We Tried the Ninja Blast Portable Blender, and It's Perfect for Smoothies Anywhere

As we know, Ninja has all kinds of appliances for the kitchen, including cookware sets, frozen treat makers and coffee machines. But their blenders have been top-rated for many years, capable of creating a variety of drinks using high power and heavy processing. And now, Ninja has brought their signature blades to a miniature size. The Ninja Blast Portable Blender is Ninja’s edition to the single-serve game. It's a skinny portable blender where you can pack your ingredients ahead of time and blend at your destination. We put it through a series of tests to see if it’s worth buying for your next on-the-go smoothie, because a portable appliance is always convenient.

What Is the Ninja Blast Portable Blender and How Does it Work?

The Ninja Blast Portable Blender is a cordless, handheld blender that comes in three parts: a sip lid with a carrying handle, an 18-oz vessel and a blender base. All three parts attached to each other form a portable device that you can fill with ingredients and blend anywhere at any time, though the base must be attached to the vessel when you drink or else there will be no bottom. Ninja also provides a USB-C cord to charge the blender, which is how it’s powered. It takes around two hours for it to fully charge, and the power button changes color to denote its battery light.

The blender’s one-button interface is extremely easy to use — to make a drink, simply fill the vessel with a liquid of your choice up to the six-ounce minimum liquid line before adding in solids to the maximum line. Screw the sip lid on, turn on the power and press the start button to begin blending in 30-second increments. Ninja has a “Quick Clean” option, which involves filling the vessel with warm water to the minimum liquid line and adding a drop of dish soap before running a blending cycle. According to the instruction manual, the vessel and lid are top rack dishwasher safe to achieve a deeper clean, while the base must be handwashed.

The Ninja Blast Portable Blender comes in 27 different colors, ranging from classic whites and blacks to metallic shades. Weighing at 1.7 pounds and boasting 7.4 volts of power, the blender comes with an easy-to-read instruction manual as well as a quick-start guide with five recipes.

How We Tested the Ninja Blast Portable Blender

We tested the Ninja Blast Portable Blender by conducting four different tests, evaluating the product based on its blending ability, ease of use and overall performance. Our tests included blending a basic smoothie, a spinach smoothie, protein powder and crushed ice. The blender was tested at full battery, though it came partially charged out of the box. It took seven full 30-second blend cycles before the battery went to a low level, and died after another two cycles. The instruction manual noted there was a possibility of the blender overheating in use, which we noticed in testing, but we’d describe it as more warm than hot.

Basic Smoothie Test: Our first test involved blending bananas, eight ounces of milk (two ounces over the minimum liquid line) and frozen strawberries and blueberries in one 30-second cycle. The blender easily crushed the frozen berries and incorporated all the fruit seamlessly. Despite its small blades, the resulting smoothie was well combined with no solid chunks. There was no need to blend for additional cycles.

Spinach Smoothie Test: This green smoothie was made by blending bananas, spinach, strawberries and eight ounces of milk for one minute. Immediately after pressing the blend button, the ingredients mixed together easily. Our test called for a one-minute blend, but you can get away with blending for just 30 seconds for a less frothy smoothie.

Protein Powder Test: We made our protein powder shake using one scoop along with eight ounces of milk, per the instructions provided by the protein powder packaging. Once again, the blender seamlessly incorporated the ingredients immediately, without the need for a second 30-second cycle like our test called for. The powder never separated even after sitting in the vessel for several minutes. It was easy to drink from the sip lid, even though this protein smoothie was thicker in texture and came through the drink hole without obstruction.

Ice Test: Our initial ice test called for crushing one cup of ice cubes in the vessel and blending for a few minutes. The blender failed to effectively crush them this way. However, when leaving six ounces of ice cubes and then adding in water to the minimum liquid line, they were effectively crushed in one 30-second blend cycle.

What We Loved About the Ninja Blast Portable Blender

Portability

The main pull of the Ninja Blast Portable Blender is that it’s easy to take around. It absolutely delivered in this aspect — its size is comparable to a metal water bottle, which meant it had no problem being carted around in tote bags, purses or backpacks. Plus, the carrying handle is comfortable on the fingers if you’re walking around out and about with your smoothie.

Super User-Friendly

The blender only has two buttons: a power button and a blend button. We love how you can make a drink with just one push of a button and add 30-second increments however much you want. The colorful blend button denotes the blend readiness and charge level, so you never have to guess how much battery you have left.

Easy to Clean

Our favorite part about cleaning this blender was the quick clean option. It used minimal water and soap, and best of all, it only took 30 seconds. If you’re somebody who hates to clean their entire blender out every time they want a smoothie, this easy cleaning feature will be your best friend. Plus, deep cleaning in the dishwasher is simple, and handwashing only takes a few minutes.

Not So Noisy

One thing about the Ninja Blast Portable Blender that immediately stood out to us was that it created very little noise, even when blending frozen ingredients. We love that you can hold a conversation with somebody next to you while the blender is running without shouting and also not disturb the people around you if you’re blending in public.

What We Didn’t Love About the Ninja Blast Portable Blender

A Little Heavy

While the sip lid is a convenient feature and eliminates the need to swap lids or transport to another cup to drink your smoothie, the combination of a filled vessel and the blender base does make it a bit heavy to drink from. It can be manageable if you hold it with two hands, but, unfortunately, you can't detach the base to drink your smoothie.

Bottom Line: Is the Ninja Blast Portable Blender Worth Buying?

The Ninja Blast Portable Blender is absolutely a solid choice for people who want a single serving of their favorite smoothie on the go. Its skinny shape fits into a cupholder for easy traveling, and the carrying handle allows you to bring it anywhere without strenuous effort. The product’s top-tier blending power instantly incorporates ingredients in just 30 seconds, which means making smoothies takes less than a minute. Add to that the long battery life and effortless cleaning, making the Ninja Blast Portable Blender great for both smoothie fanatics or amateurs alike.

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