Reasonably priced and convenient, the Ninja BL660 Professional Countertop Blender is a great machine for those who want to blend their own smoothies, make nut butters, and puree veggies.
In fact, this Ninja blender is an affordable alternative for the higher-end Vitamix 5200 which we found to be the best overall blender for smoothies. It can almost do pretty much the same things as the latter but you pay far less for it.
In this Ninja BL660 review we will take an in-depth look into this blender and why it is the best budget blender for smoothies as determined in our list of the 10 best blenders for frozen fruit smoothies for 2020.
We will discuss the good, the bad, the features, and the benefits of the Ninja BL660 blender in the following paragraphs so you can get a better idea if this blender is for you.
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The Ninja BL660 Blender
Brand: Ninja
Product: BL660 Professional Countertop Blender
Overall Rating: 8.7/10
Price: Check Price On Amazon
Container Size: 72oz pitcher and two 16oz capacity Ninja Nutri cups
Power: 1100W
Cord Length: ~4ft
Weight: 7.6lbs (3.45 KG/0.54 Stone)
Warranty: 1 year
Vitamix 5200 Blender Ratings
| Total Rating | 8.7/10 |
|---|---|
| Blending Power | 9/10 |
| Easy To Clean | 8.5/10 |
| Noise Level | 8/10 |
| Ease Of Use | 9.5/10 |
| Versatility | 9.5/10 |
| Durability | 8.5/10 |
| Warranty | 8/10 |
Ninja BL660 Blender Overview
This Ninja BL660 Professional Blender is essentially 2 blenders in one thanks to the 72-ounce pitcher and the 16-ounce Nutri Ninja Cups. You can use the 72-ounce pitcher to make smoothies and frozen desserts for the entire family or the cups for single-serve smoothies to go.
Both the pitcher and the Ninja Cups are BPA-free and dishwasher safe for easy cleanup.
The powerful 1100 watts base offers professional performance with 3 speeds, single-serve and pulse functions. You can crush ice, make smoothies, prepare frozen treats or pulse nuts for nut butters.
The blender comes in one color – a classic grey shade that compliments any modern kitchen.
Motor
This Ninja Countertop Blender has a professional-grade motor with an aluminum base and a rubber part that helps lock the container parts in place. The 1100 Watts motor crushes ice and frozen fruits with ease.
Blades System
Coupled with the powerful motor, the 6-blade assembly ensures quick blending and crushing.
Fruits and veggies can be easily turned into smoothies, dressings, and dips.
If you want to make leafy green or vegetable smoothies, we recommend using the Nutri Ninja Cups, not the big pitcher, because they do a far better job. It takes approximately 10 seconds to obtain the perfect smooth texture with these cups.
The sharp blades are made of stainless steel, which makes them very durable.
The entire blade system is removable for easy cleaning. However, you have to pay attention during cleanup since the blades are very sharp and you can end up cutting yourself. For safety, we recommend washing the blades in the dishwasher.
Control Panel & Speed
The machine has a total of 4 speeds – 3 regular speeds and the pulse function. To adjust the 3 regular speeds, you just have to push a button. They will run until you decide to switch off the machine. For the pulse function, you have two separate buttons – one for the big pitcher and another one for the Nutri Cups. These buttons need to be held during processing.
Container
Ninja Professional Countertop Blender comes with a 72-ounce pitcher that has a 64-ounce liquid capacity. The large capacity pitcher has a pour spout for easy pouring. This container is great for making smoothies or frozen treats for family or friends.
If you prefer single-serving, you can use the Ninja Nutri Cups that are included in the package. The cups have a 16-ounce capacity and they come with lids so you can blend your favorite smoothie and take it with you on the go.
All the container parts are BPA-free and dishwasher safe for convenience.
Safety Features
For safety, users have to place the pitcher on the base and twist it clockwise until it’s set in place. The unit makes a click when the pitcher is properly attached to the base.
Before using this blender, the lid also needs to be properly closed. There are white arrows on the pitcher handle that guide you through the process.
Basically, you have to push down the lid handle until you hear a click. The machine doesn’t start until the pitcher and the lid are in place – the power button will flash a red light to let you know if you didn’t do it correctly.
The motor is protected against thermal overload. If it’s heated too much, it will stop, not burn. If this happens, you have to wait until the motor cools down before you can use the blender again.
The cord won’t get in the way due to the special storage place at the back of the blender that is designed to hide it.
It’s also important to mention that the blender has grip feet that will keep it in place while in use.
Is The Ninja BL660 Blender For You?
What makes this blender so great is the fact that it has an interesting concept – it is a countertop blender and personal blender in one machine.
The Ninja BL660 Professional Countertop Blender is a reasonably versatile machine that is capable of many tasks. Check out the list below for details.
Smoothies
The large pitcher is great for fruit smoothies, particularly soft fruit smoothies. From soft fruits, the Ninja Professional Countertop Blender can make a silky smoothie with ease.
If you want to use apples or pears, you should core them first, otherwise, the consistency won’t be as smooth.
The machine has some trouble pulverizing leafy greens and vegetables, especially without liquid.
If you want to achieve a smooth consistency, you have to add more liquid. The same thing goes for nuts – you can expect small pieces in your smoothies if you use the large pitcher.
The single-serve Ninja cups are doing a much better job of making leafy green and vegetable smoothies. With the cups, you can get a fine and smooth consistency for every type of smoothie.
Frozen Desserts
Frozen treats and smoothies from frozen fruits are not a problem for this Ninja blender. And nor is crushing ice. With the Ninja Professional Countertop Blender, you can easily crush ice for cocktails or prepare frozen desserts including ice cream and sorbet.
Grinding & Milling
This Ninja blender turns nuts, coffee, and herbs into an excellent quality powder so you can use it to make grain-free flours, grind coffee beans or herbs.
Food Prep
Chop, slice, and prep your veggies with the pulse setting of the Ninja blender. The blender can do a faster and better job than you would do manually with a knife.
Nut Butter
The Ninja Professional Countertop Blender allows you to make nut butters.
For the best results, it is recommended to soak the nuts for a few hours before blending and to add water or another liquid for processing. Use the pulse mode to achieve the desired consistency.
Since the blender doesn’t come with a tamper, processing nuts can be a little complicated. However, you can buy a tamper separately.
The tamper helps push down ingredients and simplifies the blending process, allowing you to achieve a far better consistency.
Purees
You can make texture-perfect purees from soft or boiled ingredients. If you want to make purees from raw and fresh ingredients, you can but you need to add more liquid to be able to obtain a fully homogenized puree.
The Benefits Of The Ninja BL660 Blender
After looking at what this Ninja blender can do, it’s time to look at the benefits it provides. This way you’ll learn even more about the blender and see if it’s a good fit for your kitchen or not.
Leads To A Well Balanced Life
Ninja Professional Countertop Blender is great at nutrient and vitamin extraction thanks to the powerful motor and the pro extractor blades that break down whole fruits, allowing you to make full-bodied nutrient smoothies with more vitamins and nutrients.
Save Time With Easy Cleaning
The pitcher, the Nutri Ninja Cups, and the blade are dishwasher safe so you don’t have to spend a lot of time manually cleaning the blender. All you have to do is disassemble the blade system, remove the pitcher lid, and wash everything in the dishwasher.
Get More Done With One Appliance
This Ninja blender can be used for a variety of things. You can make smoothies from fresh or frozen fruits, purees, butters, and frozen treats but you can also use the blender for grinding coffee beans, nuts, and herbs or chop veggies for cooking.
Bulk Prep And Single Serve With One Appliance
If you want to make large batches for family gatherings or parties, you can use the 72-ounce pitcher. This means you can make smoothies, ice cream, sorbet or crush ice for a lot of people at the same time.
However, if you want to make yourself a smoothie and don’t want to store leftovers in the fridge, you can use the Ninja Nutri Cups. The cups allow you to make single-serving drinks and treats. Moreover, the cups come with lids for easy storage and transportation.
Ease Of Use
This blender is user-friendly and straightforward. You have 3-speed settings to choose from and the pulse function. You can select any of the speeds and let the blender do its job. For tougher jobs, you have to hold down the pulse button until you achieve the desired texture.
Budget-Friendly Purchase
If you’re on a budget and you want a professional-grade blender that can do more than one task then this Ninja Professional Countertop Blender is a great option. It’s more expensive than basic blenders but way cheaper than higher-end models.
Ninja BL660 Blender Pros and Cons
Like all blenders, the Ninja BL660 has its pros and cons.
Pros
- It is affordable compared to higher-end models
- BPA-free pitcher and cups
- Powerful – can make a decent smoothie and crush ice with ease
- Dishwasher safe pitcher and cups
- Versatile – the machine can blend, crush ice, grind coffee beans & herbs, make purees & nut butters, and chop vegetables
- Large capacity container for larger smoothie or frozen treat batches
- Nutri Ninja Cups that allow you to make smoothies for a single person
Cons
- The texture is not always the smoothest, particularly for tougher ingredients, such as nuts or raw vegetables
- The blades can get dull
- Is loud
- Does not handle greens very well – blending leafy greens can be a struggle. This is a problem only if you mind a smoothie that is too pulpy. However, many blenders have this problem. As a matter of fact, there are only a few on the market that can 100% liquefy leafy greens and certainly not for the price of this Ninja.
Ninja BL660 Blender FAQ
Is the Ninja BL660 Professional Blender dishwasher safe?
Yes, the blades, cups, and pitcher of the Ninja Professional Countertop Blender are dishwasher safe. The rest of the parts are easy to clean as well.
Are Ninja blender parts interchangeable?
For this Ninja model, yes, the parts are interchangeable. In fact, aside from the 72-ounce pitcher, the blender comes with 2 Nutri Ninja cups you can use to make smoothies to take on the go. You can use the pitcher and the cups interchangeably.
Is the Ninja Blender also a food processor?
The Ninja blender is not a food processor, however, it doubles as one for simple tasks, such as chopping vegetables. So, to a certain extent, you can use the Ninja Professional Countertop Blender as a food processor.
Are all Nutri Ninja cups the same?
Yes, they are. Ninja Cups are made to fit all Ninja blenders. The tops design is the same for all cups and they fit any Ninja blender.
Can you put nuts in a Ninja blender?
Yes, you can. Many Ninja blenders, including the Professional Countertop blender we talked about today, can make nut butters. For the best results, we recommend using liquid and buying a tamper separately to achieve the best nut butter texture.
Can you put ice in Ninja Professional Countertop Blender?
Yes, the Ninja Professional can blend ice and frozen fruits in less than a minute.
Final Thoughts
The Ninja BL660 Professional Countertop Blender offers great value for money. This blender is extremely versatile and allows you to blend fruits, make nut butters, grind coffee beans, and chop vegetables.
For the price, this Ninja blender is very useful as long as you are not particularly picky about the texture. If you need a blender for fruit smoothies then this is a great pick. It does a more than decent job with vegetable and leafy green smoothies as well if you blend for longer and use more liquid.
The blender kit includes a large capacity pitcher for big batches but also 2 16-ounce cups for smoothies on the go.
Overall, this is a great budget-friendly blender for those who are looking for affordability and functionality in the same device.