Best hand blender: for blending smooth soups, shakes and sauces

The best hand blenders are a fantastic alternative to full-size jug blenders and have sharp blades that are capable of blitzing soups and shakes into smooth tasty treats. Not only are they smaller and easier to store than many of the best blenders, but they can be used in any container, from huge pans of soup to small jugs of batter or baby food.

While you can buy a hand blender without any accessories, it’s common for them to come with attachments like whisks and mini choppers which makes them really versatile little kitchen gadgets. Mini chopper attachments are useful for chopping herbs and vegetables or making salsas and dips. But be sure to check what accessories you really need as well as what you already have, there’s no point doubling up, it’s a waste of money and the attachments will just gather dust in your valuable kitchen storage space.

We like the stick blenders that have added safety features built-in, there’s a reduced risk of switching the blender on accidentally, which is a great feature if you’ve got children in the house. Most come with a tall blending jug that’s the perfect size and shape for optimal results, but as we said, you can use them in almost any container.

What is the best hand blender?

We tested some of the best hand blenders on the market and the Braun MultiQuick 9 came out top, wowing us with its array of accessories and powerful blending capabilities. It replaces several other kitchen gadgets so is the perfect space-saving option. But if you don’t want a stick blender with a multitude of accessories, The KitchenAid Cordless hand blender is a great choice. It’s a sturdy stick blender that gives you the freedom to blend without being tethered to a power socket. For must-have soup accessories, take a look at the best soup makers.

The Braun MultiQuick 9 is far more than a simple stick blender, it offers all the functionality of a full-size food processor as well as a mini chopper. Add to this the puree and whisk accessories and there’s really no end to the number of foods you can chop, whip, blend, slice and grate.

Despite being the heaviest of all the stick blenders on this list, it didn’t feel it thanks to the comfortable rubberised grip and the fact that there wasn’t much suction towards the base of the pan. It also has a very effective safety feature which makes it trickier for children to switch on.

There might only be two speed settings, but the innovative Smartspeed technology means the more you squeeze the power button, the faster it blends. Yes, it comes with lots of different accessories to store, but if you’re looking to replace the best food processor, mini chopper, and a stick blender, this represents a space-saving solution that’s great value for money.

Ideal Home rated 5 out of 5 stars

The KitchenAid Cordless Hand Blender is very tall and feels a little heavy in use, but the convenient cordless design far outweighs these minor grumbles. Gone are the days of moving your hot pan of soup closer to a socket so you can blitz it to a lump-free liquid. This stick blender gives you the freedom to blend anywhere, perfect if your kitchen’s lacking power sockets. But you do have to remember to charge it.

Two buttons have to be pressed simultaneously to operate the stick blender, a useful safety feature, but there’s only one blending speed. And it comes with a plastic pan guard that clips onto the blade shaft so you can blend in delicate non-stick pans without the worry of ruining the coating. With just a blending beaker included in the box, there’s not too much to store but this means it’s a pricey choice given that it can’t perform any other functions.

Ideal Home rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

All of the accessories for the Dualit 700W Hand Blender feel well made and sturdy. With a mini chopper, whisk and blending jug it offers plenty of versatility and will be a useful addition to your kitchen. Dualit describe the handle as having an ergonomic grip, but we found it chunky and not as well balanced as some others, which also made it feel heavy at times. We think it’s best suited to people with larger hands.

We enjoyed the range of adjustable speeds when blending soup, but felt some vibration up through the handle. Additionally, there was some suction towards the base of the pan but thankfully the plastic foot of the blender means it won’t scratch your pans.

Despite the premium look and feel, this Dualit blender has a lower price tag than most on this list making it a great choice as long as you can forgive some of the issues with the handle, which shouldn’t be too difficult given that it’s only used in short bursts.

Ideal Home rated 4 out of 5 stars

In keeping with other Smeg appliances, the Smeg 50’s Retro Hand Blender has a familiar retro style and there are four colours to choose from. It comes with a good range of accessories, including a mini chopper, whisk, masher and jug, but in comparison to others, it’s still an expensive option.

The blending speed is adjusted using a dial on top and it feels powerful, but can vibrate through the handle on the higher speed settings. There was some suction towards the base of the pan which made it feel heavy and we also found the button uncomfortable to keep pressing.

Having said this, if you love the retro style and don’t mind paying a bit extra for it, you’ll get a good stick blender that’ll pulverise foods into smooth liquids.

Ideal Home rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

With a very wallet-friendly price tag the Breville Flow Hand Blender is our budget choice. It’s a no-frills design that doesn’t come with any accessories other than a beaker. When blending soup, the normal mode didn’t feel very powerful, it was much better in turbo, although it took longer than the others to achieve a smooth consistency.

We noticed some vibration up through the handle, but thankfully there was very little suction towards the base of the pan. A big selling point of this particular stick blender is that it’s significantly lighter than all of the others on this list, making it a great choice for anyone with hand or wrist issues looking for a lighter model.

If you want a stick blender for occasional use or for simple tasks like creating smooth milkshakes and soups, this budget model will get the job done.

Ideal Home rated 3 out of 5 stars

How we tested the best hand blenders

We made a huge batch of chunky carrot and butternut squash soup and portioned it out into smaller saucepans for blending. This made sure we could compare the stick blenders like-for-like. We left the butternut squash and carrot pieces really chunky to ensure it was a particularly tricky task to puree the ingredients into a smooth soup. During blending we assessed handle comfort including the amount of suction and vibration as well as any other notable features.