Since we've all been cooking at home a whole lot more during the COVID-19 pandemic, the editors at BestProducts.com have become much more choosey about the kitchen essentials they use and love. Food processors are some of the most essential home cooking tools due to their versatility, and yet it can be daunting to try and narrow down the search to find the best options out there.
Great for basic, time-consuming kitchen tasks like chopping veggies, mincing garlic, shredding carrots, and dicing potatoes, a food processor makes quick work out of otherwise laborious meal prep. Plus, some more advanced food processors even have blender-like capabilities and features, allowing users to make homemade baby food recipes, dog food, and even better-for-you ice cream recipes.
How We Tested
We decided to give our arms a break from all that chopping and dicing and test out a few efficient, time-saving food processors to get the job done right. Over the course of one full month, our team of five editors tested out five different food processor models using specific testing criteria and parameters to find out which food processors they'd actually recommend.
Best Food Processors We Tested:
- Most Versatile: Breville Sous Chef 16-Cup Food Processor
- Best for Entertaining: Cuisinart 14-Cup Food Processor
- Best for Baking: Hamilton Beach 10-Cup Food Processor
- Best Cordless Model: KitchenAid Cordless 5-Cup Food Chopper
- Best Mini Pick: Cuisinart 3-Cup Mini Prep Plus
In our testing pool, we gathered feedback from five editors with various cooking chops who were keen to test out a new food processor model. Included in our models tested were larger, multifunctional 16-cup food processors with multiple chute and blade configurations, all the way down to much more compact 3-cup food processors with less flashy features and more basic functionality, and everything in between.
Our editors kept in mind the below testing criteria when testing these food processors with various recipes at home, paying close attention to noise, footprint, ease of use, versatility, and consistency.
Our Testing Criteria:
- Noise. How loud is this food processor?
- Footprint. How much space does it take up?
- Ease of Use. How easy is this food processor to use? Was it easy to set up? How is cleanup?
- Versatility. Are there multiple settings (dice/shred/mince) and blade attachments? What tasks is this food processor best for?
- Consistency. How evenly was the food processor able to dice, mince, and grind?
So, after hours of research and comparing models, one full month of hand-testing, and over 20 batches of homemade pesto, salsa, guacamole, and chimichurri, here are the best food processors our editors swear by.
Most Versatile
Tester: Brandon Carte, senior electronics editor
Dishes Made During Testing: One large batch of salsa, medium batch of pesto, biscuit dough, and homemade dog food.
At a Glance: This versatile food processor helps keep messes to a minimum with its smart storage features. The processor comes with a 12-cup bowl, a smaller 3-cup miniature bowl that fits nicely inside, and a plastic storage container for all of its components.
Brandon's Review
Noise. How loud is this food processor?
I was pleasantly surprised at how quiet it was. It's quieter than my coffee grinder and vacuum.
Footprint. How much space does it take up?
The Breville has a relatively compact footprint. It's not much larger than my KitchenAid mixer. I wouldn't be opposed to keeping it out on my kitchen countertop. Its brushed stainless steel design looks very premium. And even with the bowl attached, it's not so tall that it gets in the way of my overhanging cabinets.
The base is very robust and sturdy. It has rubber feet underneath it to prevent it from sliding around on your countertops.
Ease of Use. How easy is this food processor to use? Was it easy to set up? How is cleanup?
This product is extremely easy to use. There are just three buttons, the power button, start, and pulse. I've used a Cuisinart processor in the past and to be honest I was intimidated with its speed settings. For me personally, speed settings are unnecessary and I don't feel like my dishes taste any better based on how quickly I chop up my ingredients.
Cleanup isn't bad at all. Most of the components are dishwasher safe, but since everything disassembles easily, it's quite easy to wash by hand.
Versatility. Are there multiple settings (dice/shred/mince) and blade attachments? What tasks is this food processor best for?
There are multiple included blades. There's a slicing disk that lets you customize how thin you want to slice your food — which came in handy for slicing cucumbers. There's a plastic dough blade. There's a grater disc with different sized holes to make anything from a grated powder cotija cheese to a thicker shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
This food processor is best for any kind of dicing, chopping, and shredding, as well as making pie crusts and biscuit doughs. Honestly, it's an excellent, highly versatile machine. I wouldn't recommend using it for bread dough because it develops the gluten too much, which leads to tough dough.
Also noteworthy: The processor comes with a 12-cup bowl and a smaller 3-cup miniature bowl. Breville truly thought of everything.
Consistency. How evenly was the food processor able to dice, mince, and grind?
It grinds beautifully. It doesn't really dice. Dicing is tough to do, but mincing and grinding work really well with this food processor. I was able to use it to grind up large chicken breasts and carrots to make mushed food for my dogs. It has plenty of power.
Best for Entertaining
Tester: Zarah Kavarana, associate editor
Dishes Made During Testing: Chimichurri, shortbread cookies, hummus, salmon croquettes, and sliced mushrooms and cucumbers
At a Glance: This 14-cup food processor has a slightly larger footprint, but plenty of different functionalities for everyday meal prep. With three blades, it's versatile enough to mix, chop, slice, shred, emulsify, puree, and even knead dough with ease.
Zarah's Review
Noise. How loud is this food processor?
I wouldn't say that this food processor is quiet enough to sleep through, but I did compare it to a still-working older model I had in the garage, and it is significantly quieter.
Footprint. How much space does it take up?
This food processor holds a hefty 14 cups, which is great for mixing up bigger batches, but slightly less convenient for storing in limited cabinet space. It's bulky, and the base is extremely heavy. If you can afford the additional room, though, this model slices and purees like a dream.
Ease of Use. How easy is this food processor to use? Was it easy to set up? How is cleanup?
It took me a minute to figure out how to set up and use this food processor. The cover must be placed on properly for the motor to move, so it took some playing around for me to figure out the correct position.
Cleanup was extremely easy since the work bowl, cover, and blades (basically everything but the base) can be tossed in the dishwasher.
Versatility. Are there multiple settings (dice/shred/mince) and blade attachments? What tasks is this food processor best for?
The control panel is fairly simple with just two buttons that allow you to either turn on the food processor, or pulse/turn it off, but it does come with three blades that are intended for easier prepping. They're versatile enough to mix, chop, slice, shred, emulsify, puree, and even knead dough with complete ease.
Consistency. How evenly was the food processor able to dice, mince, and grind?
I was wowed by how precisely this food processor was able to dice and mince ingredients. There's a lot of surface area in the bowl, so it allows for ingredients to spread and mix pretty evenly. You'll never have to stir contents to ensure that everything gets incorporated.
Even when I put mushrooms and cucumbers through the slicer attachment, all pieces came out uniformly. Unlike hand-chopping, the process took literally seconds, and the result was way cleaner than what I could've done on my own with a knife.
I would say that this food processor is best for entertaining because its oversized work bowl and powerful performance make prepping bulk batches a breeze.
Best for Baking
Tester: Latifah Miles, parenting editor
Dishes Made During Testing: Pie crust and cilantro-lime sauce
At a Glance: This 10-cup food processor is easy to use and straightforward in its basic functionality. With two speed settings and both slicing and pulsing functions, this is a solid and affordable entry-level food processor that is especially great for baking and dough-kneading applications.
Latifah's Review
Noise. How loud is this food processor?
On a scale from 1995 vacuum and a whisper, this food processor is reasonable when it comes to loudness. It is loud enough to know that it's working as it should be, but not loud enough for my downstairs neighbors to start banging on the ceiling.
Footprint. How much space does it take up?
It is a decent size, and for my kitchen, it has to be stored away as it takes up too much counter space.
Ease of Use. How easy is this food processor to use? Was it easy to set up? How is cleanup?
This food processor is super easy to use and pretty straightforward. It does take a second to line it up just right so that it turns on (a safety feature most food processors have), but other than that, it's functionality is fairly simple. The cleanup is quick, but there are several parts.
Versatility. Are there multiple settings (dice/shred/mince) and blade attachments? What tasks is this food processor best for?
There aren't multiple settings, but there is an additional blade for slicing versus pulsing, which is helpful for things like onions and peppers. There is also a pulse setting and two speed settings so you can get the right texture.
I loved this for my pie crust. When making an outstanding crust that Nana would be proud (or jealous) of, it is essential to keep the butter and water super cold. The food processor works super quickly to incorporate the ingredients without warming them up.
Consistency. How evenly was the food processor able to dice, mince, and grind?
The cuts were mostly uniform, though the cilantro stems weren't as evenly incorporated, but it wasn't problematic. The pie crust was perfect and the butter was chopped up in the flour.
A food processor is a must-have kitchen appliance, and this one certainly gets the job done. I also loved the side scraper. It helped me get every drop of whatever I was blending incorporated, as well as the suction cups on the bottom of the base, which help keep it steady during use.
Best Cordless Model
Tester: Caitlyn Fitzpatrick, news & trends editor
Dishes Made During Testing: Pesto, graham cracker crumbles, chopped onions, and frozen banana ice cream
At a Glance: Compact and cordless, this 5-cup KitchenAid food chopper is perfect for smaller kitchens with limited storage space. With two speed settings, a pulse control, and a dual blade attachment, it's versatile and sleek option.
Caitlyn's Review
Noise. How loud is this food processor?
The KitchenAid Cordless Food Chopper isn't as loud as I anticipated, especially with the frozen bananas. Maybe if they had been fully frozen it would have been a different story, but the noise wasn't a big deal. It's also worth mentioning the food chopper works fast, so it probably won't be on long anyway.
I'm not saying you should use it in the same room as a sleeping baby, but I'm also not saying it would wake them up in the next room.
Footprint. How much space does it take up?
It's basically like having two coffee cups on the countertop! I love how small it is and you don't even need to worry about finding a place to plug it in, since it's cordless.
Ease of Use. How easy is this food processor to use? Was it easy to set up? How is cleanup?
I'm going to be honest: I couldn't figure out how to work the top when I first tried it. I was trying to pull up instead of shifting it to the side. Also, I didn't realize that you're supposed to put the blade in before putting in the food. So those two things took a minute for trial and error, but after that it was easy to use. Just charge it, move the button to first or second speed, and press the button on the handle.
The KitchenAid Cordless Food Chopper makes clean-up easy, since the pieces are dishwasher-safe. There are only five pieces total, so it's not like you're dealing with a million mini pieces that all need to be washed.
Versatility. Are there multiple settings (dice/shred/mince) and blade attachments? What tasks is this food processor best for?
While there aren't specific settings for dicing, chopping, and pureeing, there are two speed settings and a pulse control. There is one attachment that features two blades.
With all the things I made with the KitchenAid Cordless Food Chopper, it tackled each task very well. It blended the pestos, smoothed out frozen bananas, and chopped graham crackers and onions. Since it's small in comparison to other food processors, I'd say that it's best for chopping up single foods or making a batch of pesto, dressing, or salsa. If you're making that frozen banana ice cream, for example, for more than two or three people, you'd want to use a bigger machine.
Consistency. How evenly was the food processor able to dice, mince, and grind?
Most of the things I made were more for smoothing and mixing together as opposed to dicing, but with the onions, all of the pieces were cut pretty much the same. There weren't any huge differences in size that would be cause for concern.
If you're looking for a cordless, powerful food chopper that won't take up a lot of room on your countertop, you've found it with the KitchenAid Cordless Food Chopper. It's not too loud and can fit a fair amount of ingredients for having a 5-cup capacity.
Best Mini Pick
Tester: Jennifer Hussein, beauty editor
Dishes Made During Testing: Hummus, guacamole, cauliflower rice, and pesto
At a Glance: The smallest of the models we tested, this 3-cup mini food processor is the perfect size for beginner cooks with limited kitchen countertop space. With one blade attachment and two simple settings for pulsing and grinding, this food processor can tackle both chunky and fine consistencies for meal prep.
Jennifer's Review
Noise. How loud is this food processor?
It's pretty loud, but not insufferable.
Footprint. How much space does it take up?
It takes up very little space, which is what I love the most about this food processor. I have a pretty tiny kitchen, and thankfully I can leave the food processor on the counter without having to shuffle around to make room for the rest of my kitchen essentials.
Ease of Use. How easy is this food processor to use? Was it easy to set up? How is cleanup?
This food processor is pretty foolproof. It's as simple as plugging it in and pressing a button. However, you'll want to learn when exactly to let go of the button in order to get just the right consistency. As for cleanup, it’s dishwasher-safe, but I don't have a dishwasher, so I just washed it by hand, which was also super easy to do.
Versatility. Are there multiple settings (dice/shred/mince) and blade attachments? What tasks is this food processor best for?
There are two settings: chop, which is great for a chunkier consistency, and grind, which is good for finer consistencies or puréeing. There's only one blade attachment, but it's sharp enough to take on all tasks.
Honestly, it's great for anything that a newbie in the kitchen (such as myself) could think of: purées, hummus, chopping up veggies, you name it! It doesn't come with as many specs as other food processors do, but if you take a simpler approach to your cooking, then this food processor is perfect.
Consistency. How evenly was the food processor able to dice, mince, and grind?
This food processor makes very uniform cuts. No odd shapes or cuts here!
I'm genuinely obsessed with this teensy food processor. It's my new best friend in the kitchen.
Read More:
The Best Coffee Makers for Your Morning Cup
The WFH Kitchen Essentials Our Editors Swear By
Quality Blenders That Can Mix Anything
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