Large food processors: The 9 Best Food Processors We Tested

Sep 22, 2023 alexxlab

The 9 Best Food Processors We Tested

Deal Alert! If you’ve been eyeing this kitchen staple for a while, now is the time to shop because several of our winners are on sale, including the GE 12-Cup and the Hamilton Beach Stack & Snap.

A food processor can shred, grate, chop, mix, grind, and puree ingredients quickly and efficiently, saving you loads of prep time. You can shred beets for borscht, grind nuts for fresh nut butter, and turn graham crackers into crumbs for pie crust, but also mince herbs, puree baby food, make hummus, and emulsify dressings. Most even come with attachments that can be used to knead bread and pizza dough, shred blocks of cheese, and slice vegetables in several thicknesses. The functions are seemingly endless, but so are the product options available today, so we tested top models to find the best ones.

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Our Ratings

Design

4/5
Ease of Use

4/5
Effectiveness

5/5
Value

5/5

What We Like

Powerful 720-watt motor
Quick and effective
Extra-large feed tube
Incredibly durable and long lasting

What We Don’t Like

Cuisinart Custom 14-Cup Food Processor Review

A true kitchen workhorse, this doesn’t have a lot of frills but will get the job done easily. The brushed stainless steel food processor has two large paddle buttons, one for “on” and one for “off/pulse,” which are all you really need. The 14-cup work bowl is large enough for family cooking and has an extra-large feed tube with large and small pushers, so you won’t need to cut ingredients to make them fit. This includes one shredding disc, one slicing disc, and a removable disc stem that fits both, along with a metal blade for chopping, mixing, blending, and emulsifying.

We were impressed with how well the machine kneaded dough, and it was easy to use, aside from assembling the attachments for the first time. The machine was somewhat tricky to clean, but that it was a great value for an average-priced food processor. One of our editor’s parents has had this same food processor for decades, and it still works like new. Cuisinart makes some of the best food processors out there for home kitchens, and this model really exemplifies that.

Price at time of publish: $250

The Spruce Eats / Russell Kilgore

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Our Ratings

Design

4/5
Ease of Use

4.7/5
Effectiveness

3.9/5
Value

4.5/5

What We Like

Easy to use
Efficient storage
Easy to clean

What We Don’t Like

This affordable food processor has a simple, easy-to-use design that snaps into place. Like with most food processors, the main blade chops, mixes, purees, and emulsifies, and an attachment disc is included with a slice side and shred/grate side. Four clearly labeled buttons let you choose between the different functions, and the blades store neatly inside the machine. Every attachment just slides over the drive. Nothing snaps in or has any extra parts.

Cleaning this food processor is easy, with the only issue being the gap between the plunger and lid lip where food can gather. This food processor is not as heavy-duty or durable as some others on this list, so it will likely need replacing after a few years if used often (we recommend washing by hand to prolong its lifespan). That said, it’s easier to put together, take apart, and clean than some of the pricier models, and it still yields very consistent results.

Price at time of publish: $50

The Spruce Eats / Russell Kilgore

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Our Ratings

Design

4.8/5
Ease of Use

4. 6/5
Effectiveness

4.3/5
Value

5/5

What We Like

Extra-sharp blades
Lots of attachments for versatility
Easy to assemble, use, and clean

What We Don’t Like

This food processor combines a powerful motor with sharp blades, so if you want to get your hummus super smooth or sweet potatoes shredded quickly, this is a great option. We were very happy with how easy this machine was to set up, use, and clean—it was simple and straightforward. Its biggest selling point is its versatility; rather than just coming with a standard blade, slicing disc, and grating disc, this also comes with a french fry disc, dough blade, emulsifying disc, mini-chopping bowl, and spatula. With just three settings, it’s a powerful appliance with super-sharp blades

This food processor is easy to clean by hand, but we did get cut on both an attachment and the blade—you just have to be especially cautious because of how sharp it is. It also had bit of inconsistency when chopping onions and zucchini, but we felt that it was a great value that’s worthy of recommending to friends and family.

Price at time of publish: $159

The Spruce Eats / Russell Kilgore

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Our Ratings

Design

5/5
Ease of Use

4.5/5
Effectiveness

4.2/5
Value

4.3/5

What We Like

What We Don’t Like

Another particularly good value, we found this food processor to be extremely user-friendly and self-explanatory. In addition to the regular blade, it comes with an adjustable slicing disc, a reversible shredding disc, a dough blade, and a storage caddy that allows you to store all the pieces compactly inside the bowl.

Since the plunger has an oil drip, cleaning can be slightly more involved, but it doesn’t have many nooks and crannies for food to get stuck. We noted a tiny bit of inconsistency with dicing and shredding, but overall it performed very well. In fact, it made a great mayonnaise and sliced the zucchini perfectly.

Price at time of publish: $200

The Spruce Eats / Russell Kilgore

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Our Ratings

Design

5/5
Ease of Use

4.7/5
Effectiveness

5/5
Value

4/5

What We Like

Easy to set up, use, and clean
Adjustable slicer and reversible shredder
Consistently excellent performance
Very tight seal to prevent leaks

What We Don’t Like

The 13-cup Elemental from Cuisinart comes equipped with two work bowl sizes (4 and 13 cups) to handle small and large jobs. The wide-mouth tube features small, medium, and large pushers. Blades and the bowl lock in with a very tight seal. This model is more user-friendly and easy to assemble than some other Cuisinart models and still performed beautifully in our tests.

This includes an adjustable slicing disc to let you choose the thickness of your slice, a dicing disc with a 10-millimeter grid, a reversible shredding disc for medium and fine shredding, a dough blade for mixing and kneading, and a stainless steel blade for chopping, blending, and emulsifying. It also includes a cleaning tool to help clean the nooks and crannies of the cutting accessories and a storage case to keep everything contained instead of rolling around a drawer. This was a very effective food processor. It performed consistently in chopping, slicing, grating, and emulsifying.

Price at time of publish: $200

The Spruce Eats / Russell Kilgore

Capacity: 13 cups (large bowl), 4 cups (inner nested work bowl) | Settings: High, low, off, pulse| Power: 550 watts | Size: 8. 10 x 10.43 x 16.43 inches | Warranty: 3 years

Williams Sonoma

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Our Ratings

Design

4.7/5
Ease of Use

4.1/5
Effectiveness

4.7/5
Value

3.5/5

What We Like

What We Don’t Like

Expensive

Magimix 5200 XL 16-Cup Food Processor Review

This machine comes with three bowls so you can work with small to extra-large amounts of food and use one after the other. When you’re done, the bowls nest inside the machine for convenient storage. There are three buttons for easy operation, and the induction motor adjusts the amount of power used so it can push through dense materials easily. The wide feed tube accommodates large foods, while the three-stage pusher can handle different-sized ingredients without them tipping over or cutting unevenly.

The chopping blades (to fit separate bowls) are made by Sabatier, so they are knife-quality. The proprietary Blendermix insert moves the food around in the bowl, so it blends more smoothly and results in a creamy texture, like a blender. The special dough blade mixes and kneads even dense bread dough. The whisk can whip cream or beat egg whites, just like a stand mixer.

This also includes 2- and 4-millimeter slicing discs and 2- and 4-millimeter grating discs, a spatula for easy cleaning, a free recipe app, a storage case, and a citrus juicer. The juicer was the most exciting addition for us, as we were able to juice half a grapefruit down to the rind in just a few seconds. We were very pleased with this machine’s performance across the board.

Price at time of publish: $549

The Spruce Eats / Russell Kilgore

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Our Ratings

Design

4.2/5
Ease of Use

3.4/5
Effectiveness

5/5
Value

5/5

What We Like

What We Don’t Like

This Ninja food processor comes with a low price tag and high functionality. It’s got a streamlined, attractive design, a very powerful 1,000-watt motor, and four different presets in addition to its high, low, and pulse settings. The machine comes with a 9-cup bowl with a feed chute lid and pusher, quad chopping blade (as opposed to most chopping blades, which have only two knife edges), dough blade, reversible slicing and shredding disc, and 20-recipe guide.

This product was somewhat confusing to put together, but what it lacked in user-friendliness, it made up in performance. The machine yielded beautiful results in all of our tests, and was also easy to clean. The only other downside we found was that since the chopping blades sit slightly higher, we needed to scrape down the sides of the bowl more often. The ease of use, performance, volume capacity, myriad of functionalities and storage system made this a slam dunk.

Price at time of purchase: $150

The Spruce Eats / Russell Kilgore

Williams-sonoma

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Our Ratings

Design

5/5
Ease of Use

5/5
Effectiveness

5/5
Value

4.2/5

What We Like

What We Don’t Like

Vitamix Food Processor Attachment Review

This product is just an attachment that requires you to have a Vitamix base, but if you have one already, it eliminates the need for a whole separate appliance. This food processor has an intuitive, user-friendly design that can easily be adjusted to different speeds; any Vitamix base you have will allow for pulsing or setting a continuous speed of your choice. In testing, it was a little noisy, but that will depend on which base you have.

We raved about this attachment’s performance throughout all of our tests and found that it offered a ton of consistency and longevity. It was pretty easy to clean—there are a lot of different parts, but everything is dishwasher-safe. At $200 not including the Vitamix base, this comes with a high price tag, but if you already have a Vitamix, this is by far the best choice. There is nothing this product really couldn’t do, with multiple blade attachments and that signature Vitamix base that gives you control of the speed very well.

Price at time of publish: $200

The Spruce Eats / Russell Kilgore

Capacity: 12 cups | Size: 11. 75 x 8.5 x 12.75 inches | Weight: 6.17 pounds | Warranty: 3 years

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Our Ratings

Design

3.7/5
Ease of Use

5/5
Effectiveness

3.8/5
Value

3.5/5

What We Like

What We Don’t Like

No electricity is needed for this model, as it works with the simple pull of a handle. The two blades spin in opposite directions, so they’ll spend their time chopping rather than moving food in a circle, while stationary arms at the top and bottom send food into the blades. Even hard foods, like carrots or nuts, require little effort. A few pulls will give you chunky nuts or salsa, while more pulls can give you a smooth puree.

We found this particularly helpful for chopping onions and aromatics. Since this doesn’t require power, you can use it outside when you’re barbecuing or take it camping. This chopper had extremely easy and fast cleanup since it’s small, has very few moving parts, and has nowhere for food to get trapped.

Price at time of publish: $50

The Spruce Eats / Russell Kilgore

Capacity: 3 cups | Power: Manual, pull handle | Size: 5.2 x 5.5 x 5.5 inches | Weight: 0.84 pounds | Warranty: 5 years

Final Verdict

The Cuisinart DFP-14BCNY 14-Cup Food Processor is our top pick because of its incredible longevity, stellar performance, and solid versatility. If you have a smaller budget, we recommend the Hamilton Beach Stack & Snap Food Processor and Vegetable Chopper.

How We Tested

We tested 19 food processors side-by-side and evaluated each on how easy it was to put together and change out its attachments (first without looking at the manual, and then with help from the manual), and how well it chopped onions, grated multiple types of cheese to multiple grate sizes, sliced zucchini, made mayonnaise, kneaded bread dough when applicable, and how easy it was to disassemble and clean. From there, we also determined value based on performance in relation to price and offered additional insights on each product’s strengths and weaknesses.

How We Test Products

Other Options We Tested

Waring Commercial Food Processor: This was actually the best-performing food processor we tested; it’s powerful, effective, simple, and overall a kitchen beast. The catch is that it’s $753, and we couldn’t justify having an item on our list that costs more than a car payment. If this is in your budget, though, you get what you pay for—it handled all our tests flawlessly, and its simple three-button design makes it extremely easy to operate.
Cuisinart Complete Chef: This is another product around the $700 mark, and it is a superior food processor that also offers all sorts of cooking functions. We were not able to evaluate the additional functions and features during our testing, so they may be great, but we can’t speak to those at this time.

The Spruce Eats / Russell Kilgore

What to Look for in a Food Processor

Size

When it comes to food processors, size really does matter. A large food processor won’t do a good job at chopping small quantities because the pieces of food will collect on the bottom or sides of the bowl where they can’t reach the blade (this is not as much of an issue when using a slicing, grating, or shredding disc.) As for using a small food processor for large quantities, you’ll have to work in batches and empty the bowl repeatedly, which can get annoying. Some food processors solve the problem by including bowls of several sizes, and some home cooks keep both a full-size food processor for bigger jobs as well as a mini food processor for just mincing garlic and other small-quantity aromatics.

Disc Options

It’s great to have options for different shredding and slicing sizes, but if a food processor comes with a large number of discs, you’ll need to find a place to store them. Some food processors have reversible blades with different sizes or functions, while others have discs with adjustable cutting sizes. Some food processors are designed to store their discs and other attachments right in the bowl, which saves space and keeps everything organized.

Special Features

How will you use your food processor? Do you want special options, or will a basic model fit your needs? While pretty much every food processor has a chopping blade and can slice or grate using a disc, some models may have extra features, like a dough blade, an accompanying recipe app, or various color options.

Price

For home cooks who don’t plan to use their food processors often, there are some really excellent choices at low prices. The average price of the food processors we tested was $244, but you can find a few reliable, versatile, and high-performing options around $60. The issue with the lower-priced options is that they won’t last as long, whereas a good food processor can last you decades and still perform better.

The Spruce Eats / Russell Kilgore

FAQs

What is a food processor?

A food processor is an appliance that purees, slices, crumbles, minces, grates, shreds, emulsifies, dices, mixes, kneads, and more.

Can a blender be used as a food processor?

Blenders and food processors have similar functions, but they’re not usually interchangeable. As a rule of thumb, a blender should be used when the final product is something you can drink, drizzle, or dip—things with mostly soft or liquid ingredients. This includes soup, smoothies, nut milk, apple sauce, and blended cocktails. With blenders, it’s best to use at least one liquid ingredient, as dry ingredients alone can get stuck around the blades and end up not blended.

A food processor should be used for dishes you’d eat with a fork or spoon, so solid or semi-solid ingredients work best. You don’t necessarily need a liquid element here, which makes it the right choice for breadcrumbs, dough, shredded cheese, and chopped, sliced, or diced vegetables. You can use it to make riced cauliflower, chutney, and even minced meat. Food processor blades rotate much more slowly than blender blades and are shaped differently, giving you greater control and more precise cuts. There’s also a feeder tube, which allows you to add as little (or as many) ingredients as you want, which can then be tamped toward the blade with a tool.

Foods including hummus, smooth salsas, thicker salad dressings, pesto, and whipped cream can be made in either a blender or a food processor. If you want a deeper dive into which product is best for what so you can decide which to buy, we have an article for that.

Can you make smoothies in a food processor?

Most food processors are capable of making smoothies, but the process is a little different than if you were to use a blender. If you plan to take this route, don’t add all the ingredients at once because they probably won’t blend evenly and may even spill out everywhere. First, add your greens (if using), followed by frozen fruit. This will keep your drink cold without the addition of ice. Next, add your liquid ingredients, put the lid on the appliance, and blend. You may need to scrape the bottom to mix further, and make sure everything is getting blended as well as possible. When you’re done, remove the blade from the processor and pour. Just be careful of messes here, as your processor likely won’t have an actual pour spout.

Long story short: You can make a smoothie in a food processor, but it’s going to be quicker, easier, and less messy in a blender.

Can you grind coffee beans in a food processor?

Using a dedicated coffee grinder with a conical burr is the best way to grind coffee beans, but you can get the job done with a food processor, which is essentially a larger version of a blade grinder. Just pour a few scoops in and pulse, tilting the processor occasionally to make sure all the beans move into the blade. Repeat until you have your desired amount of grounds.

How do you clean a food processor?

Each food processor is different when it comes to disassembly and cleaning. Once your machine is turned off, you take it apart per the manufacturer’s instructions and either wash the dirty components by hand or put them in the dishwasher. Take extra precaution when washing any blades or discs, and make sure not to leave them submerged in soapy water where someone could accidentally cut themselves.

The instruction manual will let you know which components are dishwasher-safe, if any, and whether or not they need to be washed on the top rack only. Some food processors come with cleaning brushes that help to get hard-to-reach spaces. For cleaning the base and the cord, you can simply wipe them down with a damp cloth.

Overall, most food processors have dishwasher-safe components, and they tend to also be easy to wash by hand.

What can’t you make in a food processor?

Food processors aren’t typically made to handle hot foods, although there are some exceptions. If a machine is made with glass or heat-resistant plastic, it may be able to process ingredients up to a certain degree. Since this isn’t always the case, you should check with the manufacturer to find out. Generally, if you’re making soup, you should let the ingredients cool before blending.

Here are some other things you should avoid putting in a food processor: copious amounts of liquid, tough meat, bone, gelatin, fruit peels, and ice.

The Spruce Eats / Russell Kilgore

Why Trust The Spruce Eats?

Donna Currie is a cookbook author who writes roundups and reviews products for The Spruce Eats. She has tested more than 90 kitchen products for the brand.

This roundup was updated by Katya Weiss-Andersson, a writer and editor who has nearly a decade of experience as a professional chef. Katya has a full-sized food processor that she uses for everything from shredding potatoes for latkes to making cheesecake filling, as well as a mini food processor that lives on the counter for mincing garlic, ginger, and chilies. When it comes to food processors, Katya is a Cuisinart fan through and through.

The 8 Best High-Powered Blenders of 2023

9 Best Food Processors 2023

We’ve been independently researching and testing products for over 120 years. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more about our review process.

This story was updated in February 2023 to ensure all picks previously tested and vetted by the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Culinary Innovation Lab were available and in stock.

Using a food processor is like having your own personal sous chef — it will save you from having to do tons of tedious and tiring prep work. A great food processor is able to dice, mince, grind, knead, puree, slice and shred. Whether you want to knead a pizza dough, grate potatoes and slice onions for latkes or puree a pesto, a trusty food processor will make the task faster. There are even blenders with food processor attachments or food processor-blender combos, which will help accomplish more in the kitchen with less equipment or having to decide whether to purchase a blender or food processor.

In the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Culinary Innovation Lab we test food processors for consistency and efficiency — we also grade each on ease of use, including readability of owner’s manual, assembly, controls and more. Out of over 75 food processors we’ve tested over the years, our top pick is the Breville Sous Chef. It’s top-of-the-line when it comes to performance, featuring a super powerful motor, a micro-serrated S-blade, an adjustable slicer with 24 settings (ranging from paper-thin to thick-cut), a reversible shredder, a dough blade and more. It aced every test, dicing onions, mincing parsley and uniformly slicing tomatoes in seconds. These are the best food processors you can buy in 2023:

Our top picks

Best Overall Food Processor

Breville BFP660SIL Sous Chef 12 Cup Food Processor

$285 at Amazon

$285 at Amazon

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Best Value Food Processor

Oster 2-Speed 10-Cup Food Processor

$100 at Amazon

$100 at Amazon

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Cuisinart DFP-14BSKY 14 Cup Food Processor

$231 at Amazon

$231 at Amazon

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Best Multifunctional Food Processor

Magimix Food Processor 14-Cup Chrome

$450 at Williams Sonoma

$450 at Williams Sonoma

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Most Versatile Food Processor

Cuisinart 13-Cup Elemental Food Processor

$200 at Amazon

$200 at Amazon

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Best Vitamix Food Processor

Vitamix 12-Cup Food Processor Attachment with SELF-DETECT™

$172 at Amazon

$172 at Amazon

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Best Mini Food Processor

Cuisinart Mini Prep Plus Food Processor

$40 at Amazon

$40 at Amazon

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Best Food Processor-Blender Combo

Ninja Professional Plus Kitchen System with Auto-iQ

$200 at Amazon

$200 at Amazon

Read more
BEST COOKING FOOD PROCESSOR

Thermomix® TM6™

$24 at thermomix. com

$24 at thermomix.com

Read more

You can read more about how we evaluate food processors in our Lab and consumer tests — plus everything you need to know to shop for your new sous-chef — at the end of this guide. Looking for more ways to make food prep a breeze? Check out out guides to small kitchen appliances and the coolest kitchen gadgets any foodie would love.

Best Overall Food Processor

Breville BFP660SIL Sous Chef 12 Cup Food Processor

Best Overall Food Processor

Breville BFP660SIL Sous Chef 12 Cup Food Processor

$285 at Amazon

Credit: Breville

Pros

Adjustable slicer with 24 settings
Earned perfect scores in Lab tests

Cons

Expensive

Thanks to a super powerful motor, Breville’s Sous Chef is the MVP when it comes to performance. It’s stacked with bells and whistles to give you the ultimate versatility, including a micro-serrated S-blade, an adjustable slicer with 24 settings (ranging from paper-thin to thick-cut), a reversible shredder, a dough blade and more.

This model earned perfect scores in nearly all of our tests, turning out evenly diced onions, minced (read: not bruised) parsley, perfectly ground Parmesan and uniformly sliced tomatoes in seconds. The sleek silver Sous Chef has multiple feeding tubes, one of which is large enough to hold an entire tomato or one-pound block of mozzarella.

Best Value Food Processor

Oster 2-Speed 10-Cup Food Processor

Best Value Food Processor

Oster 2-Speed 10-Cup Food Processor

$100 at Amazon

Credit: Oster

Pros

Dishwasher-safe parts

Cons

May bruise herbs

Of the food processors we evaluated, the Oster Total Prep was one of the easiest to use. This no-frills black model comes with an S-shaped blade for chopping, a dough blade and a reversible shredding and slicing disc. The lid and feed tube are super simple to assemble. And for quick cleanup, all parts and accessories are dishwasher-safe. In our tests, it evenly processed diced onions and shredded carrots — though it did leave parsley slightly bruised when mincing, this shortcoming is offset by the great price.

Cuisinart DFP-14BSKY 14 Cup Food Processor

$231 at Amazon

Pros

Simple design

Cons

Tricky to assemble discs

This food processor has a solid base so it didn’t move around when kneading dough, and the bowl’s straight edges made it easy to scrape and clean in our tests. It has a simple design and performs well: In our tests, it excelled at chopping onions, mincing parsley and grinding Parmesan cheese, as well as slicing pepperoni and tomatoes. We particularly liked the paddle design of the buttons because they’re wide and operate by pushing down — no fussing with a touchpad. The lid has a large feed tube (for foods like potatoes and cheese) and a smaller one (for skinny items like carrots and celery). The accessories are top rack dishwasher safe.

Best Multifunctional Food Processor

Magimix Food Processor 14-Cup Chrome

Best Multifunctional Food Processor

Magimix Food Processor 14-Cup Chrome

$450 at Williams Sonoma

Credit: Magimix

Pros

Comes with three work bowls
Blendermix attachment turns food processor into a blender

Cons

Numerous accessories to learn

Magimix’s food processor with technology from Robot-Coupe (a brand primarily used in restaurants) brings a professional tool to your home kitchen. Featuring 6-cup, 12-cup and 14-cup mixing bowls, it has you covered whether you need to puree a small serving of baby food or knead brioche dough. It comes with two metal blades, a dough blade, two grating disks, two slicing discs, a Blendermix attachment, an egg whisk, a spatula and a storage box. If you want to upgrade this food processor there are additional attachments for purchase that will transform this food processor into a juicer, citrus press, spiralizer and so much more.

Most Versatile Food Processor

Cuisinart 13-Cup Elemental Food Processor

Most Versatile Food Processor

Cuisinart 13-Cup Elemental Food Processor

Now 11% Off

$200 at Amazon

Credit: Cuisinart

Pros

Earned perfect ease-of-use scores

Cons

Mediocre at shredding hard foods like carrots

This Cuisinart food processor includes interchangeable 13-cup and 4.5-cup work bowls — so you can use it to prep salsa or coleslaw for a large party or just for two. It comes with an adjustable slicing disc, a reversible shredding disc (for medium or fine consistency), a dough blade, a dicing disc, a versatile chopping blade, a cleaning tool and a storage case to hold your accessories. In our tests, this machine earned high scores at nearly every task, including kneading bread dough and shredding mozzarella cheese.

Best Vitamix Food Processor

Vitamix 12-Cup Food Processor Attachment with SELF-DETECT™

Best Vitamix Food Processor

Vitamix 12-Cup Food Processor Attachment with SELF-DETECT™

Now 14% Off

$172 at Amazon

Credit: Vitamix

Pros

Easy assembly and disassembly

Cons

Only compatible with Vitamix Ascent and Venturist motor bases

Already own a Vitamix blender and don’t want to purchase another piece of kitchen equipment? The Vitamix 12-Cup Food Processor Attachment is a great solution. This attachment comes with a base that lets the blender know you’re using the food processor attachment, a 12-cup work bowl with lid, two food pushers (one large, one small), one S-shaped multi-purpose blade, two reversible slicing/shredding discs and a slim disc storage case. It made smooth hummus and chopped parsley well in our tests. Even more attachments can be purchased for it, including a julienne disc and reversible fine shred and slice disc.

Best Mini Food Processor

Cuisinart Mini Prep Plus Food Processor

Best Mini Food Processor

Cuisinart Mini Prep Plus Food Processor

$40 at Amazon

Credit: Cuisinart

Pros

Dishwasher safe

Cons

Must hold button continuously for operation

Looking for a food processor but don’t have the storage space for a full-sized model? This compact option is a smart pick for little kitchens, dorm rooms or those who tend to make small portions. Ranking at the top of our tests, this 3-cup Cuisinart is a great do-it-all size: The chop and grind functions provide versatility to mince ingredients like herbs, onions and meat or grind spices or beans with the blunt side of the blades.

Best Food Processor-Blender Combo

Ninja Professional Plus Kitchen System with Auto-iQ

Best Food Processor-Blender Combo

Ninja Professional Plus Kitchen System with Auto-iQ

$200 at Amazon

Credit: Ninja

Pros

Dishwasher safe bowl, blades and accessories

Cons

No shredding/grating attachment included

The Ninja Professional Plus Kitchen System with Auto-IQ is a great option when looking for a food processor-blender combo. You can switch from blending a frozen margarita to chopping salsa just by switching the work bowl. This food processor and blender combo comes with a pitcher, two single-serve cups with spout lids, pro extractor blades, a 64-oz processor bowl, a chopping blade and a dough blade. One thing that we were missing from a traditional food processor was a shredding/grating disc. Reviewers love the suction cups on the bottom of the base for steady blending and that this machine can replace at least 3 pieces of kitchen equipment: full-sized blender, personal blender and food processor.

BEST COOKING FOOD PROCESSOR

Thermomix® TM6™

BEST COOKING FOOD PROCESSOR

Thermomix® TM6™

$24 at thermomix.com

Credit: Thermomix

Pros

Multiple functions in addition to food processor

Cons

Expensive

The Thermomix TM6 offers food processor functions like chopping, grating, crushing, mincing, grinding and milling — all controlled by its touchscreen and large knob. It also offers steaming and sauté functions, as well as unique features like sous-vide and fermentation. There are numerous components that come with the Thermomix like a mixing knife for chopping onions and mincing herbs, a spatula, a butterfly whisk for whipping cream and eggs, a splash guard, a Varoma basket (for steaming), a simmering basket and a mixing bowl. It features an integrated scale for weighing ingredients, a heating system and a touchscreen control panel.

We found that the Thermomix has a larger learning curve than most food processors, but with that came a lot of useful culinary techniques. The biggest downside to the Thermomix is the large price tag, but it can replace about 10 appliances in your kitchen, and the brand offers a complimentary 1-hour introductory tutorial so you can learn how to get the most out of your Thermomix right out of the box. It’s also equipped with thousands of recipes designed specifically for Thermomix via the Cookidoo app. Its smart, connected technology allows for over-the-air software updates that introduce new programs, like bread proofing, and one of its latest innovations is being able to order groceries right through the machine.

How we test food processors

The Good Housekeeping Institute’s Kitchen Appliances and Culinary Innovation Lab regularly tests food processors for how evenly they’re able to dice onions, mince parsley, grind parmesan cheese, shred carrots and mozzarella, slice tomatoes and knead dough. We also take note of how quickly each model performed these tasks and how much food was left unprocessed.

We grade ease of use, evaluating how helpful the owner’s manual is; how easy the blades, chute, and lid are to assemble; the intuitiveness of the controls; the variety of settings offered and the cleanability.

What to look for in a food processor

✔️ Versatility: A top-performing food processor should be able to blitz whole or large pieces of fresh produce — like onions, carrots, herbs or potatoes — into uniform dices or minces in very little time. It should be able to take on tasks like grinding hard cheeses, pureeing soups or sauces, making emulsions like mayo and even kneading dough for bread. When shopping, look for a model that can slice and/or shred foods like tomatoes and cheese.

✔️ Accessories: All food processors come with a work bowl for chopping and pureeing — the best ones will include a slicing and shredding disc as well. Other accessories to look for are a smaller work bowl and blade for finer tasks, a dough blade, a dicing accessory and even a blender attachment for smoothies. Most are top-rack dishwasher safe.

✔️ Settings and speeds: Many food processors have just one speed, but some can have high, medium and low speeds. One must-have: A pulse setting. Pulsing lets you incrementally chop food and control the blade to limit your risk of overprocessing. It’s also great for getting an even chop: The stop-and-go motion allows unprocessed items from the top to fall onto the blade to be processed. Otherwise, items close to the blade just continue to be processed making the bottom more fine than the top.

✔️ Weight: A heavier base helps in terms of performance, but heft doesn’t necessarily relate to more power. Lighter materials make food processors more affordable and easier to move around and store. Details like suction cups may seem cheap, but they help keep the base from moving around on the countertop.

✔️ Warranty: Food processors are known as an investment piece, but some people boast that they have had theirs for over 30 years. Before you splurge, take a look at the brand’s warranty: The length often varies for motor and accessories.

What size food processor should I get?

Consider the types of tasks you’ll be using your food processor for and choose your capacity from there:

✔️ 2- or 4-cup models are for very basic small tasks like chopping herbs, making hummus, pureeing baby food and whipping up dressing or mayo.

✔️ 8-cup models are best for beginners: They’re not too big, and not too small. Keep in mind that while they can be used for pastry dough, it would be tough to make bread in this size.

✔️ 12- or 14-cup models are our recommendation for most households. They’re versatile and large enough to handle bread dough, and they often come with a second small work bowl for smaller tasks and an assortment of accessories too.

Why trust Good Housekeeping?

In the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Culinary Innovation Lab, Director, Nicole Papantoniou oversees all of Good Housekeeping’s content and testing related to kitchen appliances, tools, gadgets and gear. She’s been testing kitchen appliances professionally since 2013 and has worked at kitchen appliance companies where she helped develop some popular air fryers as well as many recipes for them. She is trained in classic culinary arts and is a professional recipe developer.

Kitchen Appliances Reviews Analyst, Eva Bleyer has tested everything from ranges to juicers to kitchen scales. As a trained chef from the Natural Gourmet Institute with a background in health supportive cooking, she has a great deal of experience using blenders.

Eva Bleyer

Kitchen Appliances & Innovation Lab Reviews Analyst

Eva (she/her) is a reviews analyst in the Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab, where she tests kitchen gear, home appliances and culinary innovations. She graduated from NYU with a bachelor of science in food studies, nutrition and public health and is a trained chef through the Natural Gourmet Institute. Eva has more than 10 years of experience in the food industry, working as a food stylist, personal chef and marketing manager.

Nicole Papantoniou

Kitchen Appliances & Innovation Lab Director

Nicole (she/her) is the director of the Good Housekeeping Institute’s Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab, where she has overseen content and testing related to kitchen and cooking appliances, tools and gear since 2019. She’s an experienced product tester and recipe creator, trained in classic culinary arts and culinary nutrition. She has worked in test kitchens for small kitchen appliance brands and national magazines, including Family Circle and Ladies’ Home Journal.

How to choose a food processor: tips

How to choose a food processor that will help prepare food for cooking a variety of dishes – chop vegetables, chop ingredients, knead dough, roll out pasta. This multifunctional home helper can handle any task in the kitchen in a few minutes. And so that you know what to look for when buying, we offer some tips for choosing a food processor.

5 main features of the food processor

To choose the right food processor, let’s look at its design and characteristics. You need to know that a food processor is a body with a working bowl and an electric motor, the power and dimensions of which can be different.

Main characteristics of the food processor:

Size. The larger the combine, the more space you will have to allocate for it in the kitchen. But on the other hand, large dimensions can be justified by wide functionality, so if there is free space and money allows, then you can take a large food processor to diversify your daily diet. In addition, there will be several bowls in the kit, which is important for large families.
Functions. The food processor can make smoothies and knead sauces, chop vegetables and knead dough. Basically, the functionality of the food processor depends on the number of additional nozzles and accessories. Accordingly, the more such nozzles, the higher the cost of the combine. But nozzles can be purchased separately.
Material. Working elements can be made of metal, plastic or stainless steel. A model with a stainless steel case will last a long time, but at the same time its cost is more expensive. The shock-resistant glass combine looks beautiful and stylish. The most affordable option is a plastic food processor.
Power. This indicator determines the speed of the device, and how much food can be processed at a time. Also, power affects functionality. Of course, low-power units will not be able to knead tough dough, cope with ice crushing and process meat, as a meat grinder does.
Speed modes. For a particular product, a certain speed is needed. For example, it is best to chop at high speeds, and knead the dough at low speeds.

How can I extend the life of my food processor?

Like any household appliance, the food processor requires regular and thorough maintenance, but it is very simple and takes a minimum of time. First, you need to find a place for the food processor where it will always stand. Secondly, after each use, wash the removable parts under running water or in the dishwasher. Do not use harsh cleaners to avoid scratching bowls and knives. To wipe the case, it is best to use a soft damp cloth. Before assembling the food processor in working condition, dry all the elements completely.

The power and volume of the bowl are important characteristics for choosing the right food processor

The speed and quality of the food processor depends on its power. Compact models have enough power from 300 to 350 W, multifunctional – 400-600 W. And if a large bowl, then the power of the device should be up to 1000 watts.

The size of the bowl must also be chosen correctly. It depends on your “appetite” and the number of dishes that you are going to cook. If we compare the volume of the bowl to the number of people living in the family, then it is better to buy like this:

1 liter – for a family of up to two people;
1.5 liters for a family of three or four;
2 liters – from five people.

Don’t buy a big bowl processor if you plan to process a small amount of food. Consider also the fact that the larger the volume of the bowl, the more productive and powerful the device should be.

More attachments – more functionality

The versatility of the harvester, as mentioned above, is affected by the number of attachments. The power and volume of the bowl are, of course, important criteria, but with one nozzle in the kit, you won’t be able to accelerate much with culinary imagination. What nozzles are included in the kit and what else can be purchased:

ice cream maker – for real sweet tooth who love ice cream and are ready to make it at home;
dough hook – for kneading dough for baking;
dicing attachment – makes salad preparation easier;
Juicer – for lovers of freshly squeezed juice from their favorite fruit or vegetable;
grater – always included;
chopper knife – for cutting cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and other products;
shredding attachments – allow you to cut vegetables and fruits into slices;
French fry attachment – for those who miss the taste of fried potatoes;
blender jar – allows you to mix cocktails, sauces and creams;
meat grinder – processes meat into minced meat.

Which brand of food processor should I choose?

In our online store of appliances and electronics, you can choose food processors from different manufacturers – Philips, Kenwood, Bosch, Electrolux, Braun, Gorenje and others. Moreover, the prices are different, so you can buy both a budget option for the home and a professional model for a restaurant.

The products of the German company Bosch are assembled in Slovenia, the combines of this brand are considered among the best in the world. The range includes food processors with a wide range of functions, since they are all equipped with different attachments.

If we talk about Kenwood combines, then models with a planetary mechanism and a bowl deserve special attention. They are reliable, durable, equipped with various attachments, so they are able to perform a variety of tasks in the kitchen. The Zelmer brand offers quality yet affordable food processors. There are many manufacturers and everyone can offer something interesting, the main thing is to know what you want.

Now you know how to choose a food processor that will save you time and add variety to your daily diet. Please your mother or grandmother with a multifunctional home assistant, buy it for yourself or as a gift to your loved ones. And to be the first to know about profitable promotions and STYLUS discounts, subscribe to the newsletter and our Telegram channel. Happy shopping!

SEE ALSO:

TOP 5 best food processors
How to choose a meat grinder for home
Multicooker or pressure cooker: what is better to choose
Bread maker: how it works, how to use and what it can do

Kitchen machines and multifunctional food processors |> FoxMart

Kitchen machines and food processors at a mega favorable price in Moldova

9000 2 Want to get rid of hand shredding , slicing and whipping? A kitchen machine or a food processor will come to your aid, it all depends on your needs and preferences. Let’s see how a food processor differs from a kitchen machine, as well as the types of equipment you can find on the store counter.

Food processor VS kitchen machine

In fact, it is enough to compare the devices in terms of size: the one that is larger is a kitchen machine, and the one that is more compact and resembles a blender is a food processor for the kitchen.

Kitchen machines are characterized by high performance and power, so they are able to process even solid foods. This unit is simply indispensable in the processing of a large number of ingredients. The package of the device includes a large number of accessories, which greatly expands its functionality. What can a kitchen machine do? Here you will have a huge scope for a flight of fancy: cook the cream, beat the eggs, chop the vegetables on the salad – feel like a real chef of a cool restaurant.

Food processor – household appliances with an optimal balance of functionality and combining a blender, mixer and vegetable cutter. Sometimes a juicer function is also provided. The main feature is compactness and ease of transportation.

Despite some differences, both devices will reduce the time for cooking as much as possible.

Food processors: classification

Multifunctional units. This device has all sorts of options, from grinding to whipping. A large bowl, the presence of a speed switch and high power are the hallmarks of a multifunctional harvester.
Mini-models are a great solution for all owners of small kitchens. The volume of the bowl does not exceed 2.5 liters, and the power is less than 700 watts. Despite its compactness, such a device perfectly copes with the tasks.
Manual food processor. It takes some effort to start the device. However, in return you will get full control at all stages.
Food processor with meat grinder and blender will be an excellent tool for preparing mashed potatoes and meat dishes. As a rule, a meat grinder in this technique is of two types: auger or impact. The first type: the product to be cut is guided by a spiral shaft, in the second type, the product is cut using special knives. The blender also comes in two types: submersible or stationary.
Highly specialized devices designed for a certain type of cutting: slices, cubes, half rings, etc. This device is easy to store, it saves space and is easy to use. A significant disadvantage is that it is difficult to process large pieces, and also does not cope with grinding coffee beans and nuts.

Where to buy a food processor in Moldova?

In the FoxMart online store you will find the best deals on food processors and machines in Moldova. The cost is formed from the number of functions that the combine performs. Therefore, before buying, think about which ones are important to you, and which ones you will not use at all. Optimal cost, favorable credit, free delivery in Moldova – these are just some of the advantages why our customers choose us.

Save valuable time and effort with food processors and machines from FoxMart.

Frequently asked questions

What are food processors?

Today you can find the following types of food processors:

Multifunctional devices;
Mini models;
Hand units;
Complete set “meat grinder + blender”;
Highly specialized devices designed for a certain type of cutting.