Ninja AMZ493BRN Compact Kitchen System Review

Crushed ice is the machine's strongest job. The stacked blade assembly is a tall tower of staggered blades, and the 72 oz Total Crushing Pitcher gives it the volume it needs to turn a full load of cubes into even crushed ice without a pool of meltwater at the bottom.

The pitcher holds 72 oz total, with a 64 oz maximum liquid capacity, so a full round of smoothies or frozen drinks fits in one go. The stacked blade design is built for that kind of volume rather than for a single small serving.

Auto-iQ presets and controls

Three timed programs cover Smoothie, Frozen and Dough/Mix, and the display counts up or down so you can see how much of the cycle is left. The base recognizes which vessel is attached and only lights the programs that vessel can run, which keeps you from starting a program the bowl can't handle. Manual speed, pulse and adjustable time are there when you want to stop the machine yourself.

The processor bowl for everyday chopping

The 40 oz Precision Processor Bowl with the chopping blade handles onions, garlic, herbs, salsa, hummus and pesto, which is what most home cooks actually do every week. The dough blade kneads up to 1 lb of dough at a time, enough for one pizza or a small loaf.

Footprint and single servings

The base measures 7.5 inches deep, 8.25 inches wide and 17.25 inches tall, so it slides under standard upper cabinets with a vessel attached, and it weighs about 11 lb. The 18 oz cup with its spout lid and the Pro Extractor blades make one drink without dirtying the pitcher.

Buyers on Amazon most often praise performance, and ease of use and ease of cleaning come up positively too. The parts are dishwasher-safe, which is where much of that cleaning feedback comes from.

The bowl chops and mixes. It does not slice, shred or grate, because no slicing or shredding discs are in the box.

The consequence is plain. Vegetables come out chopped rather than sliced, so cucumber coins and gratin potatoes are off the table. Cheese comes out in crumbs instead of shreds, and crumbs melt differently in a sauce or on a pizza than a shredded topping does.

Batch size and what the bowl is for

At 40 oz, the bowl suits small batches and gets tight for batch cooking. It is a chopping and mixing bowl, not a drink blender: run a smoothie through it and the result comes out grainy.

The dough blade, honestly

The dough blade is plastic with dull prongs, and the Dough/Mix program runs at low speed for a set time. It kneads one batch of up to 1 lb, not a big one, so plan on a single pizza or a small loaf per run.

Smoothies, frozen drinks, shakes and ice are the core of the machine, and the pitcher and cup are built for them. The limits are facts of the product rather than faults.

• No tamper is included, so thick mixtures need stopping and scraping by hand.
• The manual forbids processing hot liquids, so hot soup is out.
• The manual forbids dry grinding of coffee beans, grains or flour in the cup or the pitcher, or with the chopping blade.

Fibrous greens and small batches are where the stacked blade shows its weakness. The blade tower throws food outward and upward instead of pulling it into a vortex, and it blocks a spatula, so a small volume of kale or a single vinaigrette can stay chunky. Nut butter is marginal for the same reason: without a tamper, the paste climbs the walls and needs manual stirring.

The machine is loud. Noise is the topic Amazon buyers raise most negatively, and reviews at other retailers describe a motor you can hear through the house. Expect to step out of the kitchen during a cycle.

Blades and storage

The blades are stainless steel and very sharp, and no blade storage case is included, so handle them with care and keep them out of reach of children. One buyer reports a blade assembly slipping out as they poured. Unplug the base before you reach in, and lift blades by their plastic hub.

Cleaning and the parts count

All vessels, lids and blades are dishwasher-safe. Rinse them promptly, because residue dries hard on plastic. Compact refers to the single motor base, not to the number of parts: three vessels, four blade assemblies and their lids all need a home in your cabinets.

These are the figures that change how the machine fits into a kitchen.

The 1,200 watts explain the ice crushing and the speed on frozen loads. The 17.25-inch height is what lets it live on the counter under a cabinet instead of in a closet. The 11.1 lb weight means one person can lift it, though the base plus a full pitcher is heavier than that.