13 immersion blender recipes you can make in under an hour

The immersion blender, also known as the stick blender or hand blender, is one of our favourite pieces of kitchen technology. In the best blender league, they are right up there at the top, due to how easy and lightweight they are to use, as well as how powerful they are. And there are some fabulous immersion blender recipes out there for novice chefs who are looking to put their very best hand blender to good use. 

Often overlooked, these small but mighty gadgets perform their duty in the flick of a switch. And - once you've figured out how to use the blender - they can puree all kinds of ingredients, from hearty soups and fresh sauces to pâtés and spicy Indian dal.

To celebrate this piece of kitchen kit, we’ve rounded up some of our favourite sweet and savoury immersion blender recipes, that can be made in a matter of minutes.

Immersion blender recipes you can make in minutes

Soups

Typically, the best blenders for smoothies are used to whip up soup recipes. But in many cases, an immersion blender can be much more useful when making soups, in order to achieve the best texture possible. You can blitz nearly any kind of soup, but we often favour vegetarian recipes as they can be blended down to incredibly smooth textures. 

One of our most popular recipes is our healthy super greens soup (below), which makes use of antioxidant-rich veggies and nourishing stock. A hand blender is used to blitz the base of the soup before beans are added, creating a rich, hearty (and partially blended) dish that’s perfect for cold winter days.

Soup recipes you can make with an immersion blender:

• Super-greens soup with beans
• Red pepper soup
• The best potato soup

Dals

Traditionally, achieving a perfect dal consistency requires a whole lot of boiling and whisking. But what if you had a little cheat up your sleeve? Taking your stick blender to your pot of lentils or chosen pulses will break down the skins to enrich the sauce and create a cohesive, well-combined and creamy texture. 

You can use this technique on many recipes, but one of our favourites is chana dal. Typically, this is made using mini dried chickpeas that are then split and partially broken up for speedy cooking – they endow the finished curry with a sweet, nutty flavour.

Dal recipe you can make with an immersion blender:

• Indian chana dal

Cheesecakes

A perennial favourite, cheesecakes always seem to have us coming back for more. There’s always a fresh recipe to try, and with an immersion blender, you can get to the best bit – the eating – even sooner. For instance, if a recipe calls for a fruit puree you can add this layer of fresh flavour by zhuzhing your ingredients with a stick blender (rather than resorting to a shop-bought coulis or having to labour over pushing soft fruits through a sieve).

Cheesecake recipes you can make with an immersion blender:

• Black cherry and kirsch cheesecake
• Passion fruit cheesecake
• Lemon ricotta cheesecake

Sauces

From thick, rich tomato sauces, to thinner, more delicate sauces, there’s a trick every cook needs up their sleeve. You guessed it; a handy little stick blender. Using an immersion blender on sauces results in a wonderfully smooth texture that will coat the other ingredients in your dish beautifully. 

In fact, you can whip up our delicious chicken Parmesan bake with an immersion blender - a recipe which combines the wonderfully savoury notes of hard cheese with sweet tomatoes for a real family crowd-pleaser.

Sauce recipes you can make with an immersion blender: 

• Chicken Parmesan bake
• Crispy salmon with coconut, mint and coriander sauce

Pâtés

While most pâtés call for a food processor, you can get similarly good results with an immersion blender. For the best finish, start slowly and move the head with the blade on it up and down until you have your desired consistency. Of course, you can make all sorts of different kinds of pâté – from duck liver to mushroom, depending on your preference and dietary requirements. 

A firm favourite is our hot-smoked salmon pâté, which you can find below. This simple recipe takes just minutes to make and keeps well too. It also makes the ideal starter for a dinner party, as you won’t need to spend all evening in the kitchen once your guests arrive.

Pâtés recipes you can make with an immersion blender:

• Hot-smoked salmon pâté
• Smoked salmon pate with yuzu

Purees

Anyone who has ever watched five minutes of MasterChef will know the value of a puree – they seem to have the capacity to take a dish to another level of tasty. While you may not be competing to win MasterChef in your own kitchen, it can be fun to experiment with different techniques and to try something new. 

An easy way to put an impressive spin on dinner is to make your own pea puree. This really couldn’t be easier with an immersion blender to hand (or in hand). We’ve served our pea puree with scallops and a Parmesan crust, but it also goes really well with a classic fish-and-chip dinner.

Puree recipes you can make with an immersion blender:

• Scallops on pea puree with Parmesan crumbs
• Celeriac puree

If you are keen to buy more items to help with your recipe making, you could also check out our guide to the best hand mixers.