Ninja Chef Review (CT810) 2024

Ninja’s established itself as a reliable manufacturer of high-performance – but surprisingly affordable – kitchenware.

Part of that prestige comes from a collection of blenders that have proved immensely popular in recent years.

In my Ninja Chef review, I’m taking a detailed look at the popular CT810 model.

What does it do to close the gap on those much pricier Vitamix machines though?

(If you want to explore more of my blending and juicing guides, have a look through the archive I’ve put together.)

What I Look For In A Blender

Before I move onto my CT810 review, it’s worth covering the most important aspects of choosing a blender.

• Capacity – If you’re only making the occasional batch of smoothies for the family, you might get away with using one of the small personal blenders on the market. Think of the Magic Bullet Blender for example, which has been a staple of late night informercials for years now! For bigger, general blending tasks though, you’ll want something with at least a 48 ounce capacity.
• Motor Power – As a general rule of thumb, the stronger the motor, the tougher the items you’ll be able to put in the blender. For a countertop blender I look for at least 1,000 Watts of power, which is enough to destroy even ice. Anything over that will typically be a case of getting the job faster.
• Preset Programs – The best blenders pack in a heap of presets which take care of the most common jobs. Just add the ingredients, choose the right setting, hit the button and let the blender do the hard work. This extra convenience will cost more money, but it’s money well spent in my opinion.
• Speed Controls – There’ll be times where you need to take more manual control of your blender. Think about making salsas, for example, where you want to achieve a specific texture. The more speed controls on your blender, the better you’ll be able to adapt to different ingredients. I also recommend buying a blender with a pulse function that blitzes the contents for only as long as you hold the button down.

About The Ninja Chef CT810

The CT810 belongs to a range of Ninja blenders that have been added to the market over the last few years. For my money, it’s one of the best blenders the company has to offer.

For a very reasonable price you get sharp and long-lasting blades, which are powered by a surprisingly beefy 1500 watt motor.

The container’s generously sized at 72 ounces too. I will add a note of caution here: this is quite a large blender, so do measure up carefully first, especially if you want to place it under a kitchen cabinet.

In addition to the main container, this Ninja blender also comes with a 24 ounce single serve cup. This is really useful when you want to make a quick smoothie and throw it in your bag.

It’s also a very modern-looking kitchen appliance, and features what Ninja calls Auto IQ tech.

This consists of a selection of presets for tackling the most common blending jobs. When you switch the containers, the Ninja Chef automatically adjusts the programs to suit the new volume as well.

If you need a versatile and powerful blender, but don’t have the budget to justify a Vitamix or Blendtec, I think the CT810 is a very good option.

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Who’s The Ninja Chef High Speed Blender For?

If you need an affordable blender that doesn’t compromise on power or presets, the Ninja Chef should serve you well.

The main container’s large enough for family meals, and the majority of the Auto IQ presets produce excellent results.

That single serve cup is also very useful for when you want to whip up a quick smoothie for the road!

Who’s The Ninja Chef NOT For?

All blenders at this end of the market struggle to produce outstanding results for sticky concoctions like doughs and nut butters.

That’s true to a degree for the CT810, although I would say it’s only a problem if you focus on this sort of thing a lot. Occasional use is fine, although it might take a few cycles of the presets to get the job done.

Pros

• Auto IQ system does a lot of the heavily lifting for a wide variety of blending tasks. Ice cream, smoothies and salsas are easy peasy.
• Sharp, durable blades are backed up by a powerful motor.
• Large capacity 72 oz, BPA free blending jar.
• A sleek and modern design with plenty of manual speed options to play with.
• Easy to use and easy to care for too.
• Includes a 50 recipe book to help you get a little more adventurous with your blending.

Cons

• Not every Auto IQ program delivers amazing results, and you may find yourself having to take manual control of certain tasks.
• A rather limited 1 year warranty, although this isn’t unusual for an appliance at this end of the market.
• Bulky compared to other blenders, so measure up carefully first!

Design Specs

• Capacity: 72 oz main container, 24 oz single serving cup
• Size: 16.4 x 15.3 x 9.8 inches
• Color: Black
• Presets: 10 Auto IQ programs
• Speed Settings: 10
• Pulse Function: Yes
• Self-Clean: Yes
• Programmable Timer: Yes
• Recipe Book: Yes (50 Recipes inspiration guide)
• Owner Manual

Ninja Chef CT810 Review

That should hopefully give you a useful snapshot of what to expect from the Ninja Chef high speed blender.

In this next section I’m taking a much closer look at some of the key features of this appliance.

Auto IQ Technology Handles Common Jobs

I mentioned the Auto IQ technology towards the beginning of this review.

You can think of these as simple presets designed to tackle the most common blending jobs. There are 10 in total:

• Soup
• Smoothie
• Extract
• Frozen Drink
• Flour / Mill
• Ice Cream
• Puree
• Dip / Salsa
• Dressing
• Nut Butter

The Auto IQ tech goes a little further than just presets though.

If you replace the 72 ounce main container with the 24 ounce single serving cup, the base will adjust the settings to account for the smaller volume.

It sounds like a small thing, but it’s surprisingly useful when you want to switch over to small-batch blending.

Manual Mode Speed Settings & Pulse Function

You’ll be able to lean on those settings for a lot of the work, but sometimes you need to take more manual control over the blend.

Variable Speeds

The control panel on the CT810 features ten variable speeds that range from 7,000 to 18,000 RPM.

Each speed is selected by turning the central dial. Once you’ve got the right speed, you just have to hit the Start / Stop button.

You can also create a bespoke timed program by using the Timer+ button on the front of the base. Each press increases the blend time by 10 seconds, up to a maximum of 120 seconds.

That means you don’t have to spend the whole time standing over the blender when you can be getting on with another part of the meal!

Pulse Mode

For even more fine control you can turn to the Ninja Chef’s Pulse button. This is located towards the bottom right corner of the motor base.

Once you’ve selected your speed setting using the central dial, the CT810 will blend the ingredients for only as long as you hold this button down.

This is really useful when you just want to give your ingredients a rough chop, or make a particularly chunky salsa, for example.

1500 Watt Motor & Blade Design

The Ninja Chef features a 1500 watt motor.

I consider 1,000 watts to be the bare minimum on a blender, and you’ll be able to crush even tough ice with this appliance.

Although the motor base is quite chunky it’s nicely designed overall. There are even suction cups on the underside to stop it moving around on the countertop during use.

Blades

The Ninja Chef makes use of a four-prong stainless steel blade system. They really do slice through pretty much anything and have a good reputation for durability too.

(I’ll talk about this more in the cleaning section, but be very careful if you decide to wash the container by hand. I’m not kidding when I say they’re sharp!)

Noise

The Ninja Chef does make quite a bit of noise, when it’s in operation, but that kind of goes with the territory given the motor strength.

I don’t think it’s any worse than other comparable blenders, for example, but it’s something to be aware of.

There are appliances that have noise-reduction shields built in, but you can expect to pay a real premium for that kind of convenience.

72 Ounce Pitcher Design & Capacity

The main container included with the Ninja Chef has a 72 ounce capacity.

It’s made of BPA-free, shatterproof Tritan copolyester. It’s practically scratch resistant too, and the measurement markings that run up the side are clear to see at a glance.

You also get a solid plastic lid that seals tightly thanks to a couple of clips that hold it securely in place. That means you don’t have to worry about holding the lid down during a particularly strenuous blend!

I’ve no worries about the durability of this part of the CT810 and I can see it giving many years of good service.

24 Ounce Double Walled Tumbler & Spout Lid

In addition to the main 72 ounce container, the Ninja Chef also comes with a 24 ounce single serve cup.

Once secured onto the motor base, your Auto IQ options become a little more limited. You’ll have access to the following:

• Frozen Drink
• Extract
• Smoothie
• Puree
• Dip / Salsa
• Dressing

Although the number of presets are reduced, these are likely the only small-batch tasks you’ll be working with anyway.

Performance Highlights

In the next section of my review, I want to share my thoughts on how the Ninja Chef CT810 handles specific jobs.

Smoothies

Given the 1500 watt motor, it won’t come as a surprise to learn that the CT810 handles smoothies really well.

Soft produce in particular is pulverized quickly. There’s also very little pulp left over, even when using tougher ingredients like greens.

The smoothies are quite thick, although you’ll notice a slightly grainy textures if you work with things like spinach and kale.

There’s only one real way to get a Vitamix-quality smoothie at the end of the day. If that kind of machine is outside your budget I still think the Ninja Chef does a pretty good impersonation.

Soups

You’ll get good results when making soup with the Ninja Chef, even if the results from the Auto IQ preset are a little thick for my tastes.

You can of course make your soup in manual mode and add more liquid if you want a thinner soup.

It’s noteworthy, however, that Ninja describes the setting as ‘Soup’ rather than ‘Hot Soup’ as many competitors do.

That’s because this blender can’t work quite hard enough to heat the soup adequately using blade friction alone.

I would recommend pouring the soup into bowls and heating in the microwave for 30 seconds or so for best results.

Frozen Drinks & Ice Crushing

The CT810 clatters though ice without breaking a sweat. If you’re making a margarita or a daiquiri, you can get very pleasant slushy ice with a little care.

Ice crushing in general is very easy, although the Ninja Chef will make quite a lot of noise while the ice is flying around inside that plastic container.

As for the Frozen Drink Auto IQ setting, the results are pretty impressive. I don’t think there’s a lot of difference, for example, between using this blender or a dedicated margarita machine.

Nut Butter

Not all of the Auto IQ presets are equally good, unfortunately. I would describe the results making nut butter as…acceptable but unremarkable.

If you’re only making the occasional almond butter or peanut butter though, it’s not a big problem. Just be aware that they’re not as good as you’ll get from more expensive blenders.

The standard Nut Butter preset runs for around two minutes. I think you’ll find yourself running the cycle through several times before you get the results you want.

This is the one setting where you run the risk of the machine overheating too. At this point an auto cut-off safety system kicks in. You’ll need to wait a few minutes for it to cool down before you can use the CT810 again.

Food Preparation & Chopping

I’ve no complaints about the Ninja Chef when it comes to the kind of prep work involved with making dressings, sauces, dips and so on.

You can use the various Auto IQ presets, but here I like to take more manual control. This is where that Pulse mode really shines as well as it gives very fine control over the texture.

Grinding & Milling

This is one of the jobs that I think the Ninja Chef really excels at.

A blender needs to work hard to get good results from ingredients like sugar and corns.

The end result from the CT810 is a super-fine powder, and it out-performs the competition on this task. There may be limits to the kind of ingredient this blender can tackle, but I haven’t found them yet.

How Easy Is The Ninja Chef To Use?

I would say the Ninja Chef is easier to use overall than many other blenders I’ve reviewed for Viva Flavor.

All of the buttons are very clearly marked, and the speed settings are very easy to switch between using the central dial.

There’s a lot of functionality built into the Ninja Chef blender, but it’s never fiddly to use. I can’t imagine accessing the wrong function by mistake!

I also like the flexibility provided by the digital timer. It counts down as the pre set plays out, but counts upwards if you’re operating the machine in manual mode.

It’s a very clear display, and it’s always easy to check progress at a glance.

It’s worth mentioning as well that Ninja includes a tamper with this blender. This can be used between blending phases to push stickier food stuff down the sides of the container.

Easy to Clean & Simple Maintenance

The container jar is easy to clean by hand, although do watch out for those incredibly sharp blades.

Better to first of all make use of the self-clean function. Add some warm water and dish soap, hit the Clean button on the front of the motor, and the Ninja Chef does a lot of the hard work for you.

If that doesn’t get the job done, all of the removable parts are dishwasher safe. The only thing that can’t go in – of course – is the motor base!

That’s easy enough to wipe down with a damp cloth though.

1 Year Warranty

While more expensive high end Vitamix blenders come with 10 – or even 15 – year warranties, the Ninja Chef has the standard one year cover.

Realistically I think you’ll get at least a few years of use out of this blender. It’s very hard to get a longer warranty without paying a significant premium for a superior build quality.

Alternatives

Before I move onto my overall verdict on the Ninja Chef blender, I wanted to highlight a few alternatives you might also like to consider.

Blendtec Classic 575

Although the Blendtec Classic 575 is a more expensive blender, it may be worth the extra cost if you expect to work your appliance hard. It’s a heavy duty blender that really impresses.

It has a bigger main jar capacity at 90 ounces too. That is quite an intimidating size though, so make sure you’ll actually be working in that sort of quantity!

It doesn’t have as many presets as the Ninja Chef, but it does feature Blendtec’s patented blades which demolish everything you can throw at them.

It’s also an extremely efficient blender, thanks to the patented jar design which creates a vortex to continuously draw ingredients towards the blade.

In short, it’s the most cost-effective way to access the premium world of Blendtec machines.

NutriBullet ZNBF30500Z Blender Combo

If you can make do with a 64 ounce container and a slightly weaker motor at 1200 watts, you can save a few dollars with the NutriBullet Blender Combo.

Unlike the Ninja Chef blender, Nutribullet’s combi blender includes two single serve cups with lids.

You might find that useful if you want to pre-prepare a couple of smoothies for the gym, for example. All you need to do is add the blade attachment to the cup, invert it onto the base, and blitz your ingredients.

It’s also a very durable appliance that’s picked up plenty of positive reviews.

Definitely consider the NutriBullet if you’d like to make your money work a little harder for you, and you don’t need a lot of fancy presets or variable speed settings.

Ninja BL770 Mega Kitchen Systen & Blender

I’m a big fan of Ninja’s BL770 food processor / blender combo. You get the best of both worlds, along with an extra single serve cup.

Like the NutriBullet blender, those cups double up as mini blending jars and are great for making quick juices and smoothies.

It’s another blender with a 72 ounce main jar, so you don’t have to worry about compromising on quantites.

It’s not quite as sleek, modern or feature-complete as the Ninja Chef, but you still have a 1500 watt motor to throw at your fruit and vegetables.

If you don’t need all those extra settings, this is a very powerful yet versatile alternative.

Final Verdict On The Ninja Chef CT810?

I think the Ninja Chef is an impressive blender and represents great value for money. It certainly handles the most common blending tasks extremely well.

The container size is generous, the single serve cup is great for quick smoothies, and the Auto IQ programs make life a lot easier.

My only reservation about the machine is that it struggles to deliver consistently good nut butters and doughs. In fairness, I think you’ll struggle to find a machine at this price range that does much better.

If you can’t justify the higher price tag of a higher end blender, then I think the Ninja Chef does a very good job of bridging the gap.

Click here to read more reviews, and find out how owners of the Ninja Chef CT810 have been getting on with it.

Frequently Asked Questions

To wrap up my Ninja Chef high speed blender review I wanted to do my best to answer some of the most common questions people have about the CT810.

Is The Ninja Chef A Food Processor?

It’s a blender! The most important difference between these two appliances is the shape of the container.

Blenders have a narrower, taller design which is ideal for keeping produce moving around in a liquid suspension. The flatter shape of a food processor makes it more suitable for blitzing dry ingredients.

Is The Ninja Chef Dishwasher Safe?

Yes! All parts of the Ninja Chef – with the obvious exception of the motor base – can be cleaned in the dishwasher.

The 72 ounce container jar, 24 ounce single serve cup, lids and tamper are all dishwasher-safe.

As always I recommend using the upper section of the dishwasher, to reduce the risk of scratching the appliance.

For the motor base, you just need to get in the habit of wiping it down with a damp cloth after each use. You’re bound to get the odd splash on there, so don’t let the gunk build up as it’ll be harder to remove.

Does The Ninja Chef Juice Well?

Like every blender, the Ninja Chef can certainly be used as a juicing machine, but you’re not going to get the sort of fine results that a dedicated juicer will achieve.

These things are designed first and foremost to reduce whatever you put in them to a mush! It can’t separate the pulp from the juice, and so you’ll end up with a much thicker drink.

If you’re happy for your juices to have a more smoothie-like texture, this isn’t a problem.

Unless you’re making juices all the time, I think you can probably get away with using an appliance like the Ninja Chef. It’s certainly got a powerful enough motor for tackling any fruit or vegetable you throw at it.

By including all of the pulp and the skin you’re arguably getting extra nutrients in your drink as well.

If you want to reduce the thickness a little, you might consider peeling and coring your produce before adding it to the mix.

How Do I Clean A Ninja Chef Blender?

As mentioned further up the page, the main components of the Ninja Chef blender are all dishwasher-safe.

You can also make use of the self-clean function that’s built into the appliance. That’ll clean out most of the residue pretty well, although sticky substances like almond butter may require a little more effort on your part.

If the dishwasher doesn’t get the blades clean, please be extremely careful when washing them by hand. They are super-sharp!

Why Does My Ninja Chef Blender Smell Like Burning?

There are two possibilities here.

The most likely cause is that you’re simply working the Ninja Chef too hard. Give it a few moments to cool down before continuing with the blend.

If this happens frequently, you might need to add more liquid to the mixture as well.

If the smell lingers (and certainly if there’s a burning smell before you even fire it up), there may be an electrical fault with your Ninja Chef.

In this case, don’t use the appliance again until you’ve talked to Ninja’s customer support team. Alternatively, ask a qualified electrician to take a professional look at your blender.