Bullet Blenders

Bullet blenders, so called because of their bullet shape, are small space saving blenders that can quickly create smoothies or whole food juices directly in a travel or go cup. They are fast and efficient, and there are no extra containers or jugs to wash up. Just blend, snap on the lid and run. Perfect for those of us who are time poor but health conscious.

Juicers usually separate the pulp or natural fibre out of you ingredients but bullet blenders have the power to blend raw and whole foods into a healthy silky smooth liquid and release all of the available nutrients.

Bullet Blenders
Bullet Blenders are named for their bullet shaped design
Small but powerful, personal bullet blenders were originally designed purely as single serve nutrient extractors and smoothie makers. With the addition of different types of blending containers, better engineered blade design and automatic settings and programs, the more advanced personal blenders are now very versatile. Although still small and relatively inexpensive, they can be used to puree, whip, chop, crush, or blend small quantities of ingredients for the home cook. For the space and budget conscious, they can replace many larger kitchen appliances such as bench top blenders, food processors and even mixers. This versatility has made these blenders very good value for money.

Cheaper model personal blenders turn on by simply pushing down the inverted cup, but newer and more advanced models, like the Vitamix S30, have variable speed control and a pulse function. Others, such as the Nutri Ninja Auto iQ Pro have automatic program settings.

Advantages of Bullet Blenders

  • Compact and convenient with a small footprint and easy to store
  • Time saving, ingredients in, blend, lid on, go
  • Powerful as they will blend small amounts of raw foods into luxurious smoothies
  • Versatile, bullet blenders can chop grind and puree
  • Easy to clean, the blending cups and blade assemblies can usually go straight in the dishwasher
  • Space saving designs and can be used instead of other larger machines such as a food processor or juicer
  • Inexpensive, they generally cost much less than a full sized blender

Disadvantages of Bullet Blenders

  • Can usually only blend small quantities
  • Not as powerful as larger high performance blenders, but as usually powerful enough to process small quantities
  • Frozen food and ice can be difficult to blend, so you should add liquid to avoid damaging blades or cups
  • Smaller and lighter construction means that some models are not as durable or sturdily constructed as the full sized blenders but can still be good value for the price

Features of Bullet Blenders

  • Fast – You can make a smoothie in seconds
  • Save Time – Bullet blenders are quick to use as you simply toss all of your ingredients in the cup, blend, put on a drinking lid and go
  • Powerful – For their size bullet blenders are usually quite powerful and can quickly pulverise and blend whole and raw foods
  • Texture – Most compact bullet blenders have enough power to make delicious smoothies from whole foods
  • Raw Food – You can turn raw foods into healthy juices and smoothies by blending all of the fibre and nutrients
  • Little Clean Up – If you blend directly in a travel cup there is no extra containers to wash up
  • Versatile – Some of the more expensive models offer the ability to do many of the jobs of larger high performance blenders and can include larger containers and jugs

Bullet Blender Uses

Bullet blenders excel at:

  • Making smoothies
  • Making sauces and vinaigrettes
  • Pureeing baby food
  • Chopping small amounts of vegetables and herbs
Personal bullet blenders are all excellent at making smoothies. You can easily and quickly turn fruits, raw vegetables and even nuts into satiny smooth drinks.

Even the basic models can also whizz up baby food, make dressings and salsas and crush or chop small amounts of ingredients.

Some newer, more advanced and more expensive models offer an improved selection of accessories, options and controls making them equivalent to a small sized high performance blender.

What to look for when buying a Bullet Blender

Power

Generally, as with most blenders, the more power the better as it should be able to chop tough foods and crush ice.

Cups & Lid

Research how many and what size cups and lids are included, and if it is possible to purchase more items if you either break them or just need more for your family.

Containers

Some personal blenders now come with larger blender jugs, this expands their uses and makes them a more all-round blending machine.

Blades

Work out what do you need to blend, because there are different blades for blending and chopping or grinding. Most bullet blenders only come with one blade assembly, so make sure it can do what you need.

Controls

A lot the cheaper bullet blenders only have the option on or off, and as you go up in price you will usually add more controls such as variable speed, pulse mode and automatic programs.

Pulse Feature

Having a pulse mode is very useful to help break down tough fruits and vegetables.

Dishwasher Safe

To make clean up as easy as possible check to see if the cups, lids and blade bases are dishwasher safe.

Warranty

Most of the time the warranty period will be reflected by the cost of the item, though generally mostly blenders will come with a 12 month warranty. However blenders from some brands, such as the Vitamix S30, can offer long warranty periods of up to 7 years.

This page contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks