If you have a blender that makes awesome smoothies, then that’s the best blender for smoothie bowls.
Smoothie bowls are not that different from the smoothies we drink.
The main difference is that we serve the smoothie in a bowl and not a glass or cup.
Moreover, we might make them a bit thicker so that they don’t slosh around the bowl and so that we can eat them with a spoon.
And we add whatever toppings we want on top.
Smoothie bowl toppings are varied and they can be whatever we have in the house: fresh fruits, muesli, granola, nuts, seeds, chocolate chips, chocolate shavings, coconut flakes, yogurt, ground cinnamon, etc. We can make whatever combinations we want.
Thus, when we’re looking for the best blenders for smoothie bowls, we’re actually searching for the best blenders that we can buy.
Best Blender for Smoothie Bowls Reviews
Since we’re looking only for the best blenders on the market, you might believe that means that we can only look at very expensive models.
Obviously, expensive blenders are totally awesome and they’re fantastic if you can afford them.
But I want everyone to find the perfect blender for making smoothie bowls, even if your budget is under $100 or even under $50.
We’re going to review a wide range of options and then you’ll be able to pick the best blender for smoothie bowls, matching your budget and expectations.
1. Nutribullet Personal Blender 600: One of the Best Blender for Smoothie Bowls
I have this habit of recommending the nutribullet first, whether we’re talking about finding the best blender for smoothie bowls or if I’m searching for the best blender for making flour.
Is it because I think that the original nutribullet is the best thing on this planet? That it’s just perfect?
Obviously not. Even this model has plenty of negative reviews, which you should definitely read so that you know what to expect. There’s no such thing as a perfect kitchen appliance, not even when we’re talking about Vitamix blenders, which are some of the most expensive and most popular.
But I really like the Nutribullet Personal Blender 600 because it’s powerful, very well made, and it’s not outrageously expensive either. If your budget is in the $50-$100 ballpark, this one model you can check out first.
Of course, if you want to spend $300-$500 on a big countertop blender, then you’ll find plenty of recommendations here. The most expensive models are made by Vitamix and Breville. Ninja is the affordable manufacturer for awesome countertop blenders.
Features
We get a 600 watts motor base that is powerful enough for frozen fruit smoothies, grinding spices and making flour. You can be sure that you’ll enjoy smooth smoothie bowls whenever you’re in the mood for one.
To make all that possible, there are the powerful stainless Extractor blades that use cyclonic action to break down tough ingredients. These blades are the true heroes.
But the nutribullet 600 can also be fitted with a very cheap accessory that can be bought separately. It’s called the Nutribullet Milling Blade. It even works for coffee grinding.
There’s also a 24 oz cup that also includes a go-to lid.
The 24 oz is enough if you want to make 2 smaller smoothie bowls.
2. Ninja SS351: Overall the Best Blender for Smoothie Bowls
What can be a better choice as the best blender for smoothie bowls than a blender that actually has the bowl function?
Indeed, the Ninja SS351 comes with a bowl function that is perfect for making smoothie bowls and sorbet.
Each function comes with a combination of unique timed pulsing, blending and pausing patterns that do the work for you.
Thus, you add all the ingredients you want for your smoothie bowl, select the bowl function and the blender will do all the work for you. It will stop automatically when it’s totally blended the ingredients into a smooth texture. It’s pretty awesome.
The fact that this Ninja comes with a bowl function is not the only reason for really liking the Ninja SS351.
I just think that it’s the perfect countertop blender for people who are looking for amazing power, quality, versatility but don’t want to spend more than $200 to get it. It doesn’t get much better than this.
Let’s see what other exciting things we can discover. Also, check out their inspiration guide if you want to see what it can do. It also gives useful tips on how every component should be used.
Components
The full name for the SS351 is Foodi Power Blender & Processor System 1400W with Smoothie Bowl Maker & Nutrient Extractor.
That pretty much sums up why I like this model so much but let’s see what these words really mean.
With the SS351 we get:
- 1400-Watt unit
- 72-oz power blender & processor pitcher
- total crushing and chopping blade
- dough blade
- 24-oz nutrient extraction cup
- 14-oz smoothie bowl maker with storage lid
Powerful motor
The 1,400 watts power base is powerful and resilient no matter what you want to prepare. This is the first big plus.
It is described as being Ninja’s Most Powerful Blender system that crushes, food processes, and makes smoothie bowls and dough.
Indeed, dough making in a blender is totally a thing and we’ll talk about it more later on.
The power-dense motor with smartTORQUE is capable of powering through heavy loads without stalling.
And we don’t need to stir or shake.
Big pitcher
Given that we get a 72 oz pitcher (64 oz max liquid), it’s capable of handling heavy loads.
It means that we can make bowls for up to 6 people at the same time.
Besides the pitcher serving as the recipient for making smoothie bowls, it can also work as a processor.
The name of the blade for this big pitcher is the total crushing and chopping blade. It doesn’t look anything like the blades we’re used to seeing on other blenders and I really like it.
We can also use the dough blade with the 72 oz pitcher if we want to make dough for bread, pizza, cookies, and other baked goods.
14 oz smoothie bowl maker
If you only want to make a smoothie bowl for yourself, there’s a 14 oz smoothie bowl maker.
The 14 oz smoothie bowl maker has built-in tamper for powering through frozen foods with less liquid.
It’s perfect for making perfectly thick smoothie bowls, nut butters, and blender ice cream.
However, if you want to make smoothies for more than 1 person, absolutely use the 72 pitcher. Both recipients work perfectly, which one you use depends on the quantity you’re making.
24 oz nutrient extraction cup
You can use the 24 oz nutrient extraction cup to make smoothies and then take it with you because it features a spout lid. But you can also buy smoothie cups if you want to make them for more people to take away.
Thus, this nutrient extraction cup transforms this countertop blender into a personal blender.
Functions
There are 6 preset Auto-IQ programs.
With one touch we can select: extract, smoothie, bowl, spread, chop, dough.
There’s also a pulse function.
And we get a knob for variable speed control in case we want to go the manual route. We don’t have to use those 6 presets, we can adjust the speed for whatever we’re making.
For the dough preset, we get a dough blade.
3. Hamilton Beach Personal Blender: Cheapest Blender for Smoothie Bowls
Is the Hamilton Beach Personal Blender the best blender for smoothie bowls? Not exactly. But it is the cheapest.
So, if your budget is under $30, I think you should take a chance on it. Is there a possibility that you’ll return it? Yes, there is. It has plenty of negative reviews to prove that.
However, there are also plenty of people who mention that they’ve made multiple smoothie/acai bowls with it and their mind is blown each time.
Some love it, some not so much.
Features
We get a tiny 175 watts motor base. These are certainly not impressive numbers but I actually believe that it’s capable of blending smoothly a small quantity of ingredients.
I mentioned that the motor and the blades are capable of blending a small quantity of ingredients because the cup only measures 14 oz.
It’s still big enough for making smoothie bowls for one person.
It also includes a travel lid if you want to drink your smoothie away from home throughout the day.
4. Vitamix E310 Explorian
If you want a Vitamix to use as the best blender for smoothie bowls but you don’t want to spend $500 or more, you can pick the Vitamix E310.
It will cost around $350 so it’s definitely not cheap but it’s cheaper than more expensive models, like the Vitamix 5200.
Among all Vitamix models, I actually prefer the Vitamix E310 Explorian the most. In my opinion, it’s capable of offering everything we’d expect from Vitamix but without going overboard with its price.
I will actually review a blender that costs a bit over $500, a Breville model so my most expensive recommendation is not going to be a Vitamix.
Features
All Vitamix blenders look quite similar. They all have similar designs and similar features.
We get a 1,200-1,400 watts motor base. There’s no doubt that Vitamix doesn’t make some of the most powerful blenders on the market.
They’re highly versatile and they can be used for a lot of things. Their versatility is undisputable.
Moreover, you can also buy the Vitamix Dry Grains Container. This is a separate accessory for making flour from a wide array of ingredients and for grinding spices and coffee.
Although, you can also use the wet blade containers, as they’re called, that come with your Vitamix model.
You don’t necessarily have to spend your money on separate accessories, like the dry grains container.
The 48 oz container is on the smaller side among countertop blenders. If you have a very big family, you’ll need multiple sessions until everyone has received their smoothie bowl.
We also have the 10 variable speeds that allow us to control the texture of what we’re making. When you’re making smoothie bowls, you’ll start on speed 1 and move in a few seconds to speed 10 for the smoothest texture.
The pulse function is perfect for coarse chops. I also prefer using the pulse feature if I shred chicken in my blender because I can control the size of the shredded chicken and I can get them to have similar size.
It also comes with a 5-year warranty.
5. Ninja Personal Blender
It seems that we’re not done talking about personal blenders. I have one last model to recommend and it’s another Ninja appliance.
It’s also one of the most powerful personal blenders at the moment. So, if you have a budget of around $100, this can be a pretty fantastic choice.
Features
We get an impressive 1,100 watts power base. It’s about 6 times more powerful than the Hamilton Beach Personal Blender. Well, it’s also almost 5 times more expensive.
Another feature I really like about this Ninja is that it comes with 2 cups, each measuring 24 oz. And each comes with its own spout lid.
Thus, even if one person prefers taking their smoothie with them as they leave the house, you’ll still have a cup left at home to do your smoothie bowl or whatever else you want to make.
Smoothie preset
It has a smoothie function. As we’ve established, the difference between a smoothie and a bowl is that a bit less liquid is used to make the final product thicker so that we can eat it with a spoon and add a lot of toppings on top.
Thus, you can totally use the smoothie function, even if you’re following a recipe for a smoothie bowl.
The function comes with a preprogrammed combination of unique timed pulsing, blending and pausing patterns that do the work for you. It’s pretty useful.
We’re also shown how long the function takes until it’s complete.
The other functions are crush and pulse.
But we also have the option to use it manually, by using the start/stop button. It’s up to us.
6. Breville Super Q Blender: One of the Most Powerful Blenders for Smoothie Bowls
How’s that saying go, saving the best for last? I guess that’s what I’m doing with the Breville Super Q Blender.
It’s certainly not as popular as Vitamix or nutribullet or even Ninja but this Breville is absolutely fantastic.
And absolutely expensive at a price over $500.
While many people are willing to spend that kind of money on a Vitamix, I don’t know how many people will say the same about the Breville Super Q, even if it’s without a doubt one of the best blenders for smoothie bowls.
It’s also so much more than that. You’ll see what I’m talking about when we go over its features and just how powerful it is.
Smoothie bowl recipes
The Super Q comes with a cookbook that includes some smoothie bowls recipes and they all sound great:
- acai beet & berry bowl with toppings of fresh blueberries, goji berries and granola
- mango melba with toppings of thinly sliced peaches, fresh raspberries, granola, roasted pumpkin seeds
- berry mint bowl with toppings of fresh berries, sliced bananas, sliced almonds, mint leaves
- bircher smoothie bowl with toppings of apple slices, raisins, chopped pistachios, toasted coconut flakes
- green coconut smoothie bowl with toppings of sliced green apple, lime zest and juice, coconut yogurt, roasted chopped pecans, shaved coconut, ground cinnamon
Components
Super Q stands for Super Quick, Super Quiet, Super Blender. That’s a nice way to describe it in a few words.
We get an amazingly powerful 1,800 watts motor base.
With that kind of power, I think that the words super quiet are a slight exaggeration. Blenders are very noisy machines. Compared to other blenders, the Super Q is less noisy but super quiet is not something you should expect any powerful blender to be.
In order to achieve a quieter performance, this Breville comes with noise suppression technology, a unique system that reduces operating noise.
It has two jugs:
- 68 oz jug as the main pitcher that can be used if you’re making up to 4 smoothie bowls and if you want to make dough or flour or grind spices or other things like that
- 24 oz cup that transforms the Breville into a personal blender, the 24 oz is perfect for blending smaller quantities of ingredients, 2 smoothie bowls, or if you want to take your smoothie with you
Features
We get 5 once touch programs that do the blending for us without our input: green smoothie, smoothie, soup, pulse/ice crush, frozen dessert.
You can also choose to use the green smoothie or smoothie programs for your smoothie bowls if you’re using fresh veggies/fruits.
However, in their cookbook, Breville uses the frozen dessert program if they’re using a lot of frozen ingredients. We’ve got plenty of options.
There are also 12 speed settings if you prefer the manual route.
The 12 speeds are also used for making nut butters, nut & bean milks, fresh cocktails, fine milled flour, ground spices, sauces, dressings, dips, etc.
Under the soup program we can indeed make soup. If you’re interested in making soup in a blender, there are a few recipes in the book. The steps are easy to follow and the recipes serve 4.
We can also make different types of dough.
There’s also a 10 year limited product warranty.
Best Blender for Smoothie Bowls Buying Guide
I’ve already mentioned that in order to find the best blender for smoothie bowls we need to look for the best blenders that we can buy.
A blender that is capable of making smooth smoothies with all the ingredients blended to creamy perfection will be perfect for making the most delicious bowls we’ve ever tasted.
It’s great enjoying smoothie bowls when we’re on vacation or out for breakfast with friends but it’s even better when we make them at home for us and our loved ones.
In the beginning, it will be a bit of a whirlwind until you stock up on some ingredients to make different combinations but you’ll soon get used to making them. Just think of all the fun you’ll have trying different toppings.
Countertop or personal blenders for smoothie bowls?
Countertop blenders are the big ones, the classic ones that we all grew up with. These are the ones who take up more countertop space but they’re also perfect for those who want to blend bigger quantities in a single session.
Countertop models will have pitchers/jugs that will measure between 32 oz and 75 oz.
A 68 oz or 72 oz pitcher is perfect for bigger families, like if you want to prepare at least 4 big smoothie bowls at once.
Personal blenders have smaller motor bases and smaller cups. They take up a lot less space and they’re perfect for those on a budget or for those who only make smoothies or bowls for 1 or 2 persons.
Of course, you can make as many smoothie bowls even with a personal blender, it will just take a few sessions.
Some will have 24 oz cups, which are big enough. Others will have 14 or 16 oz cups.
There’s also a third option: immersion blenders. However, I decided not to include immersion hand blenders in my recommendations because the smoothie bowl won’t turn out as smooth. It will be a bit more grainy.
Immersion blenders are amazing if we want to make purees, mayonnaise, creamy or chunky soups, whipped cream, pestos, baby food and even for whipping egg whites.
I just don’t prefer them when it comes to smoothies and smoothie bowls because their texture won’t be as smooth as what we can make in a countertop or personal blender.
Power
One of the first things we do when checking out blenders, whether they’re countertop or personal blender models, is to check how powerful their motor base is. We look at the watts for the motor base.
We get a variety of powers when it comes to reviewing the best blenders for making smoothie bowls.
For example, the most powerful model is the Breville Super Q at 1,800 watts. That’s pretty unusual even for countertop blenders because most peak at 1,200-1,400 watts.
Commercial blenders have 1,800-2,200 watts motor bases so Breville gets close to commercial models.
Still, a countertop blender that measures around 1,400 watts is delightful. Breville Super Q is the exception.
When it comes to personal blenders, the numbers are even more different.
For example, my favorite nutribullet is the one with 600 watts power base. It’s powerful enough to make creamy smoothie bowls, no chunks or grainy texture. But it’s also powerful enough to make flours and grind spices. It’s a versatile tiny thing.
On the other hand, we have two extremities: Hamilton Beach with 175 watts, which is the least powerful even among personal blenders and Ninja Personal Blender, which is the most powerful among this type at 1,100 watts.
Budget
One thing that will make choosing the best blender for making smoothie bowls so much faster and easier is having a budget in mind.
A budget of $500 will ensure that you can pick models like the Vitamix 5200 or the Breville Super Q.
A budget around $300 can get you the Vitamix E310 Explorian, which is quite an awesome model and very versatile.
On the other hand, if you want an affordable countertop blender that’s capable of doing so many things, I recommend checking out the models from Ninja. Ninja is the manufacturer to go to for countertop blenders that cost under $200. They have a lot of affordable options.
Personal blenders are usually a lot cheaper than countertop blenders.
If you have a budget under $100, there’s the nutribullet 600 but if you only have under $30 to spend, your best bet is the Hamilton Beach Personal Blender.
The personal blender from Ninja costs around $100 but it can be totally worth it because it’s fantastic and we get 2 cups.
Do you need special accessories for making smoothie bowls?
You don’t need any special accessories. The blender doesn’t even have to have a smoothie bowl function, although there are a few models that have it.
You just need the motor base, the pitcher/jar/cup and then you can add your ingredients.
You can blend the ingredients starting from the lowest speed and quickly turn the knob for the top speed.
When the ingredients are blended into a smooth mix, you can turn off the blender.
You need to blend on the highest speed for the smoothest consistency.
Dump the content into a bowl and it’s time to have fun with toppings. This is my favorite part, it’s just as fun as it is when we’re adding toppings on a pizza dough.
What are smoothie bowls?
If you’ve done smoothies before, then you already know everything about what smoothie bowls are.
Basically, bowls are smoothies but without too much liquid. They’re like thick creamy soups.
If you add frozen fruits when you make smoothie bowls, you’ll create something that is closer to frozen yogurt.
I love using frozen fruits both for my smoothies and my smoothie bowls. They’re just so refreshing. In the summer, where we have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, I use ice. Your blender is perfectly capable of crushing ice and of blending frozen fruits.
You can experiment with how much liquid you prefer when making your bowls. It also depends on the quantities of ingredients you’ll be adding to the pitcher to blend.
For example, if you’re making 4 bowls in a big pitcher, about 50 oz or 1.5 L, you’ll probably end up using 1 1/2 cups of liquid.
The liquid you use is up to you or up to the recipe you’re following.
The liquid base we use to make smoothie bowls can be the same liquid we use for our daily smoothies, water, coconut water, chilled tea, fruit/veggie juices, animal milk, dairy-free milk.
What are acai bowls?
When you’re searching for the best blender for smoothie bowls, you might come across acai bowls. An acai bowl can be considered the classic bowl.
However, these are not the only ones you can make.
Moreover, some people might not have access to the ingredients that an acai bowl requires. I just wanted you to know that you’re not limited to a single recipe when it comes to making smoothie bowls. My advice is to go with whatever ingredients you have available.
You can make whatever combinations you want. Make a thick smoothie from fruits, frozen fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, yogurt, tofu, powders, etc. and then add whatever toppings you have in the kitchen.
The smoothie can be made with water, animal milk, dairy-free milk (almond, soy, coconut, oat milk), veggie/fruit juices, cold brew, etc.
An acai bowl gets its name from the acai berry, originating in Brazil. The bowl contains an acai berry blend as a base. The toppings can be fruit, honey, granola and other delightful ingredients.
You can also buy acai berry powder to make your acai bowls, that’s certainly easier to find.
Buying frozen acai puree is another option if you want to try making acai bowls at home.
Acai berries need to be frozen after being picked because they’ll quickly turn rancid. So, they’re shipped frozen or they’re turned into powder for millions around the globe.
You can also check out this article if you need further inspiration for your first acai bowls.
Once you have an amazing blender on your countertop, you can experiment with hundreds of recipes. I hope you’ll be able to find the best blender for smoothie bowls among my recommendations.
