
Our Verdict
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Nutribullet Magic Bullet fits well in cabinets and other small spaces and comes with a few accessories, including three blending cups of various sizes and multiple resealable lids. The one “button” push operation reinforces the simplicity of its minimalist design.
Smoothies
While it's quick and easy to blend a decent smoothie with the Magic Bullet, making a really good one is a challenge, and perfection is impossible. The smoothies we made tasted fine. Generally, the ingredients were blended together fairly well, but not perfectly.
I found that the Magic Bullet was unable to break down the greens in my smoothie fully, with some unblended leafy greens that always found a way to sneak past the spinning blades. I also noticed a sizeable piece of frozen mango made it into our tasting glass. I had to give it a good shake to help it incorporate everything. It tasted alright — but there was plenty of plant matter to chew through.
It's a similar story with the berry smoothie. The Magic Bullet didn't break down the berry seeds at all, and a frozen strawberry chunk made it through unscathed. This little blender struggled to get its vortex going until the end of the blending time.
Pureeing
For pureeing, I reduced the amount of nuts our standard recipe called for to ensure there was enough oil for the blender to have a shot at getting the job done.
I pulsed and shook the container for 2 minutes, which resulted in a chunky, uneven mixture. Then, I tried 15 to 30-second spurts until I was assured that the nut butter was as good as it was going to get. After 6 minutes of blending, the nut butter was spreadable. It was thin due to the extra oil needed, warm from the friction of the machine, and gritty with some gravelly bits that were about half the size of a pea.
While I tested every blender's ability to puree a soup, as we've done with all other traditional blenders, the Magic Bullet cannot be used with hot ingredients, so we refrained from testing this.
Frozen Drinks
When attempting to blend a frozen margarita, the blade struggled to create a vortex, only moving the bottom third of the mixture, so I had to stop it and shake it a few times to incorporate all of the ingredients.
In the end, the cocktail was blended fairly well. Most of the ice was crushed small and evenly so that it melted in the mouth as you would expect from a blended beverage. However, a dime-sized ball of ice did manage to get through unblended, and there was a little bit of liquid separation. The resulting marg tasted fine, but the texture wasn't totally consistent.
It's worth noting that we also purchased a separate ice-crushing blade from Nutribullet that performed much better and made a very smooth margarita. However, since it is sold separately, it did not factor into our review scoring.
Controls
While the Magic Bullet is exceptionally simple to use (all you need to do is press down to pulse the blades), there is no way to control the speed of the blades, and there aren't any presets. This means you have little control over the outcome of your blended creation.
Ease of Cleaning
The Magic Bullet does use dishwasher-safe parts: the blending cups, lip rings, and lips are all safe to clean on the top rack. You can't use the sanitize cycle with the blending cups, though, or they may warp, and the blades must be hand-washed.
As for cleaning the machine itself, there is no self-clean preset. There are areas where food can get stuck, though, such as the threaded area in the blade apparatus, and there isn't much space under the blades, which could be difficult to scrub when needed.
Should You Buy the Nutribullet Magic Bullet?
Those in need of a versatile blender capable of making super-smooth blended beverages, soups, nut butters, and dips should set their sights on a larger and more powerful blender. As a pint-sized personal blender, the Magic Bullet may be suitable for those seeking an inexpensive blender that can whip up a basic smoothie every so often and be stored in a small cabinet when not in use. The beverages it makes are drinkable, and they can be tasty, but they'll never be as silky smooth and finely blended as what a more premium blender can produce.
What Other Blenders Should You Consider?
For a small bump in price, the Ninja Fit Compact is a much better personal blender in nearly every way over the Magic Bullet. The Ninja Fit makes smoother frozen drinks, struggles less to break ice and frozen fruit thanks to its much stronger 700-watt motor, and is easier to clean. Alternatively, consider upgrading to the Ninja Professional BL610 for a full-size blender that can make better and larger batches of your blended favorites.