One-minute review
Ninja is known for making some of the most powerful blenders you can buy, whether that’s full-size models with a pitcher, or personal cup-style blenders for making smoothies and shakes to go. The brand also offers innovative multifunctional blenders that double as food processors.
The model on review here is the sibling to 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 arrives with a large pitcher that can be used with a menacing crushing and chopping blade assembly, or with the dough blade assembly attached, it can mix up cookie or bread doughs. Also included is a cup with a to-go lid, plus a blade for making smoothies and shakes. And, for those who might 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 blend up these notoriously tricky-to-blend treats in no time.
Offering 10 speeds for blitzing, alongside six auto-blending programs, this is a versatile appliance that will really earn its place in your kitchen. In our tests it excelled at virtually every task we threw at it, plus it proved easy to use and assemble. If you like blending up hard-to-mix recipes such as smoothie bowls or nut butters, then this gadget will be a no-brainer. But unlike most blenders, it can mix up dough too, making it a great multipurpose option for keen cooks.
Ninja Foodi Power Blender & Processor System price and availability
- List price: £169.99/ $199.99 / AU$329.99
The Ninja Foodi Power Nutri Blender 3-in-1 with Smart Torque & Auto-iQ is known as the Ninja Foodi Power Blender & Processor System with Smoothie Bowl Maker and Nutrient Extractor in the US, or the Ninja Food Power Blender and Processor System in Australia. In all three locations, you can purchase the model direct from Ninja.
On the face of it this is a pricey blender, but it delivers plenty of functionality for the price, offering far more than your average blender. In addition, if anything breaks or you want to add a second smoothie cup, all the accessories are available to purchase separately from Ninja.
Ninja Foodi Power Blender & Processor System: design
- BPA-free plastic pitcher
- Can mix up to 3.5 cups/ 0.9 liters of cookie dough
- Good range of blending speeds
This Ninja Foodi Power Blender comes with a large 72oz/ 2.1-liter plastic pitcher, whose locking lid features a pouring spout that can be accessed via its own flip-up lid. The pitcher can be used with either the plastic dough blade or the total crushing and chopping blade that features six blades at differing heights for maximum effect.
There’s a 24oz/ 700ml cup for smoothies or shakes, whose lid has a drinking spout for drinks on-the-go. The blade used in the smoothie cup is the same one that fits the smaller power nutri bowl, also known as the smoothie bowl maker in the US. This unique attachment has a built-in tamper that’s operated by manually twisting the top continuously as it blends, making it very effective at blending hard and frozen ingredients without becoming stuck or missing food items.
With the large pitcher attached, the blender measures 14.17 x 8.43 x 8.19 inches/ 37 x 21.4 x 21.8cm (h x w x d). In terms of storage, you’ll need to keep in mind that there are two additional cups and a dough blade for which you’ll need to find space. The plastic pitcher is relatively lightweight, weighing 3.1lbs / 1.4kg including the chopping blade and lid.
There are 10 manual speeds to choose from, with the large central dial allowing you to gradually turn up the speed. There’s a pulse button, too, plus six pre-set blending programs for different foods – 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. Essentially, though, these programs work in the same way.
All parts are dishwasher friendly, so cleaning up is easy. And if you don’t have a dishwasher, then simply add water and dishwashing liquid to the pitcher or cups, blending it to release the worst of the residue, before giving it a final clean by hand. A brush included in the box makes the dangerous task of cleaning the blades less daunting.
Ninja Foodi Power Blender & Processor System: performance
- Powerful blender
- Copes well with heavy dough mix for bread
- Effortlessly crushes ice
This multipurpose blender can perform numerous tasks, so we ran a few additional tests over our usual selection for testing blenders, to ensure we covered most things. First up was crushing ice in the main pitcher. This was a breeze for the six sharp blades on the Ninja, with the blender taking just 10 seconds to completely crush six ice cubes.
Next up we used the Chop auto program to blitz some hazelnuts. This is a short five-second program, which you can run several times, allowing you to make the decision on how finely chopped you want the contents. Unfortunately, though, it didn’t work very well for nuts. After pressing start on the program a whopping 25 times, there remained lots of big chunks of hazelnut. So we tried again using speed one on the manual settings. Running the blender for one minute, the results were better; however, the chopped nuts were still uneven in size with some quite chunky bits. That said, most blenders struggle to chop nuts evenly.
Chopping diced beef using the Chop program was far more effective. We ran the program five times, for a total of 40 seconds of chopping, and it resulted in the perfect ground beef texture. Bread dough was also successfully mixed in the blender, with the dough blade bringing together the ingredients into a dough with ease. There was a degree of wobbling during the process, but the feet on the suction cup kept the blender firmly rooted to the counter, even as the dough combined into a heavy mixture.
We made a smoothie to go in the cup provided using the Blend program (UK model), with the 55-second program liquidizing the spinach, pineapple, yogurt, apple juice and banana into a smooth, thick, and slightly pulpy smoothie. There were a few tiny specs of spinach visible; but, overall, the drink was of a good texture. Note, though, that we didn’t find the lid as comfortable to drink from as some others we’ve tried.
One of our standard tests involves making mayo in a blender pitcher – but, here, as we tipped in the egg yolks and vinegar, we could see that the lowest blade wasn’t 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. Eventually, as the level rose, the blade started mixing – and, to our surprise, the ingredients did emulsify into a thick, creamy mayo in under two minutes.
After decanting the mayo, we added water and dishwashing liquid to the pitcher and used the Mix/ Bowl program to clean it and the blade. This successfully cleaned off the worst of the grease, but some water did manage to escape from the lid while the program was running. We suspect this was as a result of us adding too much dishwashing liquid, which created too much foam. Once clean, however, we did a further test to check for leaking by filling up the pitcher with water up to the Max liquid line and running the blender. Thankfully, this time no liquid leaked out.
Our last test involved making a smoothie bowl. We followed guidance in the included recipe book, which stated adding almond milk to the Liquid fill line, thereafter filling to the Max fill line with frozen berries, adding a spoonful of peanut butter for good measure. Once in position on the base, we selected the 30-second Mix program (Bowl program on US/ Australia models) and, as instructed, we twisted the paddle at the top continuously for the full length of the program. After only 30 seconds, we were mightily impressed with the smooth, thick frozen smoothie the Ninja had produced, ready to be spooned into a bowl and covered with tasty toppings.
Running a noise meter through most tests, the loudest we recorded the Ninja at was 86dB while chopping hazelnuts, ice and blending a smoothie. It was quietest when chopping beef at 79dB.
Should I buy the Ninja Foodi Power Blender & Processor System?
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
First reviewed: May 2022
