Instant Pot makes a cooking blender and it's 50% off right now
This powerful blender has an actual heating element to make the easiest soups and sauces ever. It's just $60 right now.
When the brains behind Instant Pot launched the Instant Ace a few years back, Ashleé Clark took it for a spin for CNET and roundly endorsed the blender that features a unique built-in cooking function. More recently, I tested the updated version, the $120 Instant Ace Nova, which has a slimmer base and even more functionality. I too loved it; enough so to plunk it atop my list of the best blenders in 2021 and as the absolute best blender pick for soup lovers.
While it doesn't have quite the power, when considering overall value, the Instant Ace Nova beat out perennial favorites like Vitamix and Blendtec. I consider the versatile blender a steal even at its normal price of $120, and so I did a double-take when I spotted it for half that price on Instant's website right now. This is a whole lot of blender for $60.
The blending function is very good but what really sets the Ace Nova apart is the soup function that'll actually cook ingredients for 15 minutes or so before spinning them into soup all with the touch of one button. At 1000 watts, the Instant Ace Nova isn't the most powerful full-sized blender on the market but it has more than enough oomph to crush ice, pulverize raw nuts, make perfect smoothies with ease and nail just about any other task you'd ask of a blender.
While other high-octane models can spin ingredients fast enough to heat them with sheer force, this is one of few that will actually cook the contents, releasing all those tasty sugars and flavors. It's an excellent blender and currently sitting at a price you may not see again soon. In short: this is one of the best kitchen appliance deals we've seen so far in 2021.