4 Best Immersion Blenders, Lab-Tested and Reviewed
If you cook a lot of soups or sauces, one of these stick blenders can be a game-changer
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Immersion blenders may not be helpful if frozen margaritas are on the menu (for that, you’ll need a solid full-sized blender). But if you have smaller blending tasks to accomplish, you’ll be glad to have one on hand.
An immersion blender, aka a stick blender, is a handheld electric mixing device with a top that you grip, a batonlike shaft, and a spinning blade protected by a guard at the bottom. Some come with accessories, such as whisks, choppers, milk frothers, beaters, and blender jars that expand their functionality. Immersion blenders do have their limitations: They’re not suitable, for example, for crushing ice. Plus, they’re not as powerful as full-sized blenders or as quick as personal blenders.
Still, these handheld appliances are practical for tasks like making a small batch of whipped cream, blending soups, preparing salsas, or combining basil, pine nuts, and garlic for pesto. Two other advantages: They take up little space (they fit in a drawer) and can be relatively inexpensive. The models in our ratings range from about $15 to $200.
“Immersion blenders are great for quick tasks, and they keep splatter to a minimum, so cleanup is simple,” says Elias Arias, who leads CR’s blender testing.
To use an immersion blender, submerge the blade directly into a pot, bowl, or other container, press a button, and if the immersion blender has multiple speeds, adjust the speed as needed.
Below, in alphabetical order, are the four best immersion blenders from our tests. CR members have access to full ratings and reviews of these models, as well as ratings on immersion blenders from brands such as Blendtec, Breville, Cuisinart, GE, KitchenAid, Mueller, and Vitamix in our full immersion blender ratings. For advice on shopping for any type of blender, check our blender buying guide.
The two-speed Beautiful by Drew Barrymore immersion blender scores similarly to the All-Clad above in our tests for blending yogurt and puréeing soup, but it costs a fraction of the price and offers added versatility with a chopper attachment, whisk, and beaker. It’s also among the lightest immersion blenders in our ratings and comes with a two-year warranty, twice as long as most other models in our ratings.
If you love a good bowl of soup, the Smeg Retro HBF11 could be the right choice. It earns an excellent score in our tests of how smoothly it blends vegetables and water for soup. It also does a very good job of blending fruit and yogurt for smoothies, so you don’t necessarily have to rely on a full-sized blender. Smeg says this blender has five speeds, but unlike some other immersion blenders, it doesn’t come with any accessories.
How CR Tests Immersion Blenders
Consumer Reports rates blender performance based on lab testing to help you find the right one for your kitchen tasks.
In our lab, we measure how thoroughly immersion models blend frozen peaches, strawberries, and yogurt for smoothies, and how well they purée vegetables in water for soups. We also test each device’s rotational speed in revolutions per minute (rpm).
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