The KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender (KHBV53) is an immersion blender that comes in various bright colors. It's the corded version of the KitchenAid KHBBV53 and has a trigger button to control the blending speed. It's meant for hot blending directly in a pot or pan and also comes with a 25-ounce beaker and lid for blending smoothies or small batches of sauce. Unlike many immersion blenders, it doesn't come with a whisk attachment but does include a pan guard to protect non-stick cookware.
Our Verdict
The KitchenAid Variable Speed Hand Blender is passable for multi-purpose use. It's best for blending hot ingredients for soups, sauces, and purees. It's alright for smoothies since it doesn't make an overly grainy blend with fibrous ingredients like kale. However, it struggles to crush ice and isn't easy to use for nut butter.
-
Can hot blend.
-
Comes with a beaker and storage lid.
-
Makes a reasonably smooth blend of fibrous ingredients.
-
Somewhat plasticky build quality.
-
Ice can build up and jam blades.
-
No additional attachments like a whisk.
The KitchenAid Variable Speed Hand Blender is okay for single-serve smoothies. It does a good job of blending small batches of fibrous ingredients, so recipes with kale or blueberries aren't overly grainy. However, it's not easy to use to incorporate ice cubes into the mix.
-
Comes with a beaker and storage lid.
-
Makes a reasonably smooth blend of fibrous ingredients.
-
Somewhat plasticky build quality.
-
Ice can build up and jam blades.
The KitchenAid Variable Speed Hand Blender is adequate for multiple servings of smoothies. Since it's a hand blender, you can blend in your own pitcher, which allows you to make big batches. However, it takes a while to blend larger amounts of ingredients and makes a somewhat grainy puree if your recipe includes something fibrous like kale. It also struggles to crush ice cubes. On the plus side, it's fairly well-built and very quiet for a blender.
-
Comes with a beaker and storage lid.
-
Makes a reasonably smooth blend of fibrous ingredients.
-
Somewhat plasticky build quality.
-
Ice can build up and jam blades.
The KitchenAid KHBV53 isn't good for ice-crushing. Unlike some immersion blenders, the blades can reach the ice cubes and crush them partially, but it's a tedious process, and the blender leaves big chunks behind.
-
Comes with a beaker and storage lid.
-
Somewhat plasticky build quality.
-
Ice can build up and jam blades.
The KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender is fantastic for making soups. It's meant for processing hot ingredients directly in a pot or pan, and it makes a reasonably smooth blend with stubborn ingredients like kale or broccoli, especially when you're working with smaller amounts of ingredients. There's a pan guard included to help protect non-stick cookware. The blender is quiet when it's running and easy to clean by hand.
-
Can hot blend.
-
Comes with a beaker and storage lid.
-
Makes a reasonably smooth blend of fibrous ingredients.
-
Somewhat plasticky build quality.
The KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender is adequate for professional use. It makes a reasonably smooth blend with fibrous ingredients, which is helpful for recipes like smoothies and soups. You have a lot of control over the blending speed for an immersion blender, and it's quiet when it's running. However, some parts feel cheap, like the connection point between the motor body and blending arm. The motor body's bigger size also makes it tiring to hold onto.
-
Can hot blend.
-
Comes with a beaker and storage lid.
-
Makes a reasonably smooth blend of fibrous ingredients.
-
Somewhat plasticky build quality.
-
Ice can build up and jam blades.
-
No additional attachments like a whisk.
- 6.4 Multi-Purpose
- 6.7 Smoothies (Single Serving)
- 6.8 Smoothies (Multiple Servings)
- 4.9 Ice Crushing
- 9.0 Soups
- 6.9 Professional Use
- Updated Mar 20, 2023: Updated text to match Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Aug 24, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Feb 17, 2021: Review published.
- Updated Feb 15, 2021: Early access published.
- Updated Feb 10, 2021: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Feb 05, 2021: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Feb 01, 2021: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The KitchenAid KHBV53 is available in 10 different colors: 'Onyx Black', 'Aqua Sky', 'Empire Red', 'Ice', 'Matte Black', 'Matte Charcoal Grey', 'Passion Red', 'Pistachio', 'White', 'Ink Blue'. We tested it in 'Onyx Black' variant, but expect our results to be valid for all the color variants. You can see the label for the unit we tested here. There's also a cordless version, the KitchenAid KHBBV53, but it performs a little differently, and we tested it separately.
If your model is different or you come across another variant, please let us know in the discussions, and we'll update our review.
Compared To Other Blenders
The KitchenAid KHBV53 is an immersion blender that comes with a plastic pan guard, a 25-ounce beaker, and a matching lid. There's a trigger-like button on the motor body that controls the blending speed, so you can push harder to blend faster, giving you more control over the speed than with most immersion blenders. This model is also particularly good at blending fibrous ingredients in small batches, producing a smoother blend than the KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender or the Vitamix Immersion Blender. If you'd prefer a cordless model, the KitchenAid KHBBV53 performs similarly and makes an even smoother blend with bigger batches of fibrous ingredients.
If you're looking for other options, try our recommendations for the best immersion blenders, the best budget blenders, and the best personal blenders.
The Braun MultiQuick 7 is a bit better than the KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender for most purposes. It's sturdier, processes ingredients more quickly, and comes with a variety of extra accessories, including a whisk and a food processing bowl.
The KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender is a better blender than the Braun MultiQuick 9. The KitchenAid does a better job of processing leafy greens like kale and makes a significantly better smoothie. It crushes ice faster and comes with a bigger jar and a matching lid. On the other hand, the Braun has a much better build quality, and its blades are dishwasher-safe, so it's easier to clean.
The KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender is a little better than the All-Clad KZ750DGT. It's sturdier, quieter, and comes with a beaker you can use for blending. However, the All-Clad makes a smoother blend with big batches of fibrous ingredients, so it can make a silkier soup if you're blending in a deep pot.
The KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender is better for most purposes than the Cuisinart Smart Stick Cordless Hand Blender. The KitchenAid is better for processing fibrous ingredients when you're making smoothies, soups, and sauces. It's also much quieter. On the other hand, the Cuisinart blender's cordless design is convenient, especially if you don't have an outlet near your stove.
The KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender and the KitchenAid KHBBV53 have a similar design, but the KHBBV53 is cordless. It also offers a better blending performance, since it makes a smoother blend with big batches of fibrous ingredients. It's quieter when it's running. However, you're limited by the battery life, and the corded model has a sturdier build quality.
The KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender is a better blender than the Vitamix Immersion Blender for most uses. The KitchenAid makes a smoother blend with fibrous ingredients like kale. It's much quieter when it's running and comes with a jar you can use for blending. However, the Vitamix has a much better build quality.
The KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender is better than the Bamix Mono M133. The KitchenAid does a much better job of blending fibrous elements like kale or blueberry skin, so it can make smoother soups and smoothies. The blending arm is detachable for easier cleaning and storage. On the other hand, you might prefer the Bamix if you want a sturdier blender or if you want whisk and beater attachments for making whipped cream or mixing batter.
The KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender is better than the NutriBullet Immersion Blender. It has a jar you can use for blending and a matching storage lid. It makes a smoother puree with fibrous ingredients like kale or broccoli. It's also much quieter when it's running. The NutriBullet has a sturdier design and comes with a whisk attachment.
The KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender is better than the KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Blender for most purposes. The Variable Speed makes a smoother blend with fibrous ingredients, which is important for well-blended smoothies and soups. It's also quieter when it's running. However, the KitchenAid comes with more attachments for different purposes, which helps make it better for ice-crushing and making nut butter.
The KitchenAid Variable Speed Corded Hand Blender is better than the Mueller Ultra-Stick Hand Blender for most purposes. The KitchenAid has a significantly better build quality, is better for blending fibrous ingredients and making nut butter, and comes with a beaker you can use for blending.
Test Results
It has a long shaft that'll easily reach the bottom of most pots and dutch ovens. You can remove the shaft to make it easier to store.
It has an okay build quality. The blade shaft is made of stainless steel with a plastic top. In contrast, the transmission is made of cheap-feeling plastic. You can easily clip the blade shaft onto the transmission. The handle has a trigger-style button that increases the blending speed the harder you push. It's fairly small and compact, but it could become tiring to hold onto if you're doing a lot of blending. The beaker and lid are made of thin plastic.
Since it's an immersion blender, it's meant for blending a pot or pan. However, it also comes with a 25-ounce beaker for blending.
The beaker and lid are made of dishwasher-safe plastic. There's a rubber ring on the base of the jar to help keep it from slipping around on your counter, which is a nice touch.
This blender has two horizontal blades as well as two shorter ones in the middle of the blade assembly that points upwards. The stainless steel blending shaft should only be hand-washed.
The jar has a dishwasher-safe lid that seals with friction.
The power cord is fairly long, so it can reach an outlet near your counter without much issue. Unfortunately, there's no stowaway compartment or a way to store the cable when it's not in use.
- Manual
- Motor body with integrated power cable
- Blending shaft
- Beaker with lid
- Plastic pan guard attachment for blending shaft
It's decent for small batches of fibrous ingredients. Because it's an immersion blender, it's not the most convenient process since you need to hold onto the blender and move it up and down constantly in the mix. Still, it does a good job of processing fibrous ingredients like kale, producing a smoother blend than many immersion blenders we've tested.
It's alright for processing fibrous ingredients at full capacity. It takes longer to process larger amounts of ingredients, and again, it can get a little tiring to hold the blender for the several minutes it takes. In the end, it makes a fairly smooth blend, but it has some visible bits left over. The blender produces a smoother result when you're working with smaller batches.
It isn't suitable for ice-crushing. The small downward-pointing blades can grip the ice cubes and partially crush them. However, it's not an easy process since you have to constantly push the blender into the ice cubes. Ice tends to build up behind the blades, and you need to clear them with a tool like a spatula or warm water.
It's sub-par for making nut butter. It's a messy process since bits of nuts can go flying at first, and you need to pause frequently to clear the mixture off the top of the blade bell and from under the blades. The motor body also feels warm at the end of the process, which takes several minutes. In the end, it doesn't fully process all of the nuts but makes spreadable nut butter.
It's quiet for an immersion blender, so you can blend for longer without being annoyed by the noise compared to louder models like the All-Clad KZ750DGT.
It offers a wide range of speed settings, so you can adjust the speed to suit your ingredients. Instead of preset speed settings, there's a trigger button that allows you to make small adjustments to the speed by pressing harder.
It has a trigger switch that allows you to control the speed of the blender by how hard you push it. The harder you push, the faster it goes. You can also press the button in short bursts to simulate a pulse mode.