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See why.The Best Small Food Processors
We love our winning food processor, but it’s big and costs nearly $200. Could we find a cheaper, smaller model that still aces basic tasks?
New small food processors have emerged since we last updated this review, so we tested a few additional models. We still think the Cuisinart Elite Collection 4-Cup Chopper/Grinder is the best model for most people. But we now have a Best Buy. The KitchenAid 3.5 Cup Food Chopper aced most food processing tasks such as dicing onions and making a smooth hummus, though it wasn't quite as good as our winner at emulsifying.
Interested in a full-sized food processor? Check out our review here.
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What You Need To Know
Owning a good food processor is like having a little motorized sous chef living in your cabinet. We use ours regularly to grate cheese, grind bread crumbs, chop nuts, blend soups, prep vegetables, and mix doughs for pizza, bread, cookies, and pie.
While we consider ours indispensable, standard food processors tend to be big and pricey. Smaller processors are a good choice for budget- or space-conscious cooks or for those who want to dip a toe in the processor pond before shelling out nearly $200.
We took a fresh look at the small food processors market to find the most versatile, efficient, and well-designed model. Options ran the gamut from chintzy choppers to miniature versions of full-sized models from major brands. They ranged from 1.5 to 6 cups in capacity (compared to 11 to 16 cups for larger models), but we wanted something that could cut and blend. So we saved the small, basic choppers for later and zeroed in on 3- to 6-cup models. We put the processors through their paces: mincing garlic; dicing celery, onions, and carrots; grating Parmesan cheese; chopping almonds; and making mayonnaise, pesto, and hummus.
Size was an important factor: 3.5- and 4-cup models were ideal. They were compact yet large enough to handle a range of projects.
A few of the machines ran fast, which made it easy to overprocess. Others didn’t have enough oomph—their hummus and pesto never got completely smooth and were deemed “rustic” by tasters. Powerful-yet-responsive controls were optimal.
Feeding tubes are essential for making mayonnaise in a food processor: The oil has to be added slowly to properly emulsify with the other ingredients. Four models didn’t have feeding tubes; of the ones that did, some made smooth, fluffy mayonnaise. The sole model with a feeding tube that still failed to make mayonnaise brings us to our final factor: the blade.
This model’s egg yolks fell below its blade, so the ingredients couldn’t emulsify; two other processors suffered a similar problem. Whole garlic cloves, almonds, and pine nuts remained stranded under their blades because they spun 5 to 8 millimeters above the bottom of the bowl and couldn’t reach the food. Low blades with just 3 to 4 millimeters of clearance made better, more evenly processed food. Sharp, straight blades were also important; serrated blades chewed up food, while straight blades made crisp, clean cuts.
There are downsides to smaller processors. First, they can’t handle doughs well; their workbowls are too small and their motors too weak. Second, they’re not efficient for large-quantity prep— they don’t have grating or slicing blades, and their smaller workbowls maxed out at about 2 cups ...
Everything We Tested
Highly Recommended
- Dicing: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Grating: 3 stars out of 3.
- Mincing: 3 stars out of 3.
- Blending: 3 stars out of 3.
- Chopping: 3 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Emulsifying: 3 stars out of 3.
This processor had a sharp blade with great coverage. It turned out crisply cut vegetables and nuts and fluffy parsley. Its strong motor blended hummus and pesto with minimal scraping, and its small feeding tube allowed us to slowly add oil for fantastic mayonnaise.
- Dicing: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Grating: 3 stars out of 3.
- Mincing: 3 stars out of 3.
- Blending: 3 stars out of 3.
- Chopping: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Emulsifying: 2.5 stars out of 3.
The KitchenAid 3.5 Cup Food Chopper is small but mighty. It does a stellar job of mincing, dicing, grating, chopping, and blending quickly, and most ingredients turned out uniform. It’s well-made—after we dropped it five times off the counter, all its parts remained intact and the processor itself was able to run. Oil sometimes got trapped inside the feeding tube, leading to slightly runnier mayonnaise (and trickier cleanup). It also doesn't chop hard almonds quite as evenly as some models. Still, for the price, we think it’s a solid choice.
Recommended
- Dicing: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Grating: 3 stars out of 3.
- Mincing: 3 stars out of 3.
- Blending: 3 stars out of 3.
- Chopping: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 2 stars out of 3.
- Emulsifying: 3 stars out of 3.
This food processor impressed us with its emulsifying ability: With two feeding tubes that allowed oil to pass through slowly, it effortlessly made creamy, spreadable mayonnaise. It also blended smooth hummus and grated Parmesan cheese into tiny and even bits. But it didn’t dice or chop quite as uniformly as our favorites. After we dropped the model five times off the counter, a piece of plastic inside the bowl handle broke and the processor couldn’t be turned on. That said, as long as you’re careful, this small food processor does a decent job with the basics.
Recommended with reservations
- Dicing: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Grating: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Mincing: 2 stars out of 3.
- Blending: 2 stars out of 3.
- Chopping: 3 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Emulsifying: 0 stars out of 3.
This processor’s blade was higher, but a sweeping bar to incorporate food at the bottom of the bowl helped make up for this shortcoming. Its motor was weaker than the winner (pesto and hummus were “rustic” but acceptable), and it had no feeding tube.
Not Recommended
- Dicing: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 2 stars out of 3.
- Grating: 2 stars out of 3.
- Mincing: 1 stars out of 3.
- Blending: 2 stars out of 3.
- Chopping: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Emulsifying: 3 stars out of 3.
This machine had nice blade coverage and diced mirepoix and grated Parmesan fairly well. But its motor ran fast, which made it easy to overprocess, and its blade was serrated, so it didn’t chop everything cleanly.
- Dicing: 1 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Grating: 3 stars out of 3.
- Mincing: 2 stars out of 3.
- Blending: 2 stars out of 3.
- Chopping: 2 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 2 stars out of 3.
- Emulsifying: 0 stars out of 3.
This model’s smaller bowl inhibited movement—mirepoix was a mess, and almonds were dusty. Because you press down on the lid to activate the motor, we had to unplug it every time we wanted to scrape down the sides, or it turned on with our hand inside.
- Dicing: 2 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Grating: 2 stars out of 3.
- Mincing: 2 stars out of 3.
- Blending: 2 stars out of 3.
- Chopping: 2 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Emulsifying: 0 stars out of 3.
This large processor-cum- personal-smoothie-maker’s powerful motor was hard to control and sprayed food up the sides of its carafe, which were lined with plastic ribs that made it tough to clean. It also didn’t have a feeding tube.
- Dicing: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Grating: 2 stars out of 3.
- Mincing: 1 stars out of 3.
- Blending: 1 stars out of 3.
- Chopping: 2 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Emulsifying: 0 stars out of 3.
This processor had poor blade coverage: Garlic and pine nuts sat untouched in its bowl, and mayo never emulsified because half the ingredients fell below the blade. Its pulse button kept spinning far too long, and its rough serrated blade battered parsley.
- Dicing: 1 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 2 stars out of 3.
- Grating: 1 stars out of 3.
- Mincing: 1 stars out of 3.
- Blending: 1 stars out of 3.
- Chopping: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Durability: 2 stars out of 3.
- Emulsifying: 0 stars out of 3.
Because of a weaker motor, a narrow canister, and poor blade coverage, this processor left Parmesan, pesto, and hummus all unacceptably chunky, even with extra processing. It also lacked a feeding tube, so it couldn’t make mayonnaise.
Reviews you can trust
The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing.
Hannah Crowley
Hannah is an executive editor for ATK Reviews and cohost of Gear Heads on YouTube.
Valerie Sizhe Li
Valerie is an assistant editor for ATK Reviews. In addition to cooking, she loves skiing, traveling, and spending time outdoors.
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