Why The Ninja Deluxe Kitchen System At Costco Is A Hard Pass

Blenders and food processors are not the same thing, but Ninja's special Kitchen System line attempts to marry the two into one machine with different pitchers and blades. Sounds perfect, especially if you can snag the combo gadget for a good deal at Costco, right? Our writer and reviewer combed through countless customer reviews and product details to determine six small kitchen appliances to buy and six to avoid at Costco. Cost, aesthetics, size, durability over time, and how effectively each unit performed were also taken into consideration. Unfortunately, the Ninja Deluxe Kitchen System was ranked as a hard pass — it does not deliver on the promised functionality and has caused trouble for many unhappy customers.

While there are several models available in the Kitchen System line, the Deluxe CO905KS model is only available through Costco and Amazon, instantly giving it an air of exclusivity that it sadly doesn't deserve. The main offense this appliance commits is that it's not actually an all-inclusive blending system. First, it cannot blend hot foods. Second, it can't blend dry ingredients either, so forget about making your own almond flour. Ironically, when blending wet ingredients, some customers have found the Ninja Deluxe shaking, leaking, and creating an enormous mess, while others noted that the blades don't yield a smooth blend of fiber-rich ingredients. The machine is also very hard to clean, which is a massive pet peeve.

We understand the allure of the Ninja Deluxe, and perhaps your first instinct is to glance at the other Kitchen System models in search of something similar but better. However, it appears that Ninja tried to do it all with this line and consequently ended up accomplishing very little. Deluxe's sister models, Professional Plus and Detect, have very similar faults and are leaving many customers regretting the purchase. So, what are some good alternatives?

For one, it looks like you'll be much better off investing in a good blender and food processor separately. If you're shopping at Costco, our writer highlighted Vitamix Venturist Pro Blender as a superior alternative to Ninja Deluxe. While the Venturist Pro is only sold at Costco, you can find a slightly different Venturist model on Amazon. As long as you stick with Vitamix, you won't be disappointed. The brand is our #1 pick among the 16 best blender brands and is well worth the investment. On the food processing side, if you caught up with our Best Food Processor: The 2023 Tasting Table Awards, you know the top spot went to none other than Ninja — its BN601 Professional Plus Food Processor had everything we were looking for, so despite the disappointment that we found in Ninja Deluxe, we're not done with this iconic brand just yet.