Nutribullet Go portable blender review

Nutribullet Go: two-minute review

Nutribullet is one of the go-to brands for powerful blending appliances and a leading innovator in the rising trend of personal cup blenders. These blenders allow you to blitz up lump-free drinks such as smoothies and protein shakes directly in the cup from which you intend to drink them. And Nutribullet has a worldwide reputation for making super-powerful personal blenders that can pulverize the toughest of ingredients including ice, root vegetables, seeds and nuts, creating smooth and tasty nutritious drinks.

The Nutribullet Go is the brand’s cordless portable device, offering the flexibility to blend your favorite drink from anywhere. It charges via a USB cable, with a full battery delivering enough juice for up to 20 blending cycles. This means you can make fresh smoothies and shakes at work, in a hotel room or even when you’re on a camping trip or at a festival.

But with just a 13oz/ 385ml cup, it can’t make big portions. The other main drawback is that it can’t be used to blend frozen ingredients, so if you’re a fan of ice-cold smoothies, you’ll have to pour it out over ice once your drink is blended. On the upside, though, it’s simple to use, budget friendly, and compact, too, so it won’t take up much storage space – or luggage space, if you’re taking it on a trip.

On test, it proved to be better than we anticipated; but don’t expect super-smooth drinks. Results were slightly pulpy – and, on occasion, we found a lump or two. While it's not one of our best blenders, for the most part it did the job, and given its size and portability, it would be unfair to expect it to match up to a full-size personal blender. 

If you're just looking for something basic, and aren't planning on trying to tackle any tough ingredients, this is a good option for making blended drinks while out and about. For more versatility, though, you'll be better off with one of this brand's bigger bullet models, which are corded but come with to-go blending cups – head to our Nutribullet 900 review or Nutribullet Ultra review for a closer look at two powerful options. 

Nutribullet Go review: price & availability

• List price: $34.99 / £49.99 / AU$79 

You can pick up the Nutribullet Go direct from Nutribullet. It’s one of the least expensive personal blenders you can buy from the brand and has the added advantage of being portable, although with a slightly higher budget you can get the Nutribullet Magic Bullet Kitchen Express, which comes with two cups. However, note that neither of these models have the power or capacity of the slightly pricier, but more versatile corded personal blenders on offer.

Nutribullet Go review: design

• 30-second blending cycle
• Small 13oz / 385ml cup
• Cordless and portable

This compact little blender measures 8.5 x 3.15 x 3.15 inches/ 21.5 x 8 x 8cm (h x w x d) with the cup on the base, and weighs in at just 1.54lbs/ 700g, which is light enough to tuck into your luggage for a trip. Plus, for added cuteness, it’s available in a choice of red, white, black, or silver colours.

A full charge takes up to five hours using the USB cable provided, but it doesn’t come with a power adapter to allow you to plug it into an electrical outlet. As such, you’ll have to use one you already have, or charge it via another device such as a laptop. Once powered up, the Go can be used for up to 20 blending cycles, which equates to around 10 minutes of blending.

The cup comes with a lid that includes a handy carry strap, but it doesn’t have a spout from which you can drink; you’ll have to remove it to sip your drink. The base is supplied with a screw-on blade cover so you can throw the blender in your bag without any safety concerns.

Two presses of the power button will start up the automatic blending cycle, which runs for 30 seconds. If your drink isn’t smooth enough at the end of this time, you can switch it straight back on – but the instruction manual advises that it can’t be switched on for more than two consecutive blending cycles.

The cup and lid aren’t dishwasher-safe, so you’ll have to wash them by hand; however, if you’re using it on-the-go then you might not have access to a dishwasher anyway. Either way, it’s so small that cleaning by hand isn’t much of a chore.

How do the Nutribullet personal blenders compare?

Nutribullet Go review: performance

• Fruit-based drinks weren't lump-free
• Mixes powders thoroughly
• One blending cycle isn't enough

Using the Nutribullet Go is simple. With the protective cap removed, the base and blade are screwed onto the cup of ingredients. Then simply press the start button twice to initiate the 30-second blending cycle.

The first drink we attempted was from a recipe that features in the instruction manual for a blueberry vanilla smoothie. However, we switched out the blueberries for raspberries; the other ingredients were simply vanilla protein powder and plant-based milk. Following the first 30-second blend, it was visually apparent that there were still some pieces of raspberry that would need further blending. So we immediately set it off on a second blending cycle for a better result. The drink was nicely mixed with no lumps of protein powder; but it wasn’t completely smooth. It had a gritty texture from the raspberry seeds that remained whole, plus there was a slight pulpy texture from the raspberries that you wouldn’t get if using a bigger, more powerful blender.

Next we made a scaled-down version of the smoothie that we make in all of our blender tests. It includes pineapple, spinach, apple juice, Greek yoghurt and banana. Again, it took two blend cycles to thoroughly whizz up the drink – but, to our surprise, the Go coped better with these more fibrous ingredients. For the most part the drink was smooth, with a similar, slightly pulpy texture to the first drink. In addition, we found a small pea-sized lump of pineapple as well as a slice of banana that remained whole. Nevertheless, we were impressed that despite some visible specs of green leaf, the spinach was almost entirely broken down.

For our final test, we followed the included recipe for a chocolate banana protein smoothie, made using banana, protein powder, peanut butter and milk. We also added some cocoa powder to see how well it would mix in. Once again, despite two blending cycles, we still discovered a whole slice of banana and, like the previous couple of drinks, this smoothie also had a pulpy rather than smooth texture. Aside from that, everything was well mixed and nicely aerated – not a bad result from a compact cordless blender.

At its loudest, the Nutribullet Go registered 81dB on our decibel meter, but the blender didn’t feel too loud in use. And although the Go couldn’t be cleaned in the dishwasher, it proved easy enough to rinse clean – so long as this is done immediately, rather than after having let the residue of a drink dry onto the cup. Our only complaint is that the carry strap can become a bit soggy if you’re not careful when rinsing the lid.

Should I buy the Nutribullet Go?

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First reviewed: April 2022