One minute review
Ninja is known for making some of the most powerful blenders money can buy, whether that be full-size models with one, or personal cup-style blenders for making smoothies and shakes on the go. The brand also offers innovative multi-function blenders that double as a food processor.
The model reviewed here is the sibling of some of the best blenders – the Ninja Foodi Power Nutri Blender 3-in-1 with Smart Torque & Auto-iQ in the UK. In the US, the same model is known as the Ninja Foodi Power Blender & Processor System with Smoothie Bowl Maker and Nutrient Extractor, or the Ninja Food Power Blender and Processor System in Australia.
It comes with a large pitcher that can be used with a menacing smashing and chopping knife, or with the dough blade attached, it can mix cookie or bread dough. Also included is a cup with a to-go lid, plus a blade for making smoothies and shakes. And for those who may not have heard, smoothie bowls are the new smoothies – and with this model’s power nutri bowl, also known as the smoothie bowl maker in the US, you can make these notoriously tricky-to-mix treats in a bowl. mix by hand. time.
With 10 blitzing speeds, in addition to six automatic blending programs, this is a versatile appliance that will really earn its place in your kitchen. In our testing, it excelled at just about any task we threw at it, and proved easy to use and assemble. If you enjoy mixing up hard-to-mix recipes like smoothie bowls or nut butters, this gadget is a no-brainer. But unlike most blenders, it can also mix dough, making it a great multi-purpose option for avid cooks.
Ninja Foodi Power Blender & Processor System Price & Availability
- MSRP: £169.99 / $199.99 / AU$329.99
The Ninja Foodi Power Nutri Blender 3-in-1 with Smart Torque & Auto-iQ is known in the US as the Ninja Foodi Power Blender & Processor System with Smoothie Bowl Maker and Nutrient Extractor, or the Ninja Food Power Blender and Processor System in Australia. You can buy the model directly from Ninja at all three locations.
At first glance, this is a pricey blender, but it packs a lot of functionality for the price and offers much more than your average blender. In addition, if something breaks or you want to add a second smoothie cup, all accessories are available separately from Ninja.
Ninja Foodi Power Blender & Processor System: Design
- BPA Free Plastic Can
- Can mix up to 3.5 cups / 0.9 liters of cookie dough
- Good range of mixing speeds
This Ninja Foodi Power Blender comes with a large 72oz/2.1 liter plastic pitcher, the lockable lid of which has a pouring spout accessible through its own flip-up lid. The can be used with the plastic dough knife or the total crushing and chopping blade with six blades at different heights for maximum effect.
There is a 24 oz/700 ml cup for smoothies or shakes, the lid of which has a spout for drinks on the go. The blade used in the smoothie cup is the same blade that fits in the smaller power nutri bowl, also known as the smoothie bowl maker in the US. This unique attachment has a built-in tamper operated by continuously rotating the top manually while mixing, making it highly effective at mixing hard and frozen ingredients without sticking or missing food.
With the large jug attached, the blender measures 14.17 x 8.43 x 8.19 inches/37 x 21.4 x 21.8 cm (HxWxD). In terms of storage space, you have to take into account that there are two extra cups and a dough knife for which you have to find space. The plastic jug is relatively lightweight and weighs 1.4 kg including the chopping knife and lid.
There are 10 manual speeds to choose from, with the large central rotary knob allowing you to gradually increase the speed. There’s also a pulse button, plus six preset blending programs for different foods – also known as Auto-iQ programs. In the UK the Auto-iQ programs are Powermix, Blend, Crush, Mix, Puree and Chop. On the US and Australian models, the names are slightly different: Extract, Smoothie, Bowl, Spread, Chop and Dough. However, essentially these programs work in the same way.
All parts are dishwasher safe, so cleaning is easy. And if you don’t have a dishwasher, just add water and washing-up liquid to the pitcher or cups, mixing to get rid of the worst of it, before hand-cleaning for the last time. A brush in the box makes the perilous task of cleaning the blades less daunting.
Ninja Foodi Power Blender & Processor System: Performance
- Powerful blender
- Handles heavy dough mix well for bread
- Crushes ice effortlessly
This multi-purpose blender can do a lot of tasks, so we ran a few extra tests above our usual blender test selection to make sure we’ve covered most things. First up was the crushing of ice in the main jug. This was a cinch for the six sharp blades on the Ninja, with the blender taking just 10 seconds to completely crush six ice cubes.
Then we used the Chop auto program to blitz some hazelnuts. This is a short five-second program that you can run multiple times so you can decide how fine you want the content to be. Unfortunately, it didn’t work so well for nuts. After pressing start on the program no less than 25 times, many large pieces of hazelnut remained. So we tried again with speed one in the manual settings. Running the blender for a minute improved the results; however the chopped nuts were still uneven in size with some pretty chunky bits. That said, most blenders struggle to chop nuts evenly.
Chopping beef cubes with the Chop program was much more effective. We ran the program five times, chopping for a total of 40 seconds, and it resulted in the perfect mincemeat texture. Bread dough was also successfully mixed in the blender, with the dough blade bringing the ingredients together into a dough with ease. There was a certain amount of wobbling during the process, but the feet on the suction cup kept the blender firmly on the counter, even as the dough combined into a heavy mixture.
We made a smoothie to go in the included cup using the Blend program (UK model), where the 55 second program liquefies the spinach, pineapple, yogurt, apple juice and banana until smooth, thick and light. meaty smoothie. A few small specks of spinach were visible; but overall the drink was of good texture. Keep in mind, though, that we didn’t find the lid as comfortable to drink from as some of the others we’ve tried.
One of our standard tests is making mayonnaise in a blender jar – but when we threw in the egg yolks and vinegar, we could see that the lowest blade was not low enough to combine the contents of the mixture. Undeterred, we started the Ninja on its slowest speed and poured oil through the spout of the lid. Finally, as the level rose, the blade began to mix – and to our surprise, the ingredients emulsified into a thick, creamy mayonnaise in less than two minutes.
After decanting the mayonnaise, we added water and washing-up liquid to the jug and used the Mix/Bowl program to clean the jug and blade. This successfully removed most of the grease, but some water escaped from the lid while the program was running. We suspect that this is because we added too much detergent, creating too much foam. Once clean, however, we did another test to check for leaks by filling the pitcher with water up to the Max fluid line and running the blender. Luckily no liquid leaked out this time.
Our last test was making a smoothie bowl. We followed the guidelines in the included recipe book, which stated that almond milk was added to the liquid fill line, then filled to the Max fill line with frozen berries, and added a spoonful of peanut butter for good measure. Once in position on base, we selected the 30 second Mix program (Bowl program on US/Australia models) and, as indicated, we rotated the paddle at the top continuously for the full length of the program. After just 30 seconds, we were blown away by the smooth, thick frozen smoothie the Ninja had made, ready to be scooped into a bowl and topped with tasty toppings.
Running a sound meter through most of the tests, the loudest we recorded the Ninja at was 86 dB while chopping hazelnuts, ice cream and blending a smoothie. He was quietest when chopping beef at 79 dB.
Should I Buy the Ninja Foodi Power Blender & Processor System?
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Read more about how we test
First assessment: May 2022
