The best food processor will save you time and effort in the kitchen, and ensure your ingredients are perfectly chopped, sliced, or beaten every time. Most food processors work using the same concept – one or more spinning blades to break up whatever you throw in. There are usually different blades to use for certain tasks. Some even come with attachments that let you whisk, knead dough, or emulsify, just to name a few.
Here we've included the best food processors from brands including Ninja, KitchenAid, Breville (known as Sage in the UK), and Magimix. We've tested all of them in our kitchen to see how they handle common but challenging tasks like mixing cake batter, chopping nuts, making mayonnaise, and grinding beef to assess how evenly they can cut, how well they incorporate ingredients, how loud they are, and how easy they are to clean.
The newest addition to this guide is the Nutribullet Triple Prep System, which gives you a full-size food processor, jug blender, and smoothie-maker, all of which use the same powerful base unit to save you space and cash.
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Best food processor overall
This premium food processor (called the Sage Paradice 16 in the UK) has a powerful 900W motor and tough build that can slice, chop, julienne, knead, and much more. It's super versatile, with a huge range of blades and two different sized bowls, and earned a full five stars in our battery of tests thanks to its performance and seriously robust build quality. It's a big investment, but worth the spend.
Best budget food processor
This Cuisinart food processor delivers impressive results for a low price. It covers the basics well, and the a choice of two bowls to suit different tasks is a welcome feature that helps cater to different sized families and different dishes. Our vegetables were sometimes a bit unevenly chopped and it's a shame there's no whisk attachment included, but with a list price of just $99.95 / £125, we won't complain.
Most versatile food processor
The Magimix 4200XL is a sturdy all-rounder that can handle everything from whipping cream to heavy bread dough with ease, and comes with every attachment you can think of. During testing we were also pleasantly surprised by how quiet was, whether it was shredding, slicing, chopping, mixing, or whisking ingredients. It's over twice the price of the Cuisinart Easy Prep Pro FP8, though.
Best compact food processor
Short on counter space? This KitchenAid food processor is small but perfectly formed with enough power for tough jobs. We found it great for small quantities, and it's perfect for mixing sauces and dips, and whisking eggs and cream. All the attachments fit inside the bowl too, though it lacks a few accessories we'd normally expect to see, such as a shredding and slicing disc for vegetables.
Best multifunctional food processor
The Nutribullet Triple Prep System is a three-in-one food processor and blender combo that can handle just about any ingredient you can throw at it. During our tests the food processor was superb for mixing, slicing, and grating evenly, while the jug and cup blenders were ideal for sauces, souple, and smoothies. Just bear in mind that its powerful motor can be quite loud.
Best mini chopper
A personal blender and mini food processor in one, the Magic Bullet Kitchen Express is ideal for making individual smoothies, and in our tests it proved exceptionally easy to use. The food processor attachment didn't chop nuts as evenly as some of the full-sized food processors in our tests, but it performs well for its size and is very affordably priced at under $100 / £100.
Meet the expert
Cat is TechRadar's home tech editor, specializing in smart homes and kitchens. She's been a tech journalist for over 10 years, is a keen home cook, and reviews new kitchen appliances every month, so she's ideally placed to help you choose a food processor that's just right for you.
The best food processors
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Best food processor overall
✅ You want a pro-grade processor: It’s really fast and efficient, and if you need to prep food for a large family, the Paradice 16 can save you a lot of time and effort.
✅ You want versatility: While most food processors are good at chopping, shredding and pureéing, the Paradice 16 will do a heck of a lot more, including dicing in two different sizes, julienning, and cutting fries.
❌ You don’t have a lot of storage space: Not only is the unit bulky and heavy, you’re also going to need cabinet space to tuck the two storage boxes away.
❌ Your needs are quite simple: If you aren’t going to regularly make use of the dicing kit, you could save a little cash opting for a cheaper Breville food processor.
So you're looking for a top-end food processor that'll make wafer-thin cucumber slices, julienne carrots, lightly whipped meringue, and super smooth pizza dough? The Paradice 16 is the food processor for you – provided you have the storage space.
This is the kind of food processor home cooks dream about, with a 900W motor to power through even tough ingredients, blades that reach all the way to the edge of the bowl (no missed chunks of veg), and an incredible array of accessories. Its two dicing attachments are particularly good, and during our tests we were delighted to find that they pretty much made our kitchen knives redundant.
The veg-peeling attachment is another standout feature, and once it's done its work, there's another accessory for cutting your potatoes into perfectly even fries.
It's a serious investment, and its powerful motor can be rather loud, but the Paradice 16 is the ultimate food processor, and our top recommendation for the discerning home cook.
Read our full Breville the Paradice 16 review
Best budget food processor
✅ You don't need to knead or whisk: If you already have a dependable stand mixer for these tasks then you won't miss them here.
✅ You're short on space: Like many Cuisinart appliances we've tested over the years, this food processor is surprisingly light, making it easy to move and store.
❌ You often grate chocolate: Our chocolate started to melt during grating, and a more powerful food processor would work better.
❌ You're cooking for a crowd: The Easy Prep Pro is fine for most everyday tasks, but if you have a big family then you may want something with a bigger bowl.
The Cuisinart Easy Prep Pro (also known as the Cuisinart Elemental 8-Cup Food Processor) is a great option if you’re after a full size food processor on a budget. One of the cheapest models we’ve tested, it has a fairly generous 8-cup/ 1.9-liter bowl, is easy to use, is relatively compact, and the attachments and bowls are dishwasher-safe for easy cleaning, too.
You can choose between two different sizes for shredded and sliced foods. The discs work well and are easy to assemble but some food was left not shredded on top of the disc on test, and chocolate started to melt during the process.
We also found the appliance moved across the counter when mixing cake batter, so we had to hold onto it, and it lacked a whisk and dough attachment. However, its motor was powerful enough to mince 1.1lbs / 500g beef without jamming, which is impressive for such an affordable food processor.
Read our full review: Cuisinart Easy Prep Pro FP8
Most versatile food processor
✅ You spend lots of time shredding and slicing foods: This food processor comes with discs for fine and coarse cutting, saving you time and effort.
✅ You want to blend liquids: It doesn't come with a jug, but the Magimix 4200XL can handle soups and sauces without leaking.
❌ You're on a budget: This is one of the most expensive food processors we've tested (though it's not the priciest model from Magimix).
❌ You need extra capacity: If you're cooking for a big family, take a look at the larger 3.6-litre / 16 cup Magimix 5200XL.
If you’re looking for a food processor with plenty of attachments as well as a large capacity, look no further. The Magimix 4200XL food processor (known as the Magimix 14 Cup food processor in the US) is a versatile appliance that’s powerful and easy to use, but it’s one of the most expensive designs we’ve tested.
It comes with an array of attachments, and we were impressed - it sliced, chopped and shredded with ease, and even copes well with heavy bread dough, plus for added versatility there’s a smaller bowl and blade.
However, it only offers one speed - we would have liked the ability to use less power when chopping more delicate items, and although it comes with a handy storage box for all the attachments which helps keep them together, it’s bulky to store.
Read our full Magimix 4200XL food processor review
Best compact food processor
✅ You need something small but powerful: Despite its compact size, the KitchenAid Food Chopper has a powerful motor that makes light work of tough ingredients.
✅ You want easy clean-up: The bowl, lid, and accessories can all be safely washed on the top rack of your dishwasher.
❌ You want to prepare large quantities: As a 'chopper', this appliance has a smaller capacity than a full-sized food processor.
❌ You want to shred and slice vegetables: The KitchenAid 1.7-litre / seven-cup food processor is the company's smallest model with a shredding/slicing disc.
Though it’s smaller than a standard food processor, the KitchenAid Food Chopper is the perfect choice if space is limited, or if you don’t need to process large quantities. With just a 5 cup/ 1.19-liter capacity, it might be small, but on test it surprised us with how quickly and efficiently it chopped food. It’s sturdy and has enough power for tough jobs like grinding beef and chopping nuts without struggling.
It doesn’t come with many accessories, so it’s not useful for slicing, shredding or mixing dough. But it does come with a whisk which can be used to thicken small quantities of cream or aerate egg whites. There are two speeds to choose from, but you have to keep a finger on the button otherwise it stops.
Everything can be stored inside the main bowl, so it’s easy to store in a cupboard. It's more expensive than most food processors of a similar size, but it's also more powerful, so you get what you pay for.
Read our full review: KitchenAid Food Chopper KFC0516
Best multifunctional food processor
✅ You want a complete food prep system: If you're in the market for a personal blender, jug blender, and food processor all in one, the Triple Prep System has you covered.
✅ You struggle with chopping or dicing: If your knife skills are lacking or you just want to save yourself some time and effort in the kitchen, the Nutribullet Triple Prep System is more than suited to stepping in as your sous chef.
❌ You just need a blender for drink prep: If you solely see yourself using your blender for smoothies and shakes, the Triple Prep System is seriously overkill (take a look at our roundup of the best blenders instead).
❌ You're on a super tight budget: This is far from the most expensive food processor in this list, but if your needs are modest, you can get away with spending less.
The Nutribullet Triple Prep System is three appliances in one: a food processor, a jug blender, and a smoothie-maker, all of which attach to the same base unit. It's super convenient, saving you both money and space compared to buying all three separately, and during our tests we were happy to find that it doesn't compromise on performance.
Nutribullet is best known for its blenders, and both of these attachments performed as well as you'd expect. producing smooth soups and silky smoothies with ease, but the food processor is excellent as well. Food is chopped quickly and consistently, and the grating disc is a particular highlight, though the feed chute isn't huge so you may need to cut down your produce to fit beforehand.
For us, the biggest downside was that the blades in the jug blender aren't removeable, which can make cleaning difficult. We prefer being able to unscrew everything, though we dis appreciate the fact that all the Triple Prep System's accessories are dishwasher-safe.
Read our full Nutribullet Triple Prep System review
Best mini chopper
✅ You want both a blender and a food processor: This two-in-one appliance gives you both, and is a great option if space is tight.
✅ You're on a budget: At under $100/£100, this is the cheapest food processor in this test.
❌ You want to chop large quantities: This is more of a mini chopper than a full-sized food processor, best suited to small amounts of ingredients.
❌ You want to make mayonnaise: You can't pout ingredients in while the blades are moving, so a smooth, glossy mayo is out of the question.
The affordable Nutribullet Magic Bullet Kitchen Express is ideal if you want a personal blender and mini food processor in one - just fit either the cup or the bowl, and you're ready to go. The 3.5 cup / 0.83 liter bowl has the smallest capacity of all the food processors in this list and it comes with just a slicing disc and blade, so although it's ideal for vegetables and nuts, it can’t be used for tasks like whipping cream or kneading dough. That won't be an issue if you already have a stand mixer for those jobs, though, or are happy to do them by hand.
On test, we found that the Nutribullet Magic Kitchen Express was quick to shred carrot and grate cucumber, but the small feed chute meant that larger foods like cucumber needed to be cut in half to fit. However, it's compact enough for even tiny kitchens, and in spite of all the accessories, is easy to store.
Read our full review: Nutribullet Magic Bullet Kitchen Express
We also tested
We test new kitchen appliances every month here at TechRadar. Here are some of the food processors that didn't quite make out shortlist:
How to choose the best food processor for you
There’s plenty to think about when selecting the best food processor for you. One of the first things to consider is capacity, they come in various sizes from mini food processors designed for small quantities to large models with a capacity in excess of 14 cups/ 3 liters. If you’re regularly feeding a crowd, a large capacity might be best, but if you’ll just use it for small batches of salsa or to chop the odd onion then a mini food processor should meet your needs.
Food processors can come with multiple attachments to take the hard work out of labor-intensive kitchen tasks like shredding, slicing, mixing, chopping and whisking. It’s helpful to have an idea of what you will be using it for, this way you know which attachments will be useful to you. Try not to double up on appliances, that’s just a waste of space in your kitchen. So if for example, you know you always use a food mixer for dough and whisking, then you don’t need a food processor with these attachments.
But to make the most out of a food processor and all its capabilities, look for models with lots of attachments. In addition to chopping and mixing, the slicing and shredding discs speed up food prep for your favorite slaw and salad recipes. But don’t forget that all these attachments will need to be stored, so check you have the space and look for models that come with a neat storage solution.
Finally, if you’re particularly short on space, you may want to consider a food processor that doubles as a blender or personal blender. These multipurpose appliances take the place of two or three appliances which can save you space as well as money.
What's the difference between a food processor and a blender?
If you already own one of the best blenders don’t be fooled into thinking a food processor can’t add much. Blenders are great for creating lump-free liquids like soups and smoothies, whereas food processors are much better at chopping dry ingredients like nuts and vegetables as well as shredding, slicing, and whisking. Find out more about how these two appliances differ in blenders vs food processors.
What exactly does a food processor do?
A food processor is an extremely versatile kitchen gadget that can undertake a multitude of food preparation tasks. All models come with an S-blade (an attachment that features two curved blades opposite each other) which can chop and grind. It works well for vegetables such as onions and celery, along with herbs and even grinding chucks of meat.
The S-blade can also be used to mill nuts or pulverize them into nut butters, turn slices of bread into crumbs, combine eggs and flour into batter and even emulsify ingredients into smooth, silky sauces such as mayonnaise.
Many food processors also come with discs that can replace the blade, which slice and shred fresh produce such as cucumber, carrot and cabbage as well as hard cheese or cooked meats, enabling you whip up slaws and salads in seconds.
Others ship with a whisk for incorporating air into heavy cream or egg whites, while dough hooks or blades can knead dough without requiring several minutes of hard work from you.
If you’re new to food processors then you can find out more about the appliance in our article, how does a food processor work. We’d also recommend you read up on how to clean a food processor to keep the kitchen gadget in tip-top condition.
How much should I spend on a food processor?
While there are some models available from as little as $50 / £40, they’re not as powerful as many of the designs in the list, which means they may struggle to chop, slice or grind tougher fresh produce. You’ll also compromise on the capacity of the food processor and the range of attachments it comes with. This list features the best of the best, so you won’t find anything less than $69.99 / £59.99 in this round up.
What size food processor do I need?
The size of food processor you require, depends on the type of ingredients you plan to use it for, and the functions you want. On the whole, larger-capacity food processors come with a wider range of attachments.
If you want a model that can whisk or knead dough as well as chop and slice, then we'd recommend opting for at least an 8 cup / 1.9-liter capacity, as this will ensure the food processor can easily accommodate enough bread dough for a medium-sized loaf, or the quantity of cake batter required for an 8-inch cake.
If you regularly batch cook or feed several mouths in one go, consider a larger 14 cup / 3-liter food processor to ensure you can chop and slice the quantity you require in one go. Similarly, if you're looking for a food processor to chop small quantities of herbs or nuts as a garnish, or make enough mayonnaise as an accompaniment for one or two meals, then a mini food processor with a capacity of no more than 5 cup / 1.19-liter will suffice.
What brand makes the best food processor?
Magimix and KitchenAid are two of the biggest names in the food processor market, but which is better?
Both brands offer a range of sturdy and well-designed food processors. KitchenAid has a wider range, with a model for every budget in its line-up. It also offers a range of mini food choppers, which are great for those that want to dice or whisk small quantities of food.
Magimix food processors however are extremely versatile, and ship with a wider range of attachments compared to KitchenAid models, that'll ensure you can chop, slice, and dice as well as shred mix, and whisk till your heart's content. The brand even offers a number of optional accessories for its food processors too, meaning there won't be any task this kitchen appliance can't tackle. They are more expensive though.
Read more in-depth about how the two food processor brands differ by checking out our article, Magimix vs KitchenAid.
How we test food processors
We mix, chop, slice and shred our way through a variety of different foods to compare the food processors like-for-like and assess which is best. We chop nuts, onion and bread, grind beef and mix up a cake batter using the main blade to see how well it copes with these very different tasks. We’re looking at whether it produces evenly chopped results and if it can grind beef without any of the meat getting lodged in the blades.
If it comes with shredding and slicing discs we shred carrot, cheese and chocolate and slice cucumber. We evaluate how even the shreds are, noting how much of each food is left not shredded or sliced and if any has become trapped or melted during the process.
For the food processors that come with a whisk, we see how effectively it can whip cream. And for those that come with a dough blade, we try this out with bread dough, assessing whether it can mix the dough effectively and if the machine is stable when kneading a heavy dough.
Throughout the testing process we record how loud the food processor is and assess how easy it is to use and assemble. Additionally, we make a note of how easy it is to clean, whether it feels durable and if we think any accessories will be tricky to store.