Reviews You Can Rely On

Cuisinart Hurricane Pro 3.5 Review

A premium blender, with adjustable presets, at a more affordable price point
gearlab tested logo
Cuisinart Hurricane Pro 3.5 Review (From smoothies to malts and other delicious frozen beverages, the Cuisinart Hurricane Pro 3.5 is one of the best...)
From smoothies to malts and other delicious frozen beverages, the Cuisinart Hurricane Pro 3.5 is one of the best blenders we tested.
Credit: Natalie Kafader
Price:  $400 List
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Manufacturer:   Cuisinart
By Genaveve Bradshaw and Aaron Rice  ⋅  Jun 4, 2024
89
OVERALL
SCORE


RANKED
#3 of 16
  • Smoothies - 30% 9.3
  • Convenience - 25% 8.7
  • Ice - 20% 9.4
  • Pureeing - 15% 8.4
  • Grinding - 10% 7.5

Our Verdict

The Hurricane blender series has been a fan-favorite among our testers, and although the new Cuisinart Hurricane Pro 3.5 no longer maintains its accolade, we have heaps of praise for this updated blender. The newest Hurricane Pro retains its user-friendly interface, particularly its ability to adjust the time and power of its presets to better match the needs of your favorite recipes. But this new model gets the upgrade of a new, more powerful 3.5-horsepower motor — objectively one of the most powerful of the blenders we tested. The Hurricane Pro makes creamy smoothies with little effort, makes an excellent blended margarita, and blends and heats homemade soup you can serve right from the pitcher. We recognize that we push these products hard in our testing, and we noticed evidence of some heavy wear-and-tear on the blades, which gives us pause about the reliability of this blender over time. However, if you're looking to purchase a premium blender for less than the competition, the Cuisinart Hurricane Pro is a top choice. See our review of the best blenders to see how it stacks up against the competition.
REASONS TO BUY
Powerful motor base
Adjustable presets
Simple interface
Makes delicious blended margaritas
REASONS TO AVOID
Questionable durability
Difficulty with thick mixtures
Loud compared to other premium blenders
Editor's Note: We updated this review on June 4, 2024, to replace the previous model with testing information about the new Hurricane Pro 3.5.

Compare to Similar Products

 
Awards  Editors' Choice Award
Best Overall Blender
Top Pick Award
Best Heavy-Duty Blender
Best Buy Award
Best Bang for the Buck
Best Buy Award
Best Buy on a Tight Budget
Price $400 List
$289.90 at Amazon
$500 List
$499.95 at Amazon
$400 List
$379.95 at Amazon
$150 List
$119.00 at Amazon
$100 List
$59.99 at Amazon
Overall Score Sort Icon
89
94
87
71
64
Star Rating
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Bottom Line Compared to other premium blenders we tested, this more affordable option is more than capable in the kitchenThis premium blender features a plethora of handy presets, offering top-notch versatility for blending, pureeing, and millingA reasonably priced blender that is built to lastConvenient and affordable, this blender is the perfect balance of price and performanceA solid option for blending frozen beverages, without the same versatility as more expensive blenders
Rating Categories Cuisinart Hurricane... Breville the Super Q Blendtec Total Classic Nutribullet Combo Ninja Professional...
Smoothies (30%)
9.3
9.2
8.9
7.5
6.2
Convenience (25%)
8.7
8.8
8.0
6.7
6.3
Ice (20%)
9.4
10.0
9.7
6.6
8.1
Pureeing (15%)
8.4
9.8
8.8
7.4
5.6
Grinding (10%)
7.5
9.3
7.9
7.9
4.9
Specs Cuisinart Hurricane... Breville the Super Q Blendtec Total Classic Nutribullet Combo Ninja Professional...
Model Number CBT-2000P1 BBL920BSS1BUS1 ES3 NBC-12A BL610
Power Peak 3.5 HP 2.4 HP Peak 3.0 HP Peak 1.6 HP Peak 1.3 HP
Pitcher Capacity 64 oz 68 oz 32 oz 64 oz 72 oz
Presets Yes, 5: Clean, Soup, Smoothie, Ice Crush, Pulse Yes, 6: Smoothie, Green Smoothie, Ice Crush, Frozen Desserts, Soup, Clean, 12 speed settings Yes, 6: Smoothie, Batters, Hot Soup, Whole Juice, Ice Cream, Mixed Drinks Yes, 2: Extract, Pulse, 3 speed settings Yes, 1: Pulse, 3 speed settings
Measured Dimensions (base with pitcher) 16.6" x 11.6" x 10.6" 18" x 10.5" x 8.1" 15.3" x 8" x 7" 17" x 7" x 9.5" 18" x 10.5" x 7.5"
Dishwasher Safe No Yes - the blender jug, the personal blender cup, tamper, scraper, and the lids Pitcher; top rack only Yes Yes
Accessories No Yes
  • Personal cup
  • Recipe book
  • Two tampers
  • Personal cup blade system
Yes
-Manual with recipes
Yes
-32oz Cup with blade attachment
-24oz Cup with blade attachment
-2 To-Go lids
-Tamper
-Recipe book
No
Digital Timer Yes Yes Yes No No
Meant for Heating? Yes Yes Yes No No
Cord Length 3.2 ft 3.8 ft 2.9 ft 2.5 ft 2.8 ft
Wattage 2000 watts 1800 watts 1560 watts 1200 watts 1000 watts
Measured Decibels for Standard Smoothie 86.4 82.4 84 83.7 84.1
Measured Soup Temperature 150 160 129 145 73

Our Analysis and Test Results

The Cuisinart Hurricane Pro 3.5 is the latest iteration of this longtime fan-favorite blender. It features a commercial-grade 3.5-horsepower motor base with Cuisinart's proprietary BlendLogix technology, which automatically adjusts blending speeds based on the weight of the ingredients loaded into the included 64-ounce jug. The four presets — Smoothie, Ice Crush, Soup, and Clean — are fully adjustable, with a built-in memory function that stores your preferred power and time settings. The LCD display includes a digital countdown timer and an auto-shutoff feature.

Performance Comparison


Just add ice cream! Among other delicious smoothies and frozen drinks, the Hurricane Pro 3.5 made one of the best Oreo shakes of any blender we tested.
Credit: Natalie Kafader

Smoothies


Like other high-end blenders we tested, the Hurricane Pro features a Smoothie preset. The powerful, 3.5-horsepower motor effortlessly cruised through frozen fruit, though it's worth noting that this blender was a bit louder than other premium models, measuring an average of 86 decibels. Although there were still a few small seeds in the mix, in only 45 seconds, we were pouring out a robustly blended smoothie with an even, creamy texture. The Hurricane Pro also features a Green Smoothie preset, which doubles the time and boosts the power to blast through tougher ingredients. But this blender performed so well on the regular Smoothie preset that the specially designed preset seemed almost superfluous. The green shake was similarly thick and creamy, and our testers couldn't get over how brightly the flavor of all of the fresh ingredients shined through.

cuisinart hurricane pro 3.5 - fast, easy, and evenly blended, the hurricane pro 3.5 made delicious...
Fast, easy, and evenly blended, the Hurricane Pro 3.5 made delicious smoothies with little effort.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman


Even on the standard Smoothie setting, the Hurricane Pro easily powered through a difficult fruit, nut, and oat smoothie recipe. It had no struggle breaking up ingredients and blending efficiently without any assistance from a tamper. The result was a notably smooth breakfast blend, which was appropriately thick, yet it was still a smoothie we could drink from a to-go cup. With such stellar smoothie performance across the board, it should come as no surprise that the Hurricane Pro also turned out a velvety smooth Oreo malt, using the same Smoothie preset.

cuisinart hurricane pro 3.5 - the hurricane pro 3.5 tore through fresh greens, leaving very little...
The Hurricane Pro 3.5 tore through fresh greens, leaving very little for our sieve to catch.
Credit: Austin Palmer


Convenience


On top of its exceptional smoothie performance, the Hurricane Pro is also one of the easiest blenders to operate. While the interface isn't quite as sleek as other premium blenders, we always appreciate plain-language labeling, as opposed to having to decipher icons to figure out button functions. The digital readout displays the settings and a countdown timer, and all of the presets include an auto-shutoff once the cycle is complete.

cuisinart hurricane pro 3.5 - we love easy-to-read labelling, which is apparent on the buttons and...
We love easy-to-read labelling, which is apparent on the buttons and large LCD screen of this blender.
Credit: Natalie Kafader

Unique to the Hurricane Pro is the ability to adjust the speed and time of the presets — say, to best suit your regular smoothie recipes — and to save those changes with an incorporated memory function. Of course, you can also adjust the blending power manually, and you have the option of a pulse button. All of this convenience ties into cleaning as well. You can opt to use the Clean preset and dry the pitcher over the base, or toss all the components into the dishwasher. We particularly appreciate that the gasket on the lid is removable and dishwasher-safe, as this is a particular area where gunk tends to build up on blenders.

cuisinart hurricane pro 3.5 - all of the hurricane pro's components are dishwasher safe, or you...
All of the Hurricane Pro's components are dishwasher safe, or you can use the Clean preset to wash the non-removable blades.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Ice


Considering this blender includes an Ice Crush preset, we figured this was the best option for our ice test. The Hurricane Pro quite literally crushed this test, pulverizing a cup of ice into a snowy mix without additional pulsing. This blender also turned out a delicious blended margarita in just one minute, using the same Ice Crush preset. The margarita was smooth and creamy, and one of our testers described the result as, quite simply, “lovely.”

cuisinart hurricane pro 3.5 - the hurricane pro 3.5 made a delicious blended margarita with a...
The Hurricane Pro 3.5 made a delicious blended margarita with a smooth, creamy texture.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Pureeing


Like other versatile blenders we tested, the Hurricane Pro can tackle tasks other than blending. However, pureeing was a bit of a mixed bag for this blender. Using the Soup preset, we were able to puree a creamy, steaming pitcher of homemade tomato soup, which warmed up to a prime 150°F during the six-minute cycle. The Hurrican Pro stands out as one of the better blenders for making and warming homemade soup in one fell swoop.

cuisinart hurricane pro 3.5 - blending homemade soup is a highlight of the hurricane pro 3.5...
Blending homemade soup is a highlight of the Hurricane Pro 3.5, which warmed up our tomato soup to a servable temperature right from the pitcher.
Credit: Genaveve Bradshaw

Although it is a less common task than pureeing soup, you can substitute a high-performance blender for a food processor to make nut butter at home. While the Hurricane Pro eventually produced a passable nut butter with a moderately creamy consistency, it needed a lot of assistance. It took a significant amount of stirring with the tamper and a lot of extra oil to produce a spreadable nut butter. If it weren't for the extra hassle involved in this process, the Hurricane Pro surely would have scored better in this regard.

The nut butter we pureed kept clogging up the blades, and we...
The nut butter we pureed kept clogging up the blades, and we regularly needed to add extra oil to keep the process going.
While it took a lot of extra work compared to other blenders we...
While it took a lot of extra work compared to other blenders we tested, the result was still smooth, creamy, and easily spreadable.
Though the Hurricane Pro created a reasonable nut butter, it required a lot of extra stirring and oil.

Grinding


Alternative uses for the Hurricane Pro are perhaps its weakest points, and yet, it still performs admirably against other premium blenders we tested. Leaning on the ability to adjust this blender's settings, we set up a 30-second cycle on power level 9 to grind regular crystal sugar down to fluffy, powdered sugar. Although it struggled a bit to live up to our high standards of finely ground parmesan cheese, this blender did an exceptional job of milling kernels into a fine cornflour.

cuisinart hurricane pro 3.5 - milling hard foods, like corn kernels, slightly dented the blades...
Milling hard foods, like corn kernels, slightly dented the blades. As a result, we don't recommend this model if you want to regularly grind or mill foods with your blender.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Should You Buy the Cuisinart Hurricane Pro 3.5?


Earning one of the top scores overall, this is undeniably a phenomenal blender at a more reasonable price point than comparable premium options. Our only reservation is the wear and tear our testing put on the Hurricane Pro 3.5 within a relatively short period. While our tests are objectively laborious — frequently subjecting blenders to tough tasks like crushing ice, grinding nut butter, and milling corn flour — we were particularly surprised by the state of the blades at the end of our test period. However, unlike other brands, Cuisinart offers replacement parts for its appliances. But if you only rely on the Hurricane Pro for more everyday duties, we doubt you will need to replace its components.

What Other Blenders Should You Consider?


If you frequently use your blender for more than just blending, you may want to consider a different model that offers more long-term durability. Having tested the Vitamix A2500 over many years, we have no doubt that this top-tier blender is an excellent investment. Unlike the Hurricane Pro, the A2500 showed no noticeable signs of wear and tear at the end of our test period. If either of these premium options leaves you with sticker shock, consider the more reasonably priced Nutribullet Combo.

Genaveve Bradshaw and Aaron Rice