If you don't already own a hand immersion blender ...you are really missing out! I wouldn't call this my "most used" kitchen tool, but since cooking from scratch is obviously a requirement for eating real food this is quite possibly my "most practical" one. In fact, it's one of the few kitchen tools I brought from home on our RV trip last summer - I honestly don't know how I ever cooked (especially made soups) without it, and, for the price, you really get a lot for your money.
So, just for fun (read: this is not a sponsored post), here are the top 5 reasons I love my $35 hand immersion blender. And I'd love for you to chime in with your favorite uses in the comments below because I'm sure there are some I haven't thought of, and it would be fun to try something new with it!
- Pureeing Homemade Soups
My first reason here alone is absolutely worth the purchase of a hand immersion blender. Gone are the days of transferring your freshly made hot soup in batches to your blender for pureeing. Not to mention the trouble if you have more soup than your blender will hold, requiring a third container, and then the safety issues of the steam popping the top off the blender when pureeing the hot soup - talk about a mess!
- - Emulsifying Salad Dressings
Sure, you can shake up salad dressing in a jar to get it to mix together nicely, but let's face it - nothing does as good of a job as a high-speed blender. And the hand-held version is the perfect size to make something like this very quick and easy without a lot of clean up! Plus I’ve found that dressings stay emulsified longer when they're made this way, too.
- - Small Batch Sauces (and other homemade goodies)
Sauces are not often made in huge portions so I love that you don't have to get out (and clean) a big blender if you just need a little batch of homemade berry sauce or pesto or even whipped cream. Everyone could use a little batch of whipped cream on occasion. :)
- - Easy Cleaning
I love how the bottom half of the handheld blender just pops right off and goes into the silverware compartment of the dishwasher while the cup fits in the top rack. Again, why mess with washing the parts of a big blender if you don't have to?
- - Small Price and Size
Many of us struggle with small budgets and little storage space in our kitchen. It's safe to say this one is both affordable (especially when it comes to kitchen appliances) and takes up little room in the cupboards.
What other ways have you used your hand immersion blender?
kiersten says
I have the exact one you have :) and make mayonnaise and salad dressings and also to cream some soups.
Barbara says
We use ours (almost daily in warm months)to make smoothies! I used it for so many other things, too though. It is definitely my most used and favorite kitchen tool!!
Dee says
Don't have one yet, but I just ordered one from Amazon. Right now it's on sale for $27.99!
Jhana says
which one?
TSnyder says
I use mine to make guacamole. Mmmm!
Barri says
It's awesome for making baby food.
mishi says
I just recently started using mine to mix up a new jar of natural peanut butter. I hate when I spill the oil trying to hand mix it so I tried it with the hand blender and it was so much faster without the mess.
TSnyder says
Try storing your natural peanut butter in the cabinet upside down. When you go to open it, it makes it so much easier to stir. :)
Lauren says
I had that problem and started storing mine in the fridge and barely have any separation issues now. I use peanut butter maybe once a month (and that's generous).
Kristin says
The key is to store unopened peanut butter upside down. After opening jar, dump out some of the oil, then blend with hand blender until smooth smooth add remaining oil back in and blend again. Definitely have to give the immersion blender a try though.
Brittany says
Mishi- me too! Love it for nut butters! I transfer all to a wide mouth mason jar, blend, then store on the fridge. I haven't always stored my pb in the fridge thinking it would be hard to work with cold but it is surprisingly easy! Glad to see someone had the same thought as me with the nut spreads and oil :)
Chris says
Is it better then a food processor?
And I sold my blender I had used 1x in the past 10 years... don't make many "creamy" soups, but my mom has an immersion blender and uses it to thicken sauces for stews, roasts etc mostly takes sauce and veggies from crocklot and thickens them. .
Not sure that I need kne but I want one! Ha
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
Hi Chris. It is easier and less clean up than a food processor but not as versatile. ;)
Dana says
Homemade refied beans and making applesauce
Liz says
I use mine to make individual smoothies in the plastic cup that came with my Cuisinart immersion blender (as shown in the picture above).
kristin ebersol says
Use mine for 'mashed' cauliflower and homemade mayonnaise (1 c olive oil and 1 egg in a jar, hand blender from bottom of jar to top and viola!)
Carol Sama says
I use it to puree whole tomatoes right in the can if I am making pasta sauce. But I use it most often in a soup, such as a potato soup or butternut squash soup or a creamy vegetable soup.
Thefarmbarbie says
I bought mine to make milk shakes when the blender died... Now I use it all the time! Very handy tool.
Andrea says
I first got one when making baby food for my first child. Now I'm on baby number 3 and it has been great to easily purée food for him. The nice part is once he gets to a point where I've introduced several foods to him I can just take part of our normal dinner or lunch out and blend it up for him with a little water or breast milk. It works great and is hardly any trouble to feed my baby real food.
Shelly Cephas says
I have the exact one you show except mine is orange. I use it almost every day for smoothies, I use it in my soups and it works like a dream. I can't remember the last time I used my blender but this stays out on the countertop :)
Barbara says
What about an article on your favorite reasons for owning a food processor. I have one but seldom use it because it's a bother to put together and then take apart to clean. A knife and cutting board is so much easier.
Amanda says
In addition to most of the uses mentioned, I use it to make guacamole. My kids don't like to eat the chunks of onion, but they'll eat them if they are blended well.
Lily says
My husband likes to use ours for smoothies!
Emily says
I also use mine to make hummus, from the Inspired Taste site...so yummy. Their tip to "whip" the tahini and lemon juice together before adding other ingredients sends it over the top. So creamy and smooth. I adore my immersion blender.
Katherine says
I definitely agree! I also use mine for homemade mashed potatoes and applesauce - works great!
Hayley says
I purchased one of these after getting hot soup all over my ceiling when using a blender--whoops! I was so hesitant because a lot of people told me they just don't work as well as a blender, but I have not found that to be true at all. Less bulky dishes and smoothly pureed soup, its' a win win! I need to try it with peanut butter though, what a good tip.
Kristy says
It's perfect for a single serving milkshake! :)
julie says
Can you use it for mashed potatoes?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
Hi Julie. I've not tried but: http://www.thekitchn.com/can-i-make-mashed-potatoes-wit-106718. :)
Kristin says
I wouldn't recommend it. Mashed potatoes should never be purreeed. The starches break down turning them to a runny gluey mess. I learned this the hard way when using my immersion blender to mix potatoes for twice baked potatoes. I ruined the whole batch and had to start over. I now stick to my hand mixer for smoothness. Though I plan to buy a potato ricer in the future.
Lisa Joy says
I love the kitchen aid immersion blender that I just bought at Costco.
So easy to make homemade mayo. Just add the ingredients and blend. No more pouring oil slowly and hoping it works.
Tragic Sandwich says
Blending hot cocoa--no more clumps at the bottom of the mug!
Marypat says
I find the Emerson blender to be a quicker way to blend large batches of soup than a blender. Much easier cleanup too.
Monica says
I had a glass jar regular blender for years and it finally died. So I bought a new plastic jar blender on sale. I used it twice before it blew a hole OUT the SIDE of the jar!!! Finally broke down and used my immersion blender I already owned to make a smoothie. It worked great! I just use a paper towel to cover the jar so it doesn't explode everywhere. I'll never go back to a jar blender. Especially a plastic jar.
Emmelien says
I never get why people prefer one of these things above a blender. Sure, I can see why it would be easy if you only need a tiny bit of sauce.
But even if I made more soup than my blender could hold I'd rather use an extra container and still use my trusty old blender. It takes ages before you have blended your whole soup with the immersion blender, especially if you make a lot. It splatters everywhere and you usually end up with forgotten chucks of veggies that should have been blended anyways.
Anitra says
I replaced our (broken) standard blender with an immersion blender. It's been great! It does everything the full-size blender did, while being more versatile (soup!) and much easier to clean. :)
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop says
It's a tool I can't do without!
Katherine says
Baby food, applesauce, refried beans, tomato soup, and individual smoothies.
Fontaine says
I've discovered that my eclectic hand mixer (you know, the one with the two beater attachments) came with an immersion attachment as well. So I've been able to use that instead of buying another appliance. Something to consider/look into as well.
Lisa says
I have not seen those so that's good to know!
Bridgett says
Hi Fontaine,
When my hand mixer died a couple of months ago, I was looking at hand mixers as well as immersion blenders, because I wanted to be able to puree soups without having to use my blender. And I thought that I could get away with just buying a hand mixer with an immersion attachment. But then I read the reviews of a hand mixer, and a buyer pointed out that the immersion attachment was for blending only (basically a stick that moves really fast) and not at all the same as the immersion blender, which has blades that cut food. I'm not saying that that's your situation, but it might be.
Amy says
Yeah, that turned out to be the case with mine. I was bummed.
Heidi says
Best for peanut butter and soups, yes, but don't forget the simple things like milkshakes!
Lisa says
Ahhh ...a "quick" milkshake - brilliant! :)
Randy says
I use it (among all the other reasons) for whipping eggs - from 2 to 2 dozen!
Michelle says
I love to use it to mix up the tahini we buy, right in the container. Same with the peanut butter as someone mentioned above!
Angie says
I love the immersion blender and use it a lot for soups, etc. We first bought one to puree baby food.
Jessy says
I love mine as well - one of the best things I've purchased for my kitchen. I bought one because of your blog, I have used it to make your tomato bisque countless times (it is my most favorite soup in the entire world) and also to partially puree other soups to get that creaminess.
I am soup obsessed, in case you can't tell.
i also use it for the slow cooker refried beans (also your recipe - they're amazing by the way!!)
To anyone on the fence, go for it!!
Angi says
I also love mine! I've had it for at least 12 years, so maybe mine is designed differently, but how do you prevent it from splattering everywhere when you use it?
Jen says
The key is to make sure you hold it straight instead of on an angle. And also make sure the blender is touching the bottom of your pot or bowl :)
Kristin says
I also find it helps to keep the blade portion completely submerged in the pureeing liquid. I make tomato soup in a my 2 quart pot instead of my Dutch oven. For small amounts of liquid, I also tip pans sideways wile pureeing.
Amalee says
I LOVE my immersion blender too! I purchased mine when I started making my own homemade marinara sauce after reading how sugar is often added to the canned stuff I was buying. By using mom's homegrown canned tomatoes, garlic, spices and a little olive oil we have marinara sauce in no time with our immersion blender! Easy clean up too :)
Michelle K says
It's on my wish list!
Lindsay says
I love using it to mix peanut butter... Right in the jar! No oil spilling out, no transferring it to another bowl! And it mixes it so so well!
Joni says
What an awesome idea!!!!
ellen says
YESSSSS!! thank you, i hate that job!! ;o)