Welcome to the ultimate Yonanas Review. We’ll be comparing…
Expect to find information on the following…
- Yonanas Classic vs Elite
- Swirlio vs Yonanas
- Yonanas vs Blender
- Yonanas vs Dessert Bullet
- Yonanas vs Vitamix
In short, the Yonanas does what it’s intended to do: make delicious fruit-based soft-serve.
However, the Ninja BL660 is also good at making fruit soft-serve (video in the guide below) and is in a similar price range.
Plus, the Ninja is more versatile than the Yonanas since it can easily make sauces and smoothies.
In short, both are a good choice for the frozen dessert application, but the Ninja is a better value.
Related Article: Can You Put Ice Cubes in a Blender?
Yonanas Classic
- The Yonanas is great at what it does which makes replacing real ice cream easy.
- Great for entertaining and for kids – unique and fun to use.
- Tends to be more affordable than other larger appliances.
- However, it is sort of a “one trick pony” and you can make pretty good soft serve in any decent blender.
Ninja BL660
- Because of it’s blade-system the Ninja BL660 is a great alternative for the Yonanas.
- It’s more budget friendly than other high-powered blenders, but can produce similar results to the Yonanas.
- You can also do a lot more things with it from smoothies, sauces and dry grinding.
If you’re in the market for a good blender, you may be interested in our Nutribullet vs Ninja comparison.
What is a Yonanas Machine?
The Yonanas is a device that uses 100% whole fruit to make ice cream or sorbet.
It can make “ice cream” out of almost any frozen fruit, including:
- Bananas
- Strawberries
- Mangos
- And more.
You can even add chocolate or cookies to it and create something more indulgent.
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How Do You Use a Yonanas
The Yonanas is really simple to use:
- First, you need to take your frozen fruit and let it thaw out for a few minutes as per the user manual.
- Then, you turn on the Yonanas and push the fruit (ideally a frozen banana first) inside via the chute and plunger.
- Make sure you place a bowl under the bottom of the chute.
- You can then keep pushing more fruit through as desired.
- Finally, turn the machine off and remove the chute for cleaning.
- Clean with soapy water or put it in the dishwasher.
Read Also: Vitamix 7500 vs 5300: Which Blender Should You Buy?
The Yonanas does indeed work!
It makes 100% fruit/banana soft serve as intended (with a few caveats).
First, check out this user demonstration below to see it in action – then we’ll get to the caveats.
Here are the caveats…
One thing that many people don’t realize when they use the Yonanas is that the fruit should be slightly thawed. You need to it sit out for around 7-10 minutes (depending on the fruit).
You also shouldn’t run it for more than two minutes at a time. It’s designed to run for two minutes on and one minute off for a maximum of three cycles.
Recommended Article: Vitamix 6500 Blender Review
According to the Yonanas User Manual it is top rack dishwasher safe. However the base needs to be wiped down with a damp cloth and should never be immersed in liquid.
The components of the machine that are safe for the top rack of the dishwasher are the 5 parts of the chute assembly.
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Yonanas Classic vs. Elite: What’s the Difference?
Given that they are both from the same product line designed to do the same thing, the Yonanas Classic and Yonanas Elite are actually very similar in many regards.
In the world of blenders and food processors, the price tag is often correlated to the warranty that the product comes with, and the Yonanas is no exception.
As you can see, the upgraded model – or the elite, has a warranty that’s2 years longer than its predecessor, but doesn’t offer much increase in power.
This indicates that what you’re paying for mostly is peace of mind. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but in our opinion, this is the major point to consider when choosing between the Elite and the Classic.
The other factors are going to be noise and aesthetic.
The Elite is designed to be a quieter unit, perfect for those who live in apartments or with members of the household who go to sleep early. The Elite also has a bit nicer look, is bigger, and is manufactured in a few different styles which have the potential to fit your decor.
So at the end of the day its the price, warranty, noisiness, and aesthetics that are going to be the differentiating factors. Consider these 4 points and choose what suits your lifestyle best.
Further Reading: Waring Blender vs Vitamix
UPDATE 4/11/2018
I recently discovered that certain Ninja Blenders (with their multiple blade systems) are great at making banana ice cream too!
A great example of this is the Ninja BL660
You can make fruit ice cream, but that’s about it.
In the right blender you can do things like banana ice cream, hot soups, hummus, sauces, etc.
But you need a high-powered blender or a blender with a tamper if you want to make banana ice cream without any liquid.
For example, I’ll often times make frozen fruit ice cream in my Nutribullet.
Sidenote: To see my favorite NutriBullet blender check out this guide: Best NutriBullet
Yes, it comes out very thick and creamy, but I can’t do it without any liquid. I always just use a splash of soy milk.
The reason is because I don’t have a tamper.
So my advice is this…
If you have your heart set on making banana ice cream and don’t have a lot of money to spend – go for the Yonanas.
If you have a bit of a budget and know you want to make smoothies, soups, hummus and sauces consider a powerful blender like the Vitamix 780.
Vitamix 5300
All Vitamix blenders also come with a minimum 5-year warranty, even the reconditioned ones.
The Yonanas on the other hand can only make frozen fruit desserts. That’s the only thing it was designed to do.
But – we’re also talking about two completely different price points.
You’ll usually find Vitamix blenders costing a good amount of money.
At the time of writing this, the MSRP on both Yonanas machines are much lower.
So honestly, it depends on your exact needs and what your budget allows.
If I could only pick one, it would be a Vitamix just because it’s so much more versatile.
And I would try to save a few bucks on getting are conditioned model.
But if I really was only interested in fruit-based ice cream and/or had another small blender that I used for smoothies and sauces – then the Yonanas would be the way to go.
Related Article: Yonanas Review – Classic vs Elite vs Dessert Bullet vs Vitamix Blender
Ninja BL660
There several Ninja Blenders available, but for the sake of this comparison, I’ll stick with one of the most popular – The Ninja BL660.
Even though it’s got less power and a lesser warranty than other blenders like Vitamix or Blendtec, its still a good alternative to the Yonanas.
Why?
The Ninja’s blade system doesn’t create the typical “vortex” like the Blendtec and Vitamix do.
Because it’s got multiple blades going from the top to bottom of the jar, you don’t have to deal with tampering the bananas – especially if they’re slightly defrosted.
Here’s a demonstration about what I’m talking about…
See Also: Best Ninja Blender
So given that it’s in a similar price range to the Yonanas, I think the BL660 is a fabulous alternative.
Plus – it can do other things (like smoothies) and comes with a wide range of cups and accessories.
When it comes strictly making banana ice cream, I would actually prefer to have a Yonanas over a Blendtec.
Unless I had a Blendtec Twister Jar.
Blendtec blenders are great, but when it comes to blending with all solid ingredients, they usually need a bit of help. You can read more about Blendtec on my Blendtec Total Blender review.
As the blender starts spinning, it can create air and space between the blades and the bananas.
Between blending cycles, you usually end up pushing the bananas down back into the blades because Blendtec doesn’t come with a tamper like Vitamix does.
My brother has made dozens of batches of banana ice cream in his Blendtec (without a twister jar) and in his experience, it required multiple rounds of pushing the bananas down into the blades, and the blender will overheat once or twice. The final product was always great though!
I’ve seen videos of users making banana ice cream in a Blendtec without overheating, but it would be much easier if you have a tamper or Twister Jar.
Below I’ve included a demonstration…
This is the Blendtec making banana ice cream without a Twister Jar. Notice that you have to squish it with a spatula.
Cuisinart ICE-30BC Pure Indulgence
Yonanas 901
The Yonanas 901 Deluxe was the older discontinued version of the Yonanas 902.
The 901 came with some additional things like a bowl and popsicle molds.
However, it seems that most users don’t actually use them so Yonanas began to offer only the model in its standalone form (the 902).
Even though it’s discontinued, you might still be able to find the Yonanas 901 here.
Nutribullet Pro
Magic Bullet Dessert Bullet Blender
At this point, the Dessert Bullet seems to be discontinued.
You may be able to find some people selling it here on Amazon, but be mindful of accidently getting a used one.
By the looks of it on 4/10/2018 – most retailers are either out of stock or have used ones.
Hamilton Beach Food Processor
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!
