What Is an Immersion Blender & Why Do You Need One? | KitchenAid (2024)

IMMERSION BLENDER VS BLENDER: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

A countertop blender features a jar on top of a motorized base that sits on your countertop while blending. An immersion blender is a handheld blender and does not have a jar. You can insert the blades into nearly any container including a wide pot of soup on the stove or a narrow smoothie bottle.

Regular blenders are better suited to crushing ice than stick blenders. If you plan to make icy drinks often, you might want a countertop blender like the KitchenAid® K150 3 Speed Ice Crushing Blender. Or, keep both on hand so you can use the perfect tool for every recipe.

IMMERSION BLENDER VS BLENDER COMPARISON CHART

While every model varies, here are some differences you may find between immersion blenders and standard countertop blenders:

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF IMMERSION BLENDERS?

An immersion blender can help you with many of your culinary needs—find some of the benefits of an immersion blender below.

1. CREATE IN ONE DISH

A hand blender allows you to blend in the same dish you’re using to prepare your recipe. This makes blending hot foods like soups and chutneys on a stovetop much easier as you can leave your ingredients in the pot, rather than transferring them to a blender jar.

2. UNLIMITED CAPACITY

Whether jars, mixing bowls or pots, you can use your immersion blender in a variety of vessels with ease. For especially large batches, KitchenAid also offers commercial immersion blenders that can go in your largest pots and can blend your toughest ingredients with its powerful motor.

3. BLEND SMALL AMOUNTS

Smaller amounts of food don't always combine as easily in a regular blender. Use an immersion blender for tasks like emulsifying salad dressing for two, making a jar of homemade Sriracha or quickly chopping a handful of nuts.

4. QUICK CLEANUP

Cleanup after using an immersion blender can be quick and easy by simply rinsing the blender arm and blades. You can also cut down on the number of dishes you use by skipping the blender jar found on countertop models.

Some models, like KitchenAid® hand blenders, feature removable, dishwasher-safe blending arms to simplify clean up even more.

5. COMPACT STORAGE

Immersion blenders also save storage space by tucking away in a drawer like your favorite well-worn cooking spoon.

6. VARIABLE SPEEDS

Use lower speed settings for softer or liquid recipes like ultra-smooth gravy, batter, frothed milk and more. Increase your speed for pureed soups with harder vegetable chunks, smoothies with fibrous greens and even homemade nut butters.

7. CORDLESS AVAILABILITY

Opt for a cordless immersion blender and free yourself up to move around the kitchen as you create. This type of immersion blender is a great solution when you have a kitchen with limited outlets or multiple work areas.

The KitchenAid® Cordless Variable Speed Hand Blender features a powerful rechargeable Lithium Ion Battery to deliver optimal run time and performance, so you can cook wherever¹, whatever and however you choose.

Blend up to 25 bowls of soup on a full charge.² Charge from empty to full in 2 hours or less. Or give it a quick charge of 20 minutes to make a Triple Berry smoothie or Tomato Basil Soup.

_{1. Indoor use only.}
2. Based on 12 ounce bowls (354 ml), 7 batches, Tomato Basil Soup.

8. VERSATILE ATTACHMENTS

You can sometimes buy Immersion blender attachments, like these available from KitchenAid, that can transform it into a handheld food chopper, powered whisk and more.

Buying your immersion blender bundled with accessoriesmaximizes its potential. KitchenAid brand offers the Cordless Variable Speed Hand Blender paired with a chopper and whisk attachment so you can blend, whisk and chop with one appliance. Find other KitchenAid^® immersion blender attachments that can further diversify your appliance.

WHAT ARE IMMERSION BLENDERS USED FOR?

An immersion blender can do many of the same things a standard blender can do. These handheld appliances are great for making a large pot of comfort food directly on the stovetop, like this creamy roasted vegetable soup. Using an immersion blender lets you keep your recipe in one pot or dish from start to finish, and saves on dirty dishes too since there’s no blender jar to clean up.

Whether chopping nuts and herbs for a pistachio pesto or emulsifying oil and vinegar for anAsian lime salad dressing, hand blenders aren’t just good for savory recipes like salsas, you can also make sorbets, shakes and even oat milk for an extra-creamy dairy alternative. Cooking for one? You can mix hand blender smoothiesor juices directly in your favorite to-go container, like this beyond-basic pumpkin spice latte smoothie. Here are some of the tasks an immersion blender can help you with:

Pair your KitchenAid^® Cordless Hand Blender with both a whisk and chopper attachment to expand the versatility of your immersion blender for a 3-in-one appliance.

Find creative ways to execute new recipes or old favorites with an immersion blender that you can use in just about any container and can provide you with the versatility to create a variety of dishes with ease.

SHOP KITCHENAID^® IMMERSION BLENDERS

From the ultra convenient KitchenAid® Cordless Variable Speed Hand Blender to the corded version, and a range of options in between, there’s bound to be an immersion blender and attachment combo that suits your needs for ease, power and creativity in the palm of your hand. Shop all KitchenAid® hand blenders to find the right match for your recipes.