I use a blender pretty much every day when cooking vegan food at home. It is probably one of my most used pieces of kitchen equipment. But, I have used so many rubbish blenders over the years. Some were so bad that they couldn’t even blend a chunk of soft banana into a smoothie.
It is a complete waste of money if a blender can’t even blend. Therefore, I am really picky about the blenders that I have bought and use on a regular basis. I see them as an important investment since a good blender will last you for years and will be able to take on all the tasks you want it to.
At a minimum, they need to be able to blend all the plant-based food I want into a smooth consistency so that the end result could pass as a liquid. Shouldn’t be too difficult to achieve, right? Well, definitely not with the following blenders that I have tested and use myself on a regular basis.
Why trust my opinion on the best blenders for vegan cooking? Well, I’ve blended a lot. I mean it. When I worked as a professional vegan chef I used blenders pretty much all day every day, creating many different things like curry pastes, vegan cheeses, desserts and soups. I also use blenders to create recipes at home and I definitely have my favourites, some of which have been with me for 10 years.
Top picks
- Best for heavy-duty blending: Vitamix Ascent
- Best for smoothies: Ninja Auto-IQ
- Best portable blender: Nutribullet GO
- Best for soups & sauces: KitchenAid Hand Blender
Best for heavy-duty blending (vegan cheeses, nut butters, nice cream & more)
Vitamix Blender
Do you love experimenting with vegan food, making vegan cheeses and blending up delicious vegan cheesecakes? Well, the last thing you’ll want to end up making is mushy and grainy versions of these.
So for all the cheese lovers, cooking pros & baking aficionados out there, I recommend the Vitamix Ascent Blender for the smoothest of blends. You can achieve silky and velvety smooth consistencies with it, perfect for making creamy puddings and vegan cheeses, as well as sauce bases and curry pastes.
It also works perfectly well for making your daily smoothies and soups, meaning you don’t need to purchase any other blender. And it is the best blender for making smoothie bowls = like my peanut chocolate smoothie bowl recipe.
I love that the Vitamix blender comes with a tamper tool to help get everything super smooth without any lumps! This really is the ultimate blender that will blend anything you want it to.
It also has nifty self-cleaning abilities. Just rinse the jug, fill it up with warm water and a drop of washing-up liquid, and whizz! It works a charm.
The classic blenders start out at around £399. But I recommend the Ascent blender for the silkiest smooth results, this starts at £599.
Do keep in mind that when buying one of these, it is pretty much a purchase for life. Mine has lasted for 10 years so far, and it is still working as if it were brand new.
Pros
- Blends pretty much anything!
- Achieve super-smooth consistencies
- Really hardwearing & lasts forever
Cons
- More pricey than others (but worth it)
Best for smoothies
Ninja Blender with Auto-IQ
Vegan smoothies can be hard to get right if you haven’t got the right blender for the job. The worst thing would be to blend up some leafy green kale into your smoothie and when you go to drink it you end up with a mouthful of clumpy soggy leaves in your mouth.
If you’re looking to crush some ice, make a vegan protein milkshake or just want an easy way of getting your five-a-day then the Ninja blender is perfect for you. It’s also great if you want to create some yummy fruity cocktails!
It is small enough to blend up smaller amounts of food without causing your blender to overheat and it is much less of a faff to clean up.
I love the fact that you use the same cup to blend everything in and to drink from. It comes with a leak-free lid that allows you to take it with you on the go. Meaning you can blend up your favourite smoothie in the morning before work and take it with you to drink on to go.
Because of the size of the blender, it is also really good for making spice pastes and pestos.
And if the settings of most blenders scare you off, this blender has an automatic setting that blends based on what you’ve put inside it. Pretty cool, ey.
This is one of the most affordable blenders and it comes with a few cups so you can have one in the dishwasher whilst using the other. Ninja is also a very popular brand due to its affordability and effectiveness, why not check out my review of their air fryer?
But because of its price and size, which starts from £79.99, it won’t be suitable for any big hefty jobs. You may also be interested in my review of the Nutri Ninja Blender – the smaller model.
Pros
- Great for smaller blends like smoothies
- Blending cups can be used to drink from
- A more affordable option
Cons
- Less hardwearing
Best portable blender
Nutribullet GO
This blender is like no other mentioned here because it is actually portable. No need to blend your smoothie or shake in the kitchen, because you can blend it anywhere you want! Be it the gym, the office or in the park.
It may sound a little odd at first, but sometimes you don’t want your blended smoothie sitting around in a cup all day. They can go a little rank. With the Nutribullet GO, you can blend it fresh, ready to drink whenever you want.
The blade comes with a cover so you can store it cleanly in your bag and the blending cup comes with a lid to drink out of.
Obviously, something that is portable requires some sort of power. This nifty blender is actually chargeable, meaning you can plug it into your laptop whenever it needs charging. And thankfully, it has about 20 blending cycles before you need to charge it.
Because of its size, this blender is one of the most affordable on this list, starting at around £39.99.
Pros
- Great for blending on the go
- Can be used anywhere
- Comes with a lid to drink from
Cons
- It isn’t the most powerful blender
- You need to charge it
Best for soups & sauces
KitchenAid Hand Blender
Sometimes it isn’t necessary that you use a standalone blender to cook with, instead, you can get away with using a hand blender.
For instance, if you are cooking up a soup and you want to keep it quite thick and chunky, a hand blender will be really useful. It allows you to be a bit more specific with the consistency, as you are the one in control of the blending.
But that being said, not all hand blenders are made equal. So, I recommend this particular one from KitchenAid. Not only will it look really pretty on your kitchen worktop, but it is also really powerful.
You can use it to blend in pretty much anything, like soup in a saucepan or a smoothie in a jug. It has a handy pan guard that can be popped on for when you are blending inside a pan that you don’t want to get any scratches on.
It is really good at blending small quantities of food, like a paste for a vegan Thai green curry. But it is also pretty good at blending large quantities of soup in a saucepan.
I find these hand blenders from KitchenAid to be really versatile. They come with other attachments, like a chopper and a whisk, perfect for vegan baking. They are a lot more affordable than bigger blenders like the Vitamix, starting at around £135, and you’ll definitely get a lot of use from them!
Pros
- Great for blending soups & sauces
- Can be used in any container or pan
- Achieve more chunky consistencies
Cons
- Can’t achieve as smooth consistencies
My favourite vegan recipes that require blenders
With the right blender, you can make so many amazing vegan dishes. I use it for both savoury and sweet food, including to make curry pastes, vegan cheeses, and sauces, as well as vegan cheesecake mixes and sweet dips.
Here are some of our favourite vegan recipes for cooking with your new kitchen gadget!
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