Magic Bullet Review

After thoroughly researching the Magic Bullet and having watched how it works all I can say is that this blender is such a “Hit or Miss”.

Many people are really very satisfied with it, but there are many that are not. The idea is great. Perhaps all you need to make it work is magic like the name says. Perhaps the people that have not gotten good results are missing a magic trick.

Jokes aside, this is supposed to be a very versatile blender/chopper. It is small , convenient and it will only take the space of a coffee mug in your counter. That space does not count the space to store all the cups and mugs that come with the unit.

 

Read the Rest of the Review Below:

 

The manual states that the magic bullet is good for smoothies, frozen drinks, grinding coffee, spices and seeds, chopping vegetables and herbbatter and breads, grating cheese and grinding meat (the last two are not really applicable if you follow a whole food plant based diet).

So as you can see the idea is to have a mini blender and food processor. Though you might still want to hold onto whatever food processor and blender you have for a while.

There are two versions of the Magic Bullet.

You have the original or standard Magic Bullet that comes with 17 pieces. You also get the deluxe version that brings 25 pieces.

This is what you get with the standard version:

• power base
• 2 blades, a cross and a flat blade.
• 2 cups, a small and a larger one
• 4 mugs,
•  4 colored comfort lip rings,
• 2 sealed lids,
• 2 vented lids,
•  recipe book

There you have it, 17 pieces plus a recipe book. The recipe book has basic recipes and they are many that are not whole food plant based

 

Versatility / Functionality

 The Magic Bullet is quite simple to operate as it does not have any  buttons. The cups or containers  act as what you would call a button. You just press on the cup to pulse the blender or lock in the cup for the blender to work continuously.

The manufacturer claims the magic bullet is good for :

• Smoothies
• Green smoothies. Although there are mixed feelings as the ability of blending greens. I have read reviews saying that it does a great job, and other people have said that it makes a mess out of it. It leaks and the cups are too small. My feeling is that they overfilled the cups.
•  Shakes
•  Frozen drinks
•  Grinding coffee, seeds and spices
•  Chopping vegetables – The result of this is not so good. If you pulse once too much then you might get a mush or puree. If you do not pulse enough, you will get large portions of the vegetables. Chopping onions is not as easy as they say. Chopping garlic is not as bad.
• Crushing ice- The results are not consistent and you might get lots of ice blocks that have not been crushed.
•  Baby food
• Snow out of ice – not very good at this
•  Refining sugar
• Soups – You will need to heat up the soup
• Dips
•  Salsas- You will not get the same results as in the infomercial.
•  Omelets – only good for plain omelets. If you add onions the outcome will not be as good.
•  Grinding cheese – There are not consistent results with this
•  Mixing batters and breads
•  Making Margaritas – not my choice, but many people enjoy this.

This is not a juicer. I am surprised by the amount of people that say they want to juice in it. I am not sure what they mean by juicing is when you separate the fiber and pulp from the juice. This is a blender. There is an additional attachment that you can purchase that will make it into a juicer, though I do not recommend it. If you want a juicer there are better options.  Check it here.

According to the reviews I researched, the magic bullet will not work on dry ingredients. You will need a bit of water. Even try to add some water when you are chopping vegetables. You will get better results.

There were mixed opinions on how this magic bullet handles ice. Sometimes the ice just spins around and does not get crushed. Better to use smaller ice cubes and add some water.

The magic bullet is, in theory, simple to operate:

Here are the instructions taken out of the Bullet manual:

 

I mentioned that the bullet does not have any button, the cup or mug acts as a pulse button. Having said that they recommend certain techniques to get the best results.

Perhaps the negative reviews were due to people not using these techniques. The truth is that I would probably forget about them while I am busy cooking. If I need to refer to the manual to refresh my mind on the technique, chances are that I will not do it. Who would want to do that when you are busy preparing supper that needed to be ready half an hour ago?

As an example, here are the instructions on how to chop onion, quoted from the bullet manual:

As you can see the instructions refer to different pages of the manual. It is okay to check the manual the first time. But if I do not  use the magic bullet to chop onions daily, I will probably forget all of this. And I do not have the time to read the instructions every time. No wonder people are getting inconsistent results. 

The following is a summary of the techniques they suggest :

The pulse technique: It takes a bit of time to get used to. You need to press down the cup quickly and release it immediately. Depending on the results you want to obtain you will need to pulse down shorter or longer.
The unit might get locked. To avoid the unit locking you need to place your other hand on it and apply counter-clockwise pressure on the cup as you pulse.

The Shake technique: If the ingredients are not going down to the blade, especially in smoothies, then you need to shake the cup. Remove the cup with the blade from the base, and shake it like a cocktail shaker. Place the cup back on the base and continue pulsing.

The Pulse/Shake technique: Use this technique when you want to coarsely chop some vegetables. Then ensure your one hand is applying counter-clockwise pressure to keep it from locking in. Shake it and pulse it with the other hand.

The Tap technique: Use this technique when the ingredients are stacked on the side of the cup. cup.

Do you think that you can master these techniques? To be Otherwise you will have to be creative and find a way of getting the blender to do what you want.

As opposed to the Ninja Master Prep , the motor of the bullet is at the bottom. If the cup leaks the motor will get dirty.

Even though the motor is at the bottom,  you need to remove the cup to add ingredients.

The manufacturer clearly states that you should not operate the blender for longer than a minute at a time. Do it for a minute, then let it rest. This will prevent the over heating of the motor.

With regards to making smoothies and green smoothies, there have been mixed opinions on how good of a job it does.  Sometimes it will produce  a smooth drink and sometimes it will leave pieces of greens unblended. Try to add more water to facilitate the blending process, and keep pulsing.

The blender does a great job with grinding coffee. You can even store the coffee in the cup. Just add one of the lids with vents and store it in the fridge.

You can also grind spices and sprinkle them right out of the cup.

Avoid over filling the cups. If you do, it will leak

This is a great blender/food processor to use when you are in a hurry, or for parties. It is mainly a personal blender for one or two people. But if you are having friends around then you can use the 4 party mugs.

 

You can also buy extra mugs and rings separately if you have more than 4 friends coming.  But be careful when choosing the extra mugs. Some of those are not really the original and might not fit your magic bullet. Perhaps another option is to buy two magic bullets to get the extra mugs.

The Magic Bullet also has a deluxe version with 25 pieces.  Click here to learn more about the Magic Bullet Express Deluxe.

 

The Magic Bullet  Jar

The Magic Bullet 17 piece Express version comes with several cups and mugs.

It comes with two cups, one short and one long. The shapes of these cups resemble a bullet and that is where the unit gets its name from.

These two cups can be used safely in the microwave. Do not use the solid lids in the microwave, though. Rather use the shaker or steamer lids.

 do not cook whole eggs in these cups in the microwave. Do not overcook your food in the microwave.

Never put the blades or the party mugs in the microwave.

These two cups are made of high impact plastic and they will not shatter when dropped.

Short cup size: 12 oz (0.35 liters) – Microwave safe

Long cup size: 18 (0.53 liters) – Microwave safe

The party mugs: about 16oz (0.47 liters or two cups)- NOT Microwave safe

The Deluxe version comes with 2 bullet on the go mugs with flip top lids. Check it out here.

The cups and mugs all have little tabs at the top of the cup/mug that locks into the base. If those tabs break, then the blender will not work. They do happen to break, but you can buy additional cups and mugs without having to purchase the entire unit.

All cups and mugs are dishwasher safe, but only in the top rack of the dishwasher.

All containers can be used to store food in the fridge.
Just a note of caution. I know I said above that the short cup and long cup are microwave safe. Still, I personally am very cautious of what I put in the microwave. I use my microwave, but normally with glass containers.

You can also purchase a larger pitcher that will convert the blender into a bigger blender. But the motor and power are still the same. All it changes is the capacity to hold liquids. Check the accessories section.

The Bullet comes with several convenient lids:

• Two solid lids that can be used to store the cups in the fridge.
• One steamer lid, that has some holes in it. You can use this to warm things in the microwave.
• One shaker lid that can be used to sprinkle the ground spices (or grated cheese if you eat cheese).

 

 Motor Power

The motor is not very powerful, it has only 250 watts. Do not let this trick you, even though the seconds which is what the company claims, but it can still blend it.

It is a bit noisy, but nothing out of the ordinary and it is actually quite bearable.

seconds break. Then start again.

 

Blender Controls

The Magic Bullet has no buttons at all. The cup act as a button when you pulse. Place the ingredients in your desired cup or mug. Twist the selected blade until it fits tightly. Lining up the tabs with the base place the bullet (cup, or mug) on the base and press down to turn it on. If you want to stop, then stop pressing the bullet down.

The magic bullet also works without hands. Press down and turn the cups clockwise until the tabs lock. Now the motor will run continuously until you unlock the tabs. To do that, then press the bullet down and twist it counter-clockwise.

It is really simple, but you also need to learn all the other techniques that I explained here.

Blades

The Bullet comes with two types of stainless steel blades. One cross and one flat.

The cross blade is good for chopping, blending and grating. The flat blade is good for whipping and grinding coffee beans and spices.

Neither blade is microwave safe. But they are both dishwasher safe if placed on the top rack.
Be careful when washing in the dishwasher or by hand. Sometimes the gasket, on the base of the blades, comes out loose. You could remove it to do the washing, but it could shorten the gasket life.

Blades are sharp, but they seem to go dull quite quickly. You can buy extra blades separately.

The manufacturer claims that the special design of these blades together with the bullet shape cups, makes the bullet powerful enough to process anything under ten seconds. From my research that is not entirely true. You normally need more than ten seconds, and many times you end up with unsatisfactory results.

 

Ease of Cleaning

All cups and mugs are dishwasher in the top rack of the dishwasher. Though blades are also dishwasher safe, you need to be careful with the gasket which could deteriorate quicker.
When using the blades rinse them quickly. It is more difficult to clean when the food dries on them.

If you let ingredients dry in the cups, add some warm soapy water and microwave it for a minute to get it all loose. Or you could add warm soapy water and blend it for a minute.

The ridges of the cups can be difficult to clean I suggest you use a brush.
Sometimes the cups leak inside the motor base. You will need patience to clean that. Use some q-tips.
According to the manufacturer, one advantage of the magic bullet is that you do not need to dirty other dishes when cooking. You do it all in the blender or chopper. That does not ring true since the ingredients need to be cut in smaller pieces to process them.

Overall the magic bullet blender is quite easy to clean

 

Attachments

For accessories and attachments, click here.

There are a couple of versions of the Magic bullet. The standard version comes with 17 pieces. The Magic Bullet Deluxe version has 25 pieces.

The difference between the standard and the deluxe version is the number of accessories.

Here is what you get with the deluxe version :

• power base,
• 2 blades, a cross and a flat blade.
• 2 cups, a small and a larger one
• 3 party mugs,
• 2 bullets on the go (larger cups)
• 5 colored comfort lip rings,
• 2 sealed lids,
• 2 vented lids,
• 2 on the go lids
• 3 oz pitcher
• recipe book

 

 

Magic Bullet Dimensions and Storage

The dimensions for this blender are not specified in the manual.
I have taken the measurements from Walmart site which seem more accurate than Amazon. It is also difficult to tell the height because it will vary according to the cup size you use. The base will not take more than the space of a coffee mug.

Length: 4 inches (10.16 cm)
Width: 4 inches (10.16 cm)
Height: 12 inches (30.48 cm)
Weight: about 1 pound (0.45kg)

 

Storage of the base is really easy. You can leave it on the counter as it takes little space. But the accessories, cups, mugs, lids and blades can take lots of space. I think it comes down to being organized. You can get a wire basket and store them all in a basket.

I suggest you do not keep the blades attached to the cups or mugs. If you leave them separate it will keep the air flowing and keep them dry.

Only the short and long cup can be used in the microwave. Do not use mugs or blades in microwave. Cups and mugs can be stored in the fridge.

 

Features:

The unit is to be used with 120 volts
The product carries a one year warranty.

 

Accessories

Replacement parts are easily available. Almost every part of the bullet can be purchased separately.

Below is a list of items available:

•  Cross blade
• Flat blade
• party mugs
• tall cups
• short cups
• gasket
• Stay fresh lids
• Steamer/sprinkler lid
• Flip top lids
• Bullet on the go mug with flip top lid
• Power base
• 24 oz blender pitcher
• Juicer attachment : I do not recommend this one as the magic bullet is not really a juicer.

 

Pros

•  Low Price
• Very versatile.
• Good blending performance, especially for soft ingredients and liquids.
• Great for grinding coffee, spices and seeds
• It does not take more countertop space than a large mug
• Powerful (when new)
•  Easy to assemble
•  Easy to use, no buttons
• Multifunction appliance
•  Easy to clean
•  Microwavable cups
•  Dishwasher safe
•  Great for basic functions like fruit blending
•  Party mugs allow you to do different smoothies for everyone.
•  You can blend and serve in same container
•  Two different blades for different functions
•  Sprinkle and steamer lids
•  You can prepare different dips at once and store containers in the fridge
•  You can drink from the same cup in which you prepared smoothie/drink
•  Fun for the kids, they can prepare their own smoothies.
•  Parts and accessories are readily available

 

Cons

•  Cheap materials
•  Performance decreases with age
•  The blades become dull with time
•  Needs space to store parts and accessories.
•  It does not replace a food processor
•  It takes longer than 10 seconds to process food.
•  Poor job at chopping vegetables
•  Poor job at shredding/grating cheese
•  Poor job at ice cubes size)
•  Too many techniques to remember (pulse, shake, pulse/shake and tap)
•  It overheats after one minute of continuous work
•  Not as easy as the infomercial shows
•  One extra pulse might leave you with undesired results
•  Single serving machine, not for large family
•  No speed selection
•  It may not last long

Magic Bullet Consumer Ratings

This product is very popular with a rating of 3.7. 62% of the ratings were 4 and 5 stars. This indicates that people are happy with it.

Having said that many people have changed their mind after they had used this for a while. The satisfaction level seems to decrease with time.

The Magic Bullet Price

The price of the bullet is really low. For  what you get, you cannot beat the price, but there might be other appliances that can compete with this one. It is always a fine balance between how much you want to invest and what are you prepared to put up with.

My overall opinion

My review conclusion is that if you do not have another blender and food processor and cannot afford one then this one will be good for you.

This will be a great blender if:

• You currently do not have a good blender and do not want to pay a high price for one.
• If you are not a perfectionist
• If you drink smoothies often
• If you grind your own coffee and spices.
•  If you prepare your own dips often

I cannot say this blender is bad because there are many satisfied customers, but you need to be aware that this blender will not replace a food processor. It probably will not last long, and if it lasts, the performance might not be the same.

On the other hand, just today I was thinking of preparing some food and I thought of taking the blender out to blend some dates. I instantly felt lazy. My blender is not in a cupboard. It is on a shelf, but the thought of having to wash such a big jar after blending a couple of dates made me rethink it. In the end, I did not prepare anything. At that instant I wished I had a Magic Bullet or something similar to make the task faster and easier.

Overall, I believe is a great place to start if you do not have anything, or if your household is not large and you just want the convenience of the bullet.

If you already have a food processor or blender I would look at other options, like the Ninja Master Prep or Nutri Bullet which I will review next.