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Chop, blend and whisk your way to tasty meals with these tried and tested stick mixers rubber kneader
We updated this article in March to reflect the latest prices and deals.
Hand blenders, also known as stick blenders or immersion blenders, are a staple for every home cook, capable of tackling a huge range of kitchen tasks, including blending, pureeing, chopping and whisking.
Thanks to their compact design, hand blenders are also a wise investment if you’re tight on kitchen space but still want to flex your culinary capabilities. Whether you are making soups and sauces, whipping up meringue, salad dressings or a vibrant salsa to top dishes like this mixed bean stew, it will soon become your go-to sous chef. You can even replicate the results of a Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser, by using your blender to aerate hot chocolate!
The Good Housekeeping Institute put 43 hand blenders to the test to find the best for all menus and budgets – here's a quick look at our top picks, or read on for our detailed reviews.
If you’re replacing an existing hand blender, there are plenty of places for you to safely recycle your old one. Find your nearest electrical recycling point, or read our guide on how to donate or dispose of your appliances and tech for extra guidance.
In the GHI lab, each device was judged on how smoothly it blended a banana milkshake, losing points if it left chunks of fruit behind or caused excessive splashing. Our experts also assessed how easy it was to control the speed when making mayonnaise and batter, and checked whether the results were suitably thick, creamy, and glossy.
We pureed chickpeas to ensure the blender could blitz to a fine, smooth texture and, where applicable, chopped onions, hazelnuts, ice and parsley to see if it produced even results.
Finally, we whisked egg whites and cream, looking for a light and stable texture. These are the blenders that scored the highest, along with our expert guide to their features.
Home chefs looking to control the texture of their soups, sauces and more will appreciate this good-looking stick blender's adjustable speed, which lets you switch from mixing to whipping in one squeeze of the button. Got a pile of veg to prep? Simply add the chopper attachment and rubber pan guard (a feature we haven't seen elsewhere) to whizz up a dish without scratching your cookware.
Our tester gave this blender the thumbs up across the board, especially when mixing soft ingredients such as those used for making mayo. They found it intuitive to use and appreciated its numerous attachments, which cover every culinary need. Choose from five colours, including red, black and cream.
Our other joint best hand blender came close to scoring full marks for its all-round outstanding performance. Our tester enjoyed a smooth milkshake, creamy mayo and perfectly whipped cream. It pureed chickpeas evenly with ease – hummus fans, take note – and produced a glossy, if slightly thin, batter. It whisked egg whites to stiff peaks and the included grinder blitzed hazelnuts in a flash.
Intuitive and comfortable to use, it comes with a generous array of attachments, including an ice blade for chopping large cubes down to slushy-sized shards. They all proved easy to fit, but you'll need to think about where to store them if you’re short on cupboard space.
This cordless hand blender from KitchenAid’s much lusted-after range comes in a choice of matte black or empire red. It features a 700ml blending cup and a pan guard, which can be placed over the blades to stop them damaging your cookware.
Its performance on test was flawless. It whizzes up thick, smooth milkshakes without leaving any chunks at the bottom of the cup, and produces a glossy mayonnaise without curdling or splashing oil everywhere. It mixes a silky, clump-free batter in less than a minute and effortlessly purees a tin of chickpeas in just twenty seconds.
When you run it flat, one full charge takes a mere two hours. Our only niggle is that it’s difficult to control, even at slower speeds.
Top chef James Martin has given this elegantly simple stick his seal of approval, so our tester was excited to give it a spin. It fared best when making mayo, leaving it thick and glossy without any curdling or separation, and it pureed chickpeas, chopped veg and whisked cream well too.
Though intuitive to use, it felt quite heavy when held for a prolonged period of time. Still, its helpful choice of attachments means it can take any ingredient in its stride (except for ice cubes), making it good value for money.
This retro-style hand blender blends, chops and whips with ease, and comes with various useful accessories, including a potato masher and a whisk. There are also five speeds and a handy turbo mode for versatility.
It performs well all-round, but its ability to blend thick, glossy and creamy mayonnaise in under three minutes is what really gives it the wow-factor. It mashes smoothly and consistently but slightly purees some vegetables while chopping. It's comfortable to use and comes in a range of colours if you want to brighten up your kitchen.
If you’re after a wallet-friendly stick that still offers some versatility and control, consider this 3-in-1 Cookworks model. Easy to operate, it blends, chops and whisks, and there are three speeds to play with for making delicate sauces.
It didn’t drop a point when whipping up evenly blended milkshakes and glossy mayo, proving you don't need to spend a fortune to enjoy first-class results. It pureed chickpeas well and our tester found the included chopper effective. Overall, it’s a snip for under £30.
Another excellent hand blender from Bosch – our tester found it straightforward and quick to use. It scored full marks for its speedy egg whisking abilities, but it also truly excelled when pureeing. It created a smooth chickpea dip with a professional glossy appearance in 90 seconds.
The included chopping blade attachment did struggle to turn out uniform pieces of onion and hazelnut, with some food also getting stuck on the blade. It’s also worth noting that this hand blender isn’t suitable for crushing ice, but it’s easy to overlook those small complaints when you consider how quickly it gets the job done. All in all, a great option for those short on time who also want versatile blending capabilities.
This Lakeland model proves that a mid-budget hand blender can do an all-round great job as well as a pricier rival (almost, anyway). It scored perfect tens when mixing up milkshake, pureeing chickpeas, chopping onions and whisking egg whites to soft peaks. It impressed when whisking cream, too, but took a while – just under four minutes – to get the consistency just so.
Though basic by design, this stick comes with all the key attachments for ticking off most cooking tasks, except crushing ice cubes.
With its sleek design, this hand blender will certainly spruce up your kitchen gadget collection. It's versatile thanks to its array of attachments (including a potato masher and a dual whisk for perfecting your stiff peaks) while variable power allows for added precision.
The powerful blender is easy to use, and impressed across the board, especially when making mayonnaise, mixing batter and whizzing up a banana smoothie. It was less effective as a chopper though, with testers struggling to achieve even results when tackling both an onion and parsley.
You’ll never be out of ideas to blitz, as it comes with recipe inspiration via Haier’s app. And once you’ve finished preparing your latest discovery, clean-up will be done in a jiffy as you can pop the accessories in the dishwasher (apart from the main blending head).
Despite not being able to match some of the other blenders on performance, our testers were big fans of the Dualit's instruction manual, which includes an extensive selection of recipes and cooking tips – ranging from a dinner party-ready salmon pâté to a five spice sweet potato mash.
It also made quick work of chopping and blending, although the full speed setting caused some vibration and light suction issues. Our tester also found the thick handle became a little uncomfortable when used for longer periods. Nevertheless, it has a sleek modern look, and the attachments are dishwasher safe, which will come in handy as you work your way through all those recipes.
Hand blenders are such multi-taskers that there’s little they can’t do. And smoothies are no exception. Their blades break down large chunks of fruit, resulting in a deliciously smooth and refreshing drink. In fact, mixing a smoothie is a staple part of our stick blender testing.
Of course, if you regularly start your morning with a blended fruit drink, a dedicated smoothie maker will generally do the job more quickly, and require less manual effort. Plus, their versatile jugs transform into a cup for drinking on the go.
There is some overlap in the function of hand blenders and hand mixers, but there are also several key differences. Both appliances can be used to mix batter but, in general, hand blenders are for cooking tasks and hand mixers are for baking.
Use your hand blender to puree dips, blend milkshakes and smoothies and make sauces, and your hand mixer to knead dough, beat eggs and whip cream. Some hand blenders do come with whisks for added versatility, but the basic models simply blend.
When buying a hand blender, consider what you want to use it for, whether that's simple blending or more complex tasks. There's no point splashing the cash on a model that comes with lots of accessories if you'll never use half of them!
Look for a handle with grip that won't slip while you're whizzing up a feast, and check that the controls are easily accessible and adjustable. The more speed settings there are, the more control you'll have over your cooking.
You'll notice that a pulse function is a common feature; this offers a quick "pulse" of power for additional control when breaking down tough foods.
Megan is the Good Housekeeping Institute’s homes writer. She loves diving into the latest product releases to find the very best buys on the market. When she’s not writing about the newest gadgets and gizmos for your home and garden, you’ll find her cooking, running and exploring London’s foodie hotspots – or trying to make friends with every dog she passes. Megan has an MA in Magazine Journalism and has previously written for Stylist, Glamour, TimeOut, SquareMeal, and YOU magazine. You can find Megan on Instagram @meganlouisegeall and on X @megan_geall
Blossom is our Senior Homes Tester. Passionate about finding the best home products and appliances for our readers, she has tested everything from blenders to pizza ovens. Blossom enjoys delving into the intricacies of products and refining testing protocols for hundreds of items. Innovative items like robot vacuum cleaners and wine coolers are among her favourite tests to date, and her most notable accomplishment is toasting 360 slices of bread in a determined bid to find the best toaster. In her free time, Blossom openly admits to being a music geek and indulges her creative side through crocheting, baking, singing and writing.
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