Nutri Ninja Blender

The Nutri Ninja is one of our most used kitchen appliances. I had to throw in some pretty convincing arguments to persuade my husband that we really absolutely did need one.

You see, I am a bit of an appliance addict. Our cupboards are full of them. But, in my defence, I do use them all. Well most of them. The cupcake maker spent a good year gathering dust before I relented and gave it away. But I didn’t actually buy that one – it was a gift.

As you can probably gather, I do quite a bit of geeky research on my kitchen gadgets and appliances before I buy them. I always want to ensure I get the best one, and that it will get regular use. If it doesn’t enhance our kitchen and eating experience, they are not worth the purchase.

The problem I knew I would face was convincing my husband we needed another blender/smoothie maker. We had been given one just the previous Christmas. It took pride of place on our kitchen counter, right next to our much used juicer.

But somehow I knew the Nutri Ninja was different. I had seen the commercials for the NutriBullet which is what had led me down the research path for a new (high speed) blender.​

Read on to discover what my research revealed.

Nutri Ninja Reviews

Nutri Ninja Pro (BL450)

This is the blender that we have. When we bought it, back in December 2014, it was the only Nutri Ninja model on the market.

I can’t sing it’s praises enough. It has had pretty much daily use since then, sometimes multiple uses in one day, and it has never ever had any problems.

We make everything in it – smoothies, sauces, dips, soups and lately nut butters.

Our smoothies come out very ‘smooth’ with no lumps. No more dodging the lumps of avocado that haven’t quite blended!

We love it so much that I have created several recipe books for it.

If you want to check them out you can see them all on my author page.

Features

If you are looking for an economical blender that will easily make your daily smoothie, this is absolutely the perfect model. We put frozen fruits and vegetables in it, nuts, seeds, ice cubes – and it blends them perfectly every time.

As I mentioned before, we also make soups in it (please note the Nutri Ninja doesn’t heat the soup, we have to cook it first, allow to cool and then place in the Nutri Ninja.) Other foods we make are desserts (yummy frozen yoghurt!), sauces, dips and more recently nut butters.

A quick note on the nut butters – as we are beginning to make more nut butters in our blender we are considering upgrading to the Nutri Ninja Kitchen System to benefit from the higher motor power, but more on that later.

Nutri Ninja Auto IQ (BL480UK)

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The next model up from the original Nutri Ninja BL450 is the Auto IQ. The power of the blender goes up from 900 watts to 1000 watts. The other addition to this model are the buttons on the blender – 2 blending settings (blend and ultra blend) and the pulse function.

A large change to this model is not having to press down the cup while you are blending. You can simply switch the blender on and get on with something else in the kitchen during that time.

 

 

Features

Aside from the extra blend power from the motor, Nutri Ninja have provided even more flexibility with this model with the addition of the pulse, on/off, blend and ultra blend buttons.

• Start/Stop – Press to start and press to stop. The display will count up in seconds, up to 60 seconds.
• Pulse – works only when pressed down.
• Blend – For blending soft or fresh ingredients.
• Ultra Blender – blends harder and frozen ingredients. Great for making any smoothie more liquid like.​

Nutri Ninja Pro Auto IQ (BL488UK)

The BL488UK is essentially the same as the BL480UK (reviewed above) except that the motor runs as 1100 watts instead of 1000 watts, so it is more powerful.

Nutri Ninja Kitchen System​ (BL490UK)

Features

This is at the top end of the Nutri Ninja blender range (there is one more blender in the range with a 1500 watt motor). The kitchen systems comes with a powerful 1200 watt motor and a number of accessories, turning the BL490UK in to a very versatile appliance.

By paying a bit more you are adding a very powerful appliance to your kitchen. The addition of the mini food processor turns it into a machine of many uses.

• Dough Blade – make pizza dough, bread dough
• Chopping Blade – chop vegetables and fruits, use for grounding meat. Great for making salsas, chopped salads etc.

The settings;

• Start/Stop – Manually switch on and switch off.
• Pulse – press for pulsing action. Great for crushing ice and chopping vegetables.
• Low – runs on a low speed for 30 seconds before switching off. Good for use with dough.
• Auto IQ Extract – For blending more fibrous ingredients including apples, kale etc
• Auto IQ Blend – for blending softer ingredients like fruits and vegetables.
• Auto IQ Chop – a program of timed pulses and breaks to chop, ground and achieve rough consistencies.
• Smooth Boost – For use with the Auto IQ Blend and Auto IQ Extract when a smoother, creamier consistency is required.

Although this model is more expensive than previous models, you really do get a lot more features for your money. The inclusion of the mini food processor may well eliminate your need to buy a separate kitchen appliance.

Nutri Ninja Complete Kitchen System with Nutri Ninja 1500W – BL682

The BL682 is everything you need in one machine. To start with, it has an incredibly powerful 1500 watt motor powering it – sure to get through even the toughest of ingredients!

Although the price may seem quite high, you have to consider that you are getting a food processor as well as a high speed blender. When you compare it to other brands with similar features, it is actually quite a reasonable price.

Features

1500W Motor

Recipe guide (includes 30 recipes)

Pitcher & Lid (2.1L)

Food Processing Bowl (1.8L)

Feed Chute Lid

 Total Crushing Blade

 Chopping Blade

 Dough Blade

 500ml Tritan Cup

 650ml Tritan Cup

 Slicing/Shredding Disc

Grating Disc

This model is intuitive and easy to use. There are five Auto IQ programmes which enable you to blend, pulse, chop and process at the touch of a button.

There are so many things you can make with this model, from doughs and cookie mixes, to sauces, dips and of course smoothies.

The power behind this machine has everything you need to perform every day kitchen tasks with ease.

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Nutri Ninja Recipe Book

All the Nutri Ninja blenders come with a small recipe book, and there are many more recipes on their website. For more inspiration a simple search on Pinterest will bring up a selection of recipes.

Of course if you are feeling creative you can just experiment with your own recipes. As a general rule try to put the ice cubes or anything frozen in last.

As I mentioned earlier in the article, I have created a few recipe books for the Nutri Ninja, you can see them for sale on Amazon.