The full review of the Ninja MEGA Kitchen System is coming (I promise), but I wanted to share this info with you guys as soon as possible. I have just started digging into all the goodies that come with this blending system – and there are a lot.
Instead of my traditional “all-at-once” reviews, I thought I should do a different type of review this time: Highlight a few capabilities into their own posts, and then do one uber review that encompasses everything. You all know I can get a bit loquacious – I am who I am – and I thought this route might provide you more digestible chunks. It will also give you some entertainment this week while I’m on vacation in Bend, Oregon, and enjoying a nice kitchen in a rental home.
I wanted to get to one thing right away: Juicing.
Juicing is something you all are very passionate about. The number one page on this blog is my “How to Juice with a Ninja” page, and, that is also the page that has the most comments, hands down.
I wrote it about two years ago (how has it been that long?!), and times, they are-a-changing. There were two camps on my original approach to juicing with the Ninja. You guys either embraced that you had to strain the juice or didn’t mind the pulp and left it in, or, were completely abhorred by it.
To be fair, I see both sides of the story. The Ninja infomercials make it seem like you can get juicer-quality juice from a blender. At the end of the day, it’s a blender, always will be a blender, and will never be able to do what a masticating juicer can do. But, it’s a compromise if you’re looking for more of an all-in-one solution to blending, food processing, and juicing.
Anyway, I admit it. I was skeptical that the Ninja Mega Kitchen System would outperform its predecessors when it came to whole fruit and vegetable juicing. I truly thought it wouldn’t be any different and straining would really be required if you wanted a smooth drink. I mean, how could it be any different? The 72 ounce pitcher and blade design are the same. The difference can be summed up in two words very near and dear to “Tim, the Toolman Taylor”: More. Power.
The Ninja Mega has 1500 watts, which is 2 horsepower, as compared to 1100 watts in other Ninja Professional blenders. And, it shows.
To give the juicing another go, I loaded up the blender with a slight modification to the Dr. Oz green juice ingredients (this is my favorite green juice, for what it’s worth), but I left one thing out: water. Instead of water, I followed Ninja’s directions for “Whole Food Juicing” and added four ice cubes. I also used spinach instead of kale, simply because I didn’t have kale. Green is green, right?
As I stood there, ready for go time, I still didn’t think this was going to work. I really didn’t. I decided to keep an open mind, and got to it.
I blended on level 3 – which is labeled “Crush.” Ninja states that the longer you blend, the smoother your juice will be. After about a minute, I ended up with this.
And now, about five minutes later, I have this:
The juice never separated, and remained highly drinkable the whole time. It was delish and hit the spot. The ingredients to make this juice cost me about $2, which is a far cry from the about $6 it costs for one green juice at Evolution Fresh (or from Whole Foods).
Let’s be clear, though. This is not the pulp-free juice you would get out of a dedicated juicer. It’s just not. But, it is very, very smooth. I was shocked at just how smooth it came out. It is very drinkable, no chewing required. (Though, did you know you should really chew your juices and smoothies to send the signal to your gut that it is time to work on digestion? Random tip for you.)
The folks at Ninja promote that the pulp is the most beneficial part of fruits and veggies, and I totally agree. That’s where the fiber and a lot of the nutrients are. However, some folks will never like pulp. 2Chili, for instance, cannot stand pulp. So, if you are thinking of buying this system because you only want to juice, and you hate pulp, I would say go buy a juicer. But, if you are looking for a more multi-purpose kitchen system, I can vouch that this system made what I considered highly drinkable juice.
Aside from green juices, I don’t do a whole lot of juicing, so let me know if you have a specific recipe you want to see created.
Next up: Making cookies.
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Just So You Know: I have absolutely no affiliation with the Ninja Kitchen folks. I bought this system for my own purposes and to share my honest thoughts with you about its performance. I receive no compensation or consideration for my opinions.
View Comments (84)
I am considering purchasing a Ninja for juicing (I like pulp) and food processing. Does the Mega make the pulp finer? I don’t want to spend that much extra $ if I would end up with fhe same product. Thanks!!
Hi CJ,
I think it is probably debatable if the mega makes the pulp finer, as the blade design is exactly the same in the Ninja Pro, Ninja Kitchen System, and Ninja Mega – a triple blade that goes through the center. The single serve cup makes finer pulp than the 72 ounce jar due to the blade design (more of a traditional blade on the bottom). So, if you like pulp and want to save $$, I would say you will be just fine with either the Ninja Professional Blender or Ninja Kitchen System.
Hope that helps!
Angela
I like the single serving option. I forgot to mention that. Would the Pulse do as good? Thanks so much for taking the time to reply.
You know, I really love my Pulse and use it almost daily. We are doing a whole house remodel and I don’t have a lot of space right now, so it stays out and everything else is temporarily put away. The 40 ounce pitcher is a good food processor, and the single serve cup is highly capable, especially for single smoothies or juices. It only has half the power (700 watts vs 1500) of the Ninja Mega, so, it’s not quite the “powerhouse,” but it is definitely capable for its cost and size, and is much better than a standard blender. It is fine for juicing (both pitcher and single serve), but you could get into some situations with needing a little more power here and there if you’re blending something really dense. The way out of that is to simply pulse what you’re blending instead of trying to steady state blend, in those rare instances. The default for the Pulse is to pulse, but it does have the capability to steady state blend simply by holding down the cup or jar lid – there is only one speed when steady state blending, though. And, of course, the cost is just fantastic as compared to its bigger siblings. If you are looking for simplicity and single serve blending, it would certainly do the job!
Angela,
I would like to make some tomato juice out of my extra tomatoes this year from my garden. I was wondering if you thought it would do a proper job. Thank you in advance for your input.
Hi Fred,
That’s a good question. My gut reaction is yes, it is in fact possible, but you will have to strain the juice. However, I have not tried to make tomato juice. I’ll pick up some tomatoes this week and give it a whirl and let you know.
Angela
Hi Fred,
I made tomato juice just fine today. I strained it to remove the pulp, for what it’s worth. I’m doing a post tomorrow…
Hope that helps,
Angela
so I live my ninja for everything but carrots and broccoli. I think I need to grind those separately. Stiil a bit thick for me.
I am soooo excited I found your page!! I just got my Ninja Mega Kitchen System tonight (it was a Christmas gift, but required an exchange– I ended up with mine for only $14 out of pocket!) and I cannot wait to make my green smoothies!!! As well as finding out all the other great stuff it can do– hopefully I’ll have some recipes to share!!!
Hi Steph,
Exciting that you made it work out to get a Mega KS! It makes fantastic green smoothies – have fun!
Angela
how well does it work with carrots
Hi Lani,
If you want straight up carrot juice, you’ll probably end up straining it since they are not super watery like an apple or orange. Just add a few ice cubes or 1/4 cup water to your carrots, blend, and then strain for more traditional pulp-free juice. I have put carrots in a bunch of my “blends” where I mix up a few different fruits and veggies, and it works just fine. Lately, I put in a beet, a carrot, an apple, and an orange, and that makes a pretty decent (thick) juice. There is no discernible carrot pulp, so I’d say they work pretty well. Hope that helps!
Thanks this helps
I was wondering how it does with crushing strawberry and raspberry seeds? I like pulp, but don’t like to drink a smoothie and bite down on seeds. Does it pulverize the seeds? Thanks!
Hi Desh,
I wasn’t sure about this, so I made the following smoothie for breakfast: 1.25 cups rice milk, handful raspberries, handful blackberries, handful blueberries, 1 scoop protein, 1/2 avocado. And, the blackberry seeds didn’t get pulverized. The raspberry seeds are indiscernible, but there are definitely still blackberry seeds.
Hope that helps,
Angela
Thank you for this great write up on the new ninja mega kitchen system. I bought a centrifugal juicers and was very excited about the possibilities of losing weight and being healthy. My wife and i juiced for a little over a week and had sensible meals for dinner. We both lost 25 pound all together in a weeks use. So after using the centrifugal juicers i noticed that the pulp was still wet/damp and started rerunning the pulp to get my moneys worth. I thought to myself their has to be a better way of doing this. Saw the ninja mega on the tv saw them demonstrate the juicing capabilities and thought to myself, bingo. I don’t have the money to blow on this thing and it not work that well. So for a couple weeks now i have been trying to see if it really is good at juicing and i found your site. It is great to hear that this product does work well. I can’t wait to get back to juicing so my wife and I can continue to lose weight and feel great.
Hi Josh,
I’m glad to help! I just finished a nice green juice of spinach, frozen pineapple, frozen mango, kiwi, cucumber, and mint. I added about 6 ounces of coconut water in lieu of ice to help it blend. You can definitely make juices in the Ninja Mega KS! And, you won’t have all that pulp as waste (or to clean out of a machine). Good luck, and congratulations on your progress so far, that’s fantastic!
Hi there! I just bought a mega system and do you have suggestions for how to fill it for a green smoothie? I put my ice andfrozen frozen fruit at the bottom and loaded the top with kale and spinach. The bottom blended but the top did not. I had to remove the lid and scrape down. Any suggestions or advice I would welcome.
Hi Lauren,
You definitely want the ice and frozen fruit on the top — that will help blend your smoothie better. The order I do is this: 1) liquid and hard veggies like cucumber, if using 2) greens, 3) frozen fruit and ice.
Pulse a few times to get started, and then blend for 1-2 minutes on 3 until fully combined.
Hope that helps,
Angela
Thank you I will try that tomorrow. One more question that I did not see an answer for in the booklet. Does the ninja automatically stop when blended?
That is a great question that no one else has ever asked! The Ninja does not stop automatically when blended. It is up to you to determine when to stop it. The only time it would stop automatically is if the machine overheats (which I have never had it do).
Thank you so much for your help! I just wanted to say that you and your website with all your useful information is the reason I bought the mega system. I was looking into the vitamix and blendtec. I just could not wrap my head around the cost between 470.00 and 500.00. I purchased the mega at Kohl’s on sale and had a 30% off coupon and got 30 back in Kohl’s cash..which I count as money off the purchase. So I walked out of there with the mega for 130.00!
Aw, thanks Lauren. I’m glad you found the site helpful, AND that is an amazing deal you found!! Nice job!
Thank you for the fantastic review. I have been debating the Kitchen Ninja purchase for some time. I’m still on the fence about the actual purchase (for financial reasons) but this helps me to discern the product and its capabilities itself. I still feel there are questions that I have not yet thought of, but will continue to read your pages to help make my decision.
If there were any reservations that a person would have about this machine, what would you say that it’s lacking?
Hi Jennifer,
Glad you found it helpful!
The two main detractors that people could have about this system are:
1) Blade design makes it hard to pulverize greens for green smoothies in the 72 ounce jar (works fine in the single serve cup)
2) The plastic jar is seen as a negative to some. I see it as a pro and a con. A glass jar this large would be so heavy! But, plastic is not as durable as glass, so it can get scratched if you are not careful.
Other than that, I really can’t think of any. I have been using my Mega KS for 5 months now with no issues. I also have a Ninja Pro that has been going strong for 2+ years, and a Ninja Pulse that has been great for 1.5+ years. The Ninja products are durable!
Hope that helps,
Angela
I originally was told about juicing by my Jamacain friends who totally believe in healthier living and eating. One of my dear friends ONLY does juicing and blended drinks for meals and he is HEALTHY as one person can get. Ive had a gastric by pass and Ive just started juicing. Im 66 and my 20 & 30 year old friends hardly keep up with me. They tell me I am stronger than anyone they know. Some nic named me Fire Cracker because of my energy and also my long red hair. LOL
I am SOOO happy that I came across your site! The UPS man just delivered my Mega Kitchen System 1500 today and I am so excited to try it out! I had been looking into a vitamix for awhile, but even though I know they work great (my sister & several friends have one) I just couldn’t bring myself to pay that high dollar amount. I look forward to going through more sections of your site and not only reading what you’ve written but also the comments from others – sometimes they have even more useful information in them!
Hi Meg,
Fun for you – you are going to have a blast creating with your Ninja Mega. And you’re right — my readers are awesome and they have left lots of great and helpful comments along the way. Enjoy! ?
Angela
Hi, I just bought this system and had the nutribullet prior for extract juicing. I was looking at something bigger because I love to make a lot and fridge it up for the week I have a question/suggestion, what about just adding more water to the pitcher when juicing. I always had to do this with the nutribullet to help smooth it out and it really worked and wasn’t as thick. It also helped with the seeds of berries.
Another question, can you do any kind of nut because I add nuts to all my juices in the nutribullet so I would assume the same would be for the ninja mega??
Thank you for all your reviews on these products, they are very helpful!
Hi Rachel,
You totally could add more water in the pitcher when juicing if you like to keep the pulp – that’s definitely a personal preference item. I like to add the ice cubes because it also chills the fruit/veggies, and seems to help smooth out the greens (if using). But, yes, you could do this!
It can do any kind of nut, no problem at all. Enjoy!
Angela