The Best Blenders For Making Smoothies, Soups, and So Much More

It used to be that blenders were used for milkshakes and margaritas—and not much else. Nowadays, most of us know that blenders are indispensable for smoothies, but beyond crushing ice and fruit, blenders are excellent for so much more. From making nut butter and puréeing soup to even making flour, the blender is a workhorse in the kitchen. There is a wide array of blenders on the market—and cost will depend on what you intend to use one for and the frequency with which you will use it. When it comes to blenders, you get what you pay for.

When shopping for a blender, Joshua Resnick, chef-instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education, checks to see the capacity of the pitcher. "As food blends, it gets aerated, so you don't want to overfill your blender with raw product, or it will overflow once it's blended," he says. For him, a larger pitcher (around 64 ounces) is ideal. "That way, I can blend larger products or smaller amounts," he says.

Controls are another thing to pay attention to. Preset buttons can be convenient, but a good old-fashioned speed dial lets you have more control over the blending process. "I don't need a blender to have unnecessary controls or fancy gadgets and attachments," Resnick says. "A clean, easy functionality makes a blender easier to use." At home, he uses his blender almost every day to make a meal replacement smoothie featuring frozen berries, fresh spinach, avocado, banana, peanut butter protein powder, turmeric, black pepper, almond milk, and ice. But when he's working in a professional kitchen, he uses blenders for everything from puréed soups to emulsified sauces and infused oils like basil oil.