Watch CBS News

Essentials Shopping

The best food processors of 2024

81dxrpoqdnl-ac-sl1500.jpg
Amazon

Whether you love to cook or absolutely hate it, food processors are a game-changer in the kitchen. They streamline your meal prep and expand your cooking options. The best food processors offer a working bowl big enough for any recipe; a powerful enough motor to effectively chop, slice, grate or puree whatever you need; and a form factor that's super easy to clean. Some also come with extra attachments and multiple speed settings for more customized mixing.

We rounded up the best food processors for any budget or household, including models from brands such as Cuisinart, Breville, Hamilton Beach and more. Check out the best food processors, all of which boast a four-star rating or higher from customers. 


What is the best food processor of 2024?


Best food processor overall: Cuisinart Prep 9 food processor

screenshot-2024-04-19-at-11-19-21-am.jpg
Cuisinart

A few of our staffers have this food processor and absolutely love it. We're impressed with how quickly and precisely it chops veggies and processes mixtures such as whipped cheese, hummus, salsas and even soups. 

The Cuisinart Prep 9 food processor comes with a chopping blade as well as a medium slicing disc (great for speeding up large slicing jobs) and a shredding disc (the best tool for shredding large batches of cheese). The nine-cup processor is a solid size for cooking meals for one or two people. 

The Cuisinart Prep 9 food processor has a 4.5-star rating on Amazon. One reviewer wrote, "I wanted one of these for a very long time. It didn't disappoint at all."

Another customer said it's "a great price for a great product," adding: "Powerful chopper. Works exactly as promised." 


Best small food processor: Cuisinart Mini-Prep

cuisinart-3-cup-mini-prep-plus-food-processor-xl.jpg
Williams-Sonoma

The Cuisinart Mini-Prep is another food processor model our staffers either own now or have used in the past, and we recommend it without hesitation.  For such a small food processor, it has a lot of power to dice veggies, make dips and puree soups.

Admittedly, the 24-ounce work bowl is small, but if you're cooking for one, or are new to food processors and don't feel comfortable shelling out big money on a larger model, this one will do.

The Cuisinart Mini-Prep has a 4.6-star rating on Amazon. One reviewer wrote: "My original lasted 20 years, so it was a no-brainer purchasing the same model as a replacement. Great for processing just about anything from spice blends to nuts to purees to pestos and sauces."


Best food processor for large families: Breville Sous Chef Pro 16

513-tonlh1l-ac-sl1080.jpg
Amazon

If you're feeding a family or love to host friends for dinner parties, the Breville Sous Chef Pro 16 is the best food processor for you. The 16-cup mixing bowl offers plenty of space and comes with measurement lines in cups, liters, fluid ounces and even milliliters, so you don't have to dirty separate measuring cups. 

The Sous Chef Pro 16 has multiple useful attachments, including a julienne disc, a french-fry cutting disc, a dough blade and more. For smaller jobs, you can use the included 2.5-cup mini bowl and corresponding blade. When you're all done, you can put the attachments and cleaning tools in the included storage box. 

The Breville Sous Chef Pro 16 has a 4.5-star rating on Amazon. One reviewer wrote, "This food processor is admittedly expensive. But in this case you really do get what you pay for. It is much quieter than the one it replaced.

"I made a large bowl full of french fries in just minutes. It made really smooth pesto in seconds. Plus cleanup is relatively easy." 

Right now, you can score this food processor for $375 (reduced from $450) on Amazon.


Best splurge food processor: Vitamix A2300 SmartPrep Kitchen System

img85xl.jpg
Williams-Sonoma

Get a blender and food processor in one with the Vitamix A2300 SmartPrep Kitchen System. We recommend this model to home chefs who like to cook by the book.

Food processors can do a lot, but cooking experts recommend using a blender for all things liquids, and that includes pureeing soups and sauces. You can technically do both of those things in a food processor, but to get a velvety-smooth soup, you'll need a blender. Vitamix makes one of the best blenders on the market, so opting for a blender/food processor combo is a solid investment. 

The 12-cup working bowl has measurement lines in liters and contains a multi-blade, two reversible slicing and shredding discs and a disc storage case. 

The Vitamix A2300 SmartPrep Kitchen System has a 4.2-star rating on Williams-Sonoma. One reviewer wrote, "This, by far, is the best blender/food processor I've ever used. The only problem is I waited way too long to buy it. I use it every day. I recommend this unit above all!"

Regularly $700, get it now at Williams-Sonoma for $650.


Best budget food processor: Hamilton Beach 10-cup food processor

screenshot-2024-04-19-at-11-33-39-am.jpg
Amazon

Hamilton Beach is a brand known for making affordable kitchen appliances, and its 10-cup food processor is a steal for the price, especially considering that most food processors of its size can easily retail for more than $100. The food processor comes with a standard blade plus a reversible disc that slices on one side and shreds on the other. 

It has two speed options and a pulse setting. It comes with a bowl scraper that attaches inside the machine -- another tool not commonly found in pricier food processors.

Customers are fans of the Hamilton Beach 10-cup processor, which has more than 30,700 five-star ratings on Amazon. One reviewer called this "a game changer for my kitchen," adding: "Great food processor, I have used it multiple times and don't know why I didn't get it sooner! Works great and is easy to clean!" 


View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.