Frozen Fruit to Kale: Our Best Blender Smoothies Guide

A smoothie asks less of a blender than a mole does, but it asks for something specific. Frozen fruit has to turn smooth without the motor stalling, leafy greens have to disappear instead of floating in flecks, and the drink should come out dense and creamy rather than foamy. In a Mexican kitchen the same machine makes a morning licuado of banana, milk and cinnamon, a jugo verde with pineapple, spinach and celery, and a mango or papaya smoothie when the fruit is ripe and cheap.

This guide is the smoothie-first branch of our main best blender guide. That page picks the all-round countertop blender; this one weighs the things that matter most in a glass: how fine the texture is, how well greens break down, how easy the jar is to clean every morning and whether you can blend straight into a cup and leave. Most picks here are different machines from the ones on the main page, and where we repeat one, we say why.

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Quick verdict: which smoothie blender to buy

If your smoothies are almost always one serving and you drink them on the way out, a single-serve machine may suit you better; see the best personal blender. The picks below are countertop blenders that handle a full jar for the family and, in several cases, a to-go cup as well.

Five smoothie blenders compared

Our five standout picks side by side, one for each kind of smoothie drinker, with the motor and jar each maker or listing states. All eight blenders are reviewed in full below.

Product images from Amazon. Motor ratings and jar sizes are as stated by each maker or listing; check the listing before you buy.

Best blender smoothies start here: our eight picks

Eight countertop blenders chosen for smoothie texture first, then for cleaning, cups and noise. The Vitamix 5200, the winner on our main blender page, would also make an excellent smoothie; we have left it off here so this page gives you different options, and kept only the Breville because its green-smoothie program is the reason to buy it.

What makes a good smoothie blender

Almost any blender will turn banana and milk into a drink. The differences show with frozen fruit, greens and thick bowls. These are the factors worth weighing.

1. Texture with greens and frozen fruit

The test is a jugo verde or kale smoothie: in ATK’s review, the Calphalon Auto-Speed left “noticeable unblended pieces of greens and chunks of frozen fruits,” while the top models made fine, dense drinks. If you drink green smoothies, favor a blender reviewers have seen handle greens, such as the Breville with its green-smoothie program or the Vitamix Propel.

2. Jar shape and air

Tall, narrow jars, like the Vitamix and Cleanblend containers, keep a frozen blend circulating and make denser smoothies. ATK found that wider jars, including the Braun TriForce it tested, tend to whip in more air, which makes a frothier drink that separates sooner. A little froth is fine in a licuado; it is less welcome in a smoothie you want thick.

3. A tamper for thick blends

Smoothie bowls and anything with little liquid need a tamper or a jar designed to do without one. The Vitamix includes a tamper, the Ninja TWISTi builds one into the lid and the Blendtec relies on its five-sided jar. Without one, add liquid a splash at a time and stop to scrape.

4. Cups, cleaning and the morning routine

If you drink your smoothie on the way out, a blender that comes with to-go cups, like the Ninja Detect or the Beast Mega, saves a step. Check whether the jar and lids are dishwasher safe, and in any case rinse or run a soap-and-water clean before fruit sugars dry on the blades.

5. Noise and warranty

High-powered blenders are loud, and some are much louder than others: ATK measured the Blendtec Designer 650 among the loudest and the Propel 750 louder than the Vitamix 5200. If you blend early, that matters. Warranties run from one year on the Ninja models to eight on the Blendtec, which is a fair sign of how long a maker expects the motor to last.

How we chose these eight smoothie blenders

We started from the drinks themselves: fruit licuados, jugo verde and other green smoothies, frozen fruit smoothies and thick smoothie bowls. We looked for countertop blenders from identifiable makers, sold on Amazon in the United States and in stock when we checked, and took motors, jar sizes, programs, tampers, dishwasher guidance and warranties from the Amazon listings and makers’ descriptions, writing “not stated” where a figure was missing.

For smoothie performance we relied on America’s Test Kitchen’s current blender review, which timed kale, frozen pineapple and orange juice smoothies on every model. We left out models ATK did not recommend, including the Cuisinart Hurricane Pro, the Calphalon Auto-Speed and the Hamilton Beach Power Elite, and the Vitamix Ascent X2, which ATK recommended only with reservations after it left small pieces of fruit and leafy greens in smoothies. Three picks, the Ninja Detect, the Ninja TWISTi and the Beast Mega, have no independent review we could cite, and we say so in each section.

We also checked the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall notices for every brand here. Vitamix recalled Ascent and Venturist 8- and 20-ounce blending cups, and in 2013 a batch of 64-ounce low-profile containers with blade date codes from March 2012 to July 2013; neither covers a new Propel 750. Ninja’s 2015 recall covered the BL660 blender, which is not a pick. We found no blender recalls for Breville, Cleanblend, Blendtec, Beast or Braun. We have not used these products ourselves; where we describe how one performs, we say whose findings those are.

Smoothie blender questions, answered

What is the best blender on the market for smoothies?

For most people, the Vitamix Propel 750: ATK found it made silky smoothies quickly, and it has a smoothie program, a tamper and a 7-year warranty. The Vitamix 5200 from our main blender guide is just as good for smoothies if you prefer simple manual controls.

What is the best blender for green smoothies?

The Breville Fresh & Furious, because ATK found its green-smoothie program completely blends fibrous ingredients into a silky drink, and it costs well under a Vitamix. Whichever blender you use, put the liquid and greens in first and blend them before adding frozen fruit.

What is the best simple blender for smoothies?

The Beast Mega 1200 is the simplest here, with one button and a timed cycle. If you want a full pitcher with simple controls, the Cleanblend has a plain variable speed dial and no programs to learn.

Do I need a high-powered blender for smoothies?

Not for soft fruit and milk. For frozen fruit, ice and greens, a strong motor and a well-shaped jar make a smoother drink with less stopping and scraping, which is why ATK’s top smoothie results came from high-performance machines.

Is a personal blender better for smoothies?

If you only ever make one serving, often. Personal blenders blend straight into the cup you drink from; see the best personal blender. A countertop blender is better for bigger batches, smoothie bowls and greens.

Our pick for the smoothie blender to buy

Buy the Vitamix Propel 750 if smoothies are a daily habit and you want one machine that will last. Choose the Breville Fresh & Furious if greens are the hard part of your smoothies, the Cleanblend for high-performance texture for less, the Ninja Detect for a pitcher plus to-go cups, and the Ninja TWISTi if you live on smoothie bowls.

The same blender makes the drinks Mexican kitchens are known for. Read what aguas frescas are for fruit drinks by the pitcher, try the best horchata mix for a rice-and-cinnamon shortcut, and use a fine-mesh strainer if you like your fruit drinks without pulp. For all-round blending, from salsa to mole, go back to the best blender.

Related guide: Best smoothie cookbook.

And if you would rather have someone else do the blending, see our drinks or call to order.