Pro
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This integrated rotating tamper prevents you from having to stop and loosen ingredients manually
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Huge 1,600 watts of power, yet small enough to fit in a closet
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Includes two single-serve blending cups
Against
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Higher breakage potential due to extra plastic parts
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The base wobbles slightly when blending at full speed
Blenders can do a lot, but turning frozen fruit into creamy smoothies is the ultimate test. And if you don’t have the space for a professional blender but want something more than a personal blender, the Ninja Twisti it’s the perfect compromise. It’s now just $120 and might be the best smoothie blender ever made.
When I make smoothies, sauces or other recipes with thick ingredients, even my favorite blenders, like the Stylish template by Beast Health – encounter the same problem. Place frozen banana, dried powders and frozen fruit in the container and your mixes will inevitably stick, requiring a stop-n-shake or spatula to loosen the contents. Ninja’s Twisti SS151 High Speed Blender has a integrated rotating tamper that produces super smooth smoothies every time.
I tested Ninja’s powerful blender for a month, churning out smoothies, shakes, dips, and dips. It was pretty much the smoothest blender experience I’ve ever had. Here’s what I learned.
Read more: The best blenders for 2024
Ninja’s new Twisti blender comes with built-in tampers to keep things going smoothly.
What is this convoluted tampering?
Most high-end blenders include a separate tamper tool intended to separate the ingredients inside the blender jar. To use them, you generally have to stop the mixture and remove the lid or open the spout to shake your mixture. The Twisti has two small pushers built into the lid that can be turned manually while the blender is running, saving you from having to stop and mix everything together. It’s a small time saver, but for a regular blender, dip, or dip, you’ll appreciate it.
The Twisti with its built-in tampers had no problem turning ice, nut milk, and frozen fruit into a perfect smoothie in one go.
How well does it work?
I found that the rotary tamper did exactly what it was designed to do for every mixing job I asked of the Twisti. From blending ingredients for chunky smoothies to making thicker sauces and dips, the rotating tamper allowed me to complete every preparation without stopping and removing the lid. It also allows you to blend with less liquid overall, as the tampers will keep heavy, dry mixtures moving until they are fully blended.
The only ingredients that you can’t always reincorporate into the medium mix are sticky nut butters and thick syrups or honey that might stick to the sides of the container.
The Twisti blended everything to a silky smooth consistency without having to stop and push ingredients in.
The Ninja Twisti is small but mighty
Despite a 1,600-watt motor, the Twisti is small compared to most other blenders with similar power. The base measures 6 x 6 inches, and the entire unit is just 14 inches tall with the 34-ounce container and lid in place. Due to the unusual power to size ratio, it tends to wobble a bit when mixing. To remedy this, the Twisti features two suction cups and a rubber traction on the bottom to keep it in place on the counter.
The Ninja Twisti next to a full-sized blender with a 64-ounce jar.
Other features of the Ninja Twisti
In addition to the smoothie setting, which operates in long pulses, another tactic to keep ingredients from clumping, the Twisti has settings intended for extraction (juice), one for frozen drinks, another for spreads and a fifth for the bowls. They all seem to do pretty much the same thing – blend, stop and blend again – but for different lengths of time intended to provide optimal results for each type of recipe. There is a small rubber stopper plug built into the lid for adding ingredients without completely removing them.
The preset programs almost all did the same thing: blend, pause, blend again, but for different lengths of time.
In addition to the 34-ounce blending cup, Twisti includes an 18-ounce single-serve cup and a 24-ounce single-serve cup, both with spout lids.
The Ninja Twisti comes with two single-serve blender cups.
Overall mixing capacity
Despite smoothies’ tendency to stick while blending, they generally don’t require a lot of power to blend smoothly, but other jobs do. The Twisti has 1,600 watts of punch, which is on par with the larger, more premium blenders we’ve tested, so I expected it to perform comparably.
At CNET, we have standard tests that we run for Anyone blender we rate, so I ran them on the Twisti. The small but powerful blender worked exceptionally well, crushing ice cubes to smithereens. It also quickly turned the almonds into almond flour and produced a smooth, lump-free pancake batter (partly thanks to the rotating tamper).
The Twisti pulverized two cups of ice cubes in less than 10 seconds.
Potentially increased chance of blender breakage
There is one potential red flag with this blender that is worth considering, especially for a regular user. The built-in rotary tampers are made of plastic, and while they seem sturdy enough, they’re another piece that could potentially break with rigorous use. That said, if one of the two rotating tampers were to come off, the blender would not be unusable as you would still have a tamper to help dissolve the ingredients. What if Both if it were to break, you’d probably still have a functioning blender, just without the benefit of the rotating tamper.
Innovative as it is, I’m slightly concerned that the protruding plastic lid tampers will break over time.
Overall, the Twisti seems well built, although premium blenders from included brands Vitamix, Breville AND Blendtec they feel sturdier and use significantly higher grades of plastic and rubber for the base, container, and lid. That said, most of these models will cost you at least $250.
The sleek Beast is still my real favorite personal blender, but it’s more limited than the Twisti in terms of capacity and power.
Other smoothie blender options to consider
Ninja makes some other blenders with a rotating blade that runs down the center of the container, like his Premium Plus blender duo and the Foodi Power blender and food processor. These also help keep the contents of the blender moving, but not as well as the double-bladed rotary tamper. Personal blenders including Ninja’s Feed the Ninja AND NutriBullet They’ll get the job done for smoothies, dips, and basic dips, but they’re limited in both power and capacity. THE $155 Beast Health It’s still my favorite small premium blender with above-average performance, sharp looks, and an unusually sturdy build for a blender of its size.
