What’s The Best Blender For Serious Home Chefs? It’s Not The Vitamix

Breville's Super Q comes with a personal beverage attachment and enough power to crunch just about ... [+] anything.

A blender is right up there with a paper shredder or electric hand mixer on the list of Most Boring Appliances You Sometimes Need to Buy. Blenders typically last for years and you haul them out when you’re making frozen margaritas or a Thanksgiving butternut squash soup. Yawn.

But what if you go next level and get a blender that whips up actual enthusiasm? After our standard Hamilton Beach model started leaking last month, I began researching blenders that I wouldn't need to think about for the rest of eternity. In review after review, the Breville Super Q kept popping up as the blender to buy when you never want to buy another blender.

Here's why: The powerful 1,800-watt Breville Super Q is big enough, tough enough, quiet enough and dependable enough to chew up and smooth out whatever you feed it. That means natural nut butters, nut and bean milks, fresh cocktails, fine milled flour, creamy dips, rich sauces, dressings and freshly ground spices. And did I mention smoothies? The Super Q has a smoothie button that cycles at hurricane speed for 30 seconds, with eye-in-the-storm pauses to let things settle. Midway through morning workouts, I started flashing on which berry- or banana- or oatmilk- or acai- or kale-based based combo I’d be revving up as a reward. The Super Q's dedicated 24-oz blender attachment even lets you blend in the cup itself so you can have your drinks on-the-go the minute they’re fully pulsed.

The more I tested it, the more hooked I got. The Super Q's One Touch programs optimize speed for either silky-soft dairy smoothies or grit-free green smoothies. There's an ice crusher for frozen desserts or drinks, and a one-touch soup button. You can make buttermilk, dressings, pasta and pizza sauces, molés, cocktails, mocktails, BBQ rubs, superfood shakes, salsas, doughs, cookie batter...and by "you can," I mean "I did."

To me, the greatest feature—okay, aside from those post-exercise smoothies—is the nut butter function. I can't tell you how much I spend on almond and peanut butter from that grinding machine at Whole Foods. And the Super Q makes them even better. You roast the nuts until fragrant, add a little oil and presto, you feel like you could go into the nut butter business. The cleanup is nice, too. There's a "clean" button that gets rid of most of the gunk, and, for deeper messes, the components are almost all dishwasher safe.

If I have complaints, it's that the Q has a hefty footprint. The thing is gorgeous but it's wider and taller than my old tailgate-style Hamilton Beach jobber. Weighing in at 11 lbs, the unit measures 8.2 x 10.6 x 18.1 inches with a BPA-free blending jug that holds 68 oz! But once you start using it, there's value in the size. You can toss in carrots and kale, or ice and coffee, or tomatoes and chilis (did I mention how good the salsas are?) and not need to chop or lose a drop. It's also not cheap, in the $500 range, but that's what these powerful, commercial-grade motors demand in a market segment that also includes The Vitamix, KitchenAid and Cuisinart. There's a reason they feature the Super Q on Master Chef. It's a standout workhorse—under pressure, and on the daily.

The Super Q is powerful but also remarkably quiet. It's high tech but easy to use out of the box. You can practically fling the thing across the room without breaking it. And you’ll never need to stand at that Whole Foods machine again asking, "How much is this DIY Skippy costing me?" All in all, a worthy mix—maybe even one to get excited about.