The Ninja Foodi Blender and Soup Maker is a 2-in-1 blender that can do all the usual cold blending, plus it has an integrated heating element which means it can be used to make soups from scratch too. While the best soup maker and blender combination appliances are fairly common, not all of them can make true chunky soups like this one can, and some even rely on the heat generated by the fast-spinning blades to heat the soup ingredients.
With its integrated heating element and plenty of auto programmes for both blending and cooking, this Ninja is a great multipurpose kitchen appliance. While trying it out I made delicious soups and sauces from scratch but it was just as capable of crushing whole ice cubes and it impressed me with its versatility. Keep reading to find out if this is one of the best blenders on the market.
Aside from a few plastic bags, this Ninja blender comes neatly packaged in cardboard, so everything in the box is easily recyclable, which definitely gets a thumbs up from me. When removing all the parts from the box, my first impression was that the glass jug is sturdy but very heavy. The base is also big, but it tapers down so that the footprint on your kitchen counter isn’t much bigger than most other blenders. Aside from the lid, there’s a tamper and cleaning brush in the box and a small recipe book that in addition to recipes, gives you guideline proportions of solid and liquid ingredients for making your own soup creations.
The lid locks securely into position but is still easy to attach and remove. However, I was disappointed to see that due to the way the heating element plugs into the base, the handle of the jug must sit to the right-hand side, which will be frustrating if you’re left-handed.
When I switched it on, the first thing the blender did was display a prompt on the screen telling me to put the lid on. And one of the great safety features of this blender is that it doesn’t let you start any of the programmes until the lid is locked in place. Then it’s a case of deciding which programme to use for what you want to make.
There are four Auto-IQ cold blending programmes which are smoothie, dessert, milkshake and frozen drink. The four Auto-IQ cook programmes are jam, sauce, smooth soup and chunky soup, plus the two pre-cook programmes: chop and sauté. Additionally, there are three speeds to choose from if you select manual blend and three cook temperatures if you select manual cook. And despite the number of options, the large control panel is clearly laid out and very straightforward to use.
There’s only one smoothie in the recipe book so I opted to make my own recipe. I blended frozen cherries with flaxseed powder, protein powder, milk, spinach, peanut butter and ice. The smoothie programme takes 45 seconds, and a timer counts down on the screen during blending. I was pleased to see the ice and frozen cherries had completely broken down and the finished smoothie was free of lumps. There were some tiny flecks of cherry skin and spinach visible in the drink, but overall the texture was smooth and well mixed.
For my second smoothie I combined frozen strawberries with ice, chia seeds, freeze-dried raspberry powder, protein powder, spinach, avocado and milk, which had an unappealing beige appearance but tasted delicious. Again, I used the smoothie programme, and everything blended well. This time the smoothie had a gritty texture due to the chia seeds and seeds from the strawberries, both of which had not been broken down. There are some blenders that are designed specifically for smoothies and would completely pulverise these seeds, so if that’s what you’re looking for this blender won’t suit you, but if you don’t mind a few seeds, it mixes well and creates lump-free drinks even when there’s a lot of frozen ingredients.
For my first foray into soup in this soup maker I decided to follow the recipe for butternut squash soup in the included recipe book. Firstly, quartered onion and oil are added to the jug, I selected the chop programme and it chopped the onion for 12 seconds. Next I selected sauté and the blender heated up, gently sauteing the onions for five minutes, to get even results you’ll need to push down any bits of onion stuck to the side of the jug. Then, along with hot vegetable stock, all the rest of the ingredients go in raw at the end of the sauté programme and all I had to do was press the smooth soup button.
The 30-minute programme bubbles away vigorously with the blades turning occasionally to stir the ingredients. For safety, it beeps to alert you that the blades are about to turn. During cooking, the glass jug gets very hot, and steam is emitted from the lid, more so at the end when for the final minute, the blender kicks in and blitzes the hot ingredients to a smooth lump free soup. If you’re not around when it finishes it’ll switch on the keep warm function and keep your soup warm for up to 60 minutes. The butternut soup was beautifully cooked, creamy and delicious, but very hot.
I followed the instructions in the recipe book for how to create custom chunky soups and made up my own recipe. I chopped and sautéed the onions as above then added blended tinned tomatoes as the base, followed by spices, chunks of pepper and sweetcorn. I added kidney beans six minutes before the end as suggested in the recipe book, but I had to be careful as there was a bit of spitting when I opened the centre cap and tipped them in.
The chunky soup programme works in much the same way as the smooth soup programme but without the final blending phase. Despite the occasional stirring with the sharp blades the chunks of pepper, sweetcorn and kidney beans all stayed intact and I was pleased with the result.
With very little advice in the recipe book about creating your own sauce recipes, I had to wing it a bit when making tomato sauce using the sauce programme. I decided to follow the initial steps for soup by chopping and sautéing my onions and garlic in the blender before adding quartered tomatoes, some water and seasoning.
The sauce programme takes just over 30 minutes, the blades spin at regular intervals during the cooking process to mix and chop the ingredients, but the finished sauce still had some texture. It was neither chunky nor completely smooth. I was pleased with how it cooked, and the tomatoes broke down nicely, the best bit is that it’s completely hands-off and you don’t have to watch over it like you would on the hob.
The automatic clean programme on this blender is essential because the heating element in the jug means it can’t be submerged in water. I used the clean programme and it’s actually very thorough. You add water and washing up liquid and then it spends almost seven minutes heating and blending to get rid of all the residues. It still requires a bit of a rinse afterwards but for the most part everything gets cleaned off.
The lid, centre cap and tamper are all dishwasher safe, but they’re not tricky to wash by hand either. You also get a cleaning brush in the box which is effective at dislodging debris from around the blade area, should you need to clean the jug by hand. The flat touch control panel is easy to wipe clean in case you find yourself setting it with food on your hands.
Ice is no match for the Ninja, it completely crushed a handful of ice cubes in just five quick pulses, so it’s great for making cocktails or cool summer drinks.
If on-the-go protein shakes and smoothies aren’t your main reason for wanting a blender, you should definitely consider this one. As a multipurpose blender that can make soups, sauces and more, it has the potential to become a real workhorse in your kitchen and offers far more than your average blender.
Yes, there are cheaper blenders on the market and cheaper soup makers too, but in my opinion, this sturdy little appliance is great at everything from crushing ice to cooking soups from scratch. Having never been a fan of soup makers, this Ninja might just have converted me. The chop and sauté functions keep the whole process contained in the jug and it makes a great soup while you put your feet up. The only downside for me is that the capacity makes just three portions of soup at a time.
Helen McCue is a freelance contributor who trained as a Home Economist. After starting her career in the food industry, she moved into home appliance reviews, utilising her cooking skills and experience to put all kinds of products to the test, and over the years has reviewed hundreds of home and kitchen appliances for a variety of publications.
Having completely renovated her current house, Helen reviews kitchen appliances from her open plan kitchen at home in a beautiful Berkshire village. When she’s not working, Helen can be found enjoying the local countryside or dreaming about her next house renovation project.