A blender can be a useful tool in the kitchen and is great for making salad dressings, smoothies, homemade applesauce, healthy waffle batter, and much more.
However, it is important to understand that blending hot foods, such as soup or homemade applesauce, in a blender can be dangerous and can cause severe burns if certain precautions are not taken.
When hot food is inside your blender and you put a lid on top, it heats up the air above between the food and the blender lid, and causes pressure to build up in the blender jar. This pressure can actually cause the top to blow right off as hot food explodes out the top of the blender jar.
NEVER blend hot foods in a blender without following these safely instructions!
How to Blend Hot Foods Safely
1. Fill the blender jar only one-third to one-half full. Filling the jar more than halfway can cause too much steam to build up and can blow the lid off the blender.
2. Remove center piece (feeder cap) of blender lid.
3. Place the blender lid (minus the feeder cap) securely on the blender.
4. Cover the blender lid with a clean kitchen towel. (I like to use one that is folded to be just slightly larger than the blender lid.)
The hot steam needs an easy escape route (through the feeder cap and then through and out the edges of the towel) once the blender is turned on so that pressure doesn’t build.
5. Hold the lid on securely and start blending on lowest speed. Gradually increase speed as needed.
Following these instructions can help prevent severe burns.
Update: The new Blendtec blender has a special lid that vents steam pressure without needing to remove the center part. It seems to work very well, but still use caution.
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Kathleen
February 8, 2017 at 4:24 pmI’m glad you posted this! I just got the Aldi version of a Vitamix or Blendtec and tried making my bulletproof coffee in it this morning & made a HUGE mess!! It was probably around 8-12 oz. of coffee in a 64 oz. blender jar, but it still blew the top off! I knew you couldn’t fill a blender jar with hot liquid, but this was a small amount and still made a huge HOT MESS!! I will try taking the center piece out and see if that works. Thanks!
Jennifer's Kitchen
February 9, 2017 at 7:36 amOh no! The steam can really build up and make quite an explosive mess : ) No fun cleaning up!
Be careful even when you take the center piece out; the steam can burn you.
Best wishes.
Jennifer
Susanna
February 11, 2017 at 12:30 pmThanks for your article. Like Kathleen above, I’d like to blend my bullet proof coffee. I also need a blender to handle smoothies. We originally used a NutriBullet and the coffee destroyed it in about a month. Nutribullet now says to not put any hot liquids in any of their models….SO, we are looking for a blender under $200 that will take care of hot and cold with at least 1000 watts. I’m open for suggestions.
Jennifer's Kitchen
February 13, 2017 at 4:50 amThe Ninja (BL642) blender is 1500 watts, but when I tried it, it could not get my waffle batter or sauces smooth.
I’ve heard that the Oster VERSA (1400 watts) and the Dash Chef Series (1400 watts) are very good blenders, but I haven’t tried them.
Lillian
March 24, 2019 at 9:33 pmJennifer, you rock!! You just saved me from a future of endless frustration and stained walls. Duh, create space for the steam to vent out… makes sense but somehow I never realized. Thanks for sharing this!!!!
JennifersKitchen
March 25, 2019 at 12:03 pmYou’re welcome, Lillian. I’m so happy it was helpful. 🙂
Priscilla
April 8, 2019 at 7:37 pmHi! If you take the piece out of the lid, won’t the liquid come out of that opening?
JennifersKitchen
April 8, 2019 at 7:48 pmHi Priscilla,
If the blender isn’t too full and I start the blender on a very low speed, the liquid doesn’t splash out for me. I usually put a clean kitchen towel on top of the lid to be sure.
But, of course, when you try this, I advise extreme caution. Hot liquids can burn.
The new Blendtec blender has a special lid that vents steam pressure without needing to remove the center part. It seems to work very well, but still use caution.
Jennifer