How to Use a Hand Held Mixer In Ways You NEVER Thought Of

How to Use a Hand-Held Mixer In Ways You NEVER Thought Of! These creative uses for using a kitchen mixer will give you new ideas that will rock your world. 

We all know that you can use your handheld mixer for baking. But did you know how else you can use your handheld mixer?

Maybe you have thought to use your mixer for whipping cream, making pudding, or homemade chocolate cake. But I bet a few of these ways I am about to show you, you have not thought of and will make your life EASIER!

4 Creative Ways to Use Your Kitchen Mixer

• To Froth Milk
• To Juice Citrus
• To Shred Meat
• To Mix Nut Butters

To Froth Milk

My morning coffee is ESSENTIAL for me to function. It is essential for me to be a personable person to be around.

And while I would love to hit up Starbucks every morning, my budget will not allow that! And truth be told, I want to stay in my cozy PJ pants in my house, so there is no way I would get in the car to drive to get a latte.

But I love lattes.

And YOU can make Homemade Lattes at home with just 2 ingredients and your handheld mixer.

• Pour ⅓ cup to ½ cup milk (any variety) into your coffee mug.
• Microwave for 30-40 seconds.
• Once the milk is heated, take your handheld mixer, fixed with 1 beater into the heated milk and turn it to high and whisk for 30 seconds, until the milk is frothy.
• Pour or brew coffee over milk and enjoy it.

Of course, you can add syrups or use Homemade Coconut Vanilla Coffee Creamer. 

To Juice Citrus

I am a HUGE fan of NOT having a million tools in my kitchen. Maybe it is because I hate clutter, maybe it is because I use to have a very small kitchen, or maybe because I hate wasting money on things that are not necessary.

Whenever I can take one tool and give it multiple purposes or avoid having to purchase ANOTHER tool, I am all for it.

When it comes to juicing fruits, I don't have a juicer or a lemon press.

I just use the attachment to my handheld mixer. I can get EVERY bit of juice from lemons and limes every time with my mixer attachment.

Pro Tip for Juicing Lemons and Limes: Microwave for 15 seconds, roll on the counter, and then cut open and juice. Your citrus will give off nearly double the juice with these tips!

To Shred Chicken

How many recipes do you use shredded chicken in?

I use shredded chicken in so many dishes, like Creamy Cheesy Chicken and Rice, Chicken Parmesan Casserole, Poppyseed Chicken and the list goes on!

But shredding chicken takes time--or it used to!

You can shred cooked chicken in a matter of a couple of minutes with the help of your handheld mixer.

How do you shred chicken so easily with your handheld mixer?

Place your cooked chicken (boneless, skinless) in a large mixing bowl (or in a stainless pot you cooked the chicken in) and place your handheld mixer in and mix away. It will take a minute to break up large chicken pieces, but once it starts to work, the job is done very quickly.

Tips for Shredding Your Cooked Chicken

• The chicken will shred faster if still slightly hot and with a bit of liquid in the bowl. (You can use a bit of water or chicken stock.)
• You can start with raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cook in the Instant Pot or boil them on the stove and then shred them right in the pot. Here is my method for Instant Pot Chicken Breasts. 
• You can start with a leftover Rotisserie Chicken or Roasted Chicken Breasts. Remove skin from chicken and then take the chicken off the bones (be sure to save the bones for Homemade Chicken Stock) and place in a large mixing bowl with a bit of water or stock and shred away with the handheld mixer.
• Make large batches of the chicken at once. Allow cooling if still warm and then package in 1-2 cup portions and freeze to pull out to use for future use.

To Stir Natural Nut Butters

I am a huge fan of peanut butter, almond butter, and cashew butter. But I want simplicity when it comes to nut butter. Which means, just nuts and salt.

Natural Peanut Butter and Natural Almond Butter are NOTORIOUS for being difficult to stir well before using.

That natural oil separation that occurs causes all the oil to sit on top of the nut butter. If you don't disperse that oil evenly throughout the nut butter, the bottom of the jar will be useless. Dried-up peanut butter is not very appetizing (or easy to spread).

Despite minutes of mixing, I can not seem to ever get my peanut butter well mixed by hand. Enter my Hand Held Mixer and my life was changed!

How to Mix Peanut Butter with a Hand-Held Mixer

• Place one paddle onto your handheld mixer and plug it in.
• Open your nut butter.
• Place the paddle into your nut butter until fully submerged.
• With one hand VERY FIRMLY on the jar and one on the mixer, turn the mixer to the lowest setting. Let the oil start to disperse and then you can turn the speed up to medium on the mixer. Mix for 30-45 seconds or until peanut butter is nice and creamy and oil is fully mixed into nut butter.

***Do not let go of the peanut butter jar while the mixer is on. This will result in the peanut butter flying all over the kitchen. This did happen to me one time while I was very distracted. It has never happened since and I do it at least once a week (we eat a lot of nut butter) but wanted you to be warned!!

So that question you may have had of Do I really need a handheld mixer? 

I think you know my stance. My handheld mixer is one appliance I use over and over again--for more than just baking!

Which Mixer Should You Buy?

I have my Kitchen Aid handheld mixer for 15 years now with ZERO issues, so I can't say enough good about it.

I have seen Hand Held Mixers with Cases as well which are a nice thing, but I can't personally speak to their performance in the kitchen.

Kitchen Aid also has a handheld mixer with a case and a whisk and frother. I imagine this is a great mixer and nice attachments to have, I just have not found the need for all the extras.