Vitamix 5300 Blender Review: High-Powered Blending for the Home Kitchen

The Vitamix company is renowned among restaurateurs and home cooks alike for their powerful blenders. They’ve been able to build a successful company around nothing but blenders, so they must be doing something right! This 5300 model features a very powerful motor, but is sized to fit home kitchens.

Vitamix 5300 Blender Review: Main Features

Pros

Very powerful
Fits under most cabinets
Simple controls
Tough enough to chop nuts

Cons

Expensive
Loud
Not dishwasher safe

The Vitamix 5300 is an evolution of the popular 5200 model. It sports an even more powerful motor controlled by their simple and familiar interface. Vitamix has also made it more home-friendly by reducing the height of the machine.

2.2-Horsepower Motor

Most ordinary blenders would laugh at the idea of a horsepower rating. That’s how we measure car engines, after all. But Vitamix has that sort of power under the hood. The hefty motor can reach a peak of 2.2 horsepower when operating at its top setting.

This level of power allows the 5300 to chop through nearly all food you can throw at it. Vitamix’s website even advertises nut-butter recipes. A blender that can turn hard nuts into mush should plow through just about anything with ease.

Packing a small lawn mower’s power output into a countertop appliance comes at a cost, though. Motors are heavy, so this blender weighs nearly 12 pounds. Plus, it’s loud— conversations will just have to be put on hold while the blender does its thing. And of course, there’s the monetary cost. Even refurbished Vitamix units don’t come cheap.

Variable Speed and Pulse Settings

Vitamix has its line of feature-heavy blenders, but this one is of the simpler variety. No fancy screens and unnecessary wifi features clutter the control panel. Here you’ll just find an intuitive on/off switch, a speed selector knob, and a pulse switch. In many ways, the simplicity is refreshing.

Select from ten different blend speeds or use the pulse switch for a little more precision. Just make sure the blender is on a stable surface and the container is securely attached before switching it on.

64-Ounce Container

The 5300’s family-size container is one aspect that got a redesign with this model. It is wider and shorter than its predecessors to ensure that it fits below most cabinets. It’s not exactly small (the whole stack is still over 17 inches high), but does make the blender more kitchen-friendly.

Care

Unlike most modern blenders, the Vitamix parts are not dishwasher-safe. It does have a certain amount of “self-cleaning” capability, though. Rinse out excess food and then fill the container about halfway with warm water and a little dish soap. Run it for 30-40 seconds and rinse everything out.

The motor unit, of course, should not be immersed in water. Just wipe it down with a damp cloth.

The Vitamix 5300 is covered under a seven-year warranty.