When it comes to stocking your kitchen with gadgets and appliances, it’s easy to get carried away. You set out on a quick Target run to pick up a few things, and you come home with a new self-stirring coffee mug, an apple slicer, and those dumb corncob holders that never seem to work.
Instead of wasting your hard-earned cash on stuff that you’ll inevitably toss out in a few years, invest in a high quality blender and give some of these hacks a *whirl*.
1. Whip eggs
Photo by Clarisse Callahan
Making omelets or scrambled eggs for a crowd? Don’t sprain your wrist trying to whisk everything together. Instead, toss your eggs and milk into the blender and give them a quick blitz. Add to a pan, toss in some toppings, and brunch is served.
2. Make powdered sugar
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If you find yourself out of powdered sugar and too lazy to go to the store, just add a cup of granulated sugar into the blender, and blend until it reaches the consistency of powdered sugar. Use it in this Red Velvet Puppy Chow recipe.
3. Make crêpe batter
Photo by Parisa Soraya
While the blender is a little too aggressive for pancake batter (read: tough pancakes), it works perfectly for crêpe batter. Simply add in all of the ingredients and blend. Here’s a basic recipe to get you started.
4. Make vegan ice cream
Photo by Nick Schmidt
Yes, you can make vegan ice cream in your blender and it tastes freakin’ amazing. Here’s the recipe. And here’s how to make some Nutella magic shell to drizzle alllll over it.
5. Make peanut butter
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Take control over what’s going into your peanut butter by making it yourself. Once you’ve got the hang of it, you can experiment with different nuts, seeds, and seasonings. Homemade Nutella, anyone? Here’s the recipe.
6. Make muffin batter
Photo by Katherine Baker
There’s nothing quite like breaking open into a warm, freshly-baked muffin, but most days ain’t nobody got time to make them from scratch. Thankfully, you can use your blender to speed up the batter-making process. Here’s a recipe that takes less than an hour.
7. Make cheese sauce
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Believe it or not, the blender is the perfect tool for making gloriously smooth cheese sauce. Use it on steamed veggies or mix with some pasta for mac ‘n cheese, and try to resist the urge to bathe in it (or don’t). Here’s a recipe.
8. Make chocolate mousse
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You don’t need to be a fancy French pastry chef in order to make bomb-ass chocolate mousse. Using just an egg, some heavy cream, chocolate chips, and your handy dandy blender, you’ll have silky and light chocolate mousse in no time. Here’s the recipe.
9. Make broccoli cheddar soup
Photo by Parisa Soraya
If you’re a soup fan, then you absolutely need a blender in your kitchen gadget arsenal. For this 5-ingredient recipe, you simply simmer everything together, then blend. The great thing about making it yourself is that you get to control how chunky or smooth the final product is. Here’s the recipe.
10. Mash guacamole
Photo by Lily Lou
Save your energy and make your guac in the blender. Add in all of your ingredients, then, to avoid bordering on baby food territory, make sure you only give it a few quick pulses. Here’s the recipe that made Chipotle famous.
11. Make salsa
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In keeping with the Mexican food theme, the blender is also great for making salsa. Here’s a tequila-infused salsa recipe guaranteed to get the party started.
12. Make gluten-free pancake batter
Photo by Zoe Zaiss
While normal, gluten-filled pancakes are a blender no-go, these 2-ingredient pancakes can be made even faster with some help from your blender. Just dump everything in and blend until smooth. Here’s the recipe.
13. Make salad dressing
Photo by Malia Hu
Have you looked at the ingredient list on the back of your salad dressing recently? I don’t recommend it. Instead, whip up a quick carrot-ginger dressing that’s free of preservatives, artificial colors, and other general nastiness. Here’s the recipe.
14. Make slushies
Photo by Kelly Logan
Skip the trip to 7-Eleven and make a brain freeze-inducing slushie at home. Go the healthy route with this recipe that uses frozen fruit, or add some booze to make this grown-up version.
15. Make Hollandaise sauce
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This notoriously finicky brunch staple has been known to make even the most experienced chefs a little nervous. But have no fear! Your trusty blender is the key to making a silky smooth sauce in no time flat. Here’s the recipe. And here’s a spiced-up eggs Benedict recipe that’ll show off your new Hollandaise-making skills.