Best Blended Pellets

Best Blended Pellets for Pellet Stoves

Blended pellets offer the best of both worlds — combining the high BTU output of softwood with the longer burn time and density of hardwood. For many stove owners, these best blended pellets strike the perfect balance between heat, ash content, and cost-effectiveness.

Over the years, I’ve tested tons (literally) of pellet blends in my Harman, ComfortBilt, and Quadra-Fire stoves. Some brands stand out every season for their reliability and performance.

Top-Rated Blended Pellets by Brand

• Maine Woods Pellets
• New England Wood Pellets
• Curran Blended Pellets
• Ambiance Wood Pellets
• EasyBlaze Blended Pellets
• Green Supreme Pellets

Hardwood & Softwood Pellet Blends

If you’re trying to figure out whether blended wood pellets are any good, the short answer is yes — they absolutely can be.

I’ve burned plenty of hardwood, softwood and blended pellets over the years, and one thing I’ve learned is not to judge a pellet just by what it says on the bag.

A blended pellet is simply made from a combination of hardwood and softwood fibers. Depending on the mill, that might mean oak or maple mixed with pine, spruce, fir or another softwood.

Some blends are fantastic. Some aren’t.

What really matters is how much heat they put out, how much ash they leave behind and how well they burn in your particular pellet stove.

What Are Blended Wood Pellets?

Blended pellets contain a mixture of hardwood and softwood fibers instead of being made entirely from one or the other.

Hardwoods commonly used in pellets can include:

• Oak
• Maple
• Birch
• Beech
• Hickory

Softwoods can include:

• Pine
• Spruce
• Fir
• Douglas fir
• Hemlock

The actual recipe is different from one pellet manufacturer to another.

One blend might be mostly hardwood with a little softwood mixed in. Another might lean heavily toward softwood.

That’s why two bags labeled hardwood/softwood blend can burn completely differently.

Are Blended Wood Pellets Good?

Absolutely.

I’ve burned some really good blended pellets over the years, and I wouldn’t automatically choose a 100% hardwood pellet over a blend just because it says hardwood on the bag.

That’s one of the biggest mistakes people make when shopping for pellets.

Pellet quality has a lot to do with:

• The wood fiber being used
• How clean that fiber is
• Moisture content
• How much bark gets into the mix
• How tightly the pellets are compressed
• How many fines are in the bag
• The consistency of the manufacturing process

A good blend can burn hotter and cleaner than a mediocre hardwood pellet.

Benefits of Blended Wood Pellets

Good Heat Output

Blended pellets can put out excellent heat.

Softwoods such as pine, spruce and fir can produce very good BTU output when they’re made into quality pellets.

Mix those fibers with good hardwood and you can end up with a pellet that throws some serious heat.

This is one reason I wouldn’t assume that hardwood pellets are automatically hotter or better.

Low Ash Is Possible

A good blend can also produce very little ash.

Ash is something I pay a lot of attention to when testing pellets because it has a huge effect on how often you need to clean your stove.

Lower ash can mean:

• Less junk in the burn pot
• Cleaner glass
• Less frequent stove cleaning
• Better airflow
• More time between cleanings

If you’re constantly fighting ash buildup, take a look at my pellet stove cleaning guide too.

A Good Balance of Heat and Price

This is probably one of the biggest reasons blended pellets are popular.

Some premium softwood pellets are incredible burners, but depending on where you live, they can also be expensive.

A good blended pellet can sometimes give you very similar heat and low ash without costing quite as much per ton.

When you’re burning three, four or five tons during a cold heating season, that difference adds up quickly.

Consistent Burning

A quality pellet mill is trying to create the same pellet every time.

Blending different wood fibers can help manufacturers produce a pellet with consistent heat, density and burning characteristics.

That’s important because nothing is more frustrating than buying a ton of pellets that burn completely differently from bag to bag.

Blended Pellets vs Hardwood Pellets

People ask me all the time whether hardwood pellets are better than blended pellets.

The answer is: not necessarily.

Hardwood has a great reputation because hardwood firewood is dense and burns for a long time.

But pellets aren’t logs.

The wood gets ground up, dried and compressed into pellets. At that point, the quality of the finished pellet matters a lot more than whether the tree started out as hardwood or softwood.

A quality blend can easily outperform a poor hardwood pellet.

If you’re specifically looking for hardwood fuel, you can also check out my guide to the best hardwood pellets.

Blended Pellets vs Softwood Pellets

Softwood pellets have become extremely popular with pellet stove owners because some of the best softwood pellets burn extremely hot and leave almost no ash.

Pine, fir, spruce and Douglas fir can all make excellent pellet fuel.

A blended pellet can give you some of those same characteristics while mixing in hardwood fiber as well.

Again, though, I wouldn’t choose based on the label alone.

Look at the pellet itself and pay attention to how it performs.

You can compare them with the best softwood pellets I’ve reviewed on the site.

Do Blended Pellets Burn Hotter?

They can.

But I wouldn’t buy pellets based only on somebody telling you they’re “high BTU.”

Different wood species, moisture levels and manufacturing processes all affect how a pellet burns.

Your stove settings matter too.

One pellet might absolutely crank in my stove and burn poorly in yours.

That’s why I always recommend trying a few bags before buying an entire ton.

Do Blended Pellets Produce More Ash?

Not necessarily.

I’ve seen blended pellets that leave almost nothing behind and supposedly premium pellets that leave a mountain of ash.

The amount of ash is heavily influenced by the raw wood fiber and how clean the manufacturing process is.

If you’re getting terrible ash, clinkers or a dirty burn from a pellet, check out My Pellets Suck — Now What?. Sometimes the pellet is the problem, and sometimes a little stove adjustment makes a huge difference.

Try a Few Bags Before Buying a Ton

This is probably the biggest piece of advice I can give anyone buying pellets.

Don’t buy a ton of pellets you’ve never burned before.

Grab three or four bags and see what your stove thinks of them.

Pay attention to:

• Heat output
• Ash
• How quickly the glass gets dirty
• Burn-pot buildup
• Pellet consumption
• Fines and sawdust in the bag
• How consistent the flame looks

Every stove seems to have pellets it loves and pellets it hates.

The best pellet isn’t necessarily the one with the fanciest bag or the highest price.

It’s the pellet that gives you the best combination of heat, low ash, clean burning and price in your stove.

Are Blended Pellets Better Than Hardwood or Softwood?

There really isn’t one winner.

A great blended pellet can be excellent.

A premium softwood pellet can be excellent.

A quality hardwood pellet can be excellent too.

I’ve always looked at pellets individually rather than assuming one type of wood is automatically better.

That’s the whole reason behind WoodPelletReviews.com.

If you’re researching what to burn this season, check out the best wood pellets and see what other pellet stove owners are burning.

And once you find a pellet you like, you can use the wood pellet dealer locator to find sellers near you.