A stick blender is a handy addition to your kitchen artillery and perfect for quick blitz jobs. If you want to quickly purée straight from the pot, whip up a mayonnaise or blend up some baby food, a stick blender will save you from making a mess of your benchtop blender. One that comes with a small processing/chopping attachment will give you even more versatility from this small appliance.
Our home economist Fiona Mair and test coordinator Martha Psiroukis have tested many stick blenders over the years and our testing puts the models through their paces to make sure you can find the right one for you.
On this page:
Our expert testers
There's no doubt that our home economist and test coordinator know their way around a kitchen and have endless knowledge about kitchen appliances. With over 40 years' experience between them they've seen lots of new technology enter the kitchen space, and know how to put any appliance to the test to see if it's worth a spot in your kitchen.
How we choose what we test
With a range of products on the market, what makes us choose one stick blender to test over another? As with most of our product testing, our aim is to test the most popular models on the market and what you're most likely to see in stores.
We survey manufacturers to find out about their range of models, we check market sales information and we also check for any member requests to test specific models. From this information we put together a final list that goes to our buyers. They then head out to the retailers and purchase each product, just as a normal consumer would. We do this so we can be sure the products are the same as any consumer would find them and not 'tweaked' in any way.
How we test
Performance
In the past we've found all stick blenders to be excellent for blending and emulsifying so we don't conduct these tests anymore. We now test stick blenders that come with a separate chopper/processor attachment and assess their chopping and processing ability.
- Chopping: Fiona and Martha look at whether the blender chops carrots evenly.
- Processing: They also make a pesto sauce and determine the blender's ability to process the ingredients evenly.
Ease of use
Fiona and Martha assess:
- the general comfort and grip of the stick blender
- how easy the controls are to use
- how easy the stick blender is to clean.
Test criteria explained
CHOICE Expert Rating
The CHOICE Expert Rating is made up of:
- performance (50%)
- ease of use (50%).
Our test lab
We maintain a kitchen lab that's up to date with the latest reference machines and calibrated measurement tools for our testers to bring you accurate results you can trust (not ones sponsored by big brands).
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
