If you’ve been spending more time in the kitchen lately or have decided to commit to meal prepping, it’s likely that a food processor is on your radar. These kitchen workhorses are a multi-tasker’s dream, helping you to chop, blitz, blend, and yes—even knead dough—with speed and precision. At their most basic, a food processor is simply a gadget that supports the basic tasks we undertake in the kitchen.
Having a tool that makes cooking and prepping easier can make a big difference in how we feel about the time we spend in the kitchen. In fact, when you’re feeling sick of cooking, the practice of meal prepping with the help of a food processor is something nutritionist Wendy Lopez, R.D., highlights as one of the ways you can truly support yourself.
On the flip side, the food processor can help you maintain the rituals that ground you. Cookbook author Elizabeth Barbone, the founder of Cook Fast Eat Well, is big on making pizza dough in her food processor. “Friday night pizza is a sacred tradition in our house,” she tells SELF. “A food processor quickly develops gluten, making for a chewy and light dough.”
From pizza dough to meal prep, choosing the best food processor involves thinking through the ways in which you want to use it. Are you looking to replace your blender with a supercharged do-it-all model? Or do you just need something small that you can keep stashed on the counter for quickly chopping onions? There are options to fit every need. To help us round up some of the best food processors to share with you, we’ve asked a few of our favorite food pros to share their thoughts, along with any tips and tricks that make using one even more helpful.
All products featured on SELF are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Walmart
The Beloved Classic: Cuisinart Custom 14-Cup Food Processor
Since its debut in the early ’70s, the Cuisinart food processor has been the standard for home cooks looking for some assistance in the kitchen. And this hefty 14-cup model provides it. It does the basics of chopping, slicing, shredding, and even kneading—and that’s just with the standard attachments. If you want to spiralize or get a perfect dice, there’s an attachment for that. Despite all its capabilities, you might be surprised that there’s no digital interface—just two buttons: one for pulsing and one for continuous processing. And truly that’s all you need, no matter what you’re preparing. For Barbone, her food processor needs to do it all. “It can handle mincing a single garlic clove and churn easily through pizza dough.”
If the 14-cup size seems extravagant, keep in mind that this tool is meant to help you out in the kitchen for years to come—well beyond the three-year warranty—so this size means you can make pizza dough in it whenever you decide to, even if you’ve only ever used it to make pestos and sauces up until then.
Nutrition and business coach Ashely Pardo grew up watching her grandmother use this very Cuisinart food processor in the kitchen (she even inherited her first one from her!) and reaches for it whenever she’s making sauces, dips, or purées. “The food processor creates just a bit more texture than a high-speed blender (like a Vitamix), and it’s perfect for hummus, pesto, tzatziki, chimichurri.”
Amazon
The Small and Simple Option: KitchenAid Cordless 5-Cup Chopper
Regardless of the size or brand of any food processor, how well it can actually process food is something to pay attention to. “Before buying a food processor, check out the strength of the motor,” says Barbone. “You want a food processor that can handle mixing dough and grinding foods into a nice smooth purée.” While mixing up doughs isn’t something you can do in this 5-cup chopper from Kitchenaid, that might not matter much if what you’re looking for is something that can help you chop, blend, whip, and purée.
This chopper does all that without needing to be plugged in since it’s powered by a rechargeable lithium ion battery that lasts through the chopping of 40 onions. For apartment dwellers with small kitchens and not a lot of counter or cabinet space, this offers innovation in size, function (the cordless life is a game changer), and storage. For example, all the accessories for this model get stashed inside the bowl attachment when it’s not in use. Talk about smart design!
Sur La Table
The Sleek, Quiet Option: Breville Sous-Chef 12-Cup Food Processor
If you’re looking for a workhouse food processor that can do it all, and one that’s still sleek enough to keep out on the countertop, this number from Breville is the one. It does everything a good food processor is meant to do—chop, slice, purée, and knead—but very quietly. It’s a favorite of chef Nyesha Arrington who says that this one makes it easier to “prep ingredients in advance so when it’s time to cook you have the energy to be as creative you want.” Speaking of getting creative, one of Arrington’s favorite attachments for the Breville Sous Chef is the French Fry Disk. “It’ll turn any veggie into a French fry,” she says. Get those sweet potatoes, parsnips, and zucchini ready!