The best hand blenders for blitzing sauces, dips and soups

Score: 96/100

Say goodbye to lumps and bumps with this powerful gadget. The Bosch stick blender blitzed even the most challenging ingredients, acing every test we put it through. The sturdy metal shaft feels like it’s been built to last and the ergonomic design means you can puree in comfort.

It comes with a blending jar attachment, and the blades created such strong suction that we didn't have to worry about clumps sticking to the bottom. There’s also plenty of space around the blades, making them a breeze to clean. Extra accessories and a second speed setting would make our joint runner-up blender even more versatile. Still, these minor gripes were easily eclipsed by its impressive blending performance.

Score: 94/100

This do-it-all hand blender comes with a masher for making everybody’s favourite comfort food: fluffy mashed potato. Its three-blade blending arm marks it out from its competitors, ensuring speedier results, and its rubber handle makes it comfortable to hold at full power.

On test, it made light work of blending liquids, creating an evenly mixed, powder-free milkshake. It whisked egg whites and cream to perfection and produced top-notch mayo. The speed switch proved slightly awkward to use one-handed, but that’s hardly a deal-breaker.

Score: 93/100

This powerful stick blender made light work of most tasks we threw at it in the lab. Blending up a milkshake took 28 seconds on the maximum speed setting, while our batter needed just 18 seconds to form a thick, creamy consistency.

Its worst result was when making mayonnaise, which (if we’re being picky) could have been thicker. Even so, it still had a glossy appearance, with no curdling.

The blender doesn’t come with as many accessories as others in this list, but it does come with a beaker and storage lid, making it a good pick for those who frequently make their own condiments at home.

Score: 91/100

Another excellent hand blender – our tester found it straightforward and quick to use. It scored full marks for its speedy egg whisking abilities, but it also truly excelled when pureeing. It created a smooth chickpea dip with a professional glossy appearance in 90 seconds.

The included chopping blade attachment did struggle to turn out uniform pieces of onion and hazelnut, with some food also getting stuck on the blade. It’s also worth noting that this hand blender isn’t suitable for crushing ice, but it’s easy to overlook those small complaints when you consider how quickly it gets the job done. All in all, a great option for those short on time who also want versatile blending capabilities.

Score: 89/100

This cordless stick blender delivered some impressive results, earning full marks for blending mayonnaise, chickpeas, a milkshake, and egg whites. Tougher ingredients such as nuts and ice proved a challenge though, with pieces getting stuck under the blade or spitting out of the top of the goblet. However, our testers liked that you could increase the speed of the blade by simply applying more pressure to the button.

The model also comes with an interchangeable battery that can be used across the rest of KitchenAid’s cordless appliances including its hand mixer and food chopper. As it’s battery-powered, the blender isn’t restricted by a power cord, plus you’ll get up to 30 minutes of blending time before you need to recharge!

Score: 88/100

This sleek hand blender is also versatile thanks to its array of attachments (including a potato masher and a dual whisk hand mixer for perfecting your stiff peaks), while variable power allows for added precision.

The powerful blender is easy to use and impressed across the board, especially when making mayonnaise, mixing batter and whizzing up a banana smoothie. It was less effective as a chopper though, with testers struggling to achieve even results when tackling both an onion and parsley.

You’ll never be out of ideas, as it comes with recipe inspiration via Haier’s app. And once you’ve finished preparing your latest invention, clean-up will be done in a jiffy as you can pop the accessories in the dishwasher (apart from the main blending head).

Score: 87/100

This versatile Ninja combines a stick blender, hand mixer and mini chopper into one impressive set. Its chopper was the star of our tests, producing exceptionally even onion, parsley and hazelnut pieces in seconds. The stick blender put in a strong performance, too, creating silky blended chickpeas and glossy mayonnaise, and the hand mixer whipped cream and egg whites into light clouds.

We found the attachments easy to swap around and appreciated the dishwasher-safe parts, but there are some compromises. It’s fairly heavy, particularly when used as a hand mixer (which weighs 1.24kg), and the stick blender’s turbo controls can feel awkward – you need to press both buttons at once. With several attachments to accommodate, you’ll also need a fair amount of storage space. Overall, though, it’s a powerful multitasker you’re sure to get plenty of use from.

Score: 86/100

Finely chopping herbs and nuts was easy with this stick blender. But that’s not the only culinary challenge it impressed on; our tester said it was excellent for pureeing chickpeas too.

Things were a little messy when it came to blending liquids such as mayonnaise, egg whites and cream, as the whisk caused some splash back, but the end results were good. And switching to a slower speed is simple – the accessible dial at the top of the handle allows you to easily change settings and have more control over the blender.

Score: 84/100

This Philips model comes with a mini chopper attachment that wowed our testers. It chopped parsley and nuts quickly and evenly with very little left stuck under the blades, making it one of the best in the roundup – ideal if you want to make pesto or curry pastes regularly. Its blender performance was strong across the board too, and our testers loved the thick, glossy mayonnaise that it whipped up in under two minutes.

The three speed settings are easy to adjust on the fly, with a clear LED display showing exactly which one you’re on. Plus, the motor stayed cool during extended use. At around one kilo, it’s a touch heavier than some, and the grooves around the attachments can be fiddly to clean by hand (though some parts are dishwasher safe). But overall, it’s a sturdy and reliable mid-range pick.

Score: 84/100

This versatile set includes a whisk attachment and chopping bowl for getting your kitchen prep done in a flash. It truly shines when mixing liquids, delivering a smooth, creamy milkshake and whipping up pancake batter in just 15 seconds on turbo mode. It also whisked cream and egg whites to near perfection, both finishing with a light, glossy appearance.

While working quickly, the chopper bowl did struggle to achieve consistent, even results with softer ingredients, though. Onion and parsley seemed to get stuck under the blade, leading to uneven chopping. That said, it handled 50 grams of hazelnuts like a pro, blitzing them in under 15 seconds.

We would have liked dishwasher-safe accessories, but overall, this is a smart buy for the price.

Score: 82/100

This eye-catching blender produced creamy milkshakes, smooth mayonnaise and well-mixed batter. The whisk attachment was similarly reliable, blitzing egg white and cream so fantastically that our testers said the results compared to those of a dedicated electric whisk.

Chopping and pureeing saw a more mixed performance; testers were left with uneven chunks of chickpeas and nuts and found pressing the power button down for the extended period required to complete the tasks slightly uncomfortable.

But our superficial side is willing to forgive these flaws because of the classic Laura Ashley print.

Score: 81/100

Despite not being able to match some of the other blenders on performance, our testers were big fans of the Dualit's instruction manual, which includes an extensive selection of recipes and cooking tips – ranging from a dinner party-ready salmon pâté to a five spice sweet potato mash.

It also made quick work of chopping and blending, although the full speed setting caused some vibration and light suction issues. Our tester also found the thick handle became a little uncomfortable when used for longer periods. Nevertheless, it has a sleek modern look, and the attachments are dishwasher safe, which will come in handy as you work your way through all those recipes.

Score: 80/100

With an impressive 1200W motor and a generous selection of attachments which include a two-litre food processor, Braun's latest version of the MultiQuick has plenty of power at its disposal. It excelled at tackling thicker mixtures, producing very smooth chickpeas and earning full marks for its glossy batter.

Although the mini chopper can’t be used to dice herbs due to the height of the blade, it crushed ice quickly and evenly – a great result for a handheld appliance. Another strong point is the anti-splash flower-shaped blender head, which successfully kept mess to a minimum.

On the downside, we found the safety lock, which turns on after a short period of inactivity, a little frustrating when stopping and starting. The pressure-sensitive controls also tended to get uncomfortable over time, and bear in mind that you’ll also need to find space for all those attachments. Nevertheless, its blending performance and ability to tackle tougher ingredients make it a strong pick.

Score: 76/100

If you’re on a budget, this affordable hand blender from Tefal offers great value and comes with a two-year warranty for peace of mind. Although you don't get any extra attachments, it does come with an 800ml beaker, which is the perfect way to keep the head submerged while making things like mayonnaise or salad dressing.

This model did a great job of blending up batches of mayonnaise, batter, and milkshake in testing, with even results and minimal splashing. Chickpeas were more of a struggle, with the blender slowing down at the beginning – though the motor didn’t get hot.

Note that this hand blender does tend to suction towards the bottom of the container, and you have to press the button quite hard to activate turbo mode. But all in all, it’s a reliable budget buy.