After 10 Years, This Immersion Blender Is Still One of My Most-Used Kitchen Tools

I was gifted my first immersion blender as a space-saving tool for a too-small kitchen in a studio apartment. Years later, after owning even more powerful units, the Breville Control Grip has become my go-to gadget for blending and chopping.

When I bought the Breville immersion blender a decade ago, I had no idea that it would replace so many other electric tools in my (still admittedly small) kitchen. Gone are the upright blender, the hand blender, the mini chopper, and even the space-hogging stand mixer. This immersion blender handles so many tasks that I keep it right by my prep space and stove, hanging on the wall with the base locked onto its blending shaft.

As a kid, I remember my mom pouring hot broth and vegetables into an upright blender to puree into creamy broccoli soup. Even when all went smoothly, hot glops splashed her apron and seeped down the blender’s outer walls. If she failed to hold the blender lid on tightly, a hot explosion could erupt from the machine.

Today, I never risk a hot soup volcano because I reach for the Breville Control Grip every time I need to puree hot food. This goes beyond weeknight lentil soup but also everything from roasted holiday pie pumpkins to daylong canning projects. With 280 watts of power and 15 speed settings, the immersion blender smooths out chunky pasta and enchilada sauces and breaks down seeds in homemade mustards. I just plop the blender right into the pot and whiz away.

Breville Control Grip BSB510XL

For several years, this immersion blender was my only powered blending and chopping tool, and I pushed it hard as I pureed soaked chickpeas into falafel and whipped eggs and butter into frosting. It withstands the cold of blending frozen fruit into smoothies and sorbet and hasn’t stained even after smoothing out dozens of pots of grilled tomato salsa. Until I added a full-size food processor to my kitchen, the Breville’s blending wand chopped hundreds of onions and bell peppers, and the chopper bowl managed all of the nuts for holiday baking.

I use the immersion wand far more than any other attachment but keep the others within reach. To this day, the Breville Control Grip’s whisk attachment is my kitchen’s only electric whisk. It’s really only meant to be operated in one-minute bursts, but that doesn’t stop me from whipping cream into meringue in stages.

For a small job, like mincing chilies and herbs for ceviche, I prefer the Breville’s mini chopper to my full-size food processor—both for ease of chopping and cleanup. If I’m spoiling myself by pureeing smoked eggplant into baba ganoush for one, I can mix it in this little chopper and have everything eaten, washed, and dried before other fingers discover my snack. It’s even relatively quiet unless I choose ingredients that rattle around noisily, like cashews or peanuts.

In the 10 years I’ve owned this immersion blender, I did finally push it too far. After stuffing it one too many times into a bowl of dense beans, it powered off and refused to restart. I’d owned the blender for at least seven years by then, but when I contacted Breville, the company took the blending base back for repair. When that failed, they immediately sent me a replacement at no extra charge.

Since then, I’ve (mostly) backed off using this tool beyond its limits, and it’s still going strong. It spends more time drying in the dish rack than tucked away. In any given week, I might plug it in to mix the batter for morning Dutch babies, infuse goat cheese with roasted garlic and herbs for a sandwich spread, blend a creamy dip or daiquiris for guests, puree corn and potato chowder until creamy, and turn stewed rhubarb into rosemary-infused sorbet. It stands up to such steady use so well that, at this rate, it could be hanging on my kitchen wall for another decade.

Other Immersion Blenders Worth Considering

Although the Breville Control Grip has remained an undisputed champion in my kitchen for years, there are plenty of other worthy runners-up that boast different budget levels, styles, and attachments for every type of cook.

Breville All-In-One Processing Station

When the time does come to upgrade my immersion blender setup, it will be to Breville’s expanded All In One Processing Station. It uses the same base as the Control Grip, with a comfortable padded handle that puts the power button right under my index finger. It also includes the same immersion wand and whisk attachments that I use constantly.

From there, this model bumps the chopper attachment up to a full-featured food processor. At 6 cups, it’s twice the size of the Control Grip’s mini chopper. It adds discs for slicing and grating and a feed tube for pouring in liquids with the motor running.

The station also includes a masher with an adjustable base for different mashed potato textures and a storage pad to keep everything organized and accessible. It takes up more space than the Control Grip package, but my husband has just started construction on a kitchen expansion with exponentially more counter space. When it’s done, the All in One package will be on my wish list.

Black+Decker Kitchen Wand 6 Kit

The Black+Decker Kitchen Wand 6 Kit does it all, with attachments for blending, whisking, opening cans and wine bottles, grinding salt and pepper, and frothing milk. You can expand the package further by buying the mini food chopper and hand mixer that attach to the power base.

After trying out this immersion blender kit, I think the cordless base is the biggest perk. I no longer needed to tie up excess cord in an awkward bundle or worry about dragging it through a mound of whipped cream. The freedom from proximity to a wall plug makes the attachments more useful, letting me uncork a bottle of wine at the table, grind pepper directly onto plated salads, and froth milk for a morning latte without holding up breakfast prep.

Ultimately, power, speed, and space sent me back to the Breville immersion blender. Black+Decker’s kitchen wand has slightly less power and fewer speed settings, but top speed tends to loosen attachments. Beyond that, the kit’s two storage cases take up too much room in my tiny kitchen. If you have a walk-in pantry or plenty of cupboard space, it’s worth considering this do-it-all package.

Braun MultiQuick 5 Vario Hand Blender

Braun has upgraded its hand blender since I was gifted my first stick model in the early 2000s. The current MultiQuick 5 Vario has all of the features that made me an immersion blender convert. The basic package—power base, blending stick, and beaker—is budget-conscious enough to still be a great introductory choice.

With this blender, the wand fits perfectly into the beaker. Instead of dirtying a multipart upright blender and glass, I could blend a smoothie right in the cup and drink from it. It’s also the ideal tool for homemade mayonnaise, aioli, and hollandaise sauce. These notoriously finicky egg emulsions turn out smooth every time you whiz them with an immersion blender that fits all the way to the blending cup’s bottom.

The MultiQuick 5 Vario also comes in a larger package with whisk and mini chopper attachments. My old version’s blending cup had a handy lid for travel and capping leftovers, but the company has dropped this from the current design. On the plus side, it appears to be more powerful, clocking in at an impressive 400 watts fine-tuned by 21 speed settings.

Why Take Our Word For It?

Julie Laing has been a writer and editor for 25-plus years, focusing on original recipes, kitchen tools, and the stories around them. She is the author of “The Complete Guide to Pickling,” the Flathead Beacon food columnist, and a reviewer and recipe developer for numerous other publications. Every kitchen tool and gadget must earn its place in her 500-square-foot home as she bakes, preserves, ferments, grills, and eats well year-round. Her immersion blender is her most frequently used powered kitchen tool—after her coffee bean grinder.