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How much do I love my immersion blender? Well, if I had to pick just one small appliance for pulverizing and puréeing, it wouldn’t be my food processor, or my other food processor, or even my Vitamix. It would be my immersion blender. And I don’t even have a fancy new model; my immersion blender is a nine-year-old corded Cuisinart and I’d still choose it as my one true blending love (if I had to pick just one, that is).
This is easy enough for me to say because I don’t really bake, at least not if I don’t have to. So it’s not like I’m trying to cut butter into pie dough. I’m also very content with store-bought nut butters, so I don’t need to pulverize peanuts either. With those tasks off the table, my trusty old immersion blender shines as a versatile, time-saving tool that can handle most of my everyday cooking projects, including smoothies, steaming-hot soups and sauces, purées, salad dressings, and the occasional homemade mayonnaise when I’m feeling fancy. I also sometimes use it for blending coconut oil into coffee (it’s good, I promise!).
Of course, I won’t pretend I consistently reach for my immersion blender because it’s better at blending; it’s simply not as powerful as a traditional countertop blender. I reach for it because it’s a good-enough gadget that makes my life much easier.
Looking for the best, most powerful immersion blender? We tested them all so you don’t have to.
My immersion blender tucks neatly into a drawer, so I never have to stand on a chair to get it down from a high shelf in my cramped kitchen. It also helps me cut down on dirty dishes; I can stick it straight into a simmering tomato sauce or use it to smooth out a soup without pouring scorching hot liquid into the pitcher of a freestanding blender. And because it fits into a wide-mouthed mason jar, I can prepare smoothie ingredients ahead of time in the same container I’ll use for blending and drinking.
On the rare occasion my immersion blender struggles to chop or blend, it’s usually because I’m trying to use it in a vessel that’s too big and the ingredients are too shallow to make full contact with the blade. Other times, changing the angle of the stick can help create a more powerful vortex. Every once in a while, it just needs a little more time or liquid (but even my Vitamix has issues when there’s not enough liquid in the container).
Even cleaning my immersion blender is easy: I make a bowl of hot soapy water in the sink and run the blender in that for about 30 seconds and then give it a good rinse. Once it’s dry, I put it back into its little drawer, where it will be accessible the next time I need it for a quick cooking task.
After nearly a decade of almost-daily use, it’s probably time for me to upgrade to a newer, more powerful immersion blender. While the motor on mine is still kicking, I have to imagine the blades have dulled over the years. Maybe I’ll spring for the new Vitamix (though it wasn’t the favorite in the Epi test kitchen). Whatever I spend, I know it will be well worth the investment.
My trusty Cuisinart has been discontinued (though it looks like you can still snag one on sale at Sur La Table), but here are five great immersion blenders for all your puréeing and pulverizing needs.
Still not sure which immersion blender is right for you? Here’s what our testers had to say.
