Veggie Bullet Review – Is it Worth It ?
Updated 2021 – With more blender brands adding in food prep functionality, Nutribullet has joined the market and introduced their Veggie Bullet.
I personally own and like Nutribullet blenders so I was really interested to see how the Veggie Bullet compared in quality and performance to other food processor appliances.
Veggie Bullet’s key focus is the popularity in veggie spiralizers. Spiralizers are handheld devices where you crank the device or turn the vegetable through a blade to make vegetable noodles.
Table of Contents
Veggie Bullet Overview
While there are multiple new electric spiralizers products on the market now, Veggie Bullet tried to differentiate itself by making it a 3-in-1 tool. It functions as a:
- Spiralizer : Makes vegetable noodles using zucchini.
- Shredder : Grates vegetables and cheese.
- Slicer : Slices fruits and vegetables into thin slices.
The Veggie bullet is about the size of a standard food processor and comes with two attachments:
- Electric shredder/slicer for vegetables, cheese, meats and nuts.
- Electric spiralizer for making vegetable noodles.
- Angel Hair Spiralizer Blade – Creates thin noodles
- Ribbon Spiralizer Blade – Creates thin spiral noodles
- Curly Fry Spiralizer Blade – Creates thick wide curly noodles
- Nutribullet blender attachment to make single serve smoothies, sauces, etcetera…
Veggie Bullet in Action
Professional Chef Using Veggie Bullet
Spiralizer
Shredder
Slicer
Does the Veggie Bullet Work ?
After watching the above videos of the Veggie Bullet in action, it looks so easy. The big question is does it really work ?
Yes and No. Some tests are positive about the Spiralizer but the user reviews are very mixed about performance.
Spiralizer Performance
The Nutribullet spiralizer function works pretty well with certain vegetables and Epicuious test of the Veggie bullet found that is was able to spiralize simple vegetables like zucchini and cucumber very well with little waste. Although, there are some complaints from users (See reviews #1 & #2) who found that the Veggie Bullet does not do well with hard vegetables like sweet potatoes, carrots, and beets.
The varying opinions about the spiralizer really come down to what vegetables you are using with the spiralizer and how you prepped the vegetables. Generally, it works with softer vegetables but will struggle if you try to spiralize hard vegetables like carrots or beets. Here is a user review from a Doctor comparing the Veggie Bullet versus a manual spiralizer. Here is another detailed Veggie Bullet review from a user that is worth reading.
Slicer/Shredder Performance
The slicer/shredder blade is a disc that flips over to perform a specific task (slicing on one side and shredding on the other side). It is designed to shred or slice vegetables, hard cheeses and cooked meats. The slicer works pretty well at slicing hard vegetables like carrots, hard cheeses and cooked or cured meats but you have to size the ingredients to fit in the chute. If you have a lot of slicing to do then the Veggie Bullet slicer can save time but it might be easier to just do it by hand for smaller jobs.
A design issue that some customers had with the slicer/shredder blade the small gap between the lid and blade. This would cause food to not go thru the blade and therefore sit on top of the spinning blade.
The shredder blade is useful for shredding harder vegetables and I like the idea of making cauliflower rice as shown in the shredder video above. There are multiple reviews about ingredients getting easily stuck in the chute when shredding. The Veggie Bullet slicer/shredder blade is similar to other food processors but the design is not as ideal as other popular, low-cost food processors like this one or the ever-popular, full strength Cuisinart.
In regards to the design, typical food processors are self-contained and keep the ingredients within the container. The Veggie Bullet uses a design like a juicer and shoots the ingredients out the chute/spout when using the shredding or slicing blade. It is a neat idea to have a chute for a food processor but the design isn’t perfect for some ingredients as they can get stuck.
Tests indicated that the Veggie bullet did an okay job slicing/shredding hard ingredients like carrots, beets, and nuts. Although, certain ingredients like soft meats or cheese can stick on the blades and work inefficiently.
For the spout, there are comments about difficulty in cleaning it because of how it is hooked downward. The hooked spout is a single piece of plastic so it can be hard to clean certain ingredients from within it.
For more in-depth details on how the Veggie bullet components are put together, below are some useful videos that show the parts up close.
Veggie Bullet Shredder Assembly
Veggie Bullet Spiralizer Assembly
Veggie Bullet Slicer Assembly
Veggie Bullet Review
Positives: The Veggie Bullet spiralizer works reasonably well with soft vegetables and can be a time saver if you are spiralizing large amounts. The food processing works okay but the spout/chute isn’t perfect and you are probably better off with a proven food processor if that will be your main use.
Negatives: This appliance might be worth it if you spiralize a lot of soft vegetables and are tired of using a hand held spiralizer. The price is high just for the slicing/shredding function and a food processor will work better. The Veggie Bullet doesn’t provide any flexibility on speeds or thickness like some spiralizers provide. The chute is a nice idea but might have a hard time shooting out softer ingredients like grated cheese. Veggie Bullet reviews are very mixed from users. (Side note- You can get good results with the spiralizer if you properly center the vegetable which some users who leave negative reviews might not properly do). It doesn’t truly replace the need for a food processor. Also it has a lot of parts and can be time consuming to clean up if you are doing small batches.
Overall Opinion: The Veggie Bullet is a creative idea but user reviews are very mixed on its performance. The Nutribullet spiralizer results can really vary depending on which vegetable you use. I could see how the spiralizer would be very useful though if you have a hard time manually spiralizing vegetables. The slicing and shredding function are OK and you might find them useful if you don’t already have a food processor or other similar kitchen device but could use some improvement.
Some things to keep in mind when deciding if the Veggie Bullet is right for you are that all of your foods need to be sized to fit into the Veggie Bullet feeder and you can’t adjust thickness or speeds. Also there are quite a few pieces to clean up and store.
If you are still undecided on the Veggie Bullet then read the many helpful recent user reviews of the product at Amazon. Also, I provided some Veggie Bullet alternative appliance options below.
UPDATE- There are many helpful user comments from readers at the bottom of this post who share their experiences using the Veggie Bullet.
In 2019, the price has really come down on the Veggie Bullet since first being introduced. You can find the Veggie Bullet for sale at most big retailers, Amazon, or directly at Nutribullet.
Amazon.com has the Veggie Bullet for a lower price but without the bonus accessories that Nutribullet direct offers. Amazon is a direct seller of the Veggie Bullet and is much more generous with its 30 day return policy.Other retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, Macy’s, and Bed Bath and Beyond directly carry the same Veggie Bullet package as Amazon but Amazon has it priced for less. Some retailers might have a sale or coupon for a great price but typically they exclude appliances in their coupon promotions. Ask those retailers if they accept returns of used goods if you want to test the Veggie Bullet.
Nutribullet website sometimes offer extra accessories (1. Angel Hair Blade, 2. Ribbon Spiralizer Blade, 3. Curly Fry blade, and 4. Nutribullet blender attachment to make single serve smoothies and sauces) but they charge more than Amazon for that. Nutribullet does have a 30-day money back guarantee but make sure you read the fine print. There are some user complaints that state it is very difficult to package the Veggie Bullet back up exactly to Nutribullet requirements to get the refund. Read this user review that shares their return experience.
Veggie Bullet Alternatives
Spiralizer Alternatives
If you just like the spiralizer feature then there are other choices on the market for less but it depends on if you want automatic or manual and if you want features like slicing thickness and different blades. The manual spiralizers will give you more control and ability to adjust thickness.
-> For manual spiralizers, the top rated manual spiralizer is this one from OXO (It scored the highest in independent tests for performance, quality and features. Here is a thorough user review of the OXO). The second popular choice is this manual spiralizer which is slightly less expensive with very strong reviews. Either one is a great choice.
-> For automatic spiralizers, Kitchenaid spiralizer attachment or the Ninja blenders mentioned below are choices worth considering.
It has very high reviews and works well with the popular vegetables that people usually spiralize(Cucumber, zucchini, squash, apples, potatoes) but can struggle with hard vegetables like beets. It is well built and the only design issue is it is limited in the length of the vegetable/fruit that it can hold. We have used it many times and find it easy to use and clean.
Ninja offers an automatic spiralizer for two of their new blender models. There is either the compact model or full size model. Both work quite well if you want an electric spiralizer.
Slicer/Shredder Alternatives
Slice and shred food processing functions can be replicated with any food processor like the popular ones I mentioned above. One other popular food processor choice is the Presto Salad shooter which shoots out sliced or shredded vegetables but doesn’t spiralize.
Also, some of the Ninja blenders all-in-one models have accessories to blend, chop, dice, puree, and food prep but don’t spiralize. The Ninja all-in-one food processing choices that DON’T have spiralizers are the popular QB1004 and Fullsize BL770.
Final Thoughts
While I love Nutribullet blenders, the Veggie Bullet has some areas it could improve and it is a little cumbersome with all the components. The user reviews are very mixed about the results and I think getting the Veggie Bullet only makes sense for those that either don’t have any other similar kitchen appliance or possibly have a hard time physically using manual spiralizers. The spiralizer works fine with certain vegetables but the results from the other components really depend on which ingredients you use.
Overall, I am “neutral” on the Veggie Bullet. I prefer using separate appliances that perform better for the specific spiralize/shred/slicing tasks. If you will be spiralizing a lot of specific vegetables then the Veggie Bullet can save you time and might be a good fit for you.
I hope the information in this Veggie Bullet review has helped with your decision making. Please leave any questions or comments below.
