Q: I love smoothies and blended soups for breakfast, but I live in a small apartment with some late-sleeping roomates.
I am on the lookout for a quiet (or at least quiet-er) blender to fit my morning needs! Plusses would be small and easy to clean as well. Thanks for your help!
Sent by Jessica
Editor: Jessica, that's a great question, but we're stumped. All the smoothies we've ever made have also made quite a racket! We love the pricey yet awesome Vita-Mix and here are some more blender recommendations. But we don't think that any of those are especially quiet.
Readers, do you have recommendations for a quiet blender, or perhaps smoothie make-ahead tips for Jessica?
Related: Recipe: Low Sugar, High Protein, Dairy Free Smoothie
(Image: Sarahrae Trover)
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"more blender recommendations" links right back to this article.
My Kitchen Aid immersion blender's pretty quiet. Might make a chunkier smoothie, though.
Yes, I'd try an immersion blender. A heavy duty one should work fine (Brevel has some that are nice). Definitely quieter than any traditional blender.
I use my Magic Bullet blender every morning for smoothies. It's sooo easy to clean. I don't think it's much quieter than a big blender though.
why not make it the night before? i would imagine a quick shake would be all it would need in the morning.
otherwise, seconding the immersion blender recommendation.
I agree with the immersion blender comment. They're really not that loud. I don't think they'd fare well with icy things/ice, though. Just a thought...
Making them ahead doesn't really work well - the milk/yogurt/whatever curdles from the acid in the fruit. And if you use a banana in it, it gets disgusting.
I vote for an immersion blender. It will also be quieter if you use fresh rather than frozen fruit in the smoothie.
Immersion blender. The poster also said how she likes soups -- it would work well for that as well.
Would wrapping a towel around the motor help?
Oooh! twosavoie - that's a really smart "why didn't I think of that before" idea. I commented in the linked post above that my Waring Pro was super-scary-noisy. Smart cookie, you.
Another vote for an immersion blender. I have the kitchen aid one, and making smoothies in the included 'blending beaker' is perfect, and definitely quieter than my Oster blender. I don't add ice to mine, but I add fruit straight out of the freezer and it handles it fine. Also works great on the stove for pureeing soups.
You could use a food processor instead.
@twosavoie - that might be a fire hazard, depending on how long you had to blend something. Even if it was a short period, it's not good for the motor. There are air vents for a reason. But if you like buying new blenders every so often (I'm sure Cuisinart or KitchenAid appreciate it), then go for it!
The quietest (and frankly kicks butt at smoothies) I've found so far was this Ninja Master blender. My roomie (from down a short hall and in a room with an open door) said it sounds like a pencil sharpener.... It works wonders on ice though. (Give your roomies ear plugs if they really don't like it? You're far more considerate than any of the people I'd lived with over the years!)
Immersion blender for sure. I received a Bamix as a gift a few years ago and I have no complaints!
Until then, the noise is much reduced by pulsing the blender at first rather than throwing it on full blast and omitting the ice.