some applications, the material isn’t that important. But for others, like blending hot liquids, you don’t want to be using plastics — stainless steel is a must.
- Accessories: Many immersion blenders come with accessories such as whisks and containers. For some applications (such as chopping), these are extremely useful.
- Warranty: While most of these blenders are pretty inexpensive, looking a the warranty is important if you’re spending over $50 or so. It’s important to know that your investment is protected.
- Cost: You don’t need to spend a lot on one of these machines. They aren’t nearly as much as Vitamix, Blendtec, or other big blender brands. You’ll probably spend anywhere from $10 – $70, depending on the materials and features you’re looking for.
Related Article: Best Blenders for Wet and Dry Ingredients
If you love the unique and spice-laden pleasure of Indian cuisine and are looking for a kitchen appliance that can handle grinding up Indian spices, check out our list for the best blender for Indian cooking.
See the top blenders for making nut butter here.
Top Immersion Blenders by Application
Immersion Blender For Hummus
If you want to make hummus, I recommend getting something with a bit of power behind it, such as the All Clad Immersion Blender.
While it’s not 100% necessary, it can speed up the process quite a bit if you’re making a big batch of hummus.
The All-Clad also has one of the longest shafts on the market, which is handy for large vessels.
If you’re a single person and are mainly interested in small batches, feel free to go for a different model.
Why It’s a Great for Hummus
- 600-Watts of Power: It’s an extremely powerful hand blender that makes smoother hummus faster.
- Long Shaft: The shaft is over 9-inches long. If you’re making dip for the entire family, you can blend the chickpeas up in a wide and deep container.
Where It Falls Short
- May Be Pricey: The All-Clad runs more expensive than your typical immersion blender.
- Accessories Sold Separately: While many other hand blenders include accessories – they must be bought separately with the All-Clad.
Are they better than normal blenders for this application?
Absolutely! The best immersion blenders are very convenient for making hummus because they can mash and chop simultaneously.
The final product may be a bit more chunky than you might get with a food processor or high-powered smoothie blender.
If you have to put multiple batches in the food processor, I would agree. But for small ones, an immersion blender is great.
Side Note: Ninja makes fantastic blenders for hummus, and you can learn more at our best Ninja blender post.
Best For Smoothies
For smoothies, the Breville BSB510XL is an excellent choice.
But let me say this.
Why It’s Great for Smoothies
- Extra Large Jug: The 42-ounce jug on this blender is big enough for a large, satisfying smoothie.
- Anti-Slip Mat: The jug has a storage lid that double functions as an anti-slip mat. This is useful for ensuring it doesn’t move around on the counter.
- Ice Crush: Many users are happy with the ability to crush ice and make a “slushy” type beverage. It’s one of the few immersion blenders with blades designed to handle ice.
- Bonus Accessories: This immersion blender goes above and beyond smoothies with a chopping bowl, whisk, and guarded head that won’t scratch pots.
- Guard Prevents Scratching: The Guard on the top of the blender prevents scratching in pots – so this one also works for soups.
Where It Falls Short
- May Be Costly: At the time of writing, this was one of the most expensive immersion blenders.
- Non-Stainless Steel Guard: Many users don’t like the guard isn’t stainless steel and cannot be removed.
So are they as good as regular blenders?
Even if they’re advertised to do so, immersion blenders aren’t as good at crushing ice as regular blenders are.
This video is an example of how you would make a smoothie in an immersion blender.
As you can see, it helps to have the frozen pieces broken up or slightly defrosted. Even the best handheld blenders would be able to do super thick and icy smoothies.
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But if you prefer a thinner/less frozen blend anyway, you probably won’t mind.
If you can only afford one tool for the job, consider our pick for the best immersion blender for smoothies.
Best For Mashed Potatoes
Because overprocessing your potatoes can make them gluey, I don’t think getting the most powerful immersion blender for mashed potatoes is necessary.
The speed dial gives you control over the power, and the stainless steel shaft and guard combination mean you won’t scratch your pots.
It’s almost like it was made for mashed potatoes — even though some might consider it a culinary no-no.
Recommended Article:: Top 8 Best Ninja Blender Models 2020
Why It’s a Great for Potatoes
- Speed Control: You can use the light controls to reduce the chance of your mashed potatoes becoming gluey or over-processed.
Where It Falls Short
- May Be Pricey: The All-Clad runs more expensive than your typical immersion blender.
- Accessories Sold Separately: While many other hand blenders include accessories – they must be bought separately with the All-Clad.
So should you use one for mashed potatoes?
Yes and no.
While over-processing the potatoes will make them gluey, there is a fine balance here.
Also, the final product can be quite subjective.
For example, I’ve made a vegan cheesy potatoes recipe with an immersion blender, as that’s what the recipe calls for. I thought the final texture was amazing.
If you’re going to be doing mashed potatoes – I highly recommend an immersion blender with a stainless steel shaft.
Best For Hot Soups
For the application of hot soup, we selected the Mueller Ultra Stick.
It’s also extremely affordable compared to some of the other stainless steel options and is made by an extremely reputable kitchen company.
Why It’s Great for Hot Soup
- Variable Speeds: The Ultra Stick has eight variable speeds and a turbo mode. This gives you more control over whether you want to do a rough chop or completely puree your soup.
- Stainless Steel: The stainless steel shaft means that there won’t be any harmful plastics leeching into your soup.
- Affordable: At the time of writing, this was one of the most affordable blenders with all these features. This was especially surprising since it has a 2-year warranty.
Where It Falls Short
- Shorter Shaft: It’s not super short, but the stainless steel part measures around 7.5 – 8 inches. Still long, but shorter than the All-Clad.
- Blade Complaints: A few users have complained about broken blades, but Mueller seems to reach out to correct the issue consistently.
Best For the Money
If you’re on a budget, The Betty Crocker model is a great value.
While it’s not the top of the line regarding materials and functions, it can still do many simple jobs without burning a hole in your wallet.
I would get it for various applications on this list but wouldn’t feel comfortable using it in many hot liquids.
I don’t like the fact that it’s plastic for the fact that it may leech unwanted chemicals and also could even melt if the liquids you’re using it in getting too hot. Further Reading: Best NutriBullet: Review of Their Top 5 Blenders
Why It’s a Great Value
- Affordable: This was one of the most affordable immersion blenders we could find.
- Breaker Included: Comes with a convenient 600 ml beaker.
- Two Speeds: You still have some control over the texture of your ingredients.
Where It Falls Short
- Motor Issues: Many users complain that the motor will burn out if used for heavy-duty jobs.
- Plastic: It’s not ideal for hot liquids. There have been complaints if the plastic melts.
Best For Baby Food
When it comes to baby food, we again selected the Breville BSB510XL.
The jars that this unit comes with make it easy to make purees and baby food in a contained environment. This way, you don’t have to think about food splattering everywhere or having to get out a big bowl if you want to a small batch.
Why It’s Good for Baby Food
- Variable Speeds: Baby doesn’t eat purees forever. When you decide to make things a little chunkier, you can do so with 15 variable speeds.
- Storage Lid: You can blend and store baby food in the jug, giving it a dual purpose.
- Ergonomic Grip: If you’re watching a baby, you want something comfortable that allows you to multi-task and observe your surroundings.
- Chopping Bowl: The chopping bowl is great for making guacamole or other mushy foods for babies.
- Many customers rave about it for the application.
Where It Falls Short
- Pricey: This immersion blender tends to cost more than some cheaper plastic ones.
- Some Plastic Components: Some users don’t like that it has some plastic components and isn’t all stainless steel.
Should you use it for baby food over a regular blender?
For this one, you can go either way. If the ingredients are soft, it should be easy to create food for your child with either blender type. I would prefer the stick option because it is easier to clean.
Best For Hot Coffee
The best immersion blender for coffee we could find is the Nespark Portable Drink Mixer.
It’s different than the rest because it’s small with a whisking head.
Related Article: Best Personal Blenders 2019 Edition
Why It’s a Great for Coffee
- Battery-Operated: You don’t want to be pulling out long cords when trying to make your coffee in the morning. This portable coffee blender conveniently takes batteries.
- Lifetime Warranty: It comes with a lifetime warranty if it stops working.
- Froths and Mixes: Will froth plant-based milk and mix powders like Matcha for lattes.
Where It Falls Short
- No Travel Case: If you’re looking to bring this on a business trip, you’ll have to come up with your way of packing it.
Best For Nuts
If chopping nuts is your application, then you’ll love the Cuisinart CSB-79 Smart Stick.
Remember that you don’t necessarily need this machine to chop nuts. nut chopper
- Grinder Bowl: The grinder bowl is the perfect size for chopping up some nuts.
- Stainless Steel Shaft and Head: Makes it good at making hot soups.
- Measuring Beaker: Includes a 16-ounce beaker for mixing and measuring in addition to the
Where It Falls Short
- Only Two Speeds: This hand blender only has a low/high button which limits your texture control.
Is An Immersion Blender Worth It?
While I wouldn’t get an immersion blender for smoothies or regular blending tasks, I think they are worth making hot soups and purees. Even though high-quality blender brands like Vitamix and Blendtec can also make hot soups in their jars, it’s much easier to do it on a stove with a hand blender.
The good thing about hand blenders is that they aren’t that expensive.
If you can afford to buy a mid-tier model, you can leave it lying around when you need it and buy a regular blender.
Will An They Scratch Pots?
Because the shaft has a shield for the blades, they won’t scratch your pots. While it’s spinning, the blades should never hit bottom or the sides of the pots.
This isn’t a result of the blades but rather because you’re hanging a hard object on the inside of your pots. However, you could also end up banging on the bottom of your pots.
That’s why several options on this list are equipped with a rubberized guard on the bottom of the unit.
Can These Blend Ice?
Some blenders have blades designed to handle ice, but not all.
For example, the Breville BSB510XL has blades designed for crushing ice, but it’s still not as ideal as a normal blender.
It also works best if the ice is already in some liquid (like a smoothie), but don’t expect it to create a super thick icy shake as a Vitamix might.
Some immersion blenders have separate vessels for ice crushing, such as the Braun MQ9097.
But even then, I don’t think it is the best tool for the job. I’d much rather have a standard counter-top blender.
See Also: Our Favorite Blenders for Making Ice Cream from Bananas
Can I Use Them
Not really; immersion blenders aren’t that great at chopping in bulk the way a food processor would be. That is, of course, unless you get one that has a separate jar or container. Without one, you’ll just be pushing the stick blender into your food and not cutting a large amount at one time. If you’re specifically looking for one that works best for soups, hot beverages, or coffee, take a look at our list for the best blender for hot liquids.
The best way to chop with a blender is to get one with a large jar and use the wet chop method. If you want to learn more about blenders that serve as food processors, you can read our guide on the best blender food processor combo.
You place all of the ingredients you want to put in a large blender jar with an adequate amount of water. Then, pulse it a few times, and your components will be chopped. All you need to do then is strain the water out.
I’d recommend checking out our blenders for cauliflower rice here for options that are great for the job.
How Do They Work?
These blenders work by having a small set of blades that spin around when the user pushes the button or the switch on the handle/shaft.
From there, the blades form a vortex within the liquid that they are immersed in.
You’ll notice that there are little holes with guards surrounding the blades. This helps draw liquids and ingredients towards the blades and form a vortex for faster pureeing and blending.
If it has a jar, it works similar to a regular blender when it’s inside the jar. The blades spin and blend just like a counter-top blender does.
Final Verdict
By now, you’ve seen a bunch of immersion blender options, but we have two favorites out of the bunch.
All-Clad Immersion Blender and the Breville BSB510XL.
Go for the All-Clad if you’re going to be doing lots of huge batches in deep pots.
For the average household, we think the Breville would serve you better.
Happy blending!
Hey, I’m Joey. I’ve been cooking since I was a little kid and love everything about it. You can find my writing about food, kitchen appliances (such as blenders) and much more. Thanks for stopping by!
