14 best food processors for chopping, slicing and shredding

We put 13 food processors to the test by chopping, slicing and dicing a range of ingredients as well as making pastes, sauces and kneading doughs. Read on to find out which models came top.

Jump to section:

• How to choose the best food processor
• Best food processors at a glance
• Best food processors to buy in 2022
• How we tested food processors

Best food processors at a glance

• Best 2-in-1 blender and food processor: Magic Bullet Kitchen Express, £50
• Most versatile compact food processor, Kitchenaid 1.7-litre food processor, £112.14
• Best hard-working food processor: Magimix 4200XL 18473 food processor, £279
• Best budget food processor: Lakeland Mini food processor, £49,99
• Best food processor with built-in scales: Kenwood MultiPro Express Weigh+ food processor, £168.95
• Best basic food processor: Cuisinart FP8U Easy Prep Pro, £125
• Best value food processor: VonShef 1000W food processor, £77.99
• Best food processor for gadget lovers: Sage The Kitchen Wizz Peel & Dice, £518.95
• Best retro design food processor: Russell Hobbs Retro cream food processor, £79.99
• Best 2-in-1 food processor/stand mixer: Bosch CreationLine Kitchen Machine, £369
• Best food processor for bakers: Kenwood FPM810 MultiPro Sense food processor, £229
• Most compact food processor: KitchenAid 2.1-litre food processor, £179.99
• Best intuitive food processor : Ninja 3-in-1 food processor with Auto IQ, £169
• Best food processor for fine blitzing: Russell Hobbs Desire food processor, £54.99

How to choose the best food processor

What is a food processor?

A food processor is an appliance designed to act as an extra pair of hands in the kitchen. One key benefit of a food processor is that it's a multitasker, often coming with various accessories and functions. Almost all use a rotating gear to turn their various accessories, which will typically include extra discs for slicing or grating, alongside the main blade arrays for chopping or mixing.

Some food processors come loaded with additional blender-like functions, like smoothie-making or dough-mixing, so you can tick several appliance boxes with one purchase.

Before choosing the best food processor for you, you need to ask yourself which functions you’d like it to perform. All food processors will come with a chopping blade as standard. This can be used for most tasks, including making hummus, cauliflower rice, even homemade tomato sauce. And then there are other attachments to consider. Some of the most common attachments include:

• Whisking disc: with a ripple design, this can be used to whip cream, make mayonnaise and even whisk egg whites
• Dough blade: looking not dissimilar to the chopping blade, this is often made from plastic with a dull edge and shorter arms. As the name suggests, it can be used to knead all kinds of dough, from cookie dough for our chocolate & hazelnut thumbprint cookies to pizza dough
• Shredding disc: this has teeth like the kind you have on a grater. Ideal for grating cheese, carrot and chocolate while keeping your knuckles safe
• Slicing disc: for super-even slices, ideal for preparing potatoes to make next-level potato dauphinoise. On some models only one thickness of slice is available – on higher-end models you’re able to adjust the thickness

The more expensive, premium food processors often come with these additional extras:

• Dicing and French-fry attachments: to produce perfect cubes of hard ingredients or batons for French fries
• Different-sized bowls: an additional small bowl that fits inside the main bowl makes life a lot easier if you’re only looking to process a small quantity of food

You should also consider how much of a technical challenge you are willing to tackle. As a rule, the more functions a food processor has, the more complex it will be to assemble and use correctly.

What can a food processor be used for?

There are countless uses for a food processor, a small selection of which have been detailed above. The action of the machine is modified by switching between attachments – so you might set it up with a disc attachment to chop some ingredients, then switch to a blade to mix those ingredients into a sauce or paste. Food processors are multifunctional and multipurpose, and are useful for making sweet and savoury dishes alike.

Best food processors to buy in 2022

Magic Bullet Kitchen Express

Best 2-in-1 blender and food processor

Pros:

• Small
• Compact and fierce

Cons:

• No storage for all the bits and pieces

Star rating: 4.5/5

The Magic Bullet Express is a compact, multi-use processor and blender all in one machine that takes up little space. The sturdy machine comes with a generous work bowl for its size, plus a separate small blender attachment that neatly fits onto one of the two tall cups for smoothies using the to-go lid. The processor also has a reversible slice or shred disc. Packed with a powerful 250-watt motor, this is not only a versatile machine, but a pretty ferocious one, too.

Read our full Magic Bullet Kitchen Express review

KitchenAid 1.7-litre food processor

Most versatile compact food processor

Pros:

• Small yet still practical
• Clever storage

Cons:

• Struggles to chop small quantities

Star rating: 4/5

The KitchenAid 1.7-litre food processor is compact but has a generous capacity. It comes with both grating and slicing discs and a sharp chopping and blending blade, making it a versatile machine. The processor is well-made and stylish with an almost retro feel, plus it comes in a range of colours to suit any kitchen. Assembly is straightforward, with the bowl slipping neatly onto the base. There’s a neat storage system, with the blades and discs tucking into the bowl for storage, making this perfect for small kitchens or those with limited storage space.

Read our full KitchenAid 1.7L food processor review

Magimix 4200XL 18473 food processor

Best hard-working food processor

Pros:

• Robust
• High-quality efficient machine
• Great recipe book

Cons:

• On the heavy side

Star rating: 5/5

This impressive food processor from Magimix will take care of most processing jobs needed in the kitchen, from shredding and grating, to blending, puréeing and slicing. It can also handle a very good rapid-knead pizza dough and much more. This well-made machine, with a clever three-bowl system, makes it one of the most versatile on our test. The controls are simple, straightforward and so good-looking you will not want to put this in the cupboard.

Read our full Magimix 4200XL 18473 food processor review

Lakeland mini food processor

Best budget food processor

Pros:

• Best mini processor
• Small yet powerful

Cons:

• Limited uses, but what it does, it does well

Star rating: 4/5

The Lakeland may be a mini processor, but do not dismiss it, as this is a highly functional machine that works well for those who only want a small device for occasional use and without large quantities. The working size of the bowl is only 520ml, and great for smaller recipes, spice mixes and baby food.

We especially like the comprehensive manual. Alongside safety notices and instructions on assembly, it has a handy table listing foods that work well, amounts and how to prepare them to get the most from the machine.

Read our full Lakeland mini food processor review

Kenwood MultiPro Express Weigh+ food processor

Best food processor with built-in scales

Pros:

• Useful built-in scales

Cons:

• Confusing amount of accessories

Star rating: 4.5/5

The Kenwood MultiPro lives up to its name, as this multi-functional food processor is stacked with versatility. The 1000-watt motor packs a punch and the many chopping, grating, slicing, shredding, stirring, whisking and blending functions are quick and easy to use once you get your head around the multitude of accessories included. Our favourite has to be the accurate built-in scales, which weigh directly into the jug – this saves so much time and the need for other equipment on a busy work surface.

Read our full Kenwood MultiPro Express Weigh+ review

Cuisinart FP8U Easy Prep Pro

Best basic food processor

Pros:

• High-quality components
• Attractive design

Cons:

• No jug attachment

Star rating: 4.5/5

This is a great food processor if you're looking for a reasonably priced machine that will do the basics with minimum fuss. The components are pared back but highly effective, working through ingredients quickly and efficiently. The materials all feel well-made, from the stylish outer shell to the strong blades.

Read our full Cuisinart Easy Prep Pro review

VonShef 1000W food processor

• Available from: VonHaus (£74.99)

Best value food processor

Pros:

• More power than previous 750 model
• XXL feeder tube
• 3.5L food processor capacity
• Smart blade storage draw

Cons:

• Cheap-feel components

Star rating: 4/5

This 1000W food processor is a step up from its 750W predecessor in a number of ways. The first and most obvious is power. The next is capacity. You can blitz a whopping 2.8 litres worth of ingredients in its 3.5-litre bowl, which is very useful for batch cooking.

Read our full VonShef food processor review

Sage The Kitchen Wizz Peel & Dice

Best food processor for gadget lovers

Pros:

• Dazzling build quality
• innovative functions, quiet

Cons:

• Very expensive

Star rating: 4.5/5

Minimalist in design but not in stature, this is a serious hunk of die-cast metal finished to an incredibly high spec. For such an innovative and complex machine, it's actually very easy to use. One major perk is how quiet it is. While lots of food processors shriek and whine, the Sage has a pleasingly low whirr. The accessories are particularly sharp and come in a large storage case, which is worth bearing in mind if you're low on kitchen space.

Read our full Sage The Kitchen Wizz Peel & Dice review

Russell Hobbs Retro cream food processor

Best retro design food processor

Pros:

• Lovely retro design
• Decent performance

Cons:

• Noisy when used on higher speed setting

Star rating: 4/5

Affordable and attractive, this food processor is good value for money and works through ingredients quickly and evenly. It comes with added blades for creaming and dough mixing, and the basics are operated by a three-speed dial. It's particularly safe – it won't start until the lid is firmly in place. It's a little noisy when on high, so we recommend using the lower, quieter settings if you're not in a hurry.

Read our full Russell Hobbs Retro food processor review

Bosch CreationLine Kitchen Machine

Best 2-in-1 food processor / stand mixer

Pros:

• Integrated scales and timer
• Dishwasher-safe attachments
• BPA-free plastics

Cons:

• Outdated acronym in product name,
• Weighs in increments of 5 grams
• Expensive

Star rating: 5/5

Multi-functional appliances make life easier in the kitchen, not least because they saves you from having to buy and store multiple machines. Bosch’s MUM5XW10 kitchen machine is a unique stand mixer and food processor hybrid that backs its versatility with easy-to-use integrated scales so ingredients can be weighed directly into the bowl. The touchscreen controls are intuitive to use, its 1000W motor incredibly efficient during testing and with dishwasher-safe attachments, it earned Star Buy status from BBC Good Food experts.

Read our full Bosch CreationLine kitchen machine review

Kenwood FPM810 MultiPro Sense food processor

Best food processor for bakers

Pros:

• Excellent whisk attachment
• Easy to assemble and operate

Cons:

• Takes up lots of space

You'll need storage space for this machine – the amount of attachments is mind-boggling! As well as the usual grating and slicing discs, it comes with a huge array of excellent extras, including a blender, twin-geared metal whisk and folding tool.

The metal whisk incorporates more air into the mix, the blender copes with hot food and makes fantastic soups. As for its basic functions, we found it simple to assemble with an easy-to-operate control dial. It's slightly slower at grating and slicing than other models, even though it has a 1000W motor, but slices evenly and produced the best pastry by far. The integrated scales are a nice touch and save on the washing-up, which is always a bonus. It has a working bowl capacity of 1.7 litres so there’s no need to do stuff in batches. A great all-rounder.

KitchenAid 2.1-litre food processor

Most compact food processor

Pros:

• Small footprint
• Easy to store
• Innovative reversible stacking discs
• Quiet
• Oil drizzler

Cons:

• Not great at finely blitzing smaller quantities

The KitchenAid's style and small footprint are the first things we noticed about this machine. It's compact (about the width of a large kettle), lightweight, easy to unpack and manoeuvre, and sports handy grooves at its base. Non-slip feet keep it stable once settled.

Each component and accessory feel quality-made and built to last. This is a step-down in size from the 3.1L KitchenAid, so better suited to those who don't want to bulk-blitz ingredients, but do want a practical machine for everyday use.

Read our full KitchenAid 2.1L food processor review

Ninja 3-in-1 food processor with Auto-IQ

Best intuitive food processor

Pros:

• Intuitive, with fast and excellent results across the board

Cons:

• Lacks a storage box

Star rating: 5/5

The Ninja 3-in-1 combines three types of food processing into one machine, with a roomy food processor jug, sturdy glass blender and single-serve blender. This can be used for smoothies and juices to go, or to make small amounts of sauces and spice mixes.

It's a fiercely efficient machine with a 1200-watt motor that can work through ingredients (whether chopped, mixed, grated, sliced, blended or puréed) in seconds. This machine’s IQ to select the correct process for each jug used makes it stand out on our test.

Russell Hobbs Desire food processor

Best food processor for fine blitzing

Pros:

• Dishwasher-safe bowls and attachments
• 1.5-litre jug blender
• 2.5-litre food processor bowl
• Non-slip feet, cord storage

Cons:

• 1.5-litre usable capacity within the 2.5-litre food processor bowl

Star rating: 4.5/5

At around £50, this 2-in-1 food processor and blender set offers great versatility for the price. Despite only having one reversible slicing and shredding disk, it over-performs. The simplicity of this model actually plays in its favour.

Read our full Russell Hobbs Desire food processor review

How we tested food processors

The food processors featured in this review were tested against a wide range of factors. Depending on the attachments and blades included with the food processor we made and prepared the following dishes and ingredients:
BBC Good Food’s classic pesto and Basa gede to test out the chopping blade
We grated carrots and cheese
Diced onions
Shredded herbs
Crushed nuts
Blitzed breadcrumbs
Used the plastic dough blade to make BBC Good Food’s pizza dough

Our criteria included:
• The strength of the blades, jugs and mixing bowls included
• Ease of use
• Speed of processing
• Safety
• Kitchen footprint and storage
• Loudness
• Finished results – especially the consistency of ingredients processed
• Design and aesthetic
• Functions

Food processor reviews

Cuisinart Easy Prep Pro food processor review
VonShef food processor review
Sage The Kitchen Wizz Peel & Dice review
Salter Prep Pro Mini food processor review
Russell Hobbs Retro food processor review
Tefal DoubleForce Pro food processor review

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