The Ninja Kitchen System is my New BFF!

Do you remember during the holiday season last year I posted a “Holiday Gift Guide For the Foodie in Your Life“? Well, Christmas came early for me shortly after I got back from BlogHer Food 2013! I’d met Ninja Kitchen at BlogHer Food and they sent me a Ninja Kitchen System to review. Talk about elated! I’ve seen Ninja Kitchen’s infomercials many, many times and always wanted one of these systems. There was no doubt this could do so much more than my previous blender ever could, in addition to being a food processor, a single serve unit, and even mixing dough! I’ve shared many times how exhausting it’s been having no food processor and chopping and mincing everything I share by hand. I was very ready for a change!

Just a few of the many delicious drinks we’ve created.

Top Photo: Delivery day! Bottom Photo: All of the pieces, unboxed.

When my Ninja Kitchen System arrived in the mail, I was beyond ecstatic. I was surprised at how large the box was, and tore it open as soon as I could. Of course, the first thing I did was make a smoothie. I made one big enough for my whole family to enjoy. The motor is 1500 horsepower, which is 2 amps! It is a little loud, but most blenders are. With all that power I wouldn’t expect it to be silent. It blended our smoothies very quick and efficiently. There were no chunks or ice cubes left over. The pitcher holds 72 ounces (or 9 cups!) This holds more than enough for my entire family to enjoy.

I’ve had the system for about a month now, I wanted to really master everything about it before writing a real and honest review. I have used it almost daily, some days even up to 3-4 times. I’ve always loved smoothies, but my previous blender was a cheap one. It had chips in the glass and the blades weren’t even breaking down the ice. I would end up with a smoothie not properly or completely blended. This is why I rarely ever shared my smoothie recipes. That’s finally all about to change!

Left Photo: Sneak peak inside the large pitcher with the 6 blades. Middle Top Photo: The large pitcher attached to the base. Middle Bottom Photo: Flip-Pour Spout on the pitcher top. Right Top Photo: Close up of the 9 cup lines Right Bottom Photo: Close up of the diamond lock system, the pitcher on the base.

Example of a smoothie made in the 72 ounce pitcher.

First up is the large pitcher I mentioned earlier. This worked great for us on Fourth of July when we had company over. I made Strawberry Margaritas and Piña Coladas for our guests. It blended up quickly, the easy pour spout makes serving super easy, and all those sharp blades going up the center is truly unique to the Ninja Kitchen System. Clean up is simple, the blades slide right off and the pitcher is made of sturdy plastic with a large easy grip handle. The top has an easy release and one of the things I love about the Ninja Kitchen System is that it will not turn on if it’s not assembled properly. If the top isn’t secured properly of the pitcher isn’t on the base properly the power light will just blink. This is great because I have a two year old and a four year old that like to explore my kitchen. They will press buttons and try to play with my gadgets, so it won’t ruin anything if they do!

Top Left Photo: Two single serve cups, with lids & blade. Top Right Photo: Single serve cup attached to base. Bottom Photo: Make It Fresh, Make It Delicious cookbook, Ninja Inspiration Guide.

Example of a smoothie blended in the single serve cup.

Next up is the 16 ounce single serve cup. We use this option the most often. My daughter RiRi makes herself a smoothie every day with breakfast. I make my own smoothies at least once a day. The single serve cup is perfect for customizing our drink to our personal taste. Believe it or not, you can fit a lot of fruit in this little cup. The Ninja Kitchen System comes with two single serve cups, two screw on tops with a sipper on them, and one screw on blade for blending. The blade for the single serve cup breaks up your ingredients very fine and smooth. Even chia seeds get broken up into a smooth consistency. Just like the larger pitcher, if it’s not attached properly it won’t work.

The system comes with a mini recipe book, and a larger Make it Fresh, Make it Delicious cookbook. They both have a wide variety of smoothie recipes, adult beverages, cake and cookie mixes, and recipes you can create using the food processor. It’s a great addition to the kitchen.

Left Photo: 64 ounce bowl with 4 blade & dough hook Top Left Middle Photo: 64 ounce bowl with 4 blade attached Top Right Middle Photo: 64 ounce bowl with dough hook attached. Middle Bottom Three Photos: Assembly example of 64 ounce bowl with spindle, prep bowl and prep blade attached. Right Photo: 64 ounce bowl with prep bowl and blade attached to base.

One onion chopped in the prep bowl.

Three stalks of celery chopped in the prep bowl.

Last, but definitely not least, is the 64 ounce bowl (that’s 8 cups!) The large bowl comes with a 4 blade, and a dough hook. It also came with a 24 ounce (3 cup) prep bowl that slides inside the larger bowl. This come with a spindle that fixes onto the larger bowl, the smaller prep bowl slides on, then the prep blade attaches. The same lid can be used on the whole set. The larger bowl can be used with the 4 blade for larger food processing jobs, sauces, soups, etc. With the dough hook you can mix a variety of dough including cake and cupcakes, cookies, brownies etc. It’s also great for mixing dry ingredients such as ingredients for a crumble or a streusel that doesn’t need to be broken up with the blade. The smaller prep bowl is great to use for smaller processing jobs, such as mincing garlic or chopping just a handful of ingredients.

Cake batter in 64 ounce bow with dough hook.

Four cloves of garlic, minced in prep bowl.

Milk based smoothie in single serve cup.

The quick start guide that comes with the System is a quick and informative how-to for using the system. It shows easy examples of functions, speed, and instructions for assembly and use. It’s surprising how quick it is to master this system, even with all of the various attachments. The system is impressive both in size and function, and every one of my guests have been wowed by it’s ability.

Now that I’ve owned this system for about a month, I can’t imagine going back to doing the day to day tasks without it.

Disclosure: I was provided a free Ninja Kitchen System from Ninja Kitchen and was not compensated for this post. All thoughts are my own.