Every home cook knows how important a good blender is to complete their set of kitchen appliances.
Whether you’re making smoothies, sauces or salsa dips, this handy piece of equipment can open you up to a whole range of recipes that wouldn’t be possible without one.
If you’ve shopped for a blender before, it’s likely you will have seen the brand name, Ninja pop up quite a few times too. Ninja is one of the leading cookware brands, with a wide variety of appliances available from their store, but specializing mainly in blenders.
In this article, we’ll be taking a look at their IQ blender product range and helping you decide whether it’s the right fit for your kitchen.
Auto-IQ Technology
The main feature of Ninja’s IQ blender range is, as the name suggests, the Auto-IQ technology that comes with each product.
According to their website, Ninja’s Auto-IQ technology refers to “one-touch intelligent programs designed specifically for each jar attachment”.
What this basically means is that each Ninja IQ blender will come with a series of presets which work out the right amount of blending time and intensity for whatever it is you’re making.
However, this doesn’t mean the blender takes full control over how you blitz your food. Whilst there are options for Auto-IQ presets on Ninja IQ blenders, there are also buttons for constant, manual blending as well as a pulse setting to apply short bursts of blending to your food.
It can be difficult at first to work out what the right presets are for certain recipes and ingredients, but once you’ve found what works for you, the Auto-IQ presets make it super easy to produce consistently high quality food with the press of a single button.
This feature is perfect for a busy recipe which might have you scrambling all over your kitchen to get different components of your meal ready at the same time.
Also, for the morning smoothie drinker, Auto-IQ technology is great for simplifying your morning routine and giving you time to wake up properly before having to think too hard about anything!
Other Key Features
Aside from the cool Auto-IQ technology, these blenders also have a range of great features that make Ninja blenders some of the best on the market.
Ninja Blender Cups
A lot of Ninja blenders will come with a variety of different cup sizes to suit different volumes of food. For example, the BL481 model comes with three different cup sizes: small, medium and large.
Having a selection over what size of cup you want to use is great for ensuring your blender isn’t overcrowded, causing some parts of the food to be blended smoother than others. If in doubt, it’s always best to go for a larger size for this exact reason.
Not to mention, some Ninja cups will come with a twistable lid, with a sipping cap to turn your blender cup into drinkable cup. All you have to do is remove the cup from the blender, twist off the blade attachment and twist on the drinking lid.
This means you can take your smoothie out of the house and drink it wherever you want!
Ninja Blade Technology
Naturally, the most important component of any blender is the blade. This is the part that does all the work when it comes to turning your chunky, solid food into a fine, smooth consistency.
Ninja blades are made from a high quality stainless steel. This material is great for a blender blade because it’s durable and has been tested by Ninja’s product development team against some of the toughest food ingredients.
Also, stainless steel is super easy to wash and maintain. Most of their products are dishwasher safe, however you should check the manual for your Ninja blender just to be sure.
The blade of your Ninja blender is often interchangeable with other Ninja blades, giving you a range of different blending options to experiment with and choose from.
We realize that it might not be necessary for everyone to use a dozen different blade types for one blender, but it’s still nice to have the option there!
Recipe Books
A lot of Ninja blenders will come with a nifty little recipe book included in the box. This isn’t the case for every product in their range, but it’s a great bonus if yours has one included.
These recipe books contain a host of interesting blender recipes, ranging from extravagant drinks to simple sauces.
A lot of home cooks are guilty of cooking the same things over and over again. While there’s nothing wrong with going back to a recipe you’ve grown to love, Ninja is encouraging everyone to step outside their comfort zone and discover something they might never have considered making before.
Ninja IQ Product Line
As you may have seen online, Ninja has a pretty wide range of blenders with Auto-IQ technology. Many of these products have similar features and all of them are pretty good all-round blenders, suitable for any kitchen.
Here’s a quick summary of the unique features of some of Ninja’s top Auto-IQ blenders:
Ninja BN701
This is one of Ninja’s most professional Auto-IQ blenders and it comes with a good set of features to back it up.
You can choose between 3 Auto-IQ presets (smoothie, ice crush and ice cream) as well as 4 manual settings (low, medium, high and pulse).
This offers you a great level of control over how you want your food or drink to be processed. It’s perfect for people who use their blender for a variety of different recipes and ingredients.
Whilst this model doesn’t come with attachable blender cups, it instead uses a large pitcher with a 64oz capacity. This means you can blitz up bigger batches of food or drink and serve it into different containers that are easier to handle.
- MORE POWERFUL MOTOR: The Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ features a new modern design and a more powerful motor than Ninja's original Professional Blender. (Versus BL610, based on operating wattage.)
- POWERFUL CRUSHING: Ninja Total Crushing Blades give you perfectly crushed ice for your smoothies and frozen drinks with 1400 peak watts of professional power.
- 3 VERSATILE FUNCTIONS: 3 preset Auto-iQ programs allow you to create smoothies, frozen drinks, and ice cream, all at the touch of a button.
- AUTO-IQ TECHNOLOGY: take the guesswork out of drink making with intelligent programs that combine unique timed pulsing, blending, and pausing patterns that do the work for you.
- XL BLENDING CAPACITY: The 72-oz. Total Crushing Pitcher is great for making large batches for the whole family. (64-oz. max liquid capacity.)
Ninja BN401
This model is a more simplistic blender, but it has all the features you’ll need to be a successful home cook.
It comes with two 24oz blender cups with spout lids that you can attach to drink straight from the cup.
This blender does also use Auto-IQ technology, however there are only 2 presets (crush and smoothie) and 2 manual settings (start/stop and pulse).
Overall, it’s a fairly basic blender but still packs a punch when it comes to tearing apart tough foods.
- ULTIMATE POWER: 1100-peak-watt motor powers through the toughest ingredients and pulverizes ice to snow in seconds for creamy frozen drinks, smoothies, sauces, and more
- 2 VERSATILE PROGRAMS: 2 Auto-iQ preset programs are uniquely timed for smoothies & crushed ice - remove the guesswork with easy one-touch results.
- NUTRIENT EXTRACTION: Unlock hidden nutrition from whole fruits and veggies. Extract a drink containing vitamins and nutrients from fruits and vegetables. By blending whole fruits and vegetables including portions that are usually discarded.
- FROZEN BLENDING: Crush ice and pulverize frozen ingredients for resort- like frozen drinks, smoothies, frozen treats, and more.
- ON-THE-GO CONVENIENCE: Blend directly in the 24-oz. single-serve cup, attach the spout lid, and enjoy your creations on the go.
Ninja BL480D
Similar to the previous model, this blender provides some fairly simple features, but with a 1000W motor it can still blend even the toughest of ingredients.
This option comes with two different sized cups, one 18oz and one 24oz. These cups also come with a detachable spout lid to take your drinks on the go.
Again, the two Auto-IQ presets offer pretty basic functions, as well as the two manual settings.
- MORE POWER: 1000-watt motor powers through the toughest ingredients and pulverizes ice to snow in seconds for creamy frozen drinks, smoothies, sauces, and more.
- AUTO-IQ TECHNOLOGY: take the guesswork out of drink making with intelligent programs that combine unique timed pulsing, blending, and pausing patterns that do the work for you.
- PROFESSIONAL BLADE PREFORMANCE: Pro Extractor Blades rotate at high speed to liquefy ingredients into smooth nutrient extractions, smoothies, and purees. Extract a drink containing vitamins and nutrients from fruits and vegetables
- COMPACT & SIMPLE: So compact that it fits on any countertop, and has intuitive, easy-to-use controls.
- EASY CLEAN UP: All parts are BPA free and dishwasher safe.
Ninja BN801
A slight improvement on the BN701 model, this blender features a very professional setup with a range of added extras for a higher price.
This particular set comes with two different sized pitchers, with the largest holding a capacity of 64oz. It also features two single serve blender cups with spout lids.
The biggest benefit of this particular model is definitely its versatility. It has options for 5 different Auto-IQ presets and 4 manual blending settings! This is more choice than you’ll find with pretty much any commercial blender on the market.
Not to mention, this kit also has 4 different blade types to choose from, all powered by a beefy 1400W motor.
This is one of the expensive Ninja IQ blender sets you can get online, however it is certainly one the best in terms of versatility and blending power.
- MORE FUNCTIONALITY: The Ninja Professional Plus Kitchen System with Auto-iQ features a new modern design and more functionality than Ninja's original Kitchen System. (Versus BL770 based on the number of available blending programs.)
- POWERFUL CRUSHING: Ninja Total Crushing Blades give you perfectly crushed ice for your smoothies and frozen drinks with 1400 peak watts of professional power.
- FOOD PROCESSING: The 8-cup Precision Processor Bowl provides precision processing for even chopping and smooth purees.
- 5 VERSATILE FUNCTIONS: 5 preset Auto-iQ programs allow you to create smoothies, frozen drinks, nutrient extractions, chopped mixtures, and dough, all at the touch of a button. Extract a drink containing vitamins and nutrients from fruits and vegetables.
- AUTO-IQ TECHNOLOGY: take the guesswork out of drink making with intelligent programs that combine unique timed pulsing, blending, and pausing patterns that do the work for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ninja IQ A Good Blender?
Ninja IQ blenders are some of the best commercial blenders you can get online. They feature Auto-IQ technology which makes it easier than ever to produce consistently high quality food and drink. Even without the fancy Auto-IQ, these blenders are some of the best around.
The average Ninja IQ blender has at least 1000W worth of power in its motor which allows it to tear through tough ingredients with ease. Different models also come with a wide range of different features which you can read more about further up in this article.
What Does Ninja Auto-IQ Do?
Ninja’s Auto-IQ technology is a range of presets that come with all Ninja IQ blenders. These presets are designed to help you through a variety of different blending situations, ranging from crushing ice to making ice cream and everything in between.
Different models will have a different number of presets but all of them will also have options for blending manually, to your desired consistency.
Can The Ninja Auto-IQ Crush Ice?
Yes, many of Ninja’s Auto-IQ blenders have built in presets for crushing ice. If that’s what you want to use the blender for, it’s as simple as filling the blender cup with ice and pressing a single button.
However, even the models that don’t have ice crushing presets have been tested against some of the toughest ingredients, so crushing ice manually is no problem.