Review: Ninja BlendBOSS

Now it’s time to test something completely different from what we usually have on the review bench, namely a blender. Ninja BlendBOSS is a single-serve blender in a tumbler format—the kind of blender where the cup you blend in is also the one you drink from. The idea is that you can make your smoothie, screw on a lid, and go. Colorful, compact, and with a wattage that looks almost ridiculously high for its size.

The question is whether such a small machine can really deliver, or if it’s mostly just nice to look at on the counter. How well does Ninja BlendBOSS hold up in a typical kitchen? Let’s find out!

Design and Build Quality

The first thing that strikes you when unpacking BlendBOSS is that it’s really stylish. It has a playful, almost retro-inspired feel with its pastel colors, and our test unit in the color “Stone mint” is probably the most understated. This is a machine you don’t need to hide away in a cupboard; it’s more than happy to sit out on display.

The size is simultaneously what defines the entire product. Weighing 2.55 kg and measuring around 18 x 17 x 33 cm, it takes up almost no space at all. It fits on a small kitchen counter, in a tiny kitchen, or in a student room, and the cup also fits into most cup holders. The build quality feels solid throughout, and the 710 ml cup (with a max fill line of 650 ml) sits securely once in place.

A small but clever detail is that the base flashes when the cup is correctly seated. The machine simply won’t start if the cup isn’t properly locked, and if you lift it off mid-program, it stops immediately. This feels safe, especially if you have children at home.

Features and Programs

It features an 1,100-watt motor, which is an unusually high amount for a blender in this small format. As a side note, it’s sometimes marketed with “1200 peak watts,” but the actual, continuous motor power is 1,100 watts. That’s still a significant amount of power.

Control is handled via three preset Auto-iQ programs plus a manual pulse function. Auto-iQ automatically combines different blending and pausing patterns, so you don’t have to stand there pulsing it yourself. You select the program, and the machine handles the rest, stopping automatically when finished. It’s worth distinguishing between the three programs, as Blend and Crush are easy to mix up:

• Smoothie is for fruit, leafy greens, nuts, and seeds—a classic smoothie.
• Blend is for breaking down frozen fruits and vegetables and is best suited for protein shakes and green juices.
• Crush crushes ice into a snow-like, shaved consistency, perfect for frozen drinks, mocktails, and cocktails.
• Pulse is the manual function, where a short press gives a short pulse and a long press a longer one. It’s very useful for when you want manual control, for example for dips or hummus.

The programs are fast, taking around 50 to 60 seconds each, so you go from raw ingredients to a finished drink very quickly.

In the box, you get the motor base, the cup with lid, the detachable straw, the actual CrushBlade assembly, and a recipe book. The lid is leak-proof, and you can either drink directly through the spout or use the straw.

Blending Performance

This is the BlendBOSS’s star feature. It is quite simply incredibly powerful. I’ve put it through everything I could think of, and it crushes ice, frozen fruit, vegetables, nuts, and seeds without hesitating for a second. Smoothies turn out silky smooth, and even tough ingredients that usually leave lumps are thoroughly ground down. If you want to make something like hummus or a thicker dip, it can handle that too, thanks to Auto-iQ pulsing automatically so you don’t have to stop and stir.

In short, it handles exactly everything a blender in this class should, and then some. It’s impressive that such a small machine has so much to offer.

Ice to Snow

Since the manufacturer makes a big point about the machine crushing ice to snow, I wanted to test it thoroughly. With a half-full cup, the result is excellent, and the ice truly gets that fine, shaved-snow consistency that you want for a frozen drink.

However, if you fill the cup all the way to the top, it’s a bit of a different story. Then, some of the larger ice cubes at the top tend to stay out of reach of the blades, while the ice at the bottom becomes perfect. My tip is therefore not to overfill the cup if crushed ice is specifically what you’re after; stick to about half a cup for a significantly more even result.

Noise Level

Here we come to the machine’s most obvious downside. BlendBOSS is very loud. It’s no exaggeration to say it’s among the loudest things I’ve had on my kitchen counter, and especially during the Crush program, the noise level is intense. It feels like having an F1 car in the kitchen. The programs are short, granted, but during those fifty-odd seconds, it’s very noticeable, and if you want to blend early in the morning without waking the rest of the household, it could be a challenge.

That is the price you pay for the high power, and it’s not unique to this specific machine that a powerful blender makes a lot of noise. But it’s worth going in with your eyes—or rather, your ears—open. If you live in a cramped space or have thin walls, this is something to consider.

Cleaning and the Strange Handle

On paper, BlendBOSS is easy to clean. The cup, lid, detachable straw, and blade assembly are all dishwasher safe, and normally, you can just rinse out the cup immediately after use and you’re done. The blades are very sharp, so be careful with your fingers when handling that part.

What I do get caught up on, however, and what lowers the overall impression, is the handle. It is hollow, attached to the cup, and has a hole at the bottom; since it cannot be detached, it also cannot be cleaned or dried inside. With regular hand washing, there’s little risk of an issue, but if you run the cup in the dishwasher, there’s a clear risk that water and grime will find their way into the hole and remain inside the handle. And what you can’t reach to dry, you can’t keep clean over time. This is a strange design flaw in a product that otherwise feels so well-thought-out.

Another thing I miss is a protector or cover to place over the blade assembly when the machine isn’t in use. Given how sharp the blades are, it would have felt natural to be able to cover them, both for safety and to keep them clean.

Conclusion

Ninja BlendBOSS is a blender that gets a lot of things right. It is fantastically powerful for its size, crushing everything you throw at it and spitting out silky-smooth smoothies and fine crushed ice. Add to that a really stylish, slightly retro-inspired design and a compact format that fits in the smallest of kitchens, and we have a product that is easy to like.

There are, however, a few things holding it back. It’s very loud, it lacks a blade cover, and above all, that hollow handle is an unnecessary weakness if you plan to run it in the dishwasher. The size is both a pro and a con, depending on how many people you’re catering for.

The suggested retail price is around SEK 1,699, and for that sum, you get one of the most powerful single-serve blenders on the market—as long as you’re aware that it is specifically a single-serve blender and you aren’t afraid of a little noise in the morning. For single-person households, students, or anyone who wants a stylish smoothie machine on their counter, it’s an easy choice. If you’re a whole family looking to blend together, you should look for something larger.

Ninja sent a review unit for this test. Senders of material have no editorial influence on our tests; we always write independently with our readers and consumers in focus.