A Magic Bullet is a small, compact blender with a powerful punch. Here’s why I love mine.
Years ago my dad bought me a Magic Bullet. Yes, really. As Seen on TV, and all that jazz. I confess; I rolled my eyes.
However, we’ve used that bullet for well over six years now. I absolutely love it. Though we have a food processor and a traditional blender, the Bullet is my go-to for making smoothies and blending stuff.
It’s a party!
The Magic Bullet works like a traditional blender, but with the added benefit of “party cups”. These are individually-sized mugs that fit on the blender base. So, when I make smoothies, every kid can have a different flavor. I don’t have to make one pitcher of the same flavor.
Likewise, I’m not washing a large blender and all the cups to serve it in. With the party cups, I can serve in the blending vessel itself.
Friends have told me that you can use mason jars just like party cups with a traditional blender, so if you already have a blender, well, there you go. You don’t need a Magic Bullet. But, if you’re in the market for a blender, this is one that I recommend.
I make a variety of things in my Magic Bullet besides smoothies. Since one cup is small and easy to wash, I can easily make salsa, whipped cream, bread crumbs, as well as smoothies. I’ve even blended up pintos for a healthier version of refried beans.
Some of my favorite recipes:
- Coconut Mango Banana Smoothie
- The Ice-Blended Mocha & Tips for an At-Home Date Night
- The Red Banana Smoothie
- DIY Smoothie Bar
- Homemade Salsa
- Homemade Whipped Cream
Care and storage
We have a small narrow cupboard in the kitchen where we stash the Magic Bullet and all the party cups and attachments. If the cups get rinsed and set in the dishwasher right away, clean up is a snap.
Or you can do what my dad does. He fills the cup with water, adds a few drops of dish soap and blends away. After he rinses off the suds, the cup and blender base are clean and ready to dry in the drainer.
Purchasing a machine
I’ve never purchased a machine. Mine was a gift from my dad. He ordered it straight from their website. My set came with a travel set as well as eight party cups in total, so our family is set.
I’ve seen them at most department stores and at Costco. You can also order one on Amazon.
What’s your experience with a Magic Bullet or other blender?
Love it or hate it? Do tell.
(Check out past posts in which I wax eloquent about the bread machine, the food processor,the immersion blender, the waffle maker, the Keurig, the electric griddle, the home juice extractor, the toaster oven, the slow cooker.)
Tami says
I guess I “like” not love or hate. I am just getting into the smoothy thing so might be loving it more later. I got rid of most of the extra cups (no kids here). My mom bought me mine.( She loves hers) I did the whole eye roll thing too 🙂
Charyse says
When my husband pulled out his magic bullet just after we got married, all I could think was, “oh, no, he’s a QVC fanatic!” Fortunately, this is one kitchen item I was wrong about! We love blueberry smoothies when our blueberry bushes are going strong, milkshakes when it’s extra hot out…I even made ketchup in it once when we were out of it…two days before payday, burgers were made and ketchup was GONE! Magic Bullet to the rescue!
Thoroughly enjoying this series!
Jessica says
@Charyse, thanks for the great feedback. I was hoping the series wasn’t getting too long. We’re almost to the end. 😉
Janet says
I find it great for making baby food!
Jessica says
@Janet, I did that, too, many moons ago. Worked great!
Lynette says
I am a big fan of the Magic Bullett. Just this evening I used it to make salsa and then two different kinds of smoothies. BTW, thank you so much for the recipe for Coconut Mango Banana smoothies. One of my absolute favorites now!
Jessica says
Yay! So great to hear.
Jamie says
I have enjoyed the convenience of the magic bullet for a few years now but it’s time to retire it the machine sticks now in the on position, I just ordered my vitamix to (hopefully) replace both blenders in the kitchen
Jessica says
@Jamie, I’d love to hear how that works for you. I have never been able to cough up the cash for that.
Jamie says
@Jessica, I’m really excited about it, been thinking about getting one for at least the last 5 years. Finally just decided to do it after attending a Vegan expo where the company had a booth, they made smoothies, hot soup, ice cream and nut butter in a matter of less than a minute each, clean up is a breeze (which should be wonderful since the hubby has our current large blender so sticky I can’t take it apart to clean and refuse to use it until it’s cleaned properly). Plus they were offering an extra year on the warranty (for a FULL 8 year warranty), a bonus container of your choice and either 1, 3 or 5 month payment plans. They had me at the extra container lol! I’m kinda sad I have to wait for it to be shipped and delivered I would love some hot soup right now.
Cheri A says
I don’t have a Magic Bullet, just a good blender. I can totally see the advantage of making individual smoothies and using it for the other things you mentioned. But thanks so much for the mason jar tip! I think I’ll try that on my blender. 🙂
Jessica says
@Cheri A, I tried the other day and it worked amazingly well. Be sure that you have a well-fitting rubber ring, though. Mine was an “after market” type and started to slip. The jar started to untwist. Glad I was there to catch it.
Lois Houston says
I have been looking at those – I got a Ninja (the small one) thinking I could make smoothies with it, but I find that the ice doesn’t get crushed finely enough. I don’t want to chew my smoothies! Does this crush the ice finely? I may have to ask for one for Mother’s Day!
Jessica says
Our refrigerator has an ice-crushing option, so I always start with crushed ice.
Tami says
@Lois Houston,
Ours chopped the ice great the first time then after that no. Don’t know if it dulled the blades or what but mine at least does not crush ice well. I also start with ice crushed from the fride but our fridge doesn’t do a very good job either so there are still alot of big pieces.
Terry Compton says
Like you, I’ve had my Magic Bullet for about six years. I bought mine at a local big box store and I absolutely love it! The Bullet is awesome for a quick blend (smoothie) for breakfast and for an afternoon pick me up smoothie in the afternoon.
Holly says
I bought one and am still working to like it. My kids like smoothies sometimes, but not often enough. And that is sort of why I go it! Love the ketchup idea. I did try grinding coffee beans for my espresso machine, but they were too fine and clogged things up. I will have to try a smaller amount. But it made really good pesto, so I’m hoping for my basil plants to do well this summer!
Jessica says
@Holly, I use it for the easy jobs when I don’t want to wash lots of food processor parts: bread crumbs, salsa, whipped cream. All those are done lickety-split.
USA Kiwi (kylee) says
I use mine to make hummus and pesto, as well as broccoli soup (super fast and super good).
Carla says
We have a two-sized Ninja so I mainly use that. But thanks for the mason jar idea for the blender! I’ll have to remember that when the kids want different flavors. Glad to know I’m not the only one to blend the pintos! My crew prefer that to just smooching them for mexican stuff (red or black beans and rice they’ll eat them whole–go figure). I always feel so silly but it makes quick work out of it. 😉
KimH says
Prior to 2 weeks ago, I’d never used one. I bought my daughter and son in law one to make baby food for their baby.. That was 4 years ago. She has always loved it but they live 1200 miles away so I never messed with one since I’ve got a Vitamix & multiple sized Cuisinart food processors. I was at my daughters house last week & give it a shot.
How easy & how convenient. I liked it & Im considering getting one for myself as well.. sigh.. maybe not. Space is at a premium here.. Theres no real convenient place to store it.. so maybe not. 😉 Maybe. 😉
Kate says
We were given a Magic Bullet by my sister-in-law since she wasn’t using it. We used it for smoothies but just didn’t use it enough to justify the space it was taking up in our cabinet. We tried once to chop onions in it, and it did a horrible job! A few months ago, we gave it back to her. We haven’t missed it.
Sarah P says
I really like the magic bullet! I actually bought an extra after having it for MANY years. About 2 years ago, I bought a blendtec and LOVE it too. I find that I go for the blendtec more than my little bullet now. I love the consistency of smoothies in the blender a bit better. Plus, it rocks greens etc in my drinks.
Nancy says
I love my Magic Bullet. I bought one about 10 years ago and it still works great. I have also purchased 2 others at thrift stores the past couple of years for $5 each for the entire set. One set came with a juicer attachment and a blender attachment to make larger recipes that fits on the magic bullet. So I have a couple of backups if one quits. They both appear to be brand new.
Ellisa says
I LOVE my Magic Bullet. I don’t use it all the time, but it is perfect for making baby food and individual smoothies/frozen drinks. I also use it as a food processor when I need to mince or finely dice something.
jan says
Giggle, I HATED mine … gave it to Sonny Boy for college. He LOVES it … my problem is probably because I insisted on trying to make fresh salsa with fresh tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, etc. and the thing would either mush the heck out of everything or made it liquid. I suppose I should have played more with it but said FORGET it 🙂 Costco spontaneous purchase … at least Sonny Boy is digging it 🙂
Maria says
I love my magic bullet. It was given to me and I thought I would never use it – then my blender broke. I use it for fresh salsa and smoothies too!
Susan says
I love it . My husband bought mine at Walmart for 25 dollars at Christmas for me. I make salsa, Guacamole, Protein shakes,smoothies and chicken salad. It is wonderful!!!
Cat says
Hi! I just discovered last night that my dad owned a Magic Bullet. I’ve never seen him use it, though. But I tried it last night to make smoothies to bring to work. I am loving it so far! It’s compact and I love the convenience of the party cups. I got so many ideas from this post and the comments. Time to finally make my own pesto 🙂
Jessica McHenry says
I am hoping someone can help me. I am sitting here with the Magic Bullet and NutriBullet in my amazon cart- I wanted the Magic Bullet to not only make smoothies but things like salsa, chicken salad, soups…things like that over smoothies. I’m then reading that the nutri bullet is “better” than the Magic Bullet. I’m not seeing that the Nutribullet makes anything but juice type things. I even saw someone try to make chicken salad and it just made it into a kind of paste. I’m sold on the health things of the nutribullet but at the same time I don’t think they compare when doing other things. Help!! lol! I might even buy both. One seems to be a chopper and blender where the other one seems to be a juicer.
Jessica Fisher says
I believe that the Nutribullet is designed to replace a juicer. My dad bought one. It completely liquifies stuff.
Jessica McHenry says
Thank you! I read around a lot and got the same impression. I ended up buying them both!! lol!! But thank you for confirming what I was thinking. I want the nutribullet for that reason but I want the magic bullet for all the other stuff I want to make! =)
Bonnie Caarol says
I have had my magic bullet about a month. I ADORE THIS MACHINE!. I got up today, tossed a few coffee beans in it and made fresh ground coffee. Later I tossed in some left over steamed broccoli added a touch of coffee creamer and some left over shredded cheese and had a mug of broccoli cheese soup. just pulse and nuke in the micro wave. I’ve made hummus many times.. that takes about 3 minutes beginning to munching. I’ve used the pulse technique many many times to chop up veggies for some dinner meal. The more I use it the more things I find to do with it. when i first bought it my blender had quit and my little chopper had broken.. now I find I dont need to replace them.. I have my bullet… Clean up couldnt be easier.. a drop of dish soap in the used cup.. put the blade back on .. pulse pulse.. rinse and put it away.. The Magic bullet has a permanent spot on my kitchen counter.. I use it almost every day….fast easy AND easy to clean up.. thanks for inventing it!!!