11 Best Food Processors 2021

However, you can only feed smaller bits of food into the machine, so larger items will need to be cut into pieces before you hit the start button. The processor includes a reversible shredding/slicing disk and a stainless steel blade for chopping, blending, pureeing, and more. When you’re done prepping dinner, the work bowl, lid, and blades are all dishwasher safe, so cleanup is easy.

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. A few pulls will give you chunky nuts or salsa, while more pulls can give you a smooth puree. A true kitchen workhorse, this doesn’t have a lot of fancy frills, but it will get the job done easily. This brushed stainless steel food processor has two large paddle buttons, one for “on” and one for “off/pulse,” and that’s all you need for the machine to perform all of its functions.

cuisinart food processor

The shredding disc does just what you’d expect — it instantly turns hard cheeses, fresh vegetables and more into uniform shreds. With a food processor, you can skip the hard-to-clean box grater cuisinart pots and pans set or hand-crank cheese grater. In contrast with the direct drive shaft in most food processors, the Breville uses a ball bearing attachment to connect to the work bowl, like a blender does.

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. 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. For small chopping tasks, the inexpensive KitchenAid 3.5 Cup Food Chopper offers the best value and performance we’ve found in a mini processor. It evenly chops a range of ingredients, including tough jumbo carrots.

It has all the information you need to figure out which Cuisinart food processor is perfect for your kitchen. A full-sized food processor can transform your meal prep routine, but it will also take up coveted space in your kitchen. By the early 2000s, a new kind of self-expression in the kitchen—one emphasizing simplicity and tradition—challenged the status of the food processor as essential.

“This appliance is fantastic at blending! The hummus was very smooth and the salsa was appropriately chunky,” says Rachel. 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 cuisinart griddler elite won’t blend evenly and may even erupt from the spout. Next, add your choice of liquid and sweetener, like honey or agave, if you want. You may need to scrape the bottom to mix further, and make sure everything is getting blended as well as possible. Just be careful of messes here, as your processor likely won’t have an actual pour spout.

We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links. You could have a hard time getting the bowl to sit properly if it already has food in it. For large or extra-large models, choose one with at least 800 to 1200 watts.