As crowded as the blender market is, there’s always room for more innovation. Ninja has quickly established itself as a force to be reckoned with in this competitive field.
It specializes at packing in similar features of more advanced machines into much more affordable appliances.
In my Ninja Blender Duo review, I’m going to take a detailed look at one of the most popular home kitchen blenders you can buy today.
(My guide to juicing and blending at home contains plenty more tutorials and buying tips!)
What To Look For In A Blender
Before I review any blender I like to go over the basics of buying this sort of appliance.
Even if you’re set on buying a Ninja blender, keep the following features in mind while you’re shopping around.
- Pitcher Capacity: The bigger the pitcher, the more you’ll be able to blend at any given time. That’s simple enough to appreciate, but these appliances can be quite bulky. Check the dimensions of the blender very carefully, and plan exactly where on the countertop you want to keep it for the long term.
- Variable Speeds: A blender should have a separate low and high speed as a bare minimum. The former’s good for soft fruits and vegetables, while the latter will help you crush ice and other tough ingredients. The more speeds the better basically.
- Presets: If your blender has presets built in, it’ll be able to handle the most common kitchen blending tasks. You add your ingredients, choose your setting, then the blender automatically works through the necessary blending cycles. These give you really consistent results, with minimum effort.
- Motor Power: I like my countertop blenders to have a minimum 1,000 Watt power rating. That’s enough to tackle things like ice, although anything higher than this will get the job done more quickly.
- Blades: These should be made from stainless steel at a minimum. Even better if you can get some kind of hardened stainless steel blades. They’ll last longer, and continue working efficiently for the lifespan of the appliance.
About The Nutri Ninja Blender Duo With Auto IQ
As the name suggests, the Nutri Ninja Blender Duo is designed to solve two problems.
First, it acts as a very effective all-purpose kitchen blender. It’s more than up to the tasks the typical home cook will need to complete. It’s also got a number of presets built in to help you do just that.
Secondly, it can be used as a personal blender. You might have seen those infomercials for appliances like the Magic Bullet personal blender.
The Nutri Ninja Blender Duo can be used in a similar way.
It comes with a collection of cups which act like extra mini blending jars. You add your ingredients, screw the blade attachment on top, then add to the base and blitz.
It’s a very clever piece of kit, and I’m a big fan of appliances that can cover more than one job without compromising on quality.
- PROFESSIONAL POWER: 1200-watt motor powers through the toughest ingredients and pulverizes ice to snow in seconds for creamy...
- TOTAL CRUSHING: The rustproof Pro Extractor Blades break down whole fruits, vegetables, ice and seeds for maximum nutrient &...
- AUTO-IQ TECHNOLOGY: Take the guesswork out of drink making with intelligent programs that combine unique timed pulsing, blending,...
- XL CAPACITY: The 72 oz Total Crushing Pitcher is great for making large batches for the whole family. (64 oz max liquid capacity).
- ON-THE-GO CONVENIENCE: Choose from 3 sizes of single-serve cups (18 oz, 24 oz, and 32 oz.) with spout lids to make it easy to take...
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Who’s It For?
If you’re looking for an affordable home kitchen blender that can handle the most common tasks, the Ninja Blender Duo is an excellent choice.
The motor’s strong enough to handle soft and hard ingredients alike. The presets are great for taking control so that you can turn your attention to other tasks in the kitchen.
It’s also a great choice if you want to make individual smoothie servings using the cups that come with the blender. You can make a bigger batch at once, fill the cups, add the supplied lids, then store them in the fridge.
It’s a real convenience machine that provides a surprising amount of versatility at this end of the budget.
Who’s It Not For?
If you have a very large household then you might find the main 72 ounce blending jar to be a little small.
If you’re a power user, you might also want a machine that offers more presets. Just keep in mind that blenders get quite expensive, quite quickly, and as you add increased functionality like this.
You might like to look at something like the Vitamix Explorian, Ascent A2300 or the Ascent 2500 in this case.
Finally, if you don’t want to take smoothies on the go, you won’t get as much value out of those extra cups.
Pros
- Auto IQ system, Pulse feature and presets do the hard work.
- Easy to clean up, with parts that are dishwasher safe.
- Tough stainless steel blades are backed up by a powerful motor.
- Great for on the go and big-batch smoothie making.
- Recipe book provides plenty of inspiration.
- A lot of bang for your buck overall.
Cons
- Main blender jar is 72 ounces. Not the biggest, but not the smallest either.
- The extra cups represent an extra cost if you’re not going to make use of them.
Auto-IQ Technology
The Nutri Ninja Duo features something called Auto IQ technology. This is some clever tech from Ninja that automatically takes charge of your most common blending jobs.
If you’re making something like a smoothie or a puree, you just add your ingredients, select the option you want, and let the machine go to work.
It’ll follow a pre-programmed Auto IQ setting to put your ingredients through just the right pattern of blending, pulse blending and pauses.
With this Auto IQ technology, you don’t have to worry about standing over the blender and manually changing the settings. It also means you get really consistent results each time you use it.
On the front of the blender base you’ll also find a digital timer. While Auto IQ is at work, it’ll count down the remaining time, which I find helpful when I’m working on other parts of a meal.
Beyond that you also get three buttons which cover basic blending speeds: Low, Medium and High.
The lower speed works really well when you’re using a lot of softer ingredients like fruits. The high speed is handy to have for really tough stuff like ice and frozen ingredients.
It’s quite unusual to get a speed setting in between these two on a budget blender, so the Medium option is really nice to have at hand.
It’s worth mentioning that when you ditch the Auto IQ programs and use the Nutri Ninja Duo manually, that digital countdown timer counts up instead. That’s useful so you don’t over – or under – do things!
Total Crushing & Pro Extractor Blade Design
You get two separate blade attachments with the Nutri Ninja Duo:
- Total Crushing Blades: The Total Crushing blade unit is design to absolutely demolish the very toughest ingredients you’re likely to make use of. They’re particularly effective at hammering ice cubes into a sorry looking pile of slush.
- Pro Extractor Blades: You get better results using the Pro Extractor blades on things like soft fruits and vegetables. It’ll all still be nicely obliterated, but you’ll preserve all the nutrients in your smoothie and get a very consistent blend too.
Overall, I think the blades on the Nutri Ninja Duo are good enough to get the most common blending jobs done very efficiently.
1200 Watt Motor Performance
The Nutri Ninja Duo features a 1200 Watt / 2 Horsepower motor in the base.
It’s true that you can get more powerful motors than this, but it’s very hard to get that kind of output at this price level.
In my experience, anything over 1,000 Watts is more than enough to handle even tough ingredients.
Having more power than that can be useful, but once you go over that baseline you’re gaining speed more than anything else.
For a blender at this end of the market, I think the Nutri Ninja Duo is more than powerful enough. It even comes with suction cups to stop the blender moving around on the countertop!
72 Ounce Blending Jar – Generous But Not Bulky
Unusually for a blender at this end of the market, the Nutri Ninja Duo features a 72 oz container.
It’s not at all uncommon to find yourself with a much smaller blending jar. I think this is more than big enough for the typical family household, without hogging too much vertical countertop space.
I also think it plays in very nicely with the broader design of the Nutri Ninja Duo. It’s obviously good for making large blending batches in general, but you can also make smoothies in a bigger batch, then store them in the Ninja cups included in the box.
I have a young family myself, and so I find it much easier to make more of anything in a single session, then portion it out for later use.
How long you should keep things refrigerated will largely depend on the produce items you’re using. As a general rule I’ll keep my pre-prepared smoothies in the refrigerator for around 72 hours.
Ninja Cups Help With Big Batch Preparation
More on those cups which are included along with the main blending jar and the motor base.
There are three in total, providing the following drinks serving sizes.
- Small Ninja Cup – 18 ounces
- Regular Ninja Cup -24 ounces
- Jump Ninja Cup – 32 ounces
I think those different volumes provide a pretty versatile range of serving sizes.
Each of these smoothie cups also comes with something that Nutri Ninja calls a Sip and Seal lid.
These are pretty comfortable to drink from, and they keep a tight seal too. The last thing you want to do is throw a smoothie in your bag and end up with a soggy mess, after all.
Recipe Book Provides Plenty of Inspiration
The Nutri Ninja Duo also comes with a handy recipe book to help you get started.
This is always a nice touch as it means you’re likely to be a little more adventurous with the machine, and get more use out of it than you might think!
If you just want to rely on the Auto IQ settings, you’ll be well covered. When you’re ready to take the training wheels off though, you have the freedom to do so.
The book itself is divided into certain categories. If you want to focus on a certain type of blending, there’s lots to explore.
All of the recipes are really easy to follow as well, and cover everything from smoothies to soups, to cocktails, dips and sauces.
Standard 1 Year Warranty
The Nutri Ninja Duo comes with a standard 1 year warranty.
I always like to see a little more than this on a model from a big brand, but I’ve been impressed with the longevity of Ninja blenders in the past.
You can consider this to be a baseline. I expect you’ll get at least two years of consistently high performance from this blender before you’ll need to think about upgrading.
We’re all guilty of rushing to play with our new kitchenware toys, but take a few minutes to study the user manual and keep it somewhere safe.
A little bit of care and attention will do a lot to extend the lifespan of your kitchen appliances.
Alternatives To Consider
I think the performance of the Nutri Ninja Duo is really impressive when you consider its price tag.
If you’re not sure if this is the best blender for you though, I have a few other favorites that you might like to consider first:
Magic Bullet Blender
If you want to save some cash and don’t need the full countertop blender experience, you might consider the classic Magic Bullet blender.
- Included: (1) 250W motor base, (1) cross-blade, (1) tall cup, (1) short cup, (1) party mug, (2) lip rings, (2) Stay-Fresh...
- The magic bullet chops, mixes, blends, whips, grinds and more. Cups are made out of high-impact plastic.
- Effortlessly create your favorite meals and snacks like smoothies, omelets, sauces and dips. 250 watts high-torque power base.
- Included recipe book gets you started making quick, easy, and delicious dishes from appetizers to desserts. Add 1/2 cup water for...
The 250 Watt motor is up to the task of blending the kind of ingredients you’ll be using in typical smoothie drinks.
Just be aware that this is only designed for making single drinks, one at a time. You’ll be able to make the odd salsa with this thing as well, but it’s not going to replace your food processor any time soon!
(I reviewed the Magic Bullet blender on Viva Flavor a few months ago. You can find a deeper dive on it by heading over to the article.)
Nutri Ninja Professional Plus Blender With Auto IQ
If you don’t need those cups then the Ninja Professional Plus Blender provides similar power (1400W), but without the extra accessories.
- MORE POWERFUL MOTOR: The Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ features a new modern design and a more powerful motor than...
- POWERFUL CRUSHING: Ninja Total Crushing Blades give you perfectly crushed ice for your smoothies and frozen drinks with 1400 peak...
- 3 VERSATILE FUNCTIONS: 3 preset Auto-iQ programs allow you to create smoothies, frozen drinks, and ice cream, all at the touch of...
- AUTO-IQ TECHNOLOGY: take the guesswork out of drink making with intelligent programs that combine unique timed pulsing, blending,...
- XL BLENDING CAPACITY: The 72-oz. Total Crushing Pitcher is great for making large batches for the whole family. (64-oz. max liquid...
The container size is the same as the Nutri Ninja Duo at 72 ounces. You only get three Auto IQ presets with this appliance though. These help you make smoothies, ice cream and ice crushing.
Still, it’s a very affordable way of adding a powerful blender to your collection of kitchen appliances.
The Final Verdict
The Ninja Blender Duo is a really high performance blender for the price.
In terms of performance and presets it more than stands up to competitor blenders that have a much steeper price. All in all it represents good value for money, and it’s easy to use too.
- PROFESSIONAL POWER: 1200-watt motor powers through the toughest ingredients and pulverizes ice to snow in seconds for creamy...
- TOTAL CRUSHING: The rustproof Pro Extractor Blades break down whole fruits, vegetables, ice and seeds for maximum nutrient &...
- AUTO-IQ TECHNOLOGY: Take the guesswork out of drink making with intelligent programs that combine unique timed pulsing, blending,...
- XL CAPACITY: The 72 oz Total Crushing Pitcher is great for making large batches for the whole family. (64 oz max liquid capacity).
- ON-THE-GO CONVENIENCE: Choose from 3 sizes of single-serve cups (18 oz, 24 oz, and 32 oz.) with spout lids to make it easy to take...
The Auto IQ technology Ninja’s included takes a lot of the hard work off you. I also love that it can switch from being a countertop blender to a quick, personal smoothie blender just by swapping the cups around.
Click here to find out more about this extremely popular Ninja Blender, and read reviews from its owners.
Mark’s a lifelong food fanatic and spent ten years working as an entertainment journalist. He now combines his love of food, drink and writing as the founder and editor of Viva Flavor. Read more