Ninja BN801 Professional Plus Kitchen System Review: Blender and Food Processor in One?

Quick verdict: the Ninja BN801 earns its 4.8-star average across nearly 15,000 ratings by doing two jobs — blending and food processing — competently enough that most households never miss owning two separate machines. It’s not the quietest or the most compact appliance on your counter, and the food processor bowl shows up often enough in durability complaints to take seriously, but at its regular sale price it undercuts buying a blender and a processor separately by a wide margin.

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Ninja BN801 Review: Specs and What You Actually Get

Two Appliances in One Base, and It Actually Works

The pitch behind any blender/processor combo is that one motor base can replace two countertop appliances, and the BN801 backs that up in practice rather than just on the box. The same 1,400-peak-watt base runs the 72-oz Total Crushing pitcher for smoothies and frozen drinks, and swaps to the 64-oz Precision Processor Bowl for chopping and dough without needing a second motor or a second plug. The five Auto-iQ presets remove the guesswork on both sides — pick “smoothie” or “dough” and the unit handles the pulse-blend-pause pattern itself rather than leaving you to guess timing.

What People Actually Make In It

Owner reviews skew heavily toward smoothies and protein shakes as the daily-use case, with the two 24-oz to-go cups coming up repeatedly as the feature that gets used most: reviewers specifically like making a shake in the cup itself and drinking straight from it rather than dirtying an extra glass. On the food-processor side, chopping cilantro and onion, making raw juice from beets, and mixing pancake or dough batter all come up as real, repeated uses rather than one-off novelty. Several owners contrast it favorably against a previous underpowered blender, specifically calling out how it handles frozen fruit and ice without stalling.

What Owners Consistently Report

Across nearly 15,000 ratings, the recurring positives are raw blending power and versatility: Amazon’s own aggregated review analysis highlights performance, functionality, and ease of cleaning as the most-mentioned themes, with blending performance and power specifically called out as strengths. Several owners who’d previously used a weaker blender describe this as a clear step up for crushing ice and frozen fruit.

The recurring negative, and it’s worth taking seriously rather than glossing over: durability is a mixed picture. Amazon’s own review summary flags this directly — while many owners report the unit holding up well, others specifically report the food processor bowl breaking. Separately, several reviews mention the unit is on the bulky side and takes up real counter space, and that it runs loud when crushing ice or hard ingredients, consistent with what you’d expect from a motor powerful enough to do the job in the first place.

Setup and First Use

Setup is genuinely simple: attach the pitcher or processor bowl to the shared base, lock the lid (both lids use a safety interlock that must seal before the motor will run), and pick an Auto-iQ preset or run it manually. One recurring first-time tripping point from owner reviews: the blending attachments don’t lock into place the way the processor bowl does, so it takes a try or two to seat the lid correctly — not a defect, just a design quirk worth knowing about before your first use.

Is It Worth It Compared to Buying Separately?

At $169.99, the BN801 replaces what would otherwise be a standalone blender and a standalone food processor, and the honest comparison is against buying those two appliances individually rather than against a single-function blender alone. A capable single-function blender in this price range plus a comparable food processor would typically run more than the BN801’s combined price, before you even account for the two-appliances-worth of counter space you’d need instead of one. The tradeoff is the one you’d expect from any combo appliance: neither function is quite as dedicated or specialized as the best single-purpose blender or single-purpose processor at the same price, but for most home kitchens the convenience of one base outweighs that.

Who This Is Actually For

Good fit: households that want genuine blending power (frozen fruit, ice, smoothies) and occasional food-processing needs (chopping, dough, purees) without buying and storing two separate appliances; anyone replacing an underpowered blender who’s tired of it stalling on ice.

Skip it if: you need a dedicated processor for frequent, heavy-duty food prep — a single-purpose food processor will generally outlast and out-perform the processor side of any combo unit; or you’re tight on counter space, since this is a genuinely bulky appliance next to either a blender or a processor alone.

Pros and Cons, Summarized

Pros: Genuinely capable blending power (1,400 peak watts handles ice and frozen fruit without stalling); real food-processing function on the same base, not a token attachment; 5 Auto-iQ presets remove timing guesswork; two to-go cups are a genuinely used feature, not a throwaway extra; strong sustained rating (4.8★, 14,653 ratings); price undercuts buying a blender and processor separately.

Cons: Food processor bowl durability is a real, recurring complaint for some owners, not universal but common enough to know about; bulky footprint that takes real counter space; runs loud when crushing ice or hard ingredients; blending attachments don’t lock in place the way the processor bowl does.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the Ninja BN801 crush ice without stalling?

Yes — this is one of the most consistently reported strengths across owner reviews. The 1,400-peak-watt motor and Total Crushing blades handle ice and frozen fruit in smoothies without the stalling or grinding that owners describe from weaker blenders.

Is the food processor bowl durable?

Mostly, but it’s a real mixed picture rather than a universal strength. Amazon’s own aggregated review data specifically flags durability as inconsistent — some owners report years of solid use, while others report the processor bowl breaking. Worth factoring in if food processing is a heavy, frequent use case for you rather than occasional.

How loud is it?

Loud enough that multiple owners mention it specifically, especially when crushing ice or hard ingredients. This tracks with the amount of power needed to do that job — a quieter blender at this price generally isn’t crushing ice as effectively.

Do the to-go cups actually get used, or are they a gimmick?

Based on owner reviews, genuinely used — it’s one of the most frequently mentioned features, specifically for making a shake or smoothie and drinking straight from the cup without dirtying a separate glass.

Is this a better value than buying a blender and food processor separately?

For most home kitchens, yes — the combined price undercuts buying two separate single-function appliances, and you only need counter space and a plug for one base. The tradeoff is that neither function is quite as dedicated as a single-purpose blender or processor at the same price point.

Does it come with a dough attachment?

Yes — dough is one of the 5 Auto-iQ presets, run through the food processor bowl rather than the blender pitcher.

How much counter space does it need?

More than a standalone blender. Owner reviews consistently describe it as bulky, so measure your available space before buying, particularly if you plan to leave it out rather than store it between uses.

For the full lineup including budget and family-size alternatives, see our best blender food processor combo guide. See our full Ninja BN801 vs. NutriBullet Combo comparison if you’re deciding between the food-processor combo and a blending-only alternative. If you’re using a blender for more than smoothies, see whether you can grind coffee beans in a NutriBullet, or check why a blender leaks from the bottom if you’re troubleshooting an existing one. For dedicated food-processing uses beyond what a combo unit covers, see our creative uses for a food processor.

About Glenn

Glenn is the founder of Kitchenware Compare and has spent years researching, testing, and reviewing kitchen appliances, cookware, and gadgets. A lifelong home cook raised in a family that treated every meal as an occasion, Glenn started this site to cut through the noise of conflicting product reviews and give readers honest, practical guidance. When he is not testing the latest air fryer or digging into the specs of a new espresso machine, he can usually be found experimenting with new recipes or hunting for the perfect cast iron skillet at a flea market.