Ninja Foodi SS401 Blender Review (2023) The Ultimate Kitchen System

Awards

Perfect, 5-Star Review from Juicing Journal

Top Rated Ninja blender

#14 Overall Best Blender

For a mini teaser: its food processor finally includes the essential grating/slicing discs.

Now, let’s find out if Ninja Foodi SS401 is genuinely worth it, starting with the pros and cons.

PROS

• Midrange budget
• Sleek and minimalist design
• 4-in-1 Ultimate Kitchen System: countertop blender, food processor, personal blender, and dough maker
• Easy to use digital control panel with 7 automatic presets
• Variable 10-speed control with pulse button
• Digital timer
• Powerful motor with anti-stall technology (SmartTORQUE)
• It can process thick smoothies with the 18 oz XL Smoothie Bowl Maker
• Includes a personal 24 oz cup with spout lid
• The food processor finally includes reversible slicing/grating discs
• Processor lid has a feeding chute
• BPA-free
• Dishwasher safe
• 1-year warranty

CONS

• Not designed for hot soups
• The power nutri bowl needs extra attention when cleaning
• A loud machine
• The full-sized pitcher isn’t reliable for thick blends

What can you make with the Ninja Foodi SS401?

Just like its ancestors, the Ninja Foodi SS401 Blender can do so many things, given that it’s a 4-in-1 machine. Even as a countertop smoothie maker, it can already make numerous recipes. 

Now, with 3 other appliances (food processor, personal blender, and dough maker), it further jumped leaps and bounds.

Here’s what you can make:

Here’s the catch:

The “XL” refers to the smoothie bowl (which is a bit misleading). While it is indeed more extensive, it can only make 2 servings of smoothie bowls at most.

Additionally, the full-sized pitcher isn’t as effective in making thick blends. In other words, for a blender that can make several smoothie bowls in one go, I recommend a more powerful Vitamix Blending Machine.

Sadly, the Ninja Foodi SS401 isn’t ideal for hot liquids either. If you’re leaning more on soup recipes, you should check out Cooking Blenders instead.

On a good or rather best note:

The Ninja SS401 has grating/slicing discs, feeding chutes, and a 2-part pusher. Essentially, this solves the problem of the previous Ninja Kitchen Systems since they didn’t offer actual food processor functions. 

Simply put, the Ninja SS401 Power Blender is now a genuine food processor (along with the 3 main functions, of course). 

Moreover, this blender features 10 speeds allowing you to achieve more texture in any of your blends.

Is the Ninja SS401 easy to use?

The title “best control panel,” which belonged to Ninja Foodi SS351, now belongs to SS401.

Essentially, it looks a lot simpler. You’ll likely admire it more than other Ninja Blenders with a daunting amount of buttons. Furthermore, the digital duration on the dial (or simply the lights) makes it look beautiful. 

On a slightly different note:

Thanks to the 7 Auto-iQ functions, you can remove the guesswork altogether, making your blending experience even more straightforward. Simply add ingredients, secure the lid, and select the program. No need to figure out how long you should blend a recipe since it’s already automatic.

Naturally, you can also do a manual blend if you want to personalize your recipe.

Here’s more:

When selecting speed, variable dial triumphs against other types of controls. For instance, when getting to max speed, turning the dial is undoubtedly faster than pressing a button 10x, right? That’s precisely why a variable speed dial fares better in the blender genre.

Better yet? 

Instead of two separate pitchers (food processor and blender), Ninja went with different lids and only one pitcher. Therefore, you can save up space in your storage since there’s one less big stuff to keep. 

Honestly, this is a significant improvement from the brand, given that adding new components isn’t always the answer. In fact, this is also what they did to their new Ninja Steam Fryer.

On a separate note:

How to clean Foodi SS401?

The Ninja Foodi SS401 cleans easily. You can remove the blades, so deep cleaning by hand or dishwasher is more manageable. That being said, you just have to be careful as the blades are sharp.

Besides, even when you don’t want to wash it by hand, you can still follow the usual cleaning process. Simply add warm soapy water and blend at max speed for about 30 seconds. Afterward, rinse your blender, wipe the base unit, and you’re done. Easy peasy!

What makes the Ninja SS401 better than other blenders?

To keep it brief, I will simply re-enumerate the notable features I already discussed earlier.

• Genuine food processor features (grating/slicing discs and food chute)
• Beautiful and easy to use control panel
• Minimalist approach with the blender and food processor (2 lids, one pitcher)

Now:

The machine detects the lid and/or container used, improving usability and safety. Essentially, certain functions and speeds will only be available with a particular container and/or cover. 

For instance, when using the slicing disc, you can only use speed 1. Think about it; if you accidentally used the max speed, you’ll end up with pulverized veggies rather than sliced, right? 

Hence, the importance of pitcher/lid recognition technology.

Here’s more:

Usually, high-performance blenders reserve the ability to make thick blends such as smoothie bowls and nut butter. In that case, the Ninja Foodi SS401 is an excellent deal since it’s more affordable, yet it can already handle thick blends.

*Product Images and Video Courtesy of Shark Ninja

Technical Specifications

Type	Countertop Blender, Personal Blender, Food Processor
Brand/Series	The Ninja Foodi Collection
Model #	SS401
Price	$$$
Rating	4.7 out of 5
Speed	10-speed with pulse
Wattage	1600-watt (peak)
Blades	Total Crushing Blades and Dough Blade
Container	72 oz (2.1 L) pitcher 24 oz (709 ml) nutri cup 18 oz (532 ml) nutri bowl
Dishwasher safe	Yes
BPA Free	Yes
Color	Platinum
Dimensions (LxWxH)	8.7 x 8.3 x 16.14 inches (22.1 x 21.1 x 41 cm)
Cord Length	31.5 inches (80 cm)
Application	Personal Use
Warranty	1 Year