Want some ice cream? With a blender?
The best thing about a blender is that you can use it for anything. Want to make iced coffee? Got it. Nice iced tea? Sure! Some spaghetti sauce, maybe? Why not!
Here’s the problem: there’s an overwhelming amount of blenders to choose from, they all have their strengths and weaknesses, and you’ll never know which one will suit your needs until you start comparing specs.
“Comparing specs” – That’s a lot of work!
It sure is. That’s why I came up with an easy way to find your perfect blender without comparison-driving you insane.
I’m going to walk you through what I consider the best blenders for ice cream, in terms of price, quality, and durability. Most of these blenders can make ice cream recipes, frozen milk, yogurt, smoothies, milkshakes, as well as slushies.
Let’s take a look at the best blenders for ice cream, in no particular order:
Top 3 Blender for Making ice creams
01. Our Top Pick: Ninja BN701 Professional Plus Bender
This Ninja blender is a beast – one of the most powerful blenders on this list.
One of the best blenders for ice cream with yogurt, fruit, and everything else you can imagine. It’s not just heavy-duty – it has a total crushing feature that will pulverize ice into the snow (no joke).
Its power is perfect for huge batches that fit in its 72-ounce pitcher. The blender also features an Auto-iQ feature that lets you create delicious smoothies, frozen drinks, and more at the touch of a button.
It comes with the standard blender pitcher and blade assembly, as well as a lid and recipe inspiration guide. It’s dishwasher safe. It’s easy to clean – just make sure you remove the pitcher from its base before cleaning it.
This blender is great for frozen drinks, milkshakes, pancakes, smoothies, and other things. It’s really good at crushing ice and making a smoothie.
What I Like: – Powerful motor, with Auto-IQ program. – Heavy-duty and durable. – Portable and easy to carry around. – Serious force when crushing ice (good for freezing fresh juices). What I Don’t Like: – Sometimes when closing the lid, it gets stuck. – It’s very loud.
Our verdict? The Ninja BN701 is our top pick because it can make a ton of ice cream without breaking down. Ninja products are known for their durability and quality – this one is no exception.
The BN701 is powerful enough to crush ice into snow – it’s basically what you need to make ice cream at home. You’ll just have to mix it – which, hey, is really easy with a blender like this one.
02. Also Consider: Ninja BL660 Professional Countertop Blender
This Ninja BL660 Professional Blender is a quality blender, but not quite as good as the Ninja BN701 Professional Plus.
Designed for countertop use, this unit features 1100 watts of power and a powerful motor with 3 speeds. It comes with the standard blender pitcher and blade assembly, as well as a lid and recipe inspiration guide. It’s dishwasher safe.
The blade assembly is easy to clean when compared to some of the other blenders (this one doesn’t have any pouring spout at all). Sometimes, when I squeeze out the container and try to stick it back into the base, it gets stuck.
If you’re looking for a professional quality blender that can handle crushing ice, this is a good option. But, if you’re like me and have mixed up your drink recipe more than once just because the lid would get stuck, you better invest in an adaptor or tray so you can clean the blade assembly easier.
What I like about this blender: – Powerful motor (1100 watts). – Durable, Professional quality blender (blades are easily accessible to clean). – A little bit smaller than the blenders above (90oz. total capacity). – Lots of features. – Creates a smoothie in seconds. What I don’t like about this blender: – Blenders are noisy (most are, though). – Lack of options. – The lids on single-serve cups are poorly designed, they have a hole through which you must drink.
Our verdict? This blender is good at crushing ice. I’ve found that sometimes the lids to the cups stick (it’s a two-piece design, so it’s hard to clean around). If you don’t mind taking your cup apart, it’s not a problem.
The Ninja BL660 Professional Blender has all the features you want and need in a blender – and it’s powerful enough to handle all your drinks. You won’t have any trouble making batches of frozen drinks (and with the ability to crush ice, you’ll be able to just make one big batch instead of multiple small ones).
This is a really good choice for liquefying anything you can throw at it, from fruits to veggies to ice. It has a powerful 1100-watt motor that takes care of everything in minutes.
03. Also Recommended: Vitamix Professional Series 750 Blender
The Vitamix is our other top pick for ice cream and frozen drinks. It’s very powerful, but it produces a smoothie-like consistency (not like frozen yogurt). Its Motor Base is a bit bigger and heavier than the Ninja BN701, but the machine itself is a lot smaller.
It has three presets – smoothies, thick smoothies (about 1 cup of liquid), and milkshakes. The presets start out with some pretty high-power settings, but you can change them to your liking.
This Vitamix blender is great at cranking out frozen drinks and smoothies really fast. Its motor base is a little bigger and heavier than the Ninja BN701, but it fits in most kitchen cabinets, unlike the Ninja.
It comes with a tamper for low-profile containers, and a cookbook for some recipes you can use with your Vitamix blender. It also has an automated self-cleaning feature that takes around 30 to 60 seconds to complete.
What I Like: – Durable and powerful motor. – Comes with a low-profile container and tamper. – Self-cleaning features. – Very easy to clean and maintain. – Great for everything from thick smoothies to ice cream. What I Don’t Like: – It’s a bit loud. (About the same as the BN701.) – Higher price than Ninja.
Our verdict? The Vitamix is great for making thick smoothies and frozen drinks, which are usually smooth than frozen yogurt. It’s much quieter than the Ninja, but it also costs about twice as much.
In Conclusion
So – that’s our top 3 list of the best ice cream blender.
If you want to make the best homemade ice cream, pick a Ninja BN701 Professional Blender or a Vitamix Professional Series 750 Blender. They’re both powerful enough to mix up frozen drinks and crush ice, so it’s really up to you which one you prefer.
On the other hand, if you want something that’s more portable and quiet, and if you don’t mind spending more money for it – then get a Vitamix 5200 (VS 5300 model). Check out our reviews for the top 10 frozen drinks makers, too!
As always, do your research before buying anything. There are a lot of useless products out there (and a lot of amazing ones, too!). Happy mixes!
