My Kitchen Is Tiny, But I Love Cooking – This Fall, I Trialled a Unique Nutribullet That Chops, Blends, and Grinds, and it Could Be Just the Space-Saving Tool I Needed

I’m a city girl. Which means I’ve been living in an apartment for most of my life. And though the size of my kitchen may have changed, from a tiny studio in Hell’s Kitchen to my current three-bedroom Brooklyn abode, my counter space is sadly still limited. Nutribullet has always had folks like me in mind with its savvy, space-saving best blenders, and its newest device claims to adds a new set of tools, extra power and better blade quality – all with a more contemporary interface.

The Nutribullet Ultra Plus combines the company’s signature personal blending with a food processor and spice/coffee grinder, all of which simply fit onto the Ultra Motor Base. And though a combo system isn’t new for the company (we love its Triple Prep System for its full-sized blender, jug blender and food processor bowl), it does shrink all these components to a compact size. Here you’ll get two blending cups, a mini-sized food processor bowl, a grinder cup and four different blades to swap out. All of which do a proper amount of blending and prep work, yet won’t eat up a ton of space.

To see if this convenient, yet pint-sized system contends with the best blender food-processor combos, I spent a week blending, dicing, processing and grinding. Does it live up to the power of larger appliances? Nope. But it does hit a sweet spot for smaller households. And boy, does it do a lot with a little.

Product Specifications

Design & first impressions

For a compact system, the Nutribullet Ultra Plus has a lot of moving parts. In addition to the motor base, I unboxed three different-sized cups, a food processing bowl, and multiple tops and blades. All of which I spread out on my counter to take stock while I read the set-up instructions.

The base is small enough to leave out full-time and light enough to move around, and instead of typical non-slip pads, it comes with small suction cups on its underside to keep it in place during use. After finding a home for the base and plugging it in, I also clocked the two glowing touch controls: one to start a 30-second automated cycle and one to freestyle or use to pulse.

My very next thought was, 'Where am I going to store all this?' You may want to clear out a shelf in your pantry or kitchen cabinets before you make the purchase.

Blending Performance

Our team has already reviewed the original Nutribullet Ultra and awarded it five stars for its powerful blending and ice-crushing performance. I tested the same ingredients in the new Nutribullet Ultra Plus to see if anything had changed.

Test 1: Berry smoothie

My first blending attempt consisted of strawberries, blueberries, some fat free Greek yogurt and about half a cup of water. And now I know why they call it a smoothie. Just one, 30-second, low-volume cycle and I was rewarded with a tasty, creamy shake with an easy-to-drink consistency.

Test 2: Frozen protein shake

Next, I tried a trickier protein and frozen fruit smoothie, with a scoop of protein powder, a banana and a large handful of ice. I used the double-walled blending cup to help control the temperature and hit the solid circle for the preset cycle. The first time I tried this recipe, I learned my lesson about throwing the ice in last. The blade tried its best to cram through with a sonic screech and a smell that reminded me of burnt hair on a curling iron. 30 seconds was not going to do the trick here so I waited about 5 minutes and tried again.

This time it plowed through the semi-crushed ice and went to work nicely on the fruit and powder to push out a well-blended, chilled protein shake. The second time I used this same recipe, I put the ice in first and shook everything up before I blended. This helped a ton, and though I still had to use two cycles, at least it didn’t smell, or sound like someone was throwing rocks at a tin roof. Oh, and those suction cups definitely came in handy here.

Food processing performance

The Nutribullet Ultra Plus goes beyond blending, promising to chop, slice, and even grind coffee beans and spices. I tested every attachment to see how well it delivers.

Test 1: Chopped onions

Anyone who cooks consistently has dealt with the existential chore of chopping onions. So why not get this little gadget to do the dirty work? The 2-cup food processor bowl is the perfect size to chop a full onion and I put it to work with glee.

Once the bowl was locked onto the base, I slid on the chopping blade, threw in my hastily cut up onion, and locked on the lid. I decided to hold the dashed circle to process manually and it took about 55 seconds to get my desired fine chop.

No, you’re not going to get perfectly consistent onions like you do when you chop by hand, but if you’re using them in sauces, soups or stews, this is a fabulous time saver. I kept a tablespoon for the pasta sauce I was working on and put the rest in Tupperware to store in the fridge.

Test 2: Sliced carrots

Next up, slicing carrots. Though I don’t do it nearly as often as my chopped onions, the idea of simply sliced root vegetables was certainly appealing. This function also requires the processor bowl, though instead of the chopping blade, I slid on the well-labeled slice/shred disc with the slice side facing up and twisted on the lid.

I used two different carrots, each sliced in half. The first I put into the feed tube vertically for perfectly round slices and the next I fed in on an angle for longer ovals, using the preset cycle for both. This, I readily admit, was fun. It also provides gorgeously cut slices you’d be proud to toss into a salad or to roast up for the holidays.

Test 3: Grated Parmesan

The temperature in New York is finally dropping, which means I can start whipping up creamy risottos and pots of minestrone soup. And nothing says comfort food like freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

For this, I chopped up a chunk, dropped the pieces into the cup, twisted the lid back on, and locked it onto the base. Again, I used the 30-second control to start, and the noise it made now sounded like boulders being tossed on a tin roof rather than rocks. Boy, this was loud. Unfortunately, one cycle was not nearly enough to grate the hard cheese so I started another one.

Once this was done I peeked inside and was surprised to find my cheese in an odd state. Not only were there still larger pebbles left inside, but it was hot to the touch. Not completely melted but definitely glopped together. I still used it for my risotto, and it did the trick, but it was not the fluffy Parmesan I was expecting.

Test 4: Ground Spices

The next, and final, test was grinding spices. I love making Indian food, but I hate using the pre-made spice mixes you find in supermarkets. I threw equal amounts of coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and cardamom pods with a pinch of salt into the metal container, and pressed go.

One 30-second round was enough to yield a mound of aromatic, beautifully ground spices. I used a few tablespoons to season some chicken breasts, then put the rest in a sealed container for next time.

The grinding function on the Nutribullet Ultra Plus can handle coffee beans, if you're looking for an appliance that can eliminate the need to buy the best coffee grinder.

What is it like to use?

I enjoyed using the Nutribullet Ultra Plus. As a whole, it’s an intuitive, simple-to-use system with a straightforward instruction manual. Everything clicks simply onto the base, and the preset and touch controls are easy to turn on and off.

As mentioned, I especially appreciated those suction cups on its feet because it kept it securely in place when it was churning through the ice and hard cheese. I think this was an especially clever design feature. Like most inexpensive blenders, it needs a little help with drier or thicker loads, and you will have to reposition your contents between blends so all the ingredients reach the blade – but it’s certainly not a deal breaker. Prep was simple enough, though you do have to pre-cut many of your ingredients to fit into the smaller cups and bowls.

My biggest problem was the sheer number of attachments, and that is two-fold. Firstly, finding somewhere to place it all, including extremely sharp pieces like the freestanding chopping blade, was not easy. The entire point is its compact size, yet it has 14 pieces in total. I asked the rep if the company offered any type of storage unit, but she said that at this time, nothing is available. My second issue was figuring out which attachment went with each cup or bowl. At one point, I was sure I had broken it because I could not thread a lid onto the cup for my smoothie. It turned out I was using the grinder blade instead of the rapid extractor blade.

All in all, none of this is a deal breaker. Once you get used to each component and you find a safe area to store it all, it’s a breeze to use. And it gets (most of) your jobs done with ease.

Cleaning & maintenance

Not much to see here when it comes to cleaning. Other than the base, all the attachments are dishwasher safe, and I took advantage of that most of the time. However, you can just as easily run the covers under hot water and add a little dish soap for good riddance. I never had to scrub to knock off food from the blades.

Who would it suit?

The Nutribullet Ultra Plus is perfect for my fellow apartment dwellers or those with smaller kitchens. The base sits nicely on any counter, and it’s light enough to move anywhere you want to do your blending or processing. And because it offers multiple functions, it allows you to combine a handful of appliances into one. For just over $200, I’d say it’s worth it.

With its compact attachments, I’d also suggest this for smaller households of one or two people. My smoothies were perfect for just me, but if I had to make them for my two teen sons, I’d be doing a lot more work. If you’re cooking for a larger family, you may want to go up to a full-sized food processor or blender.

Final verdict: Should you buy the Nutribullet Ultra Plus?

Looking for a way to combine a bunch of appliances into one? The Nutribullet Ultra Plus does the trick. The base is easy to leave on your counter for every day use and swapping out the multiple attachments is simple once you figure out how to wed each component the the correct blade covers. I also appreciated the lids for the blender cups so I can top off my smoothies and bring them with me on the road.

Of course, the irony of buying this for its compact size does come to fruition when you start looking for a place to store it all. So before you make the purchase, I’d suggest going through your kitchen and picking out a secure spot. Once that’s taken care of, this is a quick and painless way to blend, chop, slice and grind with ease.

How we test blender/food processor combos

When evaluating the best blender-food processor combos, we treat each function – blending, processing, and additional attachments – as if they were standalone appliances. That means rigorous, real-world testing to ensure that you’re getting a product that performs exceptionally in both categories.

You can read all the juicy testing details on how we test blenders and how we test food processors, where we break down the criteria and explain more from behind the scenes.