Why get a huge blender when you could use one of the best immersion blenders for just about everything instead. We've got picks from folks who know.
The best immersion blender does exactly what the best kitchen gadgets should do. It’s a multitasker—puréeing, whipping, emulsifying, and, of course, blending—and it can essentially replace a larger, more expensive kitchen appliance, the countertop blender.
An immersion blender, or a stick blender as some call it, is lighter, easier to store , and lets you perform all your blending right in your pot or Dutch oven. In other words: It does everything you need it to but in a more compact form . Best immersion blenders So which is the best immersion blender? Read on for more info on our versatile top picks. Pros: Feels sturdy; comes apart, which makes it easier to clean; you don’t need to move it around as much to get it to blend; has a very powerful motor Cons: You can only buy attachments separately; doesn’t have the best blade guard so we wouldn’t recommend it for use with nonstick cookware While many know All-Clad for its top tier stainless-steel cookware, the brand also makes an immersion blender so good that it’s earned the title of the very best immersion blender from test kitchen editor Kendra Vaculin. It is sturdy, features a long shaft that’ll purée soup easily, and is powerful. Plus, the All-Clad can up the ante even more with a high-speed Turbo button,. Vaculin especially likes the design of the blender and cage itself, saying that means you won’t have to move the machine around as much to blend because it sucks everything toward it in an impressive vortex. “There’s a really nice lift with the All-Clad,” Vaculin says. “The cage of the blade is higher so it feels like the blade is stood up, which is also nice for anything chunkier—like if you have pieces of butternut squash in a soup or or big chunks of tomato—they can fit under the cage better.” The handle and dishwasher-safe blending wand also detach—a nonnegotiable for Vaculin because it makes cleaning the machine much easier. Specs Blending depth: 9.25' Power: 600 watts Power settings: Variable plus turbo Included attachments: None Warranty: Limited lifetime warranty Pros: Comes with different attachments, including a blending jar, a chopping beaker, and a whisk; has an ergonomic handle; has a wide range of variable speeds; big immersion depth; protective plastic rim that won’t scratch your cookware Cons: Not as powerful when breaking down food as other models You get a bit more bang for your buck with the Breville Control Grip than you do with the All-Clad thanks to the whisk attachment, large blending jar that can handle smaller jobs like salad dressing, and the chopper attachment—giving you the ability to transform your immersion blender into a hand mixer for making whipped cream or a food processor with a quick snap . The ergonomic handheld blender uses a unique design from Breville called “anti-suction blending technology” that’s meant to minimize chances of clogs and splatters as you’re working . While the product testers were still impressed with the Breville’s more modest power and range of 15 different speed settings, they did note the model blended smoothie batches more slowly than competitors and still left a few flecks of ever-so-slightly larger spinach. Nevertheless, reviewers say that “with the included attachments, it can do most of what a full-size blender and a food processor can do, and it’s much easier to use and to clean.” Specs Blending depth: 8' Power: 280 watts Power settings: 15 Attachments: Blending jar, chopping bowl, whisk Warranty: 1 year Pros: Strong motor Cons: Might not last long as other heavy-duty commercial-grade immersion blenders Working in professional kitchens, chef and Institute of Culinary Education instructor Stephen Chavez is well-acquainted with heavy-duty immersion blenders like the behemoth Robot Coupe . It’s big enough to handle the extra tall pots he often cooks with and powerful enough to quickly and efficiently handle a batch of pizza sauce. But a commercial grade immersion blender likely isn’t the type of kitchen tool the average home cook can feasibly have in their home. While the average noncommercial immersion blender might not possess the same longevity or power, Chavez has found success with models from Waring. “I’ve used a Waring Stick blender professionally, and those ones are stronger for sure,” Chavez says. Ultimately, power is the main factor for Chavez when it comes to his ideal immersion blender, and the Waring packs a decent punch. With an RPM as high as 18,000, the motor’s a little bigger than what you might see with some other models. “The light-duty would work well for anybody at home,” Chavez says. “You’re probably going to be using it to blend a soup or a sauce.” Specs Blending depth: 7' Power: 100 watts Power settings: 2 Attachments: None Warranty: 1 year There is an idea floating around that cordless immersion blenders are a convenient way to bounce around the kitchen blending soup on one side and flying over to make a batch of pesto on the other. We, however, are not all in cordless immersion blenders . The problem is that they are less powerful, even when fully charged than the vast majority of similarly situated plug-in immersion blenders. And the main source of a blender’s efficacy is the power of its motor . Our immersion blender testing troupe at Epicurious tried several cordless models and found the All-Clad be the best cordless immersion blender, but we’d recommend the three models above as better options.