One major staple appliance in my kitchen is a blender. Smoothies are one of my favorite healthy go-to ideas for a quick meal or snack. I also mix pancake batters in my blender, and I usually make pancakes a few times a week.
So when my blender finally conked out recently, deciding which new blender to buy was a big decision in my household. It was a blessing that my Kitchen Aid blender finally officially died, because honestly, the blender had been not been working well lately. I was getting frustrated with drinking protein smoothies with chunks of ice and frozen banana pieces in it. A foodie like me always gets excited for a new kitchen appliance, but I was extra excited for this one!
After some research, I decided on a Ninja BL740 blender. In the past few years, I’ve had a few Magic Bullets and the previously mentioned Ktichen Aid blender, and all of them 1.) were pretty cheap, and 2.) broke somewhat easily. Because of that, I wanted to go with something a bit nicer. I would love to get a Vitamix, but $500 for a blender is a little too pricey for me. The Ninja blender seemed like a nice balance between being a cheapo appliance and costing a pretty penny. It was priced at $140, and I got it at Bed, Bath & Beyond with a 20% off coupon.
One of Ninja’s proposed draw-ins is that it works as well as a Vitamix while being a fraction of the cost. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve put my new blender to the test.
One aspect of the Ninja that I’m loving is the single serve cup that comes with it. It includes a separate blade for blending using the individual cup.
Another thing I absolutely love about the blender is that the blades are removable. It’s easy to take the blender pieces out and clean them.
And speaking of blades, the most important pro of the blender that I’ve found…. It chops up your food so quickly and efficiently! Seriously, the Ninja blades are no joke. I would know, as I cut my finger on one of the blades about .27 seconds after I took the blender out of the box. Be careful to not be a klutz like me!
The blender also comes with measurements on the side, which is helpful and convenient.
(source of images: Amazon)
The only con I can think of is that there are limited blending options. There are just a few power mix buttons and a single serve blending button. It doesn’t have any puree, ice crush, etc. buttons, but honestly, I don’t feel like it’s that big of a deal. I pretty much always want things that I put into my blender simply blended, but if I’m trying to only mildly puree something, I use my food processor anyways.
My overall verdict is that this Ninja blender ROCKS! It’s not overly expensive and so far, has worked fabulously. If you’re looking for a new blender, I’d recommend checking it out. It might be perfect for you too!
Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post. I purchased the blender myself and am simply providing my feedback so that it may be helpful to any readers looking for a new blender.
What are your must-have kitchen appliances/gadgets?
Jennifer says
I have these great nonstick pans that I use to make pretty much anything. A few great pans are a kitchen must have!
foodielovesfitness says
You’re right, and I so need to buy a few new ones ASAP!
Elise @ 9toFit.com says
I need to get one of these ASAP
foodielovesfitness says
You should! Thanks for reading Elise.
Davida @ The Healthy Maven says
I’m in the market for a new blender!! Thanks for this lovely 🙂
foodielovesfitness says
Hope it helps in your hunt for a new blender! 😉
Paige@FitNotFad says
I have a Ninja too and I LOVE it!!! I have no idea if it’s as good as the Vitamix as I’m too poor to even have used one (ha!) but the Ninja is seriously awesome. It purees everything to smithereens!! Definitely make soup and salsa in it….I love smoothies but soup and salsa have been a staple over here since I bought ours over a year ago.
foodielovesfitness says
I’m glad you agree! It’s definitely the best blender I’ve had. Oooh yes thanks for mentioning that, I need to try making different things like soup and salsa with it!
Ali says
My blender is complete crap and I think I need one of these. Thanks for sharing!
foodielovesfitness says
My pleasure, Ali!
Sarah @ Making Thyme for Health says
I have a Ninja blender but it’s the one that is a step down from this one. It’s good but it doesn’t do a great job with liquefying things like kale. There are always big chunks. Maybe this one works better though. I still dream of a Vitamix!!
bestcert says
Excellent post. I certainly love this website. Keep writing!
Will Hayes says
LOL, my old blender was starting to get pretty loud, and was starting to leave chunks in my protein shakes, so went out to get a new one, knowing nothing about them.
So I’m standing in the store looking at three of them, two types of Magic Bullets, a Vitamix, and the Ninja BL740C. Heh, heh, broke out the cell phone to check some reviews, but the connection in the store was so slow, I gave up. After a LOT of hmmming and hawing, I grabbed the Ninja, partly because it was on sale, but also because it seemed to have a much larger capacity then the others (except for the Ninja, not one of them actually stated on the box what their capacity was).
I was not disappointed. LOL, the first thing I made was homemade Bailey’s Irish Cream, which I’d just bought the ingredients for…mmmmmm. Turned out great, but wasn’t any kind of challenge for the Ninja.
But this morning, I tried a recipe a friend gave me, called Tropical Rainbow, with a carrot, cucumber, tomato, pear, and orange. Again, the Ninja worked great.
I’m now kind of glad I didn’t do the research in advance, as I might have ended up with the more pricey Vitamix, which it turns out wasn’t needed.
And now I’m trolling the internet for other recipes to try… 😉