Magimix Power Blender review: a premium blender for soups and more

Magimix is certainly one of the first names that springs to mind when we think about the best food processors, but they also offer a range of blenders to cover all your liquidising needs too. The Magimix Power Blender will set you back £180 and for that you get a sturdy well-built blender but no extra accessories. If you want personal blending cups included for smoothies on-the-go, you’ll have to fork out an additional £60 for the Magimix Power Blender Premium.

You can choose between four colours to coordinate the blender with your kitchen. It’s a simple no-nonsense blender that’s straightforward to use thanks to the chunky dial that gives easy access to the various programmes and blending speeds. I enjoyed using this blender, which is equally at home blending hot soups as it is creating instant sorbet from frozen fruits, but is it one of the best blenders on the market?

Magimix Power Blender

Specs

• Power: 1300W
• Material: Glass
• Capacity: 1.8 L
• Pre-sets: Desserts, Ice, Soups, Smoothie, Clean
• Weight: 5kg
• Size: 40.5 x 16.5 x 16.5 cm (h x w x d)
• Colours: black, red, cream, silver
• Included: recipe book & spatula

Unboxing the Magimix Power Blender

While it comes in a compact box, opening it up reveals that the Magimix Power Blender comes packed in chunky polystyrene which will inevitably end up in landfill. I’m seeing more and more appliance manufacturers switch their packaging to easily recyclable cardboard inserts and Magimix has yet to catch up on this front.

Aside from the main blending jug and motor base, in the box there’s also a stirring spatula that can be used to stir ingredients during blending. It even comes with a small hardback recipe book containing 80 recipes that range from soups to smoothie bowls and frozen desserts. Although, on my first read-through of some of the recipes I did notice the odd confusing instruction that I suspect is a result of errors in translation. Magimix is a French company and it’s likely that this recipe book has been translated into English. There’s also an accompanying recipe app, though it doesn’t really contain many more recipes than you get in the recipe book.

My first impressions of this blender are that it feels built to last, with a chunky glass jug and metal base. The large control dial has all of the programmes clearly laid out so there’s not really any need to consult the instruction manual.

The jug slots onto the base, there’s no need to twist it into position and I was pleased to note that it can be placed with the handle to either the left or the right, making it ideal for both left and right-handed cooks.

Blending in the Magimix Power Blender

The first thing I noticed when I attempted to use the blender, is that the lid which just pulls off the jug, can be tough to remove. This is both a blessing and a curse, because while it requires a bit of effort, this also means that it maintains a good leakproof seal. There is a tab to help with lifting it off and it does get easier to remove with time. The measuring cup in the centre of the lid pulls out easily so you can add ingredients during blending or insert the stirring spatula.

To operate the blender, all you need to do is turn the dial to one of the four blending speeds or select an automatic programme, these are: ice, smoothie, soups, desserts and clean. The Auto button is actually the start button, which confused me at first. There’s also a pulse button to deliver short fast bursts of blending.

Making smoothies

Given that this blender comes with a recipe book, I decided to attempt a couple of the smoothie recipes from the book instead of making my own concoctions. First up I tried the green smoothie, a refreshing combination of apple, ginger, spinach, avocado and lime with ice and water. After the suggested blending time there were still some obvious green spinach flecks in the drink, so I added a further 30 seconds.

The blender coped well with the ice and hard apple chunks which it liquidized into a thick drink. There were absolutely no lumps in the finished smoothie but it wasn’t silky smooth either, it had a slightly powdery mouthfeel.

It’s also worth pointing out that the recipe is for four people and it filled just one and a half of my standard drinking glasses, so either I’m greedy or Magimix are a bit mean with their portion sizes!

I also made the nutri-smoothie, which includes frozen berries, banana and chia seeds, I switched out the coconut water for coconut milk and also added ice and protein powder. This time I used the smoothie programme which took one minute.

At the end, the ice was completely pulverised by the blender as were the frozen cherries, although small flecks of cherry skin were still visible. Overall the smoothie was well mixed, but the chia seeds didn’t break down so it had a slightly gritty texture.

Making soup

To try out the soup programme I opted to make the carrot soup from the recipe book, it’s quite a simple carrot soup with ginger and I added some cumin and chilli for extra flavour. The instruction manual states that hot food over 60oC shouldn’t be blended and I was frustrated at how long it took my pan of boiling soup to cool down to this temperature. The automatic soup programme whizzed away for one minute, leaving me with a deliciously smooth creamy soup.

I had no complaints about the flavour or the smooth texture, but once again my idea of portion sizes differed from the folks at Magimix. The soup filled two cereal bowls despite the recipe being for four people. And although the top of the jug is square so you can pour from a corner, it doesn’t really have a defined pouring lip, so liquids don’t always pour out cleanly.

Making sorbet

Lastly, I attempted the instant banana and raspberry sorbet in the recipe book. Using just some frozen raspberries, frozen banana and orange juice, this recipe makes use of the desserts programme to create instant sorbet. The programme blends for one minute and during this time I used the spatula to help mix the frozen ingredients.

The result was a thick creamy sorbet, for the most part it was smooth, but there were a few obvious raspberry seeds and some small pieces of raspberry that didn’t get completely blended.

However, given the hard frozen ingredients and the short mixing time, this was a good result in my book. But even though I served it in small ramekins, I still only managed to get three portions instead of the four stated in the recipe book.

Cleaning the Magimix Power Blender

There are several options when it comes to getting this blender clean, obviously washing it by hand is one of them but the jug is heavy and it can be tricky to get under the blades unless you have a long brush. However, all the removable parts are dishwasher safe, and the jug disassembles with the aid of the cleverly designed spatula. It slots into notches on the base to help twist off the blade assembly, although I still found it tough to remove the first time.

Alternatively, add warm water and a few drops of washing up liquid and choose the automatic clean programme. The blender then whizzes the dirt away in a 30 second programme. I used it after blending soup and found it effectively loosened all the food residue so that it just required a rinse afterwards.

Should you buy the Magimix Power Blender?

The Magimix Power Blender is a little pricey given that it doesn’t come with any accessories like personal blending cups. But having said that, it’s a good quality sturdy blender with a thick glass jug and it feels more robust than some of the cheaper blenders on the market.

If you’re really fussy about perfectly liquidized smoothies and you want even the tiniest seeds pulverized, you might be dissatisfied. But, most people will be happy with the quality of the smoothies and in general, this is a good blender that can blend hot soups to a smooth consistency and handles ice and frozen fruit with ease. It’s a good option if you’re looking for an all-rounder, but my advice would be to ignore the portion sizes in the recipe book.

About this review, and the reviewer

Helen McCue is a freelance contributor who trained as a Home Economist. After starting her career in the food industry, she moved into home appliance reviews, utilising her cooking skills and experience to put all kinds of products to the test, and over the years has reviewed hundreds of home and kitchen appliances for a variety of publications.

Having completely renovated her current house, Helen reviews kitchen appliances from her open plan kitchen at home in a beautiful Berkshire village. When she’s not working, Helen can be found enjoying the local countryside or dreaming about her next house renovation project.