Vitamix S50 Review (Personal Series)

The Vitamix S50 Personal Blender allows you to easily prepare delicious and healthy smoothies, quick sauces, baby food, salsa fresco, and much more. After the S30, this was the second blender from Vitamix in their famed S-Series (or Personal Series). With this innovative blender, the Cleveland, OH-based Vitamix Corporation has added quite a punch, combining their legendary power with a compact and feature-rich design.

There’s no shortage of companies who are making blenders today. Despite this crowded field of competition, Vitamix has firmly established itself as one of the best blender manufacturers in the world. Countless juice bars, smoothie shops, and restaurants are using their products on a daily basis. While their higher-capacity models are super impressive, their personal blenders (such as the S50) are amazing too. For a single person living alone or a small family, the S50 is a great machine to have in the kitchen.

The S50 isn’t just a smoothie machine. You can blend a wide range of healthy recipes in your S50 personal blender in minutes. You can prepare hot soups, frozen desserts, baby food, dressings & sauces, batters, nut milk, dips & spreads, flours, dough, and more. This machine grinds, chops, and purees efficiently. It fits onto the kitchen counter easily and works quietly. There is a pulse function and 13 speeds to choose from. There are two pre-programmed settings as well. All of the functions on the S50 are super easy to operate.

Sure enough — there are plenty of good blenders out there, but the Vitamix S50 stands out. Strong and durable, powerful, full of features like pre-programmed settings and variable speeds, two containers instead of one, and the famous Vitamix warranty makes this blender a solid buy. If you’re looking for a blender with a small capacity in this price range, you can’t go wrong with the Vitamix S50.

S50 Features

• 790-watt motor, which is 840-watt at peak.
• Laser-cut stainless steel blades.
• Interchangeable blade base.
• Two shatter-proof double-wall insulated containers – 40 oz, and 20 oz.
• The 20 oz comes with a travel mug.
• The containers are made with BPA-free plastic.
• Double-wall insulation keeps the drinks cool when you are traveling.
• Flip-top lid for easy sipping.
• 2 pre-programmed settings for power blend and smoothies.
• 10 variable speed controls.
• Shuts off automatically when the selected cycle is complete.
• Pulse feature for quick chopping and preparing the ingredients.
• Tamper.
• Interlocking safety system prevents the motor from starting until the container is mounted securely. The motor stops automatically if the container is removed.
• Prepares soups, frozen desserts, smoothies, baby foods, nut butter, puree, dressings & sauces, batters, dips & spreads efficiently.
• Can chop vegetables and herbs quickly. Good for grinding, and pureeing.
• Space-saving and compact design. Fits under the kitchen cabinet easily.
• Dishwasher safe.
• Available in two colors – Black, and Red.
• Recipe book with step-by-step directions.
• Full 5-year warranty.

Pulse and Variable Speeds

You’ll have complete control over the consistency of your sauce, pesto, smoothies, and other recipes thanks to the pulse function and the 13 speeds on the Vitamix S50 blender. Try a gentle speed when you’re blending fruits. Go for a more powerful higher speed for tough ingredients such as greens, carrots, and ice.

Pre-Programmed Settings

There are two pre-programmed settings on this blender, for power blends and smoothies. This is a nice change from the Vitamix S30 blender, which lacks pre-programmed settings. If you’re looking for more in the way of pre-programmed settings, check out the popular S55 model which has four.

The smoothie setting is great for yogurts, fresh fruits, and other soft ingredients. The power blend, on the other hand, is designed for tough ice and veggies. It works efficiently even for nuts and seeds. Just select the setting that is right for your recipe and ingredients — your blender will turn off automatically once the blending is done.

Specs

Motor	790-watt
Electrical Ratings	120 V, 50/60 Hz, 7 Amps
Program Settings	2
Other Features	Variable speed, pulse
Controls	Variable speed control
Dimensions	8.34" x 5.9" x 15.66"
Weight	12.6 lbs
Capacity	40 oz, 20 oz
Colors	Black, red
Warranty	5-year
Price

Containers

There are two containers that you can attach to the S50’s motorized base. The 40 oz jar is larger and the 20 oz pitcher is more travel-friendly. Both the containers are shatterproof, sturdy, and BPA-free. They are also dishwasher safe. There are clear markings on the container that you can read easily for measurements. The blade inside the container is removable for easy cleaning.

Performance

Smoothies – The entire lineup of Vitamix blenders is well-known for being able to make great smoothies. The S50 does justice to this reputation. It makes very good smoothies, no matter how exotic, tough, or delicate the ingredients. The S50 is less powerful than the larger models, but it does the job very well.

Place the liquid at the bottom of the large container, followed by the dry goods, leafy greens, veggies, and fruits. Frozen ingredients and ice should come last. It’s best to layer in this manner for easy blending.

Juicing – The S50 is not your traditional “juice extractor”. However, it can still blend ingredients, particularly fiber, very efficiently. The motor can break apart the cell walls of any vegetables or fruits, transform whole fibers, and liquefy them into juice for you to drink. You will get all of the nutritional benefits from the ingredients when they’re blended in the S50.

Dry and wet chopping – The variable speed controls in this model allows precise and clean dry chopping. It’s a great blender for preparing meals for small families. The sharp blades prepare recipes such as chunky toppings for your soups and guacamole. The blades can chop bell peppers too.

Wet chopping is more consistent, and better suited for vegetables and raw fruits. The ingredients are better circulated with water. Use short quick abrupt pulses when you are blending at high speed.

Grinding – You can use the Vitamix S50 to make nut butter, flour, powdered sugar, flax meal, and even grinding your morning coffee. Just remember to use the 40 oz dry container.

Mixing – The S50 blender can also be used a mixer for whipping up batters like pancakes, and for quick bread such as cornbread or banana. The S50 blender can even be used to make cakes and cookies.

Warranty

Vitamix covers the S50 with a full 5-year full warranty. If any repairs are needed to your machine during that time, they’ll cover parts, labor, and even shipping costs both ways.

Where to Buy the Vitamix S50

You can order the Vitamix S50 blender directly from Vitamix through their online store. After clicking that link, just add the S50 to your shopping cart and go through the normal checkout process. You should see a special free shipping credit automatically added to your order (no coupon code needed).

In addition to the free shipping promo currently going on, another nice benefit of ordering directly from Vitamix is their in-home free trial. Vitamix gives you 30 days to use the S50 in your kitchen, and if at any time during the first 30 days you decide that the blender just doesn’t meet your expectations, they’ll buy it back. The company will even pick up all return shipping costs.

Lastly, one more neat thing that Vitamix is offering right now on the S50 blender is an interest-free payment plan. If you would rather not pay for the full cost upfront, they’ll break up the price of the blender into 18 easy installments and won’t charge you a penny in interest to do it. This is great if you’re tight on money at the moment and can’t really afford to pay for the S50 entirely upfront.

Pros and Cons

What We Like:

• A very good personal blender for individuals or small families.
• Sleek design.
• Comes with two containers – 40 oz and 20 oz.
• The containers are made with BPA-free plastic.
• Powerful stainless steel blades.
• Two pre-programmed settings.
• 10 variable speed controls.
• Shuts off automatically when the selected cycle is complete.
• Dishwasher safe.
• Can be used for mixing, grinding, pureeing, dry, and wet chopping.
• Good with soups, frozen desserts, smoothies, baby foods, nut butter, puree, dressings & sauces, batters, dips & spreads.
• Full 5-year warranty.

Things We Don’t Like:

• Cleaning can be difficult. You must unscrew the blade and gasket first.
• Limited capacity. Good for small tasks only.
• Costlier than many other blenders.

Final Thoughts

The Vitamix S50 is a very efficient personal blender for smoothies, juices, frozen desserts, baby foods, nut butter, and a whole lot more. This super versatile blender can also be used for grinding, chopping, dough making, and mixing. It’s a very handy machine to have in the kitchen when you want to blend in small quantities, and is perfect for small families and single individuals.

Click Here to Buy the Vitamix S50