Best Food Processor: What You Need to Know

How We Chose Our Ratings

Before we dive in and share our picks for the best food processor, we want to tell you a little bit about how we arrive at our ratings.

First things first, know that we don’t just make them up in an effort to get you to buy a particular product. That is not our goal.

Instead, we do hours and hours of thorough research. We scour reviews from real customers just like you. We also pay attention to different brands and their overall history and reputation.

We compile all of this information in order to provide you with honest, accurate reviews and information. So, please know that you can trust us and our opinion. Plus, we will hopefully provide you with the knowledge you need to form your own opinion too.

If you are looking for a truly great food processor that won’t cost you a fortune, then we definitely recommend this model from Hamilton Beach.

It has a super low-price tag to start with. In fact, you can often find it priced for around $ on average. Despite the low price, however, it is incredibly durable and obviously made to last.

It also has a huge capacity and can handle even the heaviest, bulkiest foods…and plenty of them too. It is also super high speed, which makes it the perfect option when you are cooking in a rush or just when a particular recipe calls for high speed processing, as so many of them do.

All in all, this is a great little food processor. It might not be anything fancy, but it gets the job done every time.

There is a lot to love about this food processor. Unfortunately, it is one of the more expensive ones on the market. However, prices vary widely, so you can sometimes get a good deal depending on where you buy. In general, though, you should typically be able to get this food processor for under $.

Aside from the somewhat steep price, this is a really good food processor. It is very good at chopping and slicing vegetables.

It also happens to be decently lightweight, which makes it easy to move as needed. Plus, it is simple to operate with only two buttons. You can even switch out discs as needed for different functions, and several different discs are included.

This food processor will provide you with just about everything you need to use it. So, as long as you don’t mind the price, it’s not a bad option in the least.

Not many people are super familiar with the Breville brand, which is really too bad because it tends to turn out superior products.

These include this little model, which has lots of special features and extra accessories that come standard. And, while it is pretty good at everything, we found it especially helpful for dicing vegetables into perfect bite-size pieces.

The Braun ranks high on our list for a lot of different reasons. One of the big ones, however, is its cute, compact design, which makes it very lightweight and easily portable.

It is also very easy to clean unlike a lot of the bigger, bulkier food processors on the market. Usage is easy too with convenient arrows in the design that literally point you in the right direction.

This is the food processor to use if you’ve never used one before or if you just want something that is as simple and efficient as possible.

We just had to put this great, super affordable model in our number one spot. There is just so much to love, For starters, there is the fact that you can get it for a mere $ (approximately) through most retailers.

And, even though it may be cheap, you’d never know it from its quality. This food processor can mince, slice, chop, and so much more. Plus, it can hold a surprising amount of food given its compact size.

The processor comes with a chopping blade and a slicing and shredding disc too. There may not be a lot of fancy extras, but you’ll probably never need them anyway. Plus, at this price and with this performance, this option really is unbeatable.

A Few Honorable Mentions

There were some other good food processors out there that just couldn’t quite make our top ten list.

These included the Kitchen Aid 3.5 cup mini food processor. This is a super small model that doesn’t quite have the power or capability of the full-size ones. Still, though, it works well for experimenting in the kitchen or making meals for one.

Another honorable mention was the Kuhn Rikon Swiss Pull Chop. We didn’t include it on our main list because it is a manual food processor, which many people don’t like. However, if you want something simple to help with chopping, and you don’t mind using a little arm power, this is not a bad product at all.

These honorable mentions are not the kind of things that will work for everyone. Still, though, they are not bad options if you want something cheap or if you want to try out a food processor in a simple sort of way to see if it is something you’ll like and actually use.

Buyer’s Guide

As you can probably tell from the above list, there is a lot to think about when it comes to choosing a food processor. And, if you want the very best food processor, you are going to have to do your research and really consider what it is you want and need.

To start with, you will want to make sure you get a food processor that has a large enough capacity to be useful to you. For most people, around a nine-cup capacity is pretty standard. If, though, you tend to make smaller portions, you can sometimes get away with less. In most cases, though, you will want to go no lower than a nine-cup capacity.

Also, to avoid kitchen messes and potentially dangerous accidents, try and choose a food processor where the bowl locks securely onto the base. That way, the whole thing won’t come flying apart in the middle of processing something messy.

And, speaking of messy, try and get a food processor that is easy to clean. The blades should pop out easily, and, ideally, the whole thing should come apart for quick, easy cleaning.

You should also make sure you choose a food processor you understand how to use. A lot of them are very complex and feature all kinds of buttons and controls. Often, though, all of these extra features end up doing more harm than good. The only thing that you really need in a food processor is a simple on and off switch and a button so that you can pulse when you need to. If you do get a processor that offers more features than that, make sure you know what they are and how to use them.

And, while you don’t need a processor with a lot of crazy, confusing buttons, there are some extra features you may want to have. You might, for example, want a special blade specifically for chopping, mincing, and pureeing foods. Or, you might want slicing and grating disks. These extras are usually a matter of preference and depend on what all you plan to do with your food processor. However, it’s not a bad idea to know what extras you want and then to seek out a food processor that offers them.

Finally, do give some thought on how much you want to spend and are able to spend on your food processor. They really vary in terms of price, from twenty or so dollars to over a hundred dollars. It is a good idea to set your budget before you shop. That way, you can shop within your price range and avoid going over budget on a whim.