food processors

Staff, Courtesy of Breville

Food processors might not be the first appliance you get for your kitchen, but they could end up being some of your most used. Not only can they puree your favorite dips, but they can be used to seriously cut down on cooking time—especially if chopping is not your specialty. They also make a great baking companion specifically if you are super into pie—because who has time to cut up their own butter? Since there are a ton of options out there, it can difficult to find the right one for you, especially when shopping online.

To help you out, we have gathered up some of the best food processors that will help you breeze through the most delicious time of the year.

How to Choose a Food Processor

There are a few key components that you will want to look for in a food processor that will help determine if it is the right fit for you. Keep reading to see what to look for and how to find the food processor that will meet your needs!

Bowl Capacity: Most food processors are around the 10- to 12-cup max, which is more than enough for your average household. If you tend to cook a lot or have a very large family, you may wish to invest in a larger model—some of these span up to 15 cups. If you are a single person, you can opt for a smaller version, but note that the cup capacity usually refers to dry ingredients, and for wet ingredients, it will be less.

Blades: All food processors will come with at least one blade—generally an S blade, which is used for chopping and depending on how long you run the processor for, it will determine how fine of a chop you get. Some also come with dough hooks, slicing, and shredding disks, which can cost more, but help you get your use out of it.

Wattage: Finally consider the wattage of your food processor. This is super important because it determines how powerful your motor is. The more powerful it is, the larger batches it can handle, and the less you have to pre-prep your food.

How We Choose

To find the best options among the many food processors out there, we researched the most popular models available. We then took into account price, materials, durability, features, and capacity. Finally, we consulted more than 38,000 reviews, written by people who’ve bought these models on sites like Amazon, to settle on these eight.

1

Best Overall

Cuisinart 14-Cup Food Processor

Key Specs: 

  • Capacity: 14 cups 
  • Blades: 3
  • Wattage: 720

This mid-priced food processor is a great option for newbies and chefs alike. The midrange price isn’t too crazy, and if you cook a lot, it may be worth the investment. It has 720 watts, which is a pretty powerful motor, and comes with a slicing disk, shredding disk, and chopping blade. It’s also super easy to use, set up and clean, so it won’t be an appliance that gathers dust. 

2

Best for Small Families

KitchenAid Food Processor

Key Specs: 

  • Capacity: 7 cups
  • Blades: 2
  • Wattage: 250

For a more budget-friendly option, consider this KitchenAid food processor. It has three different speeds and is about as user-friendly as it gets. The leak-resistant bowl, lid, and accessories are all dishwasher safe, and fit inside the bowl for easy, compact storage. While it isn’t the biggest food processor, seven cups is more than enough for a small family, or one meal prepper. 

3

Best for Small Spaces

KitchenAid 3.5-Cup Food Chopper

Key Specs: 

  • Capacity: 3.5 cups
  • Blades: 1
  • Wattage: 240

This teensy KitchenAid certainly has our vote for cutest food processor, but don’t be fooled, it is well equipped to make everything from a tasty salsa, to the smoothest hummus. 

If we are honest, it is really a one-person food processor with a capacity of only 3.5 cups, but if you don’t mind working in small batches or usually cook for yourself in a small space, it works great for what it is. 

4

Best Premium Model

Breville Sous Chef 16 Pro Food Processor

Key Specs: 

  • Capacity: 15 cups
  • Blades: 3
  • Wattage: 1,200

Whether you are a pro chef or like to consider yourself one, investing in a high-powered food processor can be the difference between a grainy sauce and a silky-smooth one. 

While this Breville may cost a pretty penny, you are paying for the 1,200-watt motor, and tons of accessories including a storage case, multiple chute options, slicing disk, S-blade, and mini bowl. It also has a main bowl with a 16-cup capacity, which is more than enough to cook for yourself and 10 of your closest friends. 

5

Budget Buy

Oster 2-Speed 10-Cup Food Processor

Key Specs:

  • Capacity: 10 cups 
  • Blades: 2
  • Wattage: 500

If you don’t use your food processor on the regular, or you don’t have $100-plus to drop on an appliance, don’t think that there aren’t still some great options out there. 

This Oster is only $40, but has a capacity of 10 cups, which is more than enough for most recipes. The 500-watt motor isn’t the most powerful on this list but it’s more than enough to tackle even the tough stuff like nuts. It also includes a dough blade, which is great for pie lovers—pizza or pumpkin alike. 

6

Vitamix Attachment

Vitamix 12-Cup Food Processor Attachment

Key Specs:

  • Capacity: 12 cups 
  • Blades: 3
  • Wattage: N/A

We feel you if you aren’t excited about adding yet another appliance to your countertop, and if you already own a Vitamix blender, you won’t have to. 

This food processor attachment from Vitamix works directly with the base of your blender, and includes a 12-cup work bowl and lid, two food pushers (one large, one small), one “S” multipurpose blade, two reversible slice/shred discs and a disc storage case. All accessories are also dishwasher safe, which makes cleanup hassle-free. 

7

2-in-1 Blender and Food Processor

Ninja BN801 Professional Plus Kitchen System

Key Specs:

  • Capacity: 12 cups 
  • Blades: 3
  • Wattage: 1,400

Another option to help pare back your appliances, this model is a blender and food processor in one—for the price of a single appliance. It features low, medium, high, and pulse manual settings, as well as automatic settings such as smoothie, ice crush, extract, chop, and dough. 

Included in the set are an XL 72-ounce pitcher, two 24-ounce single serving to-go cups, and an 8-cup food processor bowl. It also includes four different blades including a dough blade, and has a super powerful 1,400-watt motor.

8

Stand Mixer Attachment

KitchenAid KSM2FPA Food Processor Attachment

Key Specs: 

  • Capacity: 12 cups 
  • Blades: 3
  • Wattage: N/A

Another attachment, this processor hooks onto your KitchenAid stand mixer. It has a wide feed tube that cuts down on prep time, and includes an exact slice system, which allows you to slice food in even, desired thicknesses adjustable with a lever. It includes a dicing kit and blades for grating as well. 

This food processor is more geared towards meal prep and can significantly cut down on cooking time, but note that it it does not puree or chop super fine like most food processors do. 

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