I broke my Nutribullet and realised I couldn't live without it – the new Ultra is even better

Two months ago, I broke my Nutribullet, and I didn't realise quite how much I relied on it until it was gone. The fault was entirely mine (a word of warning: never blend hot, or even warm, ingredients), but losing it threw my whole kitchen routine into chaos. Suddenly I couldn't grind flax seeds for my breakfast, my smoothies were disappointingly lumpy with a hand blender, and even making a simple chocolate mousse felt like a challenge. It's funny how quickly an appliance becomes indispensable when you use it every single day.

Having tested plenty of contenders for our guide to the best blenders, I've watched the personal blender category become one of the most exciting corners of the kitchen appliance world. These compact machines are no longer just for protein shakes; they're powerful enough to grind, purée and blitz ingredients that once needed a much larger machine. So when I was asked to put the new Nutribullet Ultra through its paces, I was relieved and excited. After weeks without my trusty blender, I was more than ready to see whether Nutribullet's most powerful model could live up to the hype.

Thankfully, it didn't disappoint. Nutribullet's iconic silhouette is still instantly recognisable, but the Ultra is a thoroughly modern upgrade. The sleek touch controls give it a premium feel, the portable blending cups are perfect for busy mornings, and the extra power makes light work of everything from seeds and nuts to silky smoothies. Whether you're blending breakfast before work or whipping up healthy desserts after the gym, it's a personal blender that feels as though it's been designed around real life and after spending time with it, I wasn't keen to give it back.

Nutribullet Ultra Blender review

• Weight: 3.07kg
• Dimensions: 39 x 12 x 12cm
• Wattage: 1200W
• Voltage: 220-240V
• Cable Length: 75cm
• Included: 900ml and 700ml cups with lids
• Warranty: 2 years

Who would the Nutribullet Ultra Blender suit?

• Anyone with a fast-paced morning routine: the portable bottles mean you can blend and go, no decanting required
• Batch preppers and meal-planners: powerful enough to handle grinding and purées, not just smoothies, so it earns its keep beyond breakfast
• Small kitchens or shared households: its compact footprint means it doesn't demand permanent counter space the way a full jug blender does

The Ultra is best suited to anyone whose relationship with a blender is more functional than occasional — the sort of person reaching for it daily rather than dusting it off for the odd smoothie. Its portability matters most to people whose mornings move quickly, since blending directly into a bottle you can walk out the door with removes a step most blenders demand. But it's the power on offer that broadens its appeal beyond that — this isn't a one-trick smoothie maker, and anyone doing their own batch prep, grinding oats or nuts, or making purées and soups in smaller quantities will get genuine use out of it. Equally, if counter space is at a premium, its compact scale makes it easy to justify a place in the cupboard, brought out and put away without the commitment a larger blender demands.

Unboxing the Nutribullet Ultra Blender

The packaging is mostly recyclable, which is a welcome start before you've even reached the blender itself. Inside, you get two differently sized bullets, which handy for scaling a recipe up or down without needing to eyeball quantities, along with two bottle lids, which is what turns each bullet from a blending vessel into a portable drinks bottle. It's a simple system, but an effective one: blend directly in the bullet, screw on the lid, and you're out the door with nothing left to wash up before you leave.

What's the Nutribullet Ultra Blender like to use?

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Setup is refreshingly straightforward. You get two differently sized bullets, both of which double as portable bottles thanks to the included lids, so the vessel you blend in is the vessel you drink from. On the front of the base sit two touch-screen buttons — one for pulse, one for a continuous blend — and even before you've made anything, the motor has a noticeably powerful sound to it that sets expectations high.

Smoothies: I put the Nutribullet Ultra through its paces with frozen berries, spinach, ice and oats, a combination that tests both power and blade efficiency against fibrous greens and frozen fruit. It handled the mix smoothly, with no unblended fragments of spinach or oat clinging to the sides, and the result was properly smooth rather than gritty, which frozen fruit and oats can easily produce in a weaker motor.

Grinding: I used the Nutribullet Ultra to grind oats and dried fruit, and it made short work of both, producing a fine, even consistency rather than the uneven, half-ground result you sometimes get from blenders not designed with grinding in mind. This is where the Ultra's power really earns its keep.

Hummus: bullet blenders struggle with lower moisture-content mixes, but I was happy with this making a good hummus. It isn't silky and velvety and certainly more of a chunky finish.

Blending Ice: This is the one area where the Nutribullet Ultra didn't excel, but that's true of bullet-style blenders generally, so it's less a mark against the Ultra specifically and more a reminder of where this format's limits sit. If crushed ice on its own is a priority, a jug blender will serve you better.

Cold Soup: I made a pea and spinach soup, which tests the blender's ability to purée vegetables to a genuinely silky consistency rather than leaving any fibrous texture behind. It managed this well, producing a smooth, restaurant-consistency purée without needing to pass it through a sieve afterwards.

Tofu Mousse: Blending tofu and cocoa powder together is a good test of how finely a blender can break down a dense, low-moisture ingredient, since tofu can easily turn grainy rather than silky if the blades aren't up to the job. The result here was completely smooth, with no lumps at all, which is an impressive outcome given how easily this combination can go wrong.

Cleaning the Nutribullet Ultra Blender

Clean-up is as straightforward as the rest of the experience. The bullets and lids are dishwasher-safe, so there's no need to hand-wash after every use, and the main body simply wipes clean with a damp cloth, keeping the motor housing away from any water in the process.

Should you buy the Nutribullet Ultra Blender?

If your blending needs go beyond the occasional smoothie, the Nutribullet Ultra is well worth the investment. It handles everything from frozen fruit to dense purées and grinding with genuine competence, and the portability of the bullet system means it fits into a fast-moving routine without adding extra steps or washing up. Where it falls short, crushed ice on its own, is a limitation shared by nearly every blender in this category, so it's not a meaningful mark against it specifically. For anyone who wants power and portability in one compact unit, this is one of the strongest personal blenders I've tested.