To choose the best blenders for frozen drinks, first, decide how many frozen beverages you need to be able to make at once, and choose a blender with a large enough pitcher. If you’re looking for the best blender for smoothies, we recommend starting with a powerful motor, durable stainless steel blender blades, and variable speed control. If convenience is a priority, we also recommend looking for a blender with programmed options for different kinds of frozen drinks. In seeking the best blenders for smoothies, we also looked for one-touch blending options for frozen fruit and crushing ice. A touchscreen is another useful feature to look for, making it easy to choose between programmed modes. If you like to customize your blended drink, look for a plethora of manual controls to give you precise adjustments for blender speed and pulse modes.
After analyzing dozens of reviews from kitchenware experts, chefs, and home blender users, and comparing the best high-performance countertop blenders on the market, we’ve determined that the best blender for frozen drinks is the Ninja SS151 TWISTi Blender DUO. Keep reading to learn more about great blenders available for purchase so you can choose the best blender for your kitchen.
Top 7 Best Blenders for Frozen Drinks
#1 Ninja SS151 TWISTi Blender DUO for Frozen Drinks
Award: TOP PICK
WHY WE LIKE IT: This blender has a 1600W base and easy-to-use controls along with pre-programmed smart blending modes, making it a great choice for smoothies and the best blender for frozen bananas and crushed ice too.
- Total crush pitcher breaks up ice cubes and frozen fruit
- Easy-to-read touch controls
- Pitcher can be time-consuming to clean
The Ninja TWISTi DUO blender has a powerful motor that makes quick work of frozen fruit, and it’s one of the blenders that crush ice into snow for smoothies and other frozen drinks. It comes with five pre-set blending settings that are great for beginners and allow for the convenient, one-touch creation of frozen blender drinks like smoothies, frozen margaritas, and other delicious beverages.
This Ninja blender has a base with 1600 watts of power, equivalent to about a 2.14 horsepower motor. It uses Ninja’s total crush pitcher, which comes with durable BPA-free plastic mortar and stainless steel blades. It breaks up ice cubes in just seconds and can even pulverize coffee beans, making it a great choice if you’re also looking for the best blender for frappuccinos. Plus, its 34-oz dishwasher-safe pitcher is great for larger batches. We think it’s just as good as the best commercial blender on the market.
#2 Vitamix 7500 Professional Blender for Frozen Drinks
Award: HONORABLE MENTION
WHY WE LIKE IT: This professional variable-speed blender features precise manual control, pulse and puree modes, and a time-saving self-cleaning feature.
- Self-cleaning mode fully cleans pitcher
- Variable speed control with 10-speed options
- Easy-to-read touch screen
- 64 oz pitcher size smaller than some competitors
- Lacks pre-programmed options
With class-leading precise control, this 10-speed Vitamix professional blender is designed for versatility and high precision blending, making it among the best blenders on the market for frozen fruit and ice, as well as for smoothies and blended juice drinks with protein powders, nut butter, and other challenging ingredients. If you’re serious about smoothies, in other words, you might want to invest in something like this Vitamix blender.
In addition to superb durability and performance, with its stainless steel blender blades and ultra-convenient self-cleaning feature, this model has 10 variable speed options, giving you full manual control over pulse and blend rhythms, allowing for layered recipes and professional juice shop-quality frozen smoothie drinks. If you’re going to be doing a lot of juicing and smoothing, you might also check out the best vacuum blender.
#3 Blendtec Total Blender Classic for Frozen Drinks
Award: BEST PITCHER
WHY WE LIKE IT: This professional-style blender has six convenient auto modes, including batters, mixed drinks, smoothies, frozen treats, whole juices, and hot soup, plus manual speed control, a 1560 Watt motor, and a dishwasher-safe 75-oz pitcher (32-ounce blending capacity).
- Variable speed control
- Auto modes for smoothie, frozen treats and more
- BPA-free plastic pitcher
- Can be very loud
A great high-performance blender, this model stands out for the 1560 watts of power, allowing for friction heating of soups and sauces. It also packs plenty of power for crushing ice and smoothly blending frozen fruit, ice cream, and nut butters for delicious smoothies.
While it may not have as many one-touch features as a few other blenders on the market, it does feature variable speed control and plenty of options for custom frozen drink recipes. Ten manual speed controls and a pulse option are great for blending frozen bananas, mixing in protein powders, and making smooth ice-blended coffee beverages. If you’ve got little ones at home, we think you might also like checking out the best blender to puree food.
#4 Cleanblend Commercial Blender for Frozen Drinks
Award: BEST POWER
WHY WE LIKE IT: Powerful motors and heavy-duty construction make this a great blender for making frozen drinks in large quantities. It also works as a food processor capable of handling nut butters, frozen fruit, and ice cubes.
- Three horsepower motor
- Built-in mortar for crushing frozen fruit and ice cubes
- BPA-free and impact-resistant pitcher
- Lacks programmed modes and settings
- No self-cleaning mode
Among the most powerful heavy-duty blenders on the market, this three-horsepower professional blender is well-suited for making fitness drinks and fruit smoothies with frozen fruit, ice, nut butters, and supplements. Variable speed dials and responsive manual controls add versatility, while the built-in plastic handle and robust stainless steel blades allow it to crush ice, making it a good choice if you’re looking for the best blender for snow cones.
While it lacks the fancy self-cleaning mode the Vitamix blender offers, it does feature a BPA-free and impact resistant 64-oz pitcher and a relatively quiet, sealed-ball bearing motor design that promises long-lasting performance.
#5 Ninja BL610 Professional Blender for Frozen Drinks
Award: BEST FOR MARGARITAS
WHY WE LIKE IT: This large-capacity Ninja Professional blender crushes ice with ease and works great for making large batches of frozen drinks, such as margaritas.
- Six stainless steel blades
- Dishwasher-safe
- 72-oz capacity pitcher
- No self-cleaning mode
- Fewer manual controls than some professional blenders offer
This Ninja Professional blender has a powerful motor, a six-bladed design that crushes ice into snow in just seconds, and a large 72-oz capacity, making it well-suited for frozen margaritas and large-batch smoothies. If you’re making meal replacements or fitness drinks for the whole family, this is one of the most practical and useful blenders on the market.
In addition, this model uses one-touch controls and a simple pulse button for mashing up frozen fruit for smoothies and other frozen drinks. It features the “Auto-iQ” technology with 4 pre-set programs for different recipes. The pitcher is also dishwasher safe, making it easy to clean. We think it’s a contender for the best blender for smoothies and frozen cocktails.
#6 Margaritaville Blender for Frozen Drinks
Award: BEST FOR SHAVED ICE
WHY WE LIKE IT: With its separate shave ice maker and frozen drink mixer functions, this dedicated margarita and ice blended drink maker is ready for your next gathering or to upgrade your home blended coffee routine.
- Easy pour jar helps avoid messes
- Mixing tool with margarita recipe included
- Can independently blend ingredients and shave ice
- Less powerful than most all-purpose professional blenders
- No easy way to change the consistency of ice chunks
While it may not have quite the versatility of a professional countertop blender or coffee shop blender, this model blends and shaves ice, using a separate ice reservoir and ingredient pitcher, making it the best blender for margaritas if you’re in a hurry. It even comes with a mixing cup pre-labeled with a suggested margarita recipe.
This model is also notable for its surprising level of manual control. You can set it to independently shave ice and blend ingredients like frozen fruit, frappuccino syrups, rum, and margarita mix. It has a 400-watt motor, which is adequate for working with shaved and crushed ice, frozen berries, and liquids. The pitcher holds about 36 oz, less than most all-purpose countertop blenders. This makes it the best countertop blender on our list.
#7 Hamilton Beach Wave Crusher Blender for Frozen Drinks
Award: BEST CONVENIENCE
WHY WE LIKE IT: Thanks to the unique wave-inducing pitcher, this easy-to-use blender makes ultra-smooth frozen drinks with no need for stirring. It also comes with heat-resistant and dishwasher-safe components for easy cleanup.
- Unique pitcher shape improves consistency
- Dishwasher-safe pitcher
- 14 pre-programmed modes
- Less powerful motor than some professional blenders
- Pitcher only holds 40 oz
While it may not be the most extreme blender in terms of power, this countertop blender from Hamilton Beach does a great job when it comes to crushing ice, mixing frozen fruit, and blending chia seeds, protein powders, nut butters, and other smoothie ingredients. The easy-pour jar holds 40 oz of liquid and is heat-resistant and dishwasher-safe.
This model also stands out in terms of the number of programmed options it gives you. it comes with fourteen presets, including pulse mode, settings for smoothies, and dedicated ice crush mode. This makes it one of the easiest-to-use blenders on the market today.
How We Decided
In order to choose the best blenders for frozen drinks, we looked for high-performance blenders with powerful motors–at least 700 watts or about one horsepower was the requirement– and strong blades, preferably made of hardened aircraft-grade stainless steel.
We only included those models with at least some manual speed control, allowing you to fine-tune your blender for your favorite type of frozen beverages, smoothies, margaritas, and shakes. We looked for options like crush ice, high pulse mode, and puree modes. A dedicated ice cube crushing function was considered a bonus, as this feature works great for making frozen daiquiris, margaritas, and coffee frappuccinos.
For ease of use, we also preferred blenders with automatic options and one-touch convenience. We looked for pre-programmed modes for frozen drinks like smoothies and milkshakes, as well as a mode for ice cream and gelato.
Finally, we considered the pitcher. We only included blenders that came with a BPA-free pitcher, and we gave preference to dishwasher-safe blender jars.
Best Blenders for Frozen Drinks Buyer’s Guide
The Most Important Features to Consider
- Motorized Base
To find the best blender for snow cones, smoothies, and frozen drinks, look for a motor powerful enough to pulverize frozen fruit and smoothly crush ice into snow. This means, in general, at least 1000 watts of power for a 64 oz pitcher. You don’t want to use a milkshake mixer over a blender, because you won’t get the same consistency a blender can provide. - Variable Speed Control
The best blender for crushing ice and frozen fruit for smoothies and other delicious beverages needs precise control; this lets you fine-tune the blending process to ensure the perfect consistency and an even texture. Manual controls are especially important for frozen concoctions containing liquid ingredients and different textured items like nut butters, coffee beans, frozen strawberries, and ice cubes. However, if you’re finding the blender motor working so slowly, it might be time to do some maintenance or buy a new blender altogether. - Dishwasher Safe Pitcher
While some professional models (like blender food processors) in the running for best blenders for frozen drinks 2024 include advanced features like a self-cleaning function, most of the best blenders have dishwasher-safe high-temperature pitchers. This is especially important if you plan to use your blender to friction heat soups and sauces and make ice-blended drinks.
