The Best Mini Food Processors

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Overall Best Mini Food Processor

KitchenAid Cordless 5-Cup Food Chopper

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The KitchenAid Cordless Food Chopper is our top pick for best mini food processor—and it comes with all the bells and whistles.

Right out of the box, there’s one feature that sets this mini food processor apart: It’s cordless! After charging, you can set up this 5-cup food processor anywhere without being tethered to an outlet. You may not think this is a feature you’ll appreciate, but if you have a kitchen that’s short on outlets or just full of helpers, this is a bonus you’ll grow to love. (We also gave our stamp of approval to KitchenAid’s cordless hand mixer.)

When it comes to the functionality of this cord-free gadget, our team couldn’t be happier. You can mix up a batch of fresh salsa or pico de gallo in seconds with this countertop gadget. And when it came to crushing up cookies for a crumb crust, Rashanda says that this mini food processor created the finest and most even crumbs of any unit.

KichenAid’s cordless food chopper also comes equipped with a whisk attachment that’s perfect for making homemade whipped cream in a flash. It also has two different speeds so you can pulse, puree and emulsify at different levels.

While it costs more than our other best mini food processor picks, there’s lots to love about this gadget: “This is a mighty machine with a lot of zip,” Rashanda says.

Pros

• Cordless functionality allows you to chop anywhere—not just where an outlet is handy
• Has various speeds and attachments so you can tackle a variety of tasks
• Available in an assortment of colors to match your kitchen or other KitchenAid gadgets
• Dishwasher-safe parts are easy to clean

Cons

• A little noisy
• Pricier than other models we tested

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Best Value Mini Food Processor

Cuisinart 4-Cup Elemental Food Processor

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Cuisinart’s large food processors are a favorite in our Test Kitchen, so it was no surprise to our team that the brand’s smaller model earned top marks in our test. This Cuisinart 4-Cup Elemental Food Processor is a well-built option that’s worthy of a place in your kitchen—and it won’t break the bank.

This mini food processor has plenty of space for breaking down fistfuls of cookies for your next dirt pudding. It’s even the right size for prepping ingredients to make delicate macarons. Having a compact machine to tackle these small-scale tasks is very convenient.

Another major perk of this mini food processor is the multi-function blade. Press the “chop” button on the machine and this food processor whirls away using the sharper blade—perfect for mincing onions or making a quick fruit salsa. Opt for the “grind” button and the blade spins the reverse way using the blunt edge to grind up breadcrumbs and spices.

Don’t let the price fool you—it’s very sturdy and doesn’t budge while you work. “This is a dependable machine,” Rashanda says. “Cuisinart is known for quality and durability when it comes to food processors.”

Pros

• Wallet-friendly
• Sturdy and heavy-duty
• Multiple safety features (BladeLock keeps blade in place while you pour, and the machine won’t run until the lid is securely in place)
• Easy to clean with dishwasher-safe parts
• Quiet operation

Cons

• You have to hold the buttons to operate; no flipping a switch and walking away

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Best Extra-Small Food Processor

Black + Decker 1.5-Cup Electric Food Chopper

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For small prep jobs, you can’t go wrong with the Black + Decker Electric Food Chopper. It has the smallest capacity of the models we tested, but it whips through tasks like chopping nuts or mincing garlic with ease.

While this Black + Decker gadget was great at basic prep jobs, Rashanda says that this product really shines when it comes to making small batches of sauces and salsas. “For making something like a chimichurri,” she says, “I give this an A+.” The single blade breaks down the herbs, garlic, oil and vinegar with ease. Plus, the small hole in the top makes it easy to stream in olive oil to make vinaigrettes and other sauces. “It has great power for being so small,” Rashanda praises.

Pros

• Perfect for making small batches of sauces and salsas
• Easy to store
• Easy to clean with dishwasher-safe parts
• Wallet-friendly

Cons

• Not suitable for grinding ingredients like spices; we found the pieces to be too irregular in size

How We Tested Mini Food Processors

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At Taste of Home, we put gadgets through their paces before we can call them Test Kitchen-Preferred. For this product test, former Food Editor, Rashanda Cobbins, took the lead among our culinary staffers, testing six different mini food processor models with capacities of five cups or less.

Rashanda and the Test Kitchen team utilized the following recipes and ingredients to evaluate the performance of each mini food processor:

• Chimichurri sauce and fire-roasted salsa to judge chopping garlic and leafy herbs
• Whole peppercorns to assess power in effectively grinding hard ingredients
• Oreo cookies to test ability to grind cookies up into a fine, uniform crumb
• Frozen raspberries to evaluate ability to puree frozen fruit

While performing the above tests, our team took the following criteria into consideration:

• Chopping: This is one of the main reasons our Test Kitchen reaches for a mini food processor. We want to be sure that these machines do well at chopping nuts, veggies and other ingredients.
• Grinding: You can also use a mini food processor to grind ingredients like graham crackers (for graham cracker pie crust), pretzels (for this top-rated strawberry pretzel dessert) and even spices.
• Blending, pureeing, etc.: These compact appliances can also tackle other prep tasks like blending, pureeing and even emulsifying—perfect for making homemade salad dressing.
• Ease-of-use: Our team noted when a mini food processor worked with just the push of a button or the flip of a switch. Fussy appliances need not apply.
• Cleanup: If a product is hard to clean (no matter how well it performs), odds are you won’t reach for it often. Our Test Kitchen paid special attention to food processors that were easy to clean.
• Price: As always, our team wants to ensure that your money is well spent. A product should be worth the price you pay.

What to Look for When Buying a Mini Food Processor

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Take the following factors into consideration when selecting the best mini food processor for your prep recipe needs:

• Size: The bowl should be compact (roughly 5-cup capacity or less) so that all ingredients are able to reach the blade. Consider the serving size you will be prepping and select a capacity size accordingly; you don’t want the bowl capacity to be so small that you need to make multiple batches.
• Controls: If you plan to use the machine for a variety of prep tasks, it’s important to look for a model that features high and low speed settings to handle both delicate and tough ingredients. A pulse function may also come in handy, as it provides user-controlled, mini bursts of chopping power which helps prevent over-processing.
• Features: Some mini food processors come equipped with additional features and attachments, making them even more convenient, versatile little machines. A whisk attachment allows you to make homemade whipped cream, while a small hole in the top makes it easy to stream in olive oil to make vinaigrettes and sauces.

FAQs

Are mini food processors worth it?

While standard food processors have their advantages, mini food processors are great for quick tasks that don’t warrant lugging out (and cleaning) your larger machine if you don’t have to. If you need quick and easy prep work for larger dishes, or you’re creating small batches of sauces and dressings, a small food processor is a convenient and worthy addition to your kitchen.

What is the best size for a mini food processor?

While the term “mini” typically refers to a bowl capacity of five cups or less, the size that is best suited for you will ultimately depend on your needs. For greater versatility, opt for a model with a 4- or 5-cup capacity to ensure the machine has plenty of space for breaking down both large and small ingredients. Also take into consideration how much you need to prep. For smaller prep jobs, a more compact model with a 1.5- to 2-cup capacity should do the trick.

Is a mini chopper the same as a mini food processor?

The terms “mini food chopper” and “mini food processor” are often used interchangeably, and we evaluated both for this test. Depending on model features and accessories, they typically perform similar functions. However, a food processor typically features a feed tube and multiple blades to make a variety of cuts, while a food chopper usually has just one blade for chopping smaller batches. And if you’re wondering where a blender fits into the equation, here’s when to use a food processor vs a blender.

Why to Trust Our Kitchen

At Taste of Home, we’re serious about good food. That’s why every single recipe that our readers submit gets reviewed, made and sampled by our team of culinary experts. We want to make sure that everything from our kitchens deserves the label Test Kitchen-Approved. 

The same goes for products. From food processors to blenders, our pros want to know which gadgets are worthy of precious real estate on your kitchen countertop. We put every product through a thorough testing process. Then our Test Kitchen team chooses the winners. Only the best-tasting and top-performing products get our stamp of approval. From almond-coconut lemon bars to garlic-strawberry sauce , here are some of our team’s favorite recipes created with the help of a food processor.