You’ll need a blender if you want to make silky smoothies or to puree liquids like soup, which can splatter and leak out of a food processor’s doughnut-shaped bowl. This is one of Cuisinart’s most basic models, but it consistently chops, slices, and kneads better than any other food processor we’ve found for under $250. The Cuisinart FP-12DCN Elite Collection Food Processor performed well in our tests, but it came with a gasket on the lid that frequently trapped flour and sticky ingredients. Our testers also preferred the Cuisinart Custom 14’s 14-cup capacity over the Elite’s 12-cup capacity. The Cuisinart’s slicing disk isn’t adjustable like the Breville Sous Chef’s slicing disk, which has multiple settings, similar to a mandoline. But you can buy additional slicing disks through Cuisinart if you want them.
You can’t knead dough or shred ingredients in it, but you can grind or chop small portions of vegetables or nuts, which is more tedious to do by hand. While these manual choppers still require a little bit of elbow grease to chop down into the veggies, it’s still much easier and quicker than chopping all of these veggies by hand. They are quite compact as well, so if you don’t have a ton of extra kitchen space, you’ll likely still be able to fit a manual food chopper into a drawer or cabinet. In the lab, we evaluate each model’s ability to chop almonds and onions uniformly, grate Parmesan cheese, and purée peas and carrots into a smooth mixture. We also measure noise, because while all models are noisy, some are much more grating than others.
The preprogrammed recipes seemed straightforward, but there are only 201 total. This model also takes up a ton of counter space and weighs 30 pounds; it’s definitely not something you’ll want to lug around your kitchen often. Ideally we’d like to test a working model in the future, but we feel we can dismiss The Complete Chef for now due to its size, weight, hefty price, limited recipe database, and lack of customer support. The Cuisinart Complete Chef chops, slices, and cooks food all in one 18-cup stainless steel bowl (it comes with attachments and built-in recipes for cooking things like risotto or beef stew).
At 3.5 cups, it takes up minimal counter space; even snug kitchens should be able to fit this on the counter without issue. The Cuisinart’s three-year warranty on parts and five-year warranty on the motor aren’t the best among the models we tested, but they’re still pretty good. And Cuisinart’s food processors have a solid reputation for overall durability—anecdotally, we know of some that have lasted for decades. By contrast, our upgrade pick, the Breville Sous Chef 16 Pro, comes with a plethora of disks and accessories, requiring more storage space. At only 15 inches tall, the Cuisinart should also fit under most cupboards.
Mini processors are most useful for tasks such as chopping one onion, preparing salad dressing, or making a small batch of pesto. A mini model will process smaller quantities more efficiently than a full-size model, and its diminutive size means a mini model is easier to move around a counter, store, and clean. Including three different bowls, this Ninja set allows you to make everything from salsa to smoothies. There is a 6-cup pitcher for smoothies and frozen cocktails, a 5-cup processor bowl for hummus and other dips, and a 2-cup chopper for dicing vegetables.
We weren’t impressed with the Magimix by Robot-Coupe 14-Cup Food Processor. It wasn’t able to chop as evenly as the Breville Sous Chef 16 Pro or the Cuisinart Custom 14. The machine also seized up while preparing pizza dough and was noisier than other models we tested. We recommend the inexpensive KitchenAid 3.5 Cup Food Chopper for anyone who wants to make small batches of dips, spreads, or mirepoix. On top of that, its handled jar with push-button activation was the most convenient to use. And this KitchenAid is a great option for people who don’t want to invest in a $250 machine.
Beyond the main blade and one disk each for shredding and slicing, you don’t need much else. Many food processors also come with a dough blade made of plastic, but we found that a metal blade mixed dough just as well, so we don’t think the dough blade is essential. You can usually purchase everything from a juicing attachment to julienne disks separately, but such extras often go unused. cuisinart toaster costco Both cookbook authors we spoke with essentially said these add-ons were a waste of money, so we didn’t test any. The blades are very sharp, so take care when handling them, but a plastic piece on top of the blade assembly provides a place to hold it safely. Read on for reviews of the top food processors and food choppers from Consumer Reports’ tests, listed in alphabetical order.
This tool has two speeds for chopping, mixing, pureeing, and even whipping cream. It includes a multipurpose blade for chopping and blending, along with a whisking accessory. The accessories can be stored inside the chopper, and a case is included to keep everything neat and clean in storage. However, I personally recommend cutting up your produce at least a little bit before using.