Comparison: Best Small Food Processor America’S Test Kitchen (Updated | Dec 8th)
Looking for the perfect compact kitchen companion? America’s Test Kitchen has done the heavy lifting, putting top small food processors through their paces. We’ve sliced, diced, and puréed our way through the competition to bring you the ultimate showdown. From silky smooth hummus to perfectly minced garlic, we’ll reveal which mini marvels truly deliver.
Editor’s Choice
Best for a specific purpose
- Best for compact mini power: Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus Food Processor
- Best for professional performance: Ninja Food Processor
- Best for effortless stack press: Hamilton Beach Electric Vegetable Chopper & Mini Food Processor
- Best for all-in-one storage: KitchenAid 7-Cup Food Processor – KFP0718
- Best for dual bowl versatility: Ganiza Food Processor
- Best for large capacity processing: Cuisinart Food Processor
- Best for four-blade efficiency: Food Chopper
- Best for big mouth processing: Hamilton Beach Stack & Snap Food Processor and Vegetable Chopper
- Best for safe dual bowl design: GANIZA Food Processors
- Best for recipe collection: The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001 – 2019: Every Recipe from the Hit TV Show with Product Ratings and a Look Behind the Scenes (Complete ATK TV Show Cookbook)
Product Comparison: Best Small Food Processor America’S Test Kitchen
Compact Mini Power
Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus Food Processor, 24-Ounce Mini Food Processor to Chop Herbs, Vegetables, and Hard Cheese, 24-Ounce Work Bowl, Reversible Stainless Steel Blade, DLC-2ABC, Brushed Chrome
Cuisinart
- SUPERIOR FUNCTION: The Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus Food Processor offers an efficient 250-watt motor and patented reversible stainless steel blade to quickly chop herbs, dice vegetables, and grind hard cheese
- CONVENIENT CONTROL: The 24-ounce food chopper with durable, lightweight plastic body features a push-button control panel and auto-reversing SmartPower blade for two powerful processing options—chop and grind (not recommended to grind beans as it chops)
- EASY CLEANUP: A dishwasher-safe bowl and lid provide for easy cleanup, while the motor base can be wiped clean with a damp sponge or cloth
- WHAT’S INCLUDED: The mini chopper includes a 24-ounce work bowl with handle, stainless steel blade with sharp blunt edges, spatula, and instruction/recipe book
- LIMITED 18-MONTH WARRANTY: The BPA-free Cuisinart mini chopper comes with a limited 18-month warranty
- 250-watt food processor with 3-cup plastic work bowl
- Chops and grinds with patented reversible stainless-steel blade
- Simple push-button control panel; durable, yet lightweight plastic body
- Dishwasher-safe bowl and lid for quick cleanup; spatula included
- Product Built to North American Electrical Standards
Professional Performance
Ninja Food Processor, Professional Plus, 1000 Peak Watts, 4 Functions for Chopping, Slicing, Purees & Dough with 9-Cup Processor Bowl, 3 Blades, Food Chute & Pusher, Silver, BN601
Ninja
- POWERFUL PERFORMANCE: Equipped with a 1000-peak-watt motor, this Ninja food processor effortlessly handles tough ingredients, ensuring smooth and consistent results every time.
- AUTO-IQ TECHNOLOGY: Features 4 Auto-iQ intelligent preset programs that take the guesswork out of food prep, providing one-touch control for chopping, slicing, pureeing, and dough making.
- LARGE CAPACITY: The 9-cup bowl is perfect for large batches, making it ideal for family meals, entertaining, or weekly meal prep, saving you time and effort in the kitchen.
- PRECISION BLADES: Includes stainless steel precision blades designed for optimal performance, ensuring even chopping, slicing, and pureeing of all your ingredients.
- DOUGH BLADE INCLUDED: Comes with a specialized dough blade that makes mixing dough for bread, pizza, and pastries a breeze, delivering professional-quality results at home.
- EASY TO CLEAN: All removable parts are BPA-free and dishwasher safe, making cleanup quick and hassle-free, so you can spend more time enjoying your culinary creations.
- MODERN DESIGN: Sleek silver finish and compact design fit seamlessly into any kitchen decor, while the sturdy construction ensures long-lasting durability and performance.
- USER-FRIENDLY: Intuitive controls and easy assembly make this food processor accessible for all skill levels, from novice cooks to experienced chefs, enhancing your cooking experience.
- SAFETY FEATURES: Built-in safety mechanisms ensure the processor operates only when properly assembled, providing peace of mind during use and preventing accidents.
- VERSATILE FUNCTIONALITY: Perfect for a wide range of tasks including chopping vegetables, slicing fruits, pureeing hummus, and mixing dough, making it an essential tool for any kitchen.
Effortless Stack Press
Hamilton Beach Electric Vegetable Chopper & Mini Food Processor, 3-Cup, 350 Watts, for Dicing, Mincing, and Puree, Black (72850)
Hamilton Beach
- Simply stack and press to chop: The patented stack & press design makes it easy to assemble and use. Simply press the lid to chop and release to stop. Since all you do is stack the lid on top of the bowl, no difficult twist-locking is needed.
- Perfect size for everyday use: Chop and mix up to 3 cups of ingredients every day of the week with this 3 cup chopper. It’s the perfect size for everyday use, yet small enough for easy storage.
- Easily chop, puree and emulsify with stainless steel blades: Durable stainless steel blades make easy work of a multitude of ingredients including onions, carrots and nuts. Oil dispenser on lid makes it easy to emulsify dressings, dips and sauces.
- Easy to clean: The bowl, lid and removable blades of the Hamilton Beach chopper are all dishwasher safe.
- Power through tough ingredients: This small food chopper has a 350 watt motor to provide all the power you need to prepare all types of food including onions, nuts, herbs, hummus, dressings and homemade baby food.
All-in-One Storage
KitchenAid 7-Cup Food Processor – KFP0718
KitchenAid
- All-in-one storage solution stores all blades and discs directly in the bowl
- Snap-and-go, easy-clean work bowl with a twist-free, one-click bowl assembly and latched lid; Add warm water and 1-2 drops of dish soap in the leak-resistant bowl to quickly clean bowl and blades
- Chop, shred, slice and puree everything from fresh veggies to cheeses, sauces, salsa and so much more with the included multi-purpose blade and reversible slice/shred disc
- Reduce prep time with the 2-in-1 feed tube and process a variety of ingredient shapes and sizes – tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes and more
- Simple controls with 3 speeds (High, Low and Pulse) to handle a variety of ingredients with precision. The easy-press paddles and illuminated LED controls make operation simple
- Model KFP0718 includes (1) 7 cup work bowl, (1) Lid, (1) Multi-purpose blade, (1) Reversible medium slicing/shredding disc
Dual Bowl Versatility
Ganiza Food Processor, 2-Speed Food Chopper Meat Grinder with 8 Cup Stainless Steel & 8 Cup Glass Bowls, Upgraded Button & Smart Overheat Protection Light – Includes Clean Brush, 2 Sets of Blades
Ganiza
- 【Patented Button Design】Upgraded Ganiza food processors for effortless use, and easier pressing. The ergonomic design of the Buttons & Appearance reduces hand fatigue and provides good control and stability.
- 【Innovative Overheat Protection Light Display】Built-in overheat protection system ensures safe operation of the food chopper and extends the food processor’s lifespan. The patented smart light provides clear, intuitive feedback on overheating, allowing better control over processing times for safer use.
- 【Indispensable Kitchen Helper】GANIZA BPA-FREE food processor features 2 sets of blades and dual bowls (8-Cup glass bowl and 8-Cup stainless steel bowl). Easily chop meat, fish, vegetables, nuts, fruit, or make a salad, guacamole, salsa, burgers, etc, the food chopper is ideal for multiple kitchen tasks!
- 【Efficient Motor & Safety Insurance】The Full-copper motor supports a 3 times longer service life than regular motors. Adopting patented automatic stopping design to protect your family and child, and blades are spring-loaded and stop rotating immediately once you pop the motor out of the way.
- 【Unlock Versatility with Two Bowls】Your food hygiene, we care. The Mixing Bowls are made from different materials (glass and sus 304 stainless steel) to avoid confusion between bowls for different uses, meat chopper and vegetable chopper, food processor. Note: Glass bowl: max 149 °F (65 °C); hotter water may cause shattering.
- 【2 Speed – Great Time Saver】450 watts motor certified for professional use combined with upgraded two levels of “S” stainless steel blades, a few seconds is enough to turn any vegetable or meat into tiny bits. 2 cutting speeds to meet different needs of foods or texture.
- 【Make an Exhausting Job a Breeze】Still struggling about daily handling of onions or meats? Just an electric food chopper is all you need to make cooking fun. The GANIZA chops, mixes, blends, whips, grinds, and more, all with a simple push to start. Easy to clean with removable blades. Powerful veggie chopper made thanksgiving prep a breeze.
Large Capacity Processing
Cuisinart Food Processor, 14-Cup Vegetable Food Chopper for Mincing, Dicing, Shredding, Puree & Kneading Dough, 720-Watt Motor, Stainless Steel, DFP-14BCNY
Cuisinart
- SUPERIOR FUNCTION: The Cuisinart Food Processor with 720-watt motor functions as a vegetable chopper, blender, and food processer in one. Make any kind of dip, puree soup, or sauce including hummus, salsa, guacamole, and more.
- MUST-HAVE FEATURES: The 14-cup food chopper has “on” and “off/pulse” buttons with an extra-large feed tube with bowl sleeve assembly designed for both small and large feed tube pushers. It also comes with a detachable disc stem for easy clean up.
- INCLUDED ACCESSORIES: This food processor comes with dishwasher-safe parts including a stainless steel standard slicing disc (4mm), medium shredding disc, and stainless steel chopping/mixing blade.
- NOTE TO CONSUMER: The shredding and slicing blades of this electric chopper are not adjustable. Please refer to the manual before setting up.
- LIMITED 3-YEAR WARRANTY: The Cuisinart Food Processor comes with a limited 3-year warranty on the entire unit and a full 5-year warranty on the motor.
Four-Blade Efficiency
Food Chopper, 4 Cup Mini and Fast Food Processor, Electric Meat Grinder with 2 Speed, 4 Stainless Steel Blades, and Whisk, 400W Power for Chopping, Mixing, Emulsifying, Puree and Whisking, BPA-Free
SHARDOR
- 2 SPEEDS CONTROL: This food chopper offers versatility and control for all your meal prep needs. Pulse control— press to chop, release to stop instantly. Choose HIGH speed for tough ingredients or LOW speed for delicate tasks, making it the perfect tool for efficient, precise food processing
- 4 BI-LEVEL STAINLESS STEEL BLADES: The food chopper is equipped with 4 food grade stainless steel blades, outperforms traditional two-layer designs. The 4 Bi-Level design enhances efficiency, providing faster, more even chopping. You can achieve satisfactory performs every time you use it
- MULTI-FUNCTIONALITY: The food chopper not only chops, mix, purees, and makes sauces, but the included whisk disk is perfect for beating eggs, whipping cream, or making fluffy batters. It expands the functionality of your food processor, making it an essential tool for all your cooking and baking needs
- CONVENIENT DRIZZLE BASIN: The lid features a convenient drizzle basin, allowing you to add liquids mid-process without stopping. This ensures continuous, smooth mixing for sauces, dressings, and batters, giving you complete control and saving time during food preparation
- USER FRIENDLY DESIGN: The bowl is equipped with a handle that provides a firm and comfortable grip point. It is also equipped with a spatula, which easily scrapes off residual ingredients from the bowl wall and blade, and in addition, the spatula assists in mixing ingredients more evenly during the mixing process. Overheating protection is also available
- AFTER-SALES SERVICE: TWOMEOW has a professional after-sales service team, who provide 2-year service. Just try it risk-free! In the unlikely event that you don’t satisfied, we will offer a satisfactory solution
Big Mouth Processing
Hamilton Beach Stack & Snap Food Processor and Vegetable Chopper, BPA Free, Stainless Steel Blades, 12 Cup Bowl, 2-Speed 450 Watt Motor, Black (70725A)
Hamilton Beach
- STACK AND SNAP TECHNOLOGY FOR EASY ASSEMBLY: With this well-designed food processor, you can skip frustrating, awkward assembly. Stack & Snap technology provides easy assembly and removes the need for difficult twist-locking.
- 12 CUP SEALED BOWL: Most food processors are too small for large processing jobs. This 12 cup sealed bowl fits large volumes of food all at once, and since it’s sealed in the center, there’s no messy leaks or spills to clean up after processing.
- BIG MOUTH CHUTE: Fit a whole potato or tomato right into the chute. The Big Mouth chute of this Hamilton Beach food processor saves prep time by reducing the need to pre-cut food before processing.
- SLICE, SHRED, CHOP, MIX AND PUREE WITH 2 VERSATILE ATTACHMENTS: This large food processor and vegetable chopper includes a chopping/pureeing blade and reversible stainless steel slicing/shredding disc so you can tackle every job with ease.
- QUICKLY POWERS THROUGH TOUGH INGREDIENTS WITH 450 WATT MOTOR: Shred cheese and potatoes, slice cucumbers and tomatoes, chop onions and herbs. As you process, the suction cup feet prevent sliding for greater stability on the countertop.
- EASY TO CLEAN: All removable parts are dishwasher safe for effortless cleanup and all food zones are BPA-free for peace of mind
- 2-IN-1 CHUTE: Use the small chute and small pusher when you need to process thinner foods like carrots and celery — it holds them upright for better control and clean cuts. Use the Big Mouth chute and big pusher for larger, whole foods like potatoes.
- SIMPLE FUNCTION GUIDE: The simple function guide takes the guesswork out of food processing — you’ll always know which blade to use and which button to push.
- CONVENIENT POUR SPOUT: Simply pour ingredients from the processing bowl right into your serving bowl for mess-free pouring.
- WHAT’S INCLUDED: 450 watt processor base, 12 cup bowl, large food pusher with small chute, small food pusher, lid with Big Mouth chute, chopping/pureeing/mixing blade, reversible slicing/shredding disc, user guide
Safe Dual Bowl Design
GANIZA Food Processors, Electric Food Chopper with Meat Grinder & Vegetable Chopper – 2 Bowls (8 Cup+8 Cup) with Powerful 450W Copper Motor – Includes 2 Sets of Bi-Level Blades for Fruits/Meat/Nuts
Ganiza
- 【Indispensable Kitchen Helper】GANIZA BPA-FREE food processor features 2 sets of blades and paired bowls (8-Cup glass bowl and 8-Cup stainless steel bowl). Easily chop meat, fish, vegetables, nuts, frozen fruit, or make a salad, guacamole, etc, the food chopper is ideal for multiple kitchen tasks!
- 【Efficient Motor & Safety Insurance】The Full-copper motor supports a 3 times longer service life than regular motors. Adopting patented automatic stopping design to protect your family and child, and blades are spring-loaded and stop rotating immediately once you pop the motor out of the way.
- 【Please Note】Ganiza food processor is equipped with an overheating protection system. If the machine stops working, please wait a few minutes for the machine to cool down before starting it. Overheating protection system is built to ensure quality & lifetime, and also makes the food processor safe.
- 【Unlock Versatility with Two Bowls】Your food hygiene, we care. The Mixing Bowls are made from different materials (glass and sus 304 stainless steel) to avoid confusion between bowls for different uses, meat chopper and vegetable chopper, food processor.
- 【2 Speed – Great Time Saver】450 watts motor certified for professional use combined with upgraded two levels of “S” stainless steel blades, a few seconds is enough to turn any vegetable or meat into tiny bits. 2 cutting speeds to meet different needs of foods or texture.
- 【Make an Exhausting Job a Breeze】Still struggling about daily handling of onions or meats? Just an electric food chopper is all you need to make cooking fun. The GANIZA chops, mixes, blends, whips, grinds, and more, all with a simple push to start. Easy to clean with removable blades. Powerful veggie chopper made thanksgiving prep a breeze.
Recipe Collection
The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001 – 2019: Every Recipe from the Hit TV Show with Product Ratings and a Look Behind the Scenes (Complete ATK TV Show Cookbook)
America’s Test Kitchen
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Buying Guide
FAQs
What should I look for in a small food processor?
Look for a compact design with a capacity of 3-5 cups, which is ideal for most small tasks. Ensure it has sharp stainless steel blades and multiple speed settings for versatility. A pulse function and easy-to-clean parts are also essential for convenience.
How do small food processors compare to full-sized ones?
Small food processors are more space-efficient and better for quick tasks like chopping herbs or making sauces. Full-sized models offer larger capacities and more power but take up more counter space. Small processors are also generally more affordable and easier to store.
Which features are most important for a small food processor?
A sharp, durable blade is crucial for consistent chopping and pureeing. Multiple speed settings and a pulse function provide better control over texture. Dishwasher-safe parts and a secure locking lid enhance usability and safety.
Are budget-friendly small food processors worth it?
Budget models can handle basic tasks but may lack the power and durability of higher-end options. Look for reputable brands with good reviews to ensure quality. If you only need occasional use, a budget-friendly option might suffice.
How do America’s Test Kitchen top picks differ from other models?
America’s Test Kitchen top picks are rigorously tested for performance, durability, and ease of use. They often excel in consistency and versatility compared to average models. These recommendations are backed by thorough evaluations, making them reliable choices.
What’s the best way to clean a small food processor?
Disassemble the blades and bowl, and rinse them immediately after use to prevent food from drying. Most parts are dishwasher-safe, but hand-washing with warm, soapy water is gentler on the blades. Avoid submerging the motor base in water.
Can a small food processor handle dough or tough ingredients?
Some small food processors can handle light dough, but they may struggle with heavy or sticky mixtures. For tough ingredients like nuts or hard cheese, ensure the model has a powerful motor. Check the manufacturer’s guidelines for specific capabilities.
How much should I spend on a quality small food processor?
A good small food processor typically costs between $40 and $100, depending on features and brand. Mid-range models often offer the best balance of performance and value. Avoid overly cheap options, as they may lack durability or power.
