Vitamix Immersion Blender Review: No-Extra Containers!

Vitamix Quality and Durability Meets Handheld Convenience

Vitamix has a new product: The Immersion Blender!

Some quick facts:

• $149 (CAN $199)
• 3-year full warranty
• Five speeds and a four-pronged blade

Like all immersion blenders, it’s good for simple smoothies and soups in-the-pot. So it’s super convenient.

It’s also good for tiny batches.

It won’t get you the silkiest smoothies and most velvety soups. But if you’re looking for a blender on budget, it’s intriguing for sure.

Let’s have a look! Video: Vitamix Immersion Blender Review: First Impressions (and more!)

Contents

Who This Review is For

Why You Should Trust Us

Borrowed Features from The Best Immersion Blenders

What it Can Do

What it Cannot Do

How it’s Unique for Vitamix Products

FAQ

Who is the Vitamix Immersion Blender for?

Conclusion and Recommendation

Who This Review is For

This is a first-impression review of Vitamix Immersion Blender. It’s designed to help you appreciate this product beyond the glossy images.

Maybe you’re just beginning a healthy lifestyle. Or perhaps you’re already in the Vitamix family.

Either way, we want to be the most helpful in deciding if this product is right for you.

Why You Should Trust Us

Shalva and I have made a career helping people with their Vitamix journey. So not only helping decide which Vitamix to buy, but also how to get the most out of their investment.

Yes, we have a big reach.

But we operate like a mom and pop shop. And we’ve done so for nearly a decade.

Its Features from The Best Immersion Blenders

Vitamix’s handheld blender seems to have been designed the best immersion blenders in mind.

• Stainless steel wand: Blend hot soups in the pot without worrying about damaging the blender.
• Long wand: Get to the bottom of soup pots for even blends.
• Hardened plastic bell around the blade: Protect your fingers. But more importantly, avoid scratching the surface of pots, pans, and cups to keep toxic debris out of your food.
• 5 Variable speeds: You want precise control over the textures. But more than a handful of speeds become cumbersome and are not beneficial.
• Ergonomic handling: It should feel good in your hand and this does.
• Heavy-duty power: 625 watts, if you’re counting. (Note: Wattage alone doesn’t tell the whole story. Power without quality engineering is like putting a Lamborghini engine on a lawnmower.)
• Easy to clean: A few drops of soap in a cup of warm water is all you need for most cleanups. You’ll need to use a sponge or rag for the thick, sticky blends. (But that’s true with any immersion blender.)

Next, let’s talk about what it can (and can’t) do.

What it Can Do

The Immersion Blender can do most of what traditional blenders can do. And it excels at what all handheld blenders can do.

One-pot cooking and one-cup blending.

So, without an extra container, the Vitamix immersion blender can:

• Blend smoothies and shakes
• Blend hot soups

Additionally, it’s great at single-serve items like and sauces like pesto.

And surprisingly, it can make a single serving of creamy, banana nice cream. We threw frozen bananas, frozen strawberries, and a splash of milk into a mason jar and got perfect results (clip).

What it Cannot Do

Vitamix’s immersion blender is built to last. And it’s powerful, relative to other hand blenders.

But these devices are inherently limited.

While it can blend smoothies and shakes, it cannot break down the toughest ingredients like seeds and kale as well as a full-size Vitamix.

Two examples:

1. Advanced green smoothies: If you make a green smoothie with spinach, it will do just fine. But if you’re using kale, you’ll end up chewing your smoothie a bit.
2. Super-charged protein shakes. If you make a simple protein shake with just protein powder, milk, ice, and banana, it will do fine. But if you add oats to make it less chalky, you may be disappointed. The oats won’t get completely processed and the shake will still taste chalky (and chewy).

To be fair, you can expect smoothies and shakes that are not silky in any full-size Vitamix alternative.

Similarly, it cannot make velvety soups. We were disappointed at the box’s allusion that it can.

Yes, immersion blenders are primarily used by chefs to make soups in the pot. Soups with broth and veggies.

And they’re great at that. This hand blender from Vitamix is no exception.

But if you’re looking for top chef-inspired pureed soups that are velvety in texture, you’ll need a full-size Vitamix.

For example, we tried to make our Balsamic Butternut Squash Soup. The results were more of a mash potato-like texture. (We transferred it into our low-profile 64-ounce container to finish the job with our full-size A3500.)

It goes without saying, you can’t use the immersion blender as a food processor. The blades are too small.

And unfortunately, it cannot make nut butters. We tried, and despite a solid effort, it couldn’t finish the job.

How it’s Unique for Vitamix Products

The new Immersion Blender from Vitamix is certainly unique to the company. It’s small and quiet.

It’s so small that you could easily fit the box into a backpack. And it’s not much louder than an electric toothbrush, which is great by comparison to other Vitamix blenders noise output.

How else is it unique for Vitamix?

The Immersion Blender is manufactured and assembled in China.

Here’s why that’s notable:

It’s no secret that Vitamix has begun to source materials outside of the USA. But just like they have since the 1950s, the blenders are assembled in the USA. (Specifically just outside of Cleveland, Ohio.).

So when I first held this smaller-than-I’m-used-to box, it made me feel like I was holding an Apple product. A small consumer electronics product that was designed in the USA but manufactured and assembled in China.

Now, I have a feeling we’re going to get questions about this. So let’s answer some right away and segue into FAQ’s.

FAQ:

Do you nevertheless stand by this product? Is it still Vitamix quality? 

Our first impressions are yes. It looks and feels and operates at the level of Vitamix quality we’re used to. And like all Vitamix products, it’s backed by free-shipping-both-ways, full warranty.

I loved that this was a USA-based company. What gives? 

We, too, like to make informed purchasing decisions. And along with the things we buy comes a story. So here’s what might help: Vitamix is still a family-owned, American company. And if you use our links to purchase, we are still a small, family business from Minneapolis.

Will the Immersion Blender be available in the UK? 

As of now, it’s only available in the USA and Canada. If anything changes, we’ll let you know.

Who is the Vitamix Immersion Blender for?

Let’s talk about who should get this thing. Because it’s not for everyone.

It Might Be For You If:

You want to get into the Vitamix family (on a budget). You might be considering a Nutribullet or a Ninja blender. You’re seeing that the blend quality is about the same. And you’re intrigued by the Immersion Blender’s:

• Versatility: Smoothies, soups, and single-serve sauces, dressings, and nice cream.
• Durability: The 3-year full warranty is triple the expected life of the other blends you’re considering.
• Convenience: One-pot cooking and one-cup blending.

You have a tiny kitchen and you want cook more. We have friends living in tiny apartments that love culinary experiences. This is a great fit for them, especially during COVID days.

You’re love batching (or your smoothie delivery service). You spend Sunday nights filling five mason jars with smoothie ingredients. You will love this.

You’re really into making hot soups. This is a sufficient reason to invest in any immersion blender.

You love your full-size Vitamix and want a new toy. You like the idea of making single-serve ice creams, dressings, and sauces.

You want an awesome gift. You have a Vitamix and want to share the love. But, gifting a full-size Vitamix is a bit too much. This is an excellent, right-size option.

It Might *Not* Be For You If:

• You don’t want to chew your green smoothies
• You want velvety smooth soups

Conclusion and Recommendation

We really like this thing. And because of its no-fuss nice cream for one, we might even love it.

For our friends just getting into a healthy lifestyle, this is a no-brainer buy. It’s our new pick for Best Vitamix on a Budget.

For everyone else, it’s compelling, for sure.

We look forward to seeing how it fits into our lifestyle. Let us know how you use it in yours.