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iCucina Portable Bullet vs. Ninja BN401 Nutri Pro Side-by-Side Comparison




Our Verdict
- Performance (60%)4.7/10
- Design (25%)7.7/10
- Usability (15%)9.3/10
- Performance (60%)9.4/10
- Design (25%)9.6/10
- Usability (15%)9.7/10
In our rigorous testing, the Ninja BN401 emerged as the clear winner over the iCucina Portable Bullet in every category. Its 900-watt motor proved to be significantly more powerful than the iCucina's 300-watt, enabling it to effortlessly blend tough ingredients like raw nuts, fibrous greens, and frozen fruit to perfection. In contrast, the iCucina struggled to follow, often leaving chunks and uneven textures in its rest. TheNinja even crushed ice to a snow-like consistency in no time—a feat that the iCucina was unable to achieve.
The differences between these two models are not limited to their motor power ratings alone. The iCucina Portable Blender, which is priced lower, employs low-quality plastics, which compromise the aesthetic and longevity of the product.
On the other hand, the Ninja BN401 Nutri Pro features high-quality details that imitate the design and build quality of more expensive units. In addition to its robust build, the sleek and modern design adds a touch of sophistication to any kitchen. Moreover, the appliance's "Auto-iQ" technology provides pre-set blending programs and pulse options, enabling optimal blending results without any guesswork.
Overall, while the iCucina appeals to those on a tight budget, discerning buyers may find the Ninja with its heavy-duty capabilities a standout alternative.
iCucina Portable Bullet Performance
- Protein Shake (40%)6.0/10
- Frozen Fruit Smoothie (30%)5.0/10
- Fibrous Greens (20%)4.0/10
- Crushed Ice Cubes (10%)0/10
- Protein Shake (40%)8.8/10
- Frozen Fruit Smoothie (30%)10/10
- Fibrous Greens (20%)9.5/10
- Crushed Ice Cubes (10%)10/10
Protein Shake
- Blending Time: 1 mins 50 seconds
- Result: Very Coarse
The iCucina may be a good choice for you to prepare any protein shakes that use fresh plant-based food, but if you want to level up your workout drinks with raw nuts and dried fruits, we recommend going with other models, such as the Ninja Fit, Nutri BN401, or the NutriBullet. This blender is inefficient enough to liquify and combine such ingredients fully.
For this test, our protein shake is designed to include oatmeal, almonds, protein powder, and dried blueberries. Throughout the blending process, we noticed that this blender didn’t have much hard time grinding the ingredients; it worked quite smoothly, indeed. All the oatmeal was turned into liquid form in approximately two minutes, which seemed not to be so fast yet acceptable enough. The final drink, unfortunately, couldn’t get the most flavor out of almonds and berries, since about a third of the fruits were still solid.
- Blending Time: 1 min
- Result: Slightly Smooth
If your idea of a protein shake includes raw nuts or dried fruits, the Ninja BN401 Nutri Pro may never let you down.
In this test, it took only 1 minute to turn all the oatmeal into liquid form, which was by far faster than average. And this blending time means you’ll always have a quick snack or protein sip at hand whenever you want. There is quite a bit of almonds and dried blueberries still remaining solid, making the final drink relatively lumpy. But overall, it was considered much smoother than some of those produced by the rivals, such as the Magic Bullet.
Most importantly, our chefs agree that you’ll get a more savory sipping experience if you let everything be blended a little bit longer. Soaking the nuts prior to blending makes it easier for a quick, chunk-free texture as well.
Frozen Fruit Smoothie
- Blending Time: 1 min 50 seconds
- Result: Smooth
- Suction:
Berries are the favorite superfoods of many people but their skins and seeds are typically a little bit hard to be liquified entirely. That’s why our recipe for this test calls for four berry varieties; we want it to be a practical way to test for the smoothie-making capacity of our personal blenders, including this iCucina, and fortunately, it does.
Preparing frozen fruit smoothies with the iCucina asked us to compromise on texture. This was because while this blender could break down all the fruits in one minute and fifty seconds, after such a duration, the smoothie it delivered did lose its thick, icy consistency we prefer.
Simply put, for an ice-cold treat to come out perfectly, your blender should blend as fast as possible so the frozen ingredients don’t have time to thaw and therefore dilute the overall consistency. But as we learned from our tests, this blender isn’t capable enough in this regard. We recommend using crushed ice instead of freezing your ingredients in advance if you prefer a smoother icy blend.
- Blending Time: 1 min
- Result: Silky Smooth
- Suction:
For certain treats, like icy smoothies, blending time particularly matters as frozen ingredients thaw quickly at room temperature so if you don’t blend fast enough, your beverage will be thinner than expected. Fortunately, the Ninja BN401 Nutri Pro is good enough to give you complete control over the texture you’d like to sip on.
Contrary to the protein shake test, all the ingredients came together so quickly in this smoothie. Although our testing recipe had a high level of difficulty since the fruits were tough and all frozen, we otherwise got a perfect smoothness in only one minute.
On a more pragmatic note, the Ninja BN401 operates very smoothly in even heavy-duty blends. While most other personal blenders we tested repeatedly had their ingredients got clogged under the blades, such as the Ninja Fit, this unit works and ensures all the fruits can circulate freely. Sometimes, we noticed a couple chunks clinged to the cup’s sides, but quickly enough, they were forced to back down onto the blades without our interference.
All things considered, it’s apparent that the Ninja BN401 Nutri Pro is a perfect way to turn your healthy favorite fruits into refreshing breakfast and post-workout smoothies, especially for a busy morning.
Fibrous Greens
- Blending Time: 20 seconds
- Result: Very Coarse
We blended kale, spinach, and celery in the time benchmark of 20 seconds to see how well this iCucina would incorporate fibers to your meals. Eventually, we found this blender underperformed significantly against top competitors, again. There was a ton of fibrous pulp left behind when we strained the mixture through a mesh strainer. This suggested that our final drink didn’t get the greatest nutritional value.
Perhaps, you might think it isn’t necessary to blend that quickly, blending a little bit longer is concede as long as your desired consistency can be achieved. For the most part, we agreed this is entirely possible with the iCucina.
- Blending Time: 20 seconds
- Result: Very Fine/Fine/Coarse/Very Coarse
The speed and power of the Ninja BN401 Nutri Pro makes it a useful personal blender when you want to incorporate more leafy greens into your daily meals.
In this test, it was assigned to create a smooth blend of celery, kale, and spinach in only 20 seconds and as an able performer, it did successfully deliver.
Of all the machines we’ve experienced with, the Ninja BN401 Nutri Pro was among the few ones that could finely blend the entire veggies that fast, thus retaining all of their nutritious fiber and antioxidants. You might see there was only a small amount of pulp that was left behind in the mesh strainer. Whereas, some of its rivals just got half finished within this time period, while the others were too weak to grind the ingredient finely.
The mixture would’ve had a finer consistency if we had blended it for longer, but even so, it was not eventually a pulp-free mixture and this is typical for this sort of blend. If you prefer your drink to be perfectly smooth, you’ll need to strain it through a filtration bag to remove all the pulp.
Crushed Ice Cubes
- Ice Fineness: Coarse
- Unblended Ice: 73.5% of 6 oz
Typically, personal blenders aren’t designed with a focus on ice-crushing capability, and the iCucina is not an exception. The lack of strength prevented it from powering through the ice. We noticed that the blade couldn't even spin so most of the ice came out virtually untouched. Sometimes we undocked the cup and shook it on purpose to even out the blend, but this still couldn’t help much. If you particularly have a need for this sort of blend, you’d be better served by something that is packed with a higher-powered motor, such as the Ninja Nutri Pro.
- Ice Fineness: Very Fine
- Unblended Ice: 0% of 6 oz
The blade spins very fast and is sturdily designed. This combined with a mighty 1000-watt motor allows the Ninja BN401 to tear apart the ice without even a struggle. Believe it or not, six ounces of ice cube were turned into a like-snow consistency in just 14 seconds! Even the toughest ingredients like whole ice cubes couldn’t pose a problem for this blender, so clearly enough, it will be easier than ever to entertain your guest or your family with any icy-cold drinks mixed by different types of whole-food.
iCucina Bullet Blender Design
- Blades (20%)6.0/10
- Build Quality (60%)7.5/10
- Blending Cup (20%)10/10
- Blades (20%)9.5/10
- Build Quality (60%)9.5/10
- Blending Cup (20%)10/10
In the Box of the iCucina Portable Blender
- Motor Base
- Blade assembly
- Two blending Cup
- Two to-go lids
- User guide
- Motor Base
- Blade Assembly
- Two 24-oz Blending Cups
- Two Spout Lids
- Recipe book & user guide
Dimensions
- Height:13.6" (34.5 cm)
- Width:5.0" (12.7 cm)
- Weight:2.5 oz (71 g)
- Shaft Length:
The iCucina is about one-third smaller than a standard full-sized blender, like the Vitamix 5200 or the Ninja with Auto-iQ technology, so we suppose it’ll fit easily into any cabinet.
- Height:14.2" (36.1 cm)
- Width:6.4" (16.3 cm)
- Weight:5.4 pounds
- Shaft Length:
The 24-oz blending cup comes as standard size but the motor base is roughly the same size as a typical full-sized blender’s. This means this Ninja is larger and heavier than average, but that is a cost for its sturdy construction and we don’t feel it overly cumbersome at all.
Build Quality
The whole construction of the motor base is plastic except for a thin layer on the outer that is made of stainless steel. It’s supposed that the lack of sleekness of this layer somehow causes the blender to feel cheaper. That’s why although our iCucina is rather solidly put together, next to the Ninja Fit or the KOIOS, it just looks less of a bargain.
The Ninja BN401 Nutri Pro has a lot to visually distinguish it from the rivals and one of them is the overall build quality.
For the motor base, the hard-touch plastics on the exterior combined with high-gloss finish and thoughtfully-designed trim look and feel good. With first-grade build quality, it also offers a pleasing aesthetic that many competitors have been lacking.
The blade assembly is part of the blender’s greatness as well. It comes across as one of the most well rounded so nothing seems to cause it to wear out.
Blades
- Material:Stainless Steel
- Type:Sharp and Dull Blades
- Guard Material:
- Blade Count:4
- Removable:No
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
The blade has four prongs: two are sharps and the others are dull. In comparison with the rivals, it is less refined due to its small-scale and the lack of sharpness. Lackluster performances mainly result from this, we believe.
- Material:Stainless Steel
- Type:Sharp Blade
- Guard Material:
- Blade Count:4
- Removable:Yes
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
The blade is refined in ways you wouldn’t expect a budget-friendly brand to offer. Made of hardened stainless steel, it has top-notch quality and is attention to detail with four sophisticatedly-designed prongs. It isn’t razor sharp but looks thicker and firmer than most so it definitely won’t be damaged or succumb to wear and tear under daily heavy-duty use.
Motor Base
- Rated Voltage:120 V
- Rated Power:300 Watts
- Working Time:≤ 1 minute
- Protection:No
- Weight:2.0 lbs (0.9 kg)
- Cord Length:NaN" (NaN cm)
- Extra Feature:Silicon feet, a cooling fan
The base stands steadily on our counter thanks to the four silicone feet on its bottom. Like those of other personal blenders, the motor cannot run for longer than 1 minute to avoid damage caused by overheating, though there is an internal cooling fan designed to ensure proper ventilation and air circulation.
- Rated Voltage:120 V
- Rated Power:1000 W
- Working Time:N/A
- Protection:Yes
- Weight:4.5 lbs (2.0 kg)
- Cord Length:NaN" (NaN cm)
- Extra Feature:Rubber grips on the bottom, cooling fan.
The motor is a very practical design. It peaks around 1000 watts which is sufficient to create almost every blended meal. The whole construction is mostly made of hard plastic, but it doesn’t feel cut-rate or flimsy. There is an eye-catching control panel in the front featuring a timer and four buttons corresponding to four different speed levels. We also particularly like the rubber grips on the bottom that keep things steady while in use and a cooling fan in the back to limit overheating.
Blending Cup
- Material:Plastic
- Capacity:28.0 fl oz (828.1 ml)
- Weight:0.4 oz (11 g)
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
- Measurement:Yes
- Suitable For:Small and Medium batches
- Accessories:To-go lids
The set consists of two blending cups. They can work interchangeably with the blade assembly and two spout-flip lids that are extra included.
- Material:
- Capacity:
- Weight:
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
- Measurement:Yes
- Suitable For:Small and Medium batches
- Accessories:Spout Lids
Our Ninja BN401 Nutri Pro comes with two 16-oz blending cups. Both have the same excellent build quality and are designed to fit perfectly to the blade assembly. So far, we’ve experienced no issues with liquid leaking while blending. There are also two to-go lids with flip-top spouts included. Likewise, they screw on tightly to seal well so we got no leakage even when we shook or turned the cups upside-down.
Speed and Controls
- Control Type:Button
- Min Speed:N/A
- Max Speed:N/A
- Presets:No
- Noise Level:97 dB
- Digital Display:No
- Pulse Mode:No
The iCucina is a single-speed personal blender with one-touch operation. This means there is a pressing button in the front center that you’ll use to control the motor. More to the point, the button is very clicky so you don’t need much force to press.
- Control Type:Twist
- Min Speed:N/A
- Max Speed:N/A
- Presets:Yes
- Noise Level:101 (db)
- Digital Display:Yes
- Pulse Mode:Yes
You’ll love this Ninja unless you like your personal blender simpler. There aren't a lot of controlling buttons, but four ones are enough to make this model feel more like a full-sized blender; personal blenders typically have one speed and appear with no control panel. Not to mention a digital display which indicates the elapsed blending time or counts down to the end of a process.
Of four controlling buttons, two are for the Auto-iQ preset programs, with Crush and Smoothie labels. Once either of them is selected, your blender will start to blend and automatically stop when it “considers” a result has reached its optimal smoothness. Simply put, you don’t have to take calculations or any predictions to yield the best outcome; the blender is programmed to do that for you instead.
The remaining controls are Start/Stop and Pulse buttons. If you want continuous blending, press the Start/Stop button. To avoid chopping ingredients too finely, the Pulse function will give greater control over the fineness; use short presses for short pulses and long presses for long ones.
This Ninja BN401’s personality reminds us of the Ninja BL480D Nutri, another product in the Ninja personal blender lineup that costs about $40 more. The two are broadly similar in capability, efficiency, and purpose, but we like the Ninja BN40 more since the Ninja BL480D Nutri performance simply doesn’t match its upscale price.
iCucina Bullet Personal Blender Usability Review
- Hand-Free Operation (60%)10/10
- Assembly (20%)8.0/10
- Cleanability (20%)8.5/10
- Hands-Free Operation (60%)10/10
- Assembly (20%)9.5/10
- Cleanability (20%)9.0/10
Hand-Free Operation
We like the smooth and non-intrusive operation of this blender. In particular, your iCucina will blend much more like a full-sized model since it doesn’t require you to press and hold the power button or the blending cup throughout the whole process like many rivals. Most impressively, food doesn’t too often get lodged under the blade and demands your intervention to resolve. Those suggest that you can possibly take your eyes off your blender to do other things while it is operating.
The Ninja BN401 Nutri Pro offers the perfect using comfort since it doesn’t demand the users to hold the cup in place throughout the blending process like many personal blenders commonly do. The existence of a locking mechanism means you can take your hands off your blender while it’s operating once the cup is locked in place.
That is not the only thing that dominates the blender’s ease of use, though. The way it churns out final results plays a part as well, and thankfully, this Ninja works with no drama. It rarely, if not never, needs extra shaking or stirring to even out the blend. That's probably a result of the powerful motor and well-rounded blade assembly.
The underside of the motor base has two silicone feet and three anti-slip plates to provide stability. Our blender stands and works steadily in any surface so we didn’t need to keep it throughout the blending process like we had to do with other blenders which usually jumped around, especially in heavy-duty performance.
Assembly
It is very easy to seal the cup with the blade assembly. Just align the grooves on the blade assembly with the appropriate grooves on the cup and then turn one of the two pieces clockwise until you feel they attach firmly together. Attaching the cup assembly to the motor base, on the other hand, takes quite some time to figure out how things work.
We’d award the Ninja BN401 a maximum score in this section if it demands less force when locking and removing the cup from the motor base, but overall, assembling this blender is a breeze.
First, you’ll need to seal the cup with the blade assembly, then turn it upside down and install it on the motor base by aligning the tabs on the cup with the slots on the base. The programs will illuminate and your blender will be ready for use once you lock the cup properly to the base. To do so, rotate it clockwise until you feel they click together.
To remove the cup, turn it counterclockwise and lift it up. Note that you have to pull with quite a bit of force compared to other blenders we tested, so it may be tougher to remove or lock it when your hands are wet or oily.
Cleanability
Except for the motor base, you can put everything in the dishwasher. The blending cup has a wide opening so you won’t have any difficulty reaching inside if cleaning by hand. Regarding the blade assembly, you have to remove the silicone gasket first. because this part is attached extremely tight, we found it is quite frustrating to get the job done, however. On the bright side, there isn’t much difficulty in wiping the blades’s backsides, especially when you have a bottle brush.
The cups, lids, and blade assembly are safe to put in the dishwasher, but we recommend hand-washing them since this is very easy to do and will help preserve their original state as well.
Because no leakage occurred in the course of operation, it didn’t take much time and effort to wipe clean the motor base. The blade assembly, on the other hand, has many nooks, grooves, and cranny so it required much more care. For the blending cup, we thoroughly rinsed it under the tap with a soapy sponge. Since we didn’t have any difficulty getting our hands inside the cup thanks to its wide opening, all the tailings rinsed off easily.