Best Blenders for Frozen Fruit Smoothies | What is the Best Frozen Fruit Smoothie Blender?

Coming in first place on our list of tried and tested options is the Ninja Bl660 – a high-quality blender that comes equipped with a 1,100 Watt motor and an extra-large 72 oz blending capacity (64 oz liquid capacity).

The model also comes with two, 16 oz single-serve cups (plus matching lids), letting you take your frozen smoothies to go. Interestingly, this Ninja blender comes with two blade attachments – a standard extractor blade and a stacked blade that spans almost the entire height of the blending pitcher.

Why do you need both?

Well, the BL660 also doubles as a food processor, meaning you can knead the dough, churn nut butter, and blast through tough frozen ingredients. However, the stacked blade can also be used while in blend mode, and when you do, it produces a truly consistent blend.

That said, the stacked blade isn’t well-equipped for crushing ice, meaning if you plan on loading up your blender with ice and frozen fruit, stick to the extractor blade.

The interface is also very basic and its clear Ninja went with a less-is-more approach on this model. Instead of several different speed settings and pre-sets, this sleek blender comes with just 3 speeds, a pulse button, and an on/off switch – making it one of the easiest blenders to use.

It also has a ‘Single Serve’ button, which when used, adjusts the speed and torque to match the size of the single serve cups.

While it may not be the quietest blender around (it is, after all, equipped with a powerful motor) it is long-lasting, and if you read through reviews, many users claim their BL660 is still going strong after 3 years.

All-in-all, when you factor in the price and overall performance, it’s easy to see why this Ninja Blender is our pick for the best frozen fruit blender.

The Ninja BL660 Professional Blender and the Blendtec Total Classic with Wildside Jar are both high-powered blenders suitable for crushing ice, blending frozen fruit, and making smoothies. However, the Blendtec model has a larger jar and is more powerful than the Ninja.

If you don’t mind spending extra for a truly top-class blender, then Blendtec Total Classic should be high on your list.

Along with the high-quality construction you can expect from American-made parts, this blender comes with a super-charged 1560-watt motor, making it one of the strongest countertop blenders on the market.

For settings, the blender is equipped with 10-speed levels, which can easily be changed by pressing the up and down arrows on the display pad. Unlike other blenders that use a dial system, the speed level is neatly displayed on a blue LED screen – a feature that some love and others don’t.

You’ll also find 6 useful pre-set functions, including Smoothies, Salsa, Frozen Drinks, Vegetables, and Hot Soup. When the hot soup function is engaged, the blender uses heat generated from blade friction to warm up the contents. This works so well, that once pressed, your ingredients will become hot in under 6 minutes!

Another thing that makes this Blendtec blender special is its patented Wildside Jar. Because of its small, fifth wall, the Wildside Jar creates a vortex-like effect, pulling the frozen fruit and other ingredients down towards the blade.

It also increases the total volume of the blending jar, and instead of the standard 70 oz capacity you’ll find with most blenders this size, this Blendtec model can process up to 90 oz at once!

There’s more.

The Wildside jar is fitted with two vertical ridges on the interior walls that disrupt the blending pattern – a feature that also contributes to a more even blend.

Of course, you can’t talk about Blendtec blenders without mentioning its proprietary blade system. Unlike standard blender blades we tested out which are thin and sharp, Blendtec employs a thick (80% thinker than average) design with dull edges.

If this sounds odd to you, don’t worry – we thoroughly tested them using frozen fruits and ice cubes and the results were always excellent. Moreover, because the blades aren’t sharp, you don’t have to worry about them dulling over time.

Need more convincing? Consider this; Blendtec is the blender of choice at many popular ice cream and smoothie retailers, like Dunken Donuts, Baskin Robins, and Jamba Juice.

Comparing the Blendtec Total Classic with Wildside Jar and the Hamilton Beach 58148A, both are high-powered blenders, but the Blendtec is more expensive and powerful than the Hamilton Beach model.

Looking for something that’s light on the wallet but built to last? If so, few items fir the bill as well as the Hamilton Beach 58148A.

Retailing for under $50, this blender we evaluated comes with a reasonably-powered 700-watt motor and 12 useful pre-sets, including frozen drinks, ice crushing, milkshakes, and grate. You’ll also find a healthy Pulse feature that can be engaged by pushing two buttons at once.

While nowhere near as powerful as the Blendtec Total Original, we were impressed by the amount of power the 700 motor was able to generate, and during testing, it had no issue blending ice and frozen fruits.

Still worried about the motor being just 700 watts? Keep in mind that the blending pitcher has a total capacity of just 40 oz, meaning it requires less power than a 70 or 90-oz capacity blender.

Although no self-cleaning cycle is included, all parts are easily detachable and 100% dishwasher safe, making the blending very easy to clean. Moreover, the model has received nearly 40 thousand positive reviews on Amazon, so you know it’s worth the money.

Finally, the blender comes with Hamilton Beach’s patented Wave Action System. This system uses wavy blender walls to disrupt the normal vortex pattern and push ice and frozen ingredients down toward the blades.

For an affordable blender that works great for blending frozen fruit, we didn’t come across any better options for under $50.

The Hamilton Beach 58148A and the Magic Bullet are both more compact, affordable blenders designed for smaller portions and simple blending tasks. However, the Magic Bullet is even more compact and portable than the Hamilton Beach model.

If you already own a countertop blender and want a smaller personal blender with to-go cups, you can’t go wrong with the Magic Bullet. One of the most popular personal blenders around, you may remember Magic Bullet from when they first appeared on infomercials.

Fitted with a 250 Watt, high-torque motor, this mini blender is great for making Salsas, Dips, Cocktails, and of course Smoothies.

The model comes with three types of cups: a short cup, a tall cup, and a neat ‘party’ cup with large lids. All cups have matching ‘stay-free’ sealable lids that prevent leaking and ensure your smoothie stays fresh.

There are a few limitations to be aware of, however. While the MagicBullet is great for making frozen drinks, you will have to watch how much ice you put into it. Because the motor is just 250 watts, it’s not the best at blending ice.

Moreover, MagicBullet recommends using at least half a cup of water during the blending process. During testing, we found that anything less than half a cup produced inconsistent blends, especially if we didn’t take the time to partially thaw frozen fruit.

These issues aside, the MagicBullet is one of the most well-reviewed blenders on the market, and has received over 80,000 positive reviews on Amazon!

Of course, the main selling point of the MagicBullet is the ability to quickly blend a frozen fruit smoothie, put a lid on it, and take it to go. All cups and lids are dishwasher-safe and made from high-impact plastic.

Finally, the MagicBullet comes with two blade attachments: the Cross Blade and the Flat Milling Blade. While the Flat Blade is used for whipping and chopping tough frozen fruits, the Cross Blade is more of a general-purpose blade used for chopping, dicing, and blending.

Comparing the Magic Bullet and the Vitamix 5200, both popular blender models, but they are designed for different purposes. The Magic Bullet is a compact, single-serve blender suitable for simple blending tasks like making smoothies, whereas the Vitamix 5200 is a powerful, high-end blender designed for heavy-duty blending tasks like crushing ice and making nut butter.

For a truly top-of-the-line commercial blender that will blast through whatever ice and frozen fruit you feed it, the Vitamix 5200 is in a league of its own.

Fitted with laser-cut, hardened stainless steel blades, the 5200 has a powerful, cool-running motor that can reach peak speeds of up to 2 HP. What’s more, each Vitamix blender is equipped with a thermal override, which kicks in and shuts the motor off whenever the motor begins to overheat.

Not only does this feature preserve the motor, but it keeps the blender we tried out in good working condition for longer.

For speed settings, you’ll find 10-speed levels and a High/Variable switch. When the switch is set to ‘High’, the blender will run at max speed for whatever level it’s set to. When it’s switched to a variable, the speed will fluctuate slightly depending on how difficult the ingredients are to blend.

Unfortunately, the 5200 doesn’t come with any pre-set functions. During testing, however, we found the 10-speed settings were more than sufficient once you become familiar with them.

That said, the 5200 does have a hot soup function, which like the Blendtec Total Classic, uses blade friction to generate heat. When engaged, this feature can heat up a filled pitcher of soup in less than 6 minutes!

We were also impressed to see the 5200 backed by a full 7-year warranty, which will cover pretty much any issue you run into. Similarly, we were pleased by the extra-long 6-foot cord. While this may seem unnecessary long to some, it certainly came in handy during testing, especially when counter space started to become crowded during cooking.

Finally, this Vitamix blender comes with a highly-effective self-cleaning cycle, and with just a drop of dish soap, you can have your blender entirely cleaned in 30 – 60 seconds.

Compared to our top pick, the Vitamix 5200 and the Ninja BL660 are both high-end blenders suitable for more heavy-duty blending tasks. However, the Vitamix has a more powerful motor and larger capacity than the Ninja, making it a better choice for larger portions and more demanding recipes.

A fairly new addition to the Ninja lineup, the Ninja countertop blender we tested is designed for frozen blending and chopping. The model features an interesting design, and instead of the motor being located at the bottom of the blender, it’s found at the top.

Moreover, it doesn’t use the traditional extraction blade, and instead, features a 7-inch stacked blade that moves up and down as it blends. While it doesn’t have the most powerful motor (400 watts), we found it worked just fine if you stuck to blending frozen fruits and vegetables.

If you like the power of the Blendtec and Vitamix, but find the price tag too steep, the Mueller DuraBlend is a good alterative.

Featuring a unique, 6-point blade design, this blender can reach speeds of up to 3.0 HP, making it one of the most powerful blenders we tested. However, the 3.0 HP is the max speed under ideal conditions, and if you really load up the XL 74 oz pitcher, you’ll probably hit closer to 2 HP.

By the way, when we say 74 oz blender, this is the full liquid capacity – not the total capacity. At 74 oz, this is one of the largest blenders out there and can be used to make frozen drinks for up to 6 people at once!

The design is very simple, and instead of several different pre-set functions, the Mueller blender comes with 10-speed settings and a pulse function. Upon testing, we found this Pulse function worked great to crush ice, even when we loaded the blender over 50% of the way full of ice cubes. Definitely one of the best blenders for frozen fruit smoothies!

For making fruit smoothies to go, the Mueller Ultra Blender is a great alternative to the magic bullet we tried out earlier. Not only is it half the price, but it comes with a decent, 15 oz max capacity – which is pretty good as far as personal blenders go.

We were also impressed by the unique blade design, which has one blade shorter than the other. This comes in handy when blending frozen ingredients as the blade is less likely to jam.

What’s more, unlike the MagicBullet, the Mueller Ultra Bullet performed well when we didn’t add a half cup of water – which some users may see as a major plus.