Best Food Processors

Large-capacity food processors are more versatile

One of the first things to consider when buying a food processor is the bowl capacity, which can vary from 3 to 20 cups. Jenny Rosenstrach at Real Simple magazine recommends an 11-cup capacity for most tasks. Some food processors come with smaller bowls that nest inside the larger one to save on storage space. Cook's Illustrated says these mini bowls are handy for making mayonnaise and other little jobs. However, Rosenstrach notes that "to use the smaller bowl, you must fit it inside the larger one, then both get dirty during processing."

Attachments are another key component of food processors. In addition to a multi-purpose blade that chops and mixes, some food processors include separate blades for slicing, shredding and dough mixing (mini choppers only have one blade). Food processors also may have one or two feed tubes for adding ingredients while the blade is spinning, and a pusher tool for safely sending ingredients down the chute. Experts say that you don't need a huge number of speeds; one or two speeds, plus a pulse button (quick bursts to prevent overprocessing of salsas and other chunky recipes) is fine.

According to owners, one universal problem with food processors is that liquids tend to seep out of the top of the work bowl when mixing more than a couple of cups. So if you mainly want to puree soups and thinner sauces, consider a blender instead.

One standout, the Cuisinart Prep 11 Plus DLC-2011CHB (*Est. $165) , is named as a top choice in five professional reviews. This food processor also receives praise from users. One professional review gives the Cuisinart DLC-2011CHB props for performing very well on all of its tests, and it is especially good at kneading bread dough and pureeing -- two tasks that trip up lesser food processors. Food & Wine magazine describes the Cuisinart DLC-2011CHB as "the mother of all food processors."

Reviewers at Wired name the Cuisinart Prep 11 Plus an Editor's Choice pick, praising its smooth touchpad with a continuous-on button, pulse button and dough setting. Wired's editors say the Cuisinart Prep 11 Plus processor's dough-control feature "turns out flaky tart shells." Additionally, editors at Good Housekeeping praise the Cuisinart Prep 11 Plus for cutting "everything into perfect, even pieces." Editors at Bon Appétit magazine also name the Cuisinart as their pick among food processors.

The Cuisinart Prep 11 Plus comes with a chopping/mixing blade, medium slicing disc, shredding disc and dough blade. Cuisinart's 10-year warranty on the motor and limited three-year warranty on the whole unit surpasses that of other manufacturers. Its finish is brushed chrome. The Cuisinart Pro Custom 11 DLC-8S (*Est. $170) is supposed to sell for less -- it has a shorter motor warranty (five years versus 10 for the Cuisinart Prep 11 Plus) -- but when we checked real-world prices, there was little difference, and the DLC-8S isn't quite as good as the Prep 11 Plus at slicing or grating in one test.

One food magazine recommends the similar (but bigger) 14-cup Cuisinart Custom 14 DFP-14BCN (*Est. $195) , although testers do get a little annoyed with the short feed tube -- they had to do a lot of trimming to fit a russet potato into it. Like the Cuisinart Prep 11 Plus, the Cuisinart Custom 14 DFP-14BCN gets outstanding scores from owners at Amazon.com, averaging 4.5 stars out of 5 in nearly 200 reviews.

A French import, the Magimix 4200XL (*Est. $375) offers some useful luxuries to justify its steep sticker, reviewers say. You get three bowls -- 6-, 12- and 14-cup -- with both wide and narrow feed tubes, plus two chopping blades, two grating discs, two slicing discs, dough blade, blender mix attachment, egg whisk, spatula and storage case. This heavy, solidly built machine has a long, 12-year motor warranty and does a good to excellent job at every task testers throw at it. The Wall Street Journal recommends it as the "blue ribbon" pick among food processors, and the extensive tests at KitchenAudition.com find very little to criticize -- photos show neat piles of perfectly sliced potatoes and shredded cheese, rounds of flawless pastry crust and more. Still, when two independent consumer testing agencies tackled Magimix food processors, they found that more reasonably priced models like the Cuisinart Prep 11 Plus work just as well or better.

Budget food processors

It is possible to find a full-size food processor for less than $100, but choosing a model in this price range can be tricky; that's because reviews for budget food processors are all over the map. We honed in on some models that get better user ratings than others in this price class.

The Hamilton Beach Big Mouth 14 Cup 70570 (*Est. $70) matches the top-rated Cuisinart Prep 11 Plus in all food-processing tests (slicing, shredding, chopping, pureeing) by one testing organization -- and it even grates slightly better than the Cuisinart food processor. The Hamilton Beach is noisier, though, testers say, and there's no dough blade. The Hamilton Beach does come with a chopping blade and reversible slicing/shredding disc. Its 14-cup capacity makes it roomier than most other food processors, and its wide feed tube is designed to fit whole potatoes, tomatoes and cucumbers. Experts at Good Housekeeping recommend it as one of their top three food processors. The model numbers refer to colors: white (70570) or black (70573). This food processor comes with a one-year warranty.

The similar Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Deluxe 70575 (*Est. $80) is identical to the Big Mouth 14 Cup 70570 and 70573 food processors, except the Deluxe adds a French fry blade and a slightly stronger motor (525 watts versus 500). The Deluxe is The Wall Street Journal's top budget food processor pick, although "the 'fries disc,' while cool in theory, produced some fairly ragged specimens." A cooking magazine tests the Deluxe and recommends it with reservations: It does a fair job at most tasks, but testers find the feed tube's lids and inserts overly complicated and somewhat difficult to clean.

Compact food processors for smaller jobs

Compact food processors have a smaller bowl capacity, but cost a lot less and are easier to store. For consumers strapped for counter and cabinet space, reviewers recommend the 7-cup KitchenAid KFP715 (*Est. $110) . Testers in one professional review say this compact food processor rivals larger models in its abilities and is quieter than most. It's also exceptional at slicing and does a great job chopping, shredding and pureeing. However, those looking for a food processor to make dough should know that one professional review found this model to be just average in that respect. Editors at Good Housekeeping give this 7-cup KitchenAid a thumbs-up, saying it is "powerful enough to handle tough tasks such as slicing pepperoni."

Owners posting reviews to Amazon.com say the KitchenAid KFP715 is powerful and has a solidly built metal post for the blade. A handful of contributors at Target.com give it an overall rating of 4 stars out of 5; owners say the compact size is easy to store, yet the work bowl is roomy enough for most tasks. Although it's supposed to be dishwasher-safe, two Target users complain that the handle broke off of the work bowl after heat from the dishwasher weakened the glue holding the handle on. Some owners at Amazon.com also complain that this food processor broke within the first year, although one says hers has been going strong for five years. It has a one-year warranty.

The Cuisinart Prep 9 DLC-2009CHB (*Est. $145) is backed by a much longer warranty than the KitchenAid food processor -- three years on parts and 10 years on the motor. It has a dough blade, which the KitchenAid lacks, and a bigger 9-cup capacity, even though the Cuisinart's footprint is a tiny bit smaller. This is the little brother of the top-rated full-size food processor, the Cuisinart Prep 11 Plus DLC-2011CHB (*Est. $165) , but very few experts have tested the 9-cup version. The only professional test we found is at ConsumerGuide.com, where it's a Best Buy.

"We can't say enough about the performance of this machine. Every task was done to perfection," editors say. "We chopped onions in about eight short pulses. An entire bag of walnuts was chopped in seconds and a full block of cheese was shredded without any precutting at all." Owner reviews at Amazon.com and Macys.com are nearly perfect, although a few owners say that the Cuisinart Prep 9 broke quickly or pureed veggies instead of chopping them.