Ninja reviews food processor

Ninja Professional Food Processor Review

Offering all-around excellent performance given its price tag, this is one of our favorite recommendations to those on a budget

Credit: Ninja

Price: $120 List | $117.50 at Amazon

Pros: Great for shredding, slicing, good at chopping

Cons: Little more difficult to clean

Manufacturer: Ninja

By Austin Palmer and David Wise ⋅ May 12, 2022

Our Editors independently research, test, and rate the best products. We only make money if you purchase a product through our links, and we never accept free products from manufacturers. Learn more

OVERALL
SCORE

RANKED
#8 of 12

Chopping - 20% 6.0
Mixing - 20% 6. 0
Pureeing - 20% 7.0
Shredding - 15% 7.0
Slicing - 15% 7.0
Cleaning - 10% 5.0

RELATED: Best Food Processors of 2022

Our Verdict

If you are looking for a great deal among the best food processors, we highly recommend the Ninja Professional. This bargain model held its own against significantly more expensive models in some of our more difficult tests, considerably impressing us when it came to slicing or shredding. It isn't the most convenient to clean but it's a great bargain option that won't break the bank or take up a ton of real estate in your kitchen.

Editor's Note: This product review was updated on May 12, 2022, to share more info on other products we'd recommend.

Compare to Similar Products

(change comparison)

	This Product Ninja Professional Food Processor	Cuisinart Custom 14	Hamilton Beach 10-Cup	Oster Total Prep 10-Cup	Black+Decker 8-Cup
Awards
Price	$120 List $117.50 at Amazon	$250 List $199.96 at Amazon	$58 List	$55 List	$40 List $39.99 at Amazon
Overall Score
Star Rating	1 2 3 4 5	1 2 3 4 5	1 2 3 4 5	1 2 3 4 5	1 2 3 4 5
Pros	Great for shredding, slicing, good at chopping	Great at pureeing and slicing	Great at pureeing, good at chopping, inexpensive	Excellent price, good for slicing tomatoes	Inexpensive, better than average at mixing
Cons	Little more difficult to clean	No adjustability of shredding or slicing	Leaky, not the best at mixing, loud	Generally inconsistent performance, leaves un-chopped pieces, subpar mixing capabilities	Shreds and slices poorly, loud
Bottom Line	Offering all-around excellent performance given its price tag, this is one of our favorite recommendations to those on a budget	One of the best food processors you can get on a budget without sacrificing too much performance	For those trying to save some dough, this inexpensive model will get the job done, especially when it comes to pureeing and chopping	A well-priced 10 cup model with a lower-powered motor that yields varied results	A small model that is the least expensive and lowest scoring of the group
Rating Categories	Ninja Professional	Cuisinart Custom 14	Hamilton Beach 10-Cup	Oster Total Prep 10. ..	Black+Decker 8-Cup
Chopping (20%)
Mixing (20%)
Pureeing (20%)
Shredding (15%)
Slicing (15%)
Cleaning (10%)
Specs	Ninja Professional	Cuisinart Custom 14	Hamilton Beach 10-Cup	Oster Total Prep 10...	Black+Decker 8-Cup
Model #	BN600/BN601	DFP-14BCNY	70730	FPSTFP1355-NP	FP1600B
Bowl Size	9 cup	14 cup	10 cup	10 cup	8 cup
Dimensions	W: 9. 9" H: 15.6" D: 7.3"	W: 7.75" H: 15" D: 10.75"	W: 10.5" H: 15.5" D: 8.5"	W: 8.2" H: 16.1" D: 9.3"	W: 7.5" H: 15.3" D: 10.7"
Measured Weight of Base	2.04 kg \| 4 pounds, 8 ounces	5.61 kg \| 12 pounds, 6 ounces	1.39 kg \| 3 pounds, 1 ounce	1.53 kg \| 3 pounds, 6 ounces	1.42 kg \| 3 pounds, 2 ounces
BPA Free	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Motor	850 Watt	720 Watt	450 Watt	500 Watt	450 Watt
Speed Control	Chop/Puree/Dough/Disc/Low/High/Pulse	On/Off/Pulse	High/Low/Pulse/Off	(Slice/Shred)/(Mix/Knead)/(Chop/Pulse)/Off	On/Off/Pulse
Cord Storage	External Cord Wrap	None	Internal	Internal	Underside Cord Wrap
Feet	Suction Cups	Smooth Rubber	Suction Cups	Suction Cups	Suction Cups
Decibels at 3ft	80	61. 5	96	92.3	95
Mini Bowl Blade	N/A	Yes	N/A	N/A	N/A
Accessory Storage Case	No	No	No	No	No
Slicing Disc	Non adjustable	Non adjustable	Non adjustable	Non adjustable	Non adjustable
Shredding Disc	Non adjustable	Medium	Medium	Non adjustable	Medium
Dough Blade	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
Whipping Attatchment	No	No	No	No	No
Citrus Juicer	No	No	No	No	No
Dicing Kit	No	No	No	No	No
Built-in Bowl Scraper	No	No	Yes	No	No
French Fry Disc	No	No	No	No	No
Julienne Disc	No	No	No	No	No

Show full specification detailsHide full specification details

Our Analysis and Test Results

We think this is a decent and affordable addition to any kitchen. Our only slight complaint with this food processor is its multi-tiered stacked blades. This abundance of very sharp blades can make it a bit treacherous to wash by hand.

Performance Comparison

If you want a compact food processor that won't shred your budget, we think this is a great choice.

Credit: Laura Casner

Chopping

We began our assessment of the top-ranked food processors by looking at how well each of these products could chop different types of food, using onions, carrots, and almonds as our sample foods to compare consistency. We also assessed the operation of the "pulse" button for each appliance. The Ninja Professional did quite well, earning an above-average score for its chopping performance.

After only two pulses, it chopped two quartered onions to a relatively uniform consistency. There were a few larger pieces, but overall the results were acceptable. It did equally well when chopping carrots, creating a very fine chop after five pulses. It again had a few more prominent outliers, but the vast majority was very uniform in size.

This appliance chopped food quite cleanly.

Credit: Laura Casner

However, when chopping up the almonds, this machine struggled to get rid of the larger pieces without pulverizing other pieces into dust. All in all, it delivered fairly typical results in this test.

We didn't like that the pulse feature takes a little more than a second to spin down when the button is released, making it a bit more difficult to precisely control how much you want this food processor to chop your food.

The stacked blades gave us mixed results in different tests.

Credit: Laura Casner

Mixing

We looked at how well the Ninja Professional can mix things for our next round of tests, specifically looking at pizza dough, pie crust dough, and mayo. It did alright, meriting a score just above average.

This appliance got off to a great start with the pie crust dough. It incorporated all the ingredients very well after 10-15 pulses, without any larger chunks of butter visible. The dough ball was smooth and supple and should be easy to roll out after a brief stay in the fridge.

Unfortunately, the pizza dough was a different story. The Ninja Professional formed a cohesive mass of dough very quickly but then struggled to knead it. We could hear the motor struggling, and the food processor shook quite violently during this process.

The push tube has a small hole for dispensing liquids slowly.

Credit: Laura Casner

We also found that making homemade mayo can be more difficult with this food processor, at least in the smaller quantities that we use for testing. It has an integrated dispenser to get the oil to slowly dribble in, but the recipe we used successfully in other machines wouldn't work reliably without some tweaking with the tiered blades.

The rubber seal on the Ninja Professional securely keeps liquids in.

Credit: Laura Casner

Pureeing

Next, we looked at how perfectly each of these processors could puree, using hummus, nut butter, tomato sauce, and applesauce as our tests. We also did a leak test, filling up the bowl of each food processor to the maximum fill line with water and checking for leaks. The Ninja Professional's performance improved quite a bit in this metric, earning it one of the better scores of the bunch.

This food processor thoroughly impressed us when making almond and peanut butter. It created a nice and creamy spread in considerably less time than many other machines and didn't require additional oil, largely helped by its doubled blades. However, quality dropped a bit with the tomato sauce, with a few larger chunks of tomatoes failing to get pureed.

We found the hummus to be so-so, as it definitely was a considerably chunkier dip than the velvety-smooth creations of some of the premium processors. It was a similar story with the applesauce, with plenty of larger chunks preventing it from getting to our desired consistency even with extra processing time.

However, this food processor aced our leak test. We filled it to the 8-cup mark and ran it for a minute without any leaks at all.

We were impressed with how the Ninja Profesional slices and shreds.

Credit: Laura Casner

Shredding

Our next set of assessments looked at the performance of the included shredding disc. We used potatoes, carrots, and cheese as our test items and were thoroughly impressed with the performance of this product, particularly given its lower price tag. The Ninja Professional earned one of the top scores of the group in this metric, holding its own against considerably costlier models.

The carrots were shredded very cleanly, with only a small chunk of each carrot leftover that couldn't be shredded. It didn't sound like the motor struggled much at all, and the resulting shreds were very uniform in size. We got similar results with the potatoes. The shreds were cut cleanly, keeping them from getting too soggy. The pieces were also very consistent in size, with only a few larger pieces — ideal for hash browns.

The performance of this appliance dropped a bit when shredding cheese. The actual shreds looked great, but the shredding disc also created a lot of other crumbs and smaller particles in the process. It also sounded like the motor was struggling just a bit. The shredding disc also only has a single-size setting, so you are out of luck if you're looking for anything finer or coarser than a medium shred.

This model has a dual slicing/shredding blade.

Credit: Laura Casner

Slicing

The Ninja Professional also did very well in the slicing test. We used zucchini, potatoes, and tomatoes as our test items, with this food processor receiving another one of the top scores.

The slicing blade is on the back of the shredding disc, so you are again limited to just a single thickness. The Ninja Professional got off to a rough start when slicing tomatoes. The feed chute is on the smaller side, so we had to pre-cut the tomatoes to fit, making them much more likely to get torn apart rather than yielding clean slices.

The feed chute on the Ninja Professional is a little on the small side.

Credit: Laura Casner

It did much better with the potatoes and the zucchini. The potato slices were nice and even, with only a few showing any taper. The motor didn't sound like it struggled too much either. The zucchini slices were equally even — particularly impressive given that we had cut it in half lengthwise before slicing. Only a small amount remained above the slicing blade, and only a minimal amount was splattered on the inside of the container.

This isn't our favorite when it comes to cleaning.

Credit: Laura Casner

Cleaning

We rated and ranked the ease of cleaning of each of these appliances for our last metric. As mentioned before, this is one area where we found the Ninja Professional to fall a little short, earning it a lackluster score.

We found it to be rather unpleasant to try and clean the blade by hand, as the multitude of blades can make it hard to find a safe place to grab. The bowl and lid are much easier to clean, with only a handful of areas that have nooks and crannies that are prone to catching food. The bowl is a little on the small side, though.

Fortunately, the bowl, lid, blades, and shredding/slicing disc all are rated as safe for a normal cycle in a dishwasher, recommended for the top-rack only. This is definitely our preferred cleaning method for this product.

If you are looking for a bargain option, this is a great choice.

Credit: Laura Casner

Should You Buy the Ninja Professional?

If you're looking for a budget model that doesn't make too many concessions regarding performance, we highly recommend the Ninja Professional. It does a fabulous job of shredding and slicing, as well as chopping and mixing quite well. It's not the easiest to clean by hand, but we feel this is mitigated by the dishwasher-safe components. It's one of our favorite bargain options to recommend.

What Other Food Processors Should You Consider?

This is an affordable food processor that performs well. However, if it's still out of your price range, our full recommendation goes to the Hamilton Beach 10-Cup. It performs almost on par with this one but costs about half the price. If you have a bit more to spend, we recommend the Breville Sous Chef 16 Pro, which was our overall favorite machine. And if you already own a Vitamix blender, you might be interested in purchasing the 12-Cup Attachment that goes with that blender's motor.

— Austin Palmer and David Wise

Ninja Professional Plus Food Processor review

For those who are new to the world of food processors, an appliance like the Ninja Professional Plus Food Processor is a great entry-level option. This moderately priced model offers a middle-of-the-line capacity and comes with standard attachments like a chopping blade and shredding/slicing disc, and it’s simple and approachable enough for beginners—or simply anyone who doesn’t want or need a fancy food processor.

When put next to some of today’s more expensive food processors, the Ninja Professional Plus may lack bells and whistles, but its simple, straightforward design is a great option for many kitchens. It can hold up to 9 cups of ingredients in its work bowl, and thoughtful design features like a locking lid and Auto-iQ preset buttons make it easy and enjoyable to use. However, is it too basic to be considered one of the best food processors?

To get a sense of this appliance’s performance, we tested the Ninja Professional Plus alongside other popular food processors like the Cuisinart Custom 14 and Nutribullet 7-Cup Food Processor. I spent several weeks using all its different attachments and settings, and while the design does have a few quirks, I ultimately think it’s a great basic option for everyday applications.

Ninja Professional Plus specs:

(Image credit: Future)

Power: 1000W
Capacity: 9 cups
Size: 7. 76 x 9.88 x 16.02 inches
Weight: 7.65 pounds
Included: Chopping blade, dough blade, reversible slicing and shredding disc, 20-recipe inspiration guide

Unboxing

(Image credit: Future)

As I took the Ninja Food Processor out of its box, I couldn’t help but notice just how much packaging was in it. There were pieces of styrofoam, cardboard supports, and lots of little plastic bags. It definitely seemed excessive for a fairly small appliance.

Overall, this food processor is an average size and comes with standard accessories. In addition to a 9-cup work bowl, it includes a chopping blade, reversible slicing/shredding disc, and an all-plastic dough blade. It was extremely straightforward to set up, and the unit is lightweight enough that it can easily be moved around your kitchen as needed.

(Image credit: Future)

One design feature that I liked about this food processor is that it has a small rubbery lip around the edge of the lid that creates a seal with the bowl. Other food processors I’ve used in the past lack this seal, and as a result, powdery ingredients often get stuck between the bowl and lid.

Additionally, the lid on the Ninja Food Processor locks into place, and it has a button that you have to push to remove the cover. I wouldn’t mind this feature, except that the lid twists off in the same direction the bowl twists off the base. Because of this, every time I forgot to press the unlock button to remove the lid, I ended up twisting the entire bowl off the base instead. I’m sure I’d get used to the design eventually, but it was slightly irritating during testing.

(Image credit: Future)

Chopping in the Ninja Professional Plus food processor

The first recipe I made with the Ninja Food Processor was a batch of almond toffee—yum! To make this recipe, you’re supposed to use a food processor to chop up chocolate chips into small crumbles, so I figured this basic task was a good place to start testing.

I outfitted the work bowl with the regular chopping blade, which has a different design than the other food processors I tested. The Nutribullet 7-Cup Food Processor and Cuisinart Custom 14 Food Processor both have a single set of blades in their work bowls, but the Ninja Food Processor actually has two sets of blades—a higher set and a lower set. In theory, this might help to prevent ingredients from getting stuck up above the lower blades, but in practice, it didn’t seem to make much of a difference.

(Image credit: Future)

The other thing I noticed about the appliance’s blades is that they’re not very sharp. In fact, they’re actually quite thick, and I don’t think they’d be effective at fine chopping tasks – especially not when compared to something like the Cuisinart Food Processor, which has an extremely sharp, serrated blade.

To start the recipe, I poured the chocolate chips into the food processor bowl and pulsed it a few times to start chopping up the pieces. I tried using the dedicated “Chop” setting, which pulses on and off, as well as putting the machine on high, and to be honest, none of it really worked.

(Image credit: Future)

After several minutes of trying different settings, many of the chocolate chips were still whole, and the pieces weren’t even close to being uniform in size. I was a little disappointed in the overall performance, as the chocolate then didn’t melt properly when I poured the toffee over it.

Making potato latkes

(Image credit: Future)

As I was trying to think of something I could cook using the food processor’s shredding disc, I realized I had a big bag of russet potatoes in my pantry, so potato latkes it was a good option. I really enjoy these potato pancakes, even if it’s not the holidays, so I decided to make a small batch to test out the food processor.

After scrubbing and quartering the potatoes, I set up the appliance to shred. To use the shredding disc, you have to put in the central spoke, then place the disc on top of it. The disc is reversible – one side shreds, and the reverse side creates slices. I appreciated that the disc has two spacious finger holes that make it easy to lift up and out of the work bowl – something the Cuisinart 14-Cup Food Processor lacked.

(Image credit: Future)

The food processor has a special button for shredding, so I turned it on and fed the potato slices into the chute using the food pusher. I was quite impressed by how fast it shredded the potato – each piece was gone in just a few seconds.

However, there is a roughly ½-inch gap between the bottom of the chute and the blade, so when I got to the end of each potato, the last piece wouldn’t shred properly and just got stuck on top of the blade. I’ve had this happen with inexpensive food processors before, and it can be a little frustrating, as you’re left with a chunk of potato that is too small to be fed into the blade.

Besides that one quirk, the appliance worked amazingly for shredding the spuds—much faster and easier than it would have been with a box grater.

Cookie dough

(Image credit: Future)

I can honestly say I’ve never thought to make cookies in a food processor, especially when I have my stand mixer, but the Ninja Food Processor comes with a special dough blade, so I thought, “Why not?” The blade looks just like the standard chopping blade, but it’s made completely from plastic – not metal. The brand claims that the appliance can make up to 2 pounds of dough in as little as 30 seconds, so I was interested to see if it would truly live up to that claim.

(Image credit: Future)

I decided to go with classic chocolate chip cookies – a recipe I make so often that I know it by heart! I halved the recipe because I wasn’t sure if a full batch would fit into the food processor, and I followed the same steps I would using my mixer. I started by blending up the shortening, sugars, and vanilla, then added in an egg. The food processor didn’t do the best job mixing these ingredients together, and I had to stop and scrape down the sides a few times.

(Image credit: Future)

I then added the dry ingredients in two additions, using the “dough” button on the base to mix everything together. To my surprise, the dough actually came together quite well. It was (mostly) uniform, and the whole process was faster than using my stand mixer.

Of course, the real test is whether the cookies taste good. Chocolate chip cookies are always a winner in my household, and my verdict is that while they were delicious, the texture was definitely different than normal. Not bad, but a little lighter almost. Still, it’s good to know that if you ever wanted to mix up cookie dough in your food processor, this machine is up to the task.

(Image credit: Future)

Making banana 'nice cream'

My final recipe in the Ninja Professional Plus Food Processor was banana “ice cream.” This is essentially just frozen bananas pureed until they resemble soft serve ice cream, and it’s my go-to when I’m craving ice cream but want to be a little healthier.

(Image credit: Future)

To make this recipe, I outfitted the food processor with its normal chopping blade, then tossed in a few frozen bananas and a splash of milk. I pulsed the machine a few times to break up the large pieces, then used the puree button to create a creamy consistency. (Honestly, it doesn’t seem like the Auto-iQ buttons do anything special. The operation was basically the same as putting the machine on high.) I had to put an extra splash of milk in to help the machine out, as well as scrape down the sides, but overall, it was able to create delicious banana ice cream in a matter of minutes.

(Image credit: Future)

Cleaning

The Ninja Professional Plus Food Processor is extremely easy to clean, which is always a plus in my book. All of its removable components are dishwasher safe, allowing for hands-free clean up. The only issue I ran into is that sometimes food particles got stuck underneath the rubber seal on the lid, so I had to scrape them out with a utensil.

One downside of this food processor is that all its accessories don’t stack nicely in the work bowl like they do with the Nutribullet Food Processor. The manual says that a blade assembly can be stored in the bowl, and that other accessories should be stored alongside the machine. I have fairly limited storage, so I didn’t like that I had to carve out additional space for the extra pieces.

Should you buy the Ninja Professional Plus Food Processor?

(Image credit: Future)

The Ninja Professional Plus Food Processor is pretty basic as food processors go –and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s reasonably priced (and often on sale), and it works well for everyday tasks. It did struggle a little on hard ingredients like chocolate chips, but overall, it did everything a food processor should. I think it’s a good choice for your average household, as it’s not too big or too small, and it’s straightforward and easy to use.

If you frequently process large batches of food, you may be better off with a high-end model like the Cuisinart Custom 14, which has a huge 14-cup capacity, or if you want something more compact, the Nutribullet 7-Cup Food Processor has a fairly small footprint – it also comes with an awesome spiralizer attachment.

About this review, and the reviewer

Camryn Rabideau is a freelance writer and product reviewer who has been testing small kitchen appliances (as well as other home goods) for several years. She’s tested everything from toasters to oil infusion machines, and as an avid baker, she loves trying out any gadgets that promise to make her creations more delicious or easier to bake.

Camryn does her product testing from her small homestead in beautiful Rhode Island. When she’s not tinkering around with the latest home gadgets, she spends her time tending to her animals, working in her garden, or crafting.

Camryn Rabideau is a writer and product reviewer specializing in home, kitchen, and pet products. In her five years as a product tester, she's tested hundreds of items first-hand, including many, many kitchen appliances for Homes & Gardens. Camryn does her product testing from her small homestead in beautiful Rhode Island.

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Food Processors & Choppers

Best Food Processor 2020

The more you cook, the less fun it is to chop everything by hand. If you buy a good food processor, life will be much easier. The best food processors cut, slice, knead and knead dough quickly and greatly reduce the effort required on your part.

A wide range of machines are available, from the simplest grinders to machines that make juice, puree and even chips. We tested the food processors for ease of use, build quality and range of accessories.

Of those we recommend, two stand out. The KitchenAid Classic 2.1 L food processor is a great appliance at an affordable price with a wide range of accessories. For easier use, the Magimix Le Mini Plus is a great budget model that includes all the essentials.

summary

How we choose the best food processors

Food processors come with a wide range of features, some offer basic chopping and blending blades, while others add a host of extra features, from slicing chips to beating eggs. Our tests vary depending on the range of available accessories.

With all food processors, we test their ability to chop onions, looking for missing sections and a fine, even cut. We cut the carrots where there is a slicing disc, trying to get pieces of the same size.

When we have a grater, we grate the cheese to make sure the job is done right. And if a whisk is included, we beat the egg whites to a thin consistency to see if we get the perfect stiff meringue peaks.

We're looking at build quality, options (provided and available as extras) and storage options.

Ninja 3-in-1 Food Processor with Auto-IQ BN800UK

Heavy Duty and Automated All-In-One Food Processor and Blender

The food processor and blender are two of the most useful kitchen equipments. With the Ninja 3-in-1 Food Processor with Auto-IQ BN800UK, you don't have to choose which one to have as this model comes with a 1.9L food processor bowl, a 2. 1L mixer bowl and a 700ml bowl. . serve a cup for drinks on the go.

All accessories are powered by a powerful 1200W motor, but it's the Ninja AutoIQ programs that make it stand out from the crowd. What's available varies depending on what's attached, but with blenders you get Blend and Max Blend and with a food processor you get Chop, Mash and Mix. Simply select the most suitable program and the food processor will take care of the rest. For precise control, there are three speeds plus pulse control.

The extremely powerful Ninja 3-in-1 Food Processor with Auto-IQ BN800UK expertly chop onions, knead salsa, knead dough, grate cheese and crush ice. It's also pretty handy for mixed drinks, handling hard ingredients like pineapple and ice cream with ease. It is difficult to process only smaller dry ingredients, in some cases you may need a separate spice grinder.

This is the best all-around food processor with its great price and huge feature set, but we must warn you that it is very noisy.

Read our full review of the Ninja 3-in-1 Food Processor with Auto-IQ Test BN800UK

Magimix Le Mini Plus

Great budget food processor that does most of the work

Plus is inexpensive

90 Le Mini002 and performs most of the basic functions. The things you'll miss out on in larger food processors - being able to squeeze juice, chop french fries, etc. - are devices you probably won't use more than once.

This is a very neat and well built machine, so it's good for those with little counter space. The large capacity is 1.7 liters and the smallest is 0.5 liters. This made it possible to grind, grate and mix the ingredients evenly.

As with the larger Magimix 5200XL, we didn't really like the egg beater and there are a lot of parts to keep. But overall, the Mini Plus is a pretty good machine for the price and outperforms several models that cost a lot more.

Read our full Magimix Le Mini Plus review

Magimix CS 5200XL

Powerful but expensive all-rounder for any job

Most people will hesitate at around £400. The Magimix CS 5200 XL is indeed a more serious kit than the average cook needs, but if you're looking for a high-end machine, this is a great choice.

There are three bowls of different sizes - 3.6l, 2.6l and 1.2l - making it much easier to prepare different sizes (if you're trying to cut a small amount in a large bowl, everything will usually just blow out to the sides).

The blades take care of everything from onions to ice cream in seconds, while the slicing and grater discs give a very even result. We didn't like the egg whisk, which didn't eat egg whites very well, but all other features were effective.

It would be unfair to criticize the machine for having too many features, but the 5200XL Premium has many extra features such as a juicer, juicer and French fry cutter. They don't have their own storage, so be prepared to find enough space to store all your accessories.

The only thing missing from this excellent food processor is the ability to manually adjust the speed - it only has one "auto" button. For the price, we would have liked the ability to control the speed for fine-tuning tasks. However, there are no other complaints.

Read our full Magimix CS 5200 XL review

Kenwood MultiPro Classic FDM790BA Food Processor

Hallelujah! Machine with adjustable set of speed! We will forgive the Kenwood MultiPro Classic FDM79 food processor0BA has some drawbacks with being able to easily slow down or speed up the mix - a really useful feature when you're looking for a specific texture.

To rule out bad things, the build quality is not what we expected at this price. The main three-liter bowl is light and thin, and the locking mechanism looks cheap. We had to hold it in our hands to make sure it was installed correctly.

On the other hand, this machine looks clean and smart, and the addition of a 1.5 liter blender is helpful, if not essential. It's advertised as being able to process hot or frozen ingredients, but we would have preferred a basic food processor to be able to handle that.

It does all the basics well and the built in scale is a nice extra touch meaning you can just measure everything right in the bowl while cooking.

Read our full review of the Kenwood MultiPro Classic FDM790BA Food Processor

Tefal DoubleForce Pro DO824h50 Multifunctional Food Processor

An excellent choice for those who need an all-in-one blender and food processor.

If you're not sure whether you should use a food processor or a blender, the Tefal DoubleForce Pro DO824h50 Multipurpose Food Processor gives you both in one package. The base has two outlets for the motors: one for the blender and mini chopper, the other for the bowl and juicer.

The lack of a new user manual is a bit of a pain, but we found that the DoubleForce Pro can easily dice, slice, and cut a variety of fruits and vegetables. I also managed to beat the egg whites to a viscous and firm texture. A juicer is much more difficult to use, although we have a decent amount of juice.

Blender is an interesting option, although not as well suited to specialized blenders when making smoothies. But if you only need one appliance in the kitchen, the Tefal DoubleForce Pro DO824h50 is a good all-rounder.

Read our full review of the Tefal DoubleForce Pro DO824h50 multipurpose food processor

This was our pick of the best food processors. Read on to find out how to make the right choice.

Best Food Processor Buying Guide

What should I look for?

The food processor must be large enough to process the required amount of ingredients. The 2.1 liter bowl will fit most medium-sized families for chopping vegetables and onions. If you cook more regularly, look for a larger bowl and a food processor.

Most food processors come with a smaller secondary bowl which can be useful for blending smaller amounts of food, such as Thai curry paste.

Automatic control is more common, but a manual machine allows you to control how you grind and mix food and may be more useful for experienced cooks.