These 7 Immersion Blenders Are up for Any Blending Task—And Our Testing Proves It

Best Overall Immersion Blender

Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender

$79 at Amazon $90 at Wayfair View on Home Depot

Cuisinart may be the most familiar name in food processors, and this immersion blender lives up to the brand's reputation. It has a button for either continuous or pulse blending, as well as variable speed control so you can choose exactly the speed that’s right for you—no need to rely on a preset. We prefer using the highest speed setting for most recipes, but the adjustable speed is useful for blending softer foods like avocados or recipes that may splatter.

This blender only has two buttons on its front: an on button and a lock button, which needs to be pressed before the blender will turn on, but then it can be released. (While that might be a safety feature, we found it awkward to use.) It comes with a jar that’s perfect for blending smoothies or making mayonnaise, a chopper attachment that’s great for making salsas and prepping veggies, and a whisk attachment for making whipped cream or beating eggs.

Power Rating: 300 watts | Speed(s): Variable | Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.5 x 13 inches

Runner-Up, Best Overall Immersion Blender

KitchenAid 2-Speed Hand Blender

View on Amazon View on Walmart $50 at Kitchenaid.com

This simple two-speed blender has a removable blending arm that makes cleaning easier and comes from a brand that’s much-loved when it comes to kitchen appliances and gadgets. The blender doesn’t include a lot of accessories or frills that add to the price, so it’s quite affordable despite the quality. The soft-grip handle is easy to hold when blending, so it’s comfortable to use no matter how much you need to blend, and it comes with a handy blending jar with a lid, so it can be used for storage before or after foods are blended.

Like many KitchenAid products, this comes in a wide range of colors, so you can match it to your stand mixer or add a pop of color to the kitchen. Plus, it's so easy to clean: The blending arm quickly detaches, so you can rinse it in the sink.

Power Rating: 220 watts | Speed(s): 2 | Dimensions: 2.3 x 2.3 x 15.8 inches

Best Budget Immersion Blender

Mueller Austria Ultra-Stick 500 Watt 9-Speed Immersion Hand Blender

$40 $35 at Amazon View on Walmart $38 at Wayfair

Mueller's stick blender is a great option if our top picks don't quite fit within the budget for an immersion blender. With a full copper motor and 500 watts of power, this handheld blender is plenty powerful to handle making baby food purees, smoothies, silky soups and sauces, and even homemade peanut or almond butter. Reviewers say everything about this blender feels sturdy, durable, and well-made, and that it's comparable to blenders that cost twice as much.

This model includes a milk frother for the ultimate upgrade to homemade lattes and a whisk attachment so you can use it to whip cream, beat eggs, or make a batch of homemade mayo for sandwiches. While we love the additions, they are hard to store together and often get lost. Cleaning the blender and its attachments is as simple as running them under warm water or popping them in the dishwasher for a more thorough washing.

Power Rating: 500 watts | Speed(s): 9 | Dimensions: 2.68 x 4.92 x 15.59 inches

Best Immersion Blender for Beginners

Hamilton Beach Immersion Hand Blender

$90 $77 at Amazon $90 at Wayfair $140 $126 at Kohls.com

Unless you use your hand blender regularly, you probably have to double-check which button turns it on and which changes the speed. With this variable-speed blender, there’s just one trigger button. Press it a little and the blender starts off slow. Press harder and the speed increases. We found this easy and intuitive. A display on top shows a speed graph, but you can easily feel and see how fast it’s blending.

Besides the standard blending attachment that did an excellent job making mayonnaise and salad dressing as well as blending soup, this also includes a wire whisk attachment that’s perfect for whipping egg whites, cream, and other thin liquids. The head of the blender fits perfectly into a wide-mouth jar for making mayonnaise and works just as well in a pot to blend soups and refried beans. The only flaw we found with this one is that the parts are not dishwasher safe, and washing by hand can be tricky.

Power Rating: 300 watts | Speed: Variable | Dimensions: 16.9 x 2.9 inches

Most Powerful Immersion Blender

Vitamix Immersion Blender

$163 at Amazon $170 at Wayfair View on Williams Sonoma

Vitamix makes blenders that have a top-of-the-line reputation for professional and home use, and its immersion blender fully lives up to that hype. Thicker soups, sauces, and smoothies can be tricky to get all the way smooth and cause some immersion blenders to overheat, but this stainless steel immersion blender has the power and durability to handle tough jobs and large batch sizes every time.

It has five different speeds and can run continuously for up to four minutes before automatically shutting off, though most of the tasks took under a minute to complete. Lastly, the heat-safe shield at the bottom will keep this blender from damaging your nonstick cookware. When tested, it was both easy to use and clean, and the 5-foot-long cord helped to reach between pots and faraway outlets.

In the months since we first tested this immersion blender, this one has become a go-to in our kitchen since it has the power expected from something made by the blendy experts at Vitamix. It makes flawless mayonnaise in a simple canning jar and has been the go-to for soups and refried beans as well. We’ve also used it for the occasional smoothie when the actual blender isn’t available. After testing a lot of different blenders, this one has stood out as the keeper for everyday blending jobs.

The Vitamix Immersion Blender is one of the more expensive immersion blenders on the market. If you can spring for it, it's worth the price and will last a long time.

Power Rating: 625 watts | Speed(s): 5 | Dimensions: 3 x 18 x 3 inches

Best Immersion Blender Attachments

Black + Decker Kitchen Wand 6 Kit

$200 $147 at Amazon View on Walmart View on Target

If you're looking for a compact machine that pretty much does it all, this is it. The Black+Decker Kitchen Wand 6 Kit comes with a cordless, five-speed wand base and six attachments: immersion blender, wine opener, can opener, milk frother, whisk, and salt and pepper grinder. You also get a mixing cup with a lid—all of which arrives with a charger in two storage cases—and you can purchase two additional compatible attachments: a food chopper and a hand mixer.

We used the blender to make soup, homemade sorbet, and smoothies, and the frother attachment dissolved chocolate powder into milk, creating a perfectly foamy head. The whisk has enough oomph to whip cream, though the adapter easily twists off the power unit, so you have to be careful not to shake it loose during high-speed whisking. The wine and can openers are as effective as standalone units, and the two-in-one grinder proved useful for blacking tuna steaks and dusting roasted potatoes.

As far as the food chopper and hand mixer go, the latter smoothed cake batters, and the beaters popped out no problem for easy cleanup, while the former has blades sharp enough to handle almonds and pecans for homemade granola, and they make quick work of pine nuts and basil for pesto. It's a great little machine that can replace a bunch of different gadgets cramming your kitchen drawers and cabinets.

Power Rating: 250 watts | Speed(s): 5 | Dimensions: 5.2 x 18.9 x 11.3 inches

Best Handheld Food Processor

Breville All In One Processing Station

$160 at Amazon $160 at QVC View on Breville.com

While most immersion blenders are designed to mimic the functions of a standard blender, this one also takes on many of the functions of a food processor, with a 6-cup processing bowl powered by the blender body.

The bowl includes an adjustable slicing blade with 18 thickness settings, so you can slice potatoes for chips or carrots for soup. A reversible shredding disk lets you choose from two different shredding options, while the processor bowl’s S-blade lets you chop, blend, or puree, just like a larger food processor. Another unique accessory is the Variable Mashing Leg, which lets you choose fine, medium, or coarse mashing with a twist of the head, so you can use your immersion blender for mashing potatoes without the risk of them turning into glue.

When you’re using the immersion blender in its traditional mode, the shape of the blade housing reduces suction, so it won’t get stuck to the bottom of your containers while you blend. Plus, it has 15 speeds, giving you greater control of the result. Ice-crushing blades and a whisk attachment are included, making this an incredibly versatile appliance.

We tested Breville's Control Grip Immersion Blender, which is the same base model as the All for One set without some of the extra accessories, making frozen sorbet, pasta sauce, hot broccoli cheddar soup, whipped cream, and fruit smoothies—everything came out perfectly smooth and creamy. We did notice the machine getting hot when in use for a while, but it was also simple to switch out the blender head for a different accessory, such as the whisk or chopper bowl (which made incredible salad dressing in just seconds). This is, without doubt, the Cadillac of immersion blenders.

Power Rating: 240 watts | Speed(s): 15 | Dimensions: 9 x 11.5 x 11 inches