Best food processor 2023: Chop, blitz and puree with ease
Looking to chop your veggies in a flash? This is our pick of the best food processors you can buy
The best food processor should be three things: affordable, robust and, most importantly, superb at chopping and slicing. Some might argue that food processors aren’t really a necessity, but once you start using one, it’s unlikely you will ever go back.
They’re a popular choice for those who cook or bake often, and it's a hard tool to live without if you cook meals that require a lot of prep work, such as bolognese and soup. In fact, it makes preparing fresh ingredients and whizzing up dips so easy that you will never want to be without one again.
If you cook large meals or batch-cook dishes, the best food processor will always be quicker than human hands, even if you're a one-person cordon bleu production line. Whether you’re dicing vegetables, blending soups or grating cheese, a good food processor should require minimal washing up, while saving valuable preparation time in the kitchen.
We've written a helpful guide to choosing a reliable food processor and picked out some of the best food processors that are well worth the worktop space.
Best food processors: At a glance
- Best budget food processor: Kenwood FDP301WH Multipro Compact | £75
- Best powerful processor for most people: Ninja 3-in-1 with Auto-IQ | £200
- Best for extra accessories and weighing: Kenwood FDM312SS Multipro Compact+ | £148
- Best for sheer power: Sage Kitchen Wizz Pro | £440
How to choose the best food processor for you
How much should I spend?
Food processors from big brands start at around £70 but, as with many products, you usually get what you pay for. Spend up to £100 and you can expect a substantial improvement in power and a more refined design.
Spend £200 or more, however, and you can get a high-power processor with a variety of accessories and multiple bowls/jugs in different sizes, or a space-saving footprint that leaves more of your kitchen surface free for other duties.
What size should I buy?
It depends on how much room you have in your kitchen. A bigger processor will whisk a larger volume of food without needing to be emptied if you’re cooking a lot, but if you’re limited for space you’ll want to avoid anything above two litres.
A three-cup (1.8-litre) machine is big enough for most uses and, if you’re a big pie fan, this size will handle enough pastry or pie dough for one to two pies without a problem.
Do I need a processor with variable speeds?
Most food processors worth their salt should provide variable speeds and a “pulse” button that gives ingredients a quick whizz.
You might wonder why this is important, but a variable speed setting is crucial, depending on what foods you want to whisk and how you want to prepare them.
A pulse setting, for example, is ideal for not overdoing it when you want to coarsely chop nuts or lightly beat eggs. Generally, the more speed settings a processor has, the better.
What other features should I look for?
It’s worth checking that the bowls are dishwasher-safe, as this can reduce the mountain of dishes growing in your kitchen sink and save precious time.
Food processors also typically come with a set of puréeing blades and reversible slicing and grating discs. Some of the latest models even have an adjustable slicing blade so you can change the thickness of slices at the push of a button.
Do I need a food processor with a powerful motor?
The wattage represents how powerful the motor is, but don’t automatically assume that more watts are better – a well-thought-out design makes a big difference.
For example, if you want to be able to crush ice for frozen drinks and smoothies, look for a model with a blender attachment that says it’s powerful enough for ice. A good attachment makes all the difference.
READ NEXT: Best blenders and smoothie makers
The best food processors you can buy in 2023
1. Kenwood FDP301WH Multipro Compact: Best budget food processor
Price: £75 | Buy now from Amazon
This means all your chopping, grating, whisking and mixing can be accomplished in seconds using its fast or slow speeds or pulse.
Non-slip feet make it sturdy on the worktop during use, while it’s also compact enough to be stored easily in a cupboard. It’s a smart option for smaller kitchens, yet large and powerful enough that the performance won’t disappoint. It’s also available in silver.
Key specs – Capacity: 2.1 litres (food processor), 1.2 litres (blender); Power: 800W; Dimensions: 19 x 20 x 36.5cm (WDH); Dishwasher-safe parts: Yes
2. Ninja 3-in-1 food processor BN800UK with Auto-IQ: Best food processor for most people
Price: £200 | Buy now from Ninja
Alongside manual buttons for high, medium and low chopping, there are also a number of automatic Auto-IQ settings for blending, chopping, pureeing and mixing. In testing, the Ninja excelled in almost every area, leaving us with impressively uniform slices of pepper, carrot, cabbage and more. It also produced the smoothest results we’ve ever seen in a blending attachment, even when blitzing fibrous vegetables. Unfortunately, it’s not designed for prolonged kneading but it’s still one of the best premium food processors we’ve tested and worth every penny.
Read our full Ninja 3-in-1 Food Processor review
Key specs – Capacity: 1.8 litres (food processor), 2.1 litres (large blending jug), 700ml (personal blending cup); Power: 1,200W; Dimensions: 19 x 23 x 20cm (WDH); Dishwasher-safe parts: Yes
3. Kenwood FDM312SS Multipro Compact+: Best for extra accessories and weighing
Price: £148 | Buy now from Amazon
There isn’t a swish digital touchscreen and it’s not the slickest appliance you’ll ever buy, but what’s most important is that it’s highly functional. This processor had no trouble getting through most fruits and veggies, but you may need to cut up hardier items such as squash and pumpkin into reasonable-sized pieces first. The scales are accurate, the mill produced relatively even pieces of ground black pepper from whole peppercorns and the blender had no trouble whipping up a smoothie in little more than a minute.
Key specs – Capacity: 2.1 litres; Power: 800W; Dimensions: 23 x 20 x 36.5 cm (WDH); Dishwasher-safe parts: Yes
4. Sage Kitchen Wizz Pro 3.7L: Best food processor for sheer power
Price: £440 | Buy now from Lakeland
You can always rely on kitchen electricals from Sage to do something a bit different; something that makes them stand out if you’re a keen cook. This is no different. It comes with all mod cons and a storage box for attachments. But what really sets it out from the crowd is its “why didn't I think of that?” adjustable slicing blade.
You can cut thicknesses ranging from 0.3mm to 8mm so it can take the place of a mandolin. Plus the width of the feed chute is 14cm, which is wide enough to throw a potato in whole – ideal for making chunky chips. And instead of a two-blade attachment for soups and purees, it comes with a quad blade that blitzes things even faster. A final clever detail is an LCD display that shows the time left to process food so you can coordinate the rest of your recipe as you cook.
Key specs – Capacity: 3.7 litres; Power: 2,000W; Dimensions: 22 x 27 x 45 cm (WDH); Dishwasher-safe parts: Yes
5. Cuisinart Mini Prep Pro: Best food processor for small kitchens and solo households
Price: £60 | Buy now from John Lewis
The pint-sized product features a 900ml bowl and a stainless steel blade with a reversible action for thorough chopping and grinding. All the parts are dishwasher safe and it comes with a spatula for spooning out your mixtures. It doesn’t have the bells and whistles that some of the other food processors on this list possess, but it’s great for fuss-free functionality if space is at a premium.
Key specs – Capacity: 0.9 litres; Power: 250W; Dimensions: 18 x 14 x 23.5cm (WDH); Dishwasher-safe parts: Yes
