Ninja’s Twisti might be the best smoothie blender ever
Positives
- This built-in rotary tamper prevents you from having to manually stop and loosen ingredients
- No less than 1,600 watts of power, yet small enough to store in a cupboard
- Includes two single-use blending cups
Disadvantages
- Higher chance of breakage due to the extra plastic parts
- The base will fluctuate a bit when you mix at full speed
Despite everything a good blender can do, smoothies are still the most important task I ask of my machine. If you’re in the market to update or downsize your blender to a small yet powerful model, Ninja’s $140 Twisti now retails for $20 less, and it may be the best smoothie blender ever made.
When making smoothies, dips, and other recipes with chunky ingredients, even my favorite blenders love the fancy (and expensive) Beast blenderrun into the same problem. Throw in coarse ice, dry powders and frozen fruit and your mixtures will inevitably seize, requiring a stop-n-shake or the use of a spatula or tamper to loosen what’s inside. Ninjas Twisti SS151 high speed blender with a built-in rotating bungler that virtually solves this clumping problem.
I spent a month test-driving Ninja’s mighty blender, making shakes, smoothies, dips and sauces. It was just about the most seamless blending experience I’ve had. This is what I learned.
Read more: Best blenders for 2022
Ninja’s new Twisti blender has built-in tampers to keep everything spinning smoothly.
Note that a larger 72-ounce version of the Ninja Twisti (product number SS351) is available for $200. CNET has yet to review this model.
What is this twisting mess about?
Most high-end blenders include a separate tamper tool intended to loosen ingredients in the blender jar. To use them, you generally need to stop the mixing and remove the lid or open the spout to get your brew moving. The Twisti has two small tampers built into the lid that can be rotated manually while the blender is running, so you don’t have to stop and mix things up. It’s a small time saver, but for a regular smoothie, sauce or dip maker, this is one you’ll appreciate.
The Twisti with built-in tampers made a perfect smoothie from ice cream, nut milk and frozen fruit in one go.
How well does it work?
I found that the rotating tamper did exactly what it was designed to do for every mixing job I asked of the Twisti. From blending thick smoothie ingredients to making thicker dips and sauces, the rotating tamper allowed me to complete any preparation without stopping and removing the lid. It also allows you to blend with less liquid because the tampers keep heavy and dry mixtures moving until they are completely blended.
The only ingredients that can’t always be incorporated into the center mixture are sticky nut butters and thick syrups or honey that can stick to the sides of the can.
The Twisti blended everything into a silky smooth consistency without having to stop and jostle the ingredients around.
The Ninja Twisti is small but powerful
Despite a 1,600-watt motor, the Twisti is small compared to most other blenders of similar power. The base measures 6 by 6 inches, and the entire unit is only 14 inches long with the 34-ounce canister and lid in place. Due to the unusual power to size ratio, it tends to fluctuate a bit during blending. To remedy this, the Twisti has been retrofitted with two suction cups and rubber traction on the bottom to keep it in place on the counter.
The Ninja Twisti next to a full-size blender with a 64-ounce blending jar.
Other features of the Ninja Twisti
In addition to the smoothie setting, which works in long pulses, another tactic to prevent ingredients from clumping, the Twisti has settings intended for extracting (juice), one for frozen drinks, another for spreads and a fifth for bowls . They all seem to do pretty much the same thing: mix, stop and mix again, but for different lengths of time intended to deliver optimal results for each type of recipe. There is a small drizzle cap with a rubber stopper built into the lid to add ingredients without removing them completely.
The preset programs did much the same thing: mix, pause, remix, but for different lengths of time.
In addition to the 34-ounce mixing cup, the Twisti includes an 18-ounce single-serve cup and a 24-ounce single-serve cup, both with spout lids.
The Ninja Twisti comes with two single-use blender cups.
General mixing ability
Despite the tendency for smoothies to stick while blending, they generally don’t require a lot of force to blend smoothly, but for other jobs they do. The Twisti is rated at 1600 watts, which is higher than the larger, premium blenders we tested, so I expected it to perform similarly.
At CNET we have standard tests that we run each blender we’re evaluating, so I ran them on the Twisti. The small but powerful blender performed exceptionally well, crushing ice cubes into smithereens. It also made quick work of converting almonds into almond flour and yielded a smooth and lump-free pancake batter (thanks in part to the rotating tamper).
The Twisti crushed two cups of ice cubes in less than 10 seconds.
Possibly greater risk of blender breakage
There is one potential red flag for this blender that is worth considering, especially for a heavy user. The built-in rotating tampers are made of plastic, and while they feel fairly sturdy, it’s another part that could potentially break with rigorous use. That said, if one of the two rotating pushers were to break off, it wouldn’t render the blender unusable as you would still have one pusher to loosen the ingredients. And if both were to break off, you would probably still have a functioning blender, just without the benefit of the spinning bungler.
As innovative as it may be, I’m a little concerned about the lid’s protruding plastic tampers breaking down over time.
Overall the Twisti feels well built, although premium blenders from among others Vitamix, Breville And Blendtec feel sturdier and use noticeably higher grades of plastic and rubber for the base, canister and lid. That said, most of these models will cost you at least $250.
The sleek Beast is still my favorite true personal blender, but it’s more limited than the Twisti in capacity and power.
Other smoothie blender options to consider
Ninja makes a few other blenders with one rotating blade that runs through the center of the can like his Premium Plus Blender Duo and the Foodi Power Blender and Processor. These also help keep the contents of the blender moving, but not as well as the double-blade spinning tamper. Personal blenders, including those from Ninja Nutri Ninja And NutriBullets will get the job done for basic smoothies, dips and sauces, but they are limited in both strength and capacity. The $155 Beast Health blender is still my favorite small premium blender with above average performance, sharp looks and unusually sturdy construction for a blender of this size.
