Our pick
This simple, sturdy food processor comes with everything you need and nothing you don’t. And it dices, slices, and kneads consistently and efficiently.
We like the Cuisinart Custom 14-Cup Food Processor for its simplicity: This model has a pared-down design, so it’s easier to use and to clean than models with more settings or multiple bowls. It comes with a handful of necessary accessories and disks for completing common kitchen tasks, but nothing extra.
This food processor also has a straightforward interface, with just two buttons and one bowl—but its simplicity doesn’t come at the cost of performance. In our tests, the Cuisinart 14-Cup tackled a multitude of chopping, shredding, and blending tasks exceptionally well, and it’s built more solidly than many other processors available for under $250.
Runner-up
This food processor is better at slicing and has more frills than our top pick. But dicing onions and almonds takes a bit longer.
Compared with our top pick, the Cuisinart Core Custom 13-Cup Food Processor has more frills: more settings, several sizes of food pusher, and an adjustable slicing blade (which slices far thinner than the one-size slicing disk that comes with our top pick). But this machine took longer to dice ingredients like almonds and onions. Otherwise, it performs quite similarly to our top pick.
If our top pick is sold out, or thinner slicing is a priority for you, the Core Custom 13-Cup is a great option (especially if it’s on sale for less). Its blades and slicing disks nest in an included storage hub that fits inside the bowl, so you won’t be overwhelmed by additional storage containers or miscellaneous loose attachments.
Also great
This mini chopper dices well and is extra-roomy, and it was the only mini processor we tested with two drizzle holes, for frustration-free drizzling. But it slacks on dicing herbs.
A mini chopper won’t replace a full-size processor. But if you want to use one to make sauces or spreads alongside the occasional dice, the Cuisinart Core Custom 4-Cup Mini Chopper is the one for the job. This mini chopper is a half-cup to a full cup larger than most mini food processors. So an entire quartered or halved onion easily drops into the processor, whereas other food processors require a bit of wedging and shoving to accommodate larger ingredients.
This food processor also has dual drizzle holes that are nested in a deep channel, which spans the entire lid. So it’s far easier to drizzle liquids into this machine than it is in mini food processors that have only a single, shallow drizzle hole.
The Core Custom 4-Cup excelled at chopping onions and making mayonnaise, and it did well dicing almonds, tomatoes, and garlic. However, this food processor underperformed on herbs, tearing parsley into uneven pieces rather than chopping it cleanly and evenly.
Upgrade pick
If you want to use your food processor to make large, involved recipes several times a week, this premium food processor rises to the occasion.
At twice the price of our top pick, this large, accessory-laden food processor is far more than most people need. But if you’re cooking involved recipes for a crowd several times a week, you have the counter space, and you love using food processors and want a premium upgrade, the Breville Sous Chef 16 Food Processor is a luxurious, powerful model to consider.
It diced ingredients exceptionally evenly, with an especially impressive performance on fine herbs, and its adjustable slicing disk can quickly and quietly churn out millimeter-thin slices of potato. The hefty base and powerful motor can handle heavy-duty tasks with ease.
