Which food processor should I buy? The best 2023 UK models from Ninja, Nutribullet, Kitchen Aid, Magimix
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A food processor is a luxury, rather than an essential. But, if you’re someone who’s constantly cooking up a storm in the kitchen, a food processor is one of the few appliances that could genuinely take your creations to the next level – not to mention save you precious prep time. They dice, grind, mix, churn, knead. There’s not much they can’t do.
But, food processors don’t come cheap. And, as such, it’s important to do your research before parting with your cash to ensure you invest in the best food processor for you.
Best food processors at a glance
- Best for value for money: Ninja Food Processor with Auto-IQ BN650UK
- Best for top of the range: Magimix 4200XL 18471UK Food Processor
- Best compact food processor: KitchenAid FOOD PROCESSOR 2.1 L 5KFP0921
- Best 2-in-1 food processor: NutriBullet Magic Kitchen Express, Food Processor & Chopper 250w
- Best for capacity: BOSCH Food processor MultiTalent 8 1200 W
- Best budget food processor: Lakeland Mini Food Processor
- Best for additional features: Kenwood MultiPro Express Weigh+ FDM71.960SS 7-in-1 Food Processor
How to shop for the best food processors
Quality is key. Finding a processor with the perfect balance of power and decent quality blades is the sweet spot. The blades need to be sharp – sharper than those in a blender – to slice and dice, as opposed to pulverise, ingredients, so they maintain some integrity.
Other factors to consider include the kinds of features you may benefit from having on a food processor (some models have puree and kneading functions, for example), and attachments, depending on your food prep needs. Most food processors come with a variety of blades for chopping, slicing, and grating, but some have more options than others so it’s worth considering your processing requirements before committing.
Finally, bear in mind the capacity you’ll need, and also the size and design. If you intend on keeping the food processor on a worktop, you’ll need to double check it fits both in dimensions and, if it’s important to you, style.
Ready to shop? Here are 7 of the best food processors you can buy right now.
Interested in kitting out your kitchen further? We have detailed guides to the best non-stick woks, best rice cookers, or consider a multi-cooker for a great hands-off kitchen tool. And the best kettles are rounded-up here.
Love cooking? Check out our guide to the best charcoal BBQs UK 2022, or brilliant ice cream makers for conjuring perfect gelato.
If hot drinks are your poison, the Hotel Chocolat velvetiser is revoltuionary.
Capacity: 2.1L
Pros: Excellent value, 4 preset functions
Cons: Feeding chute quite narrow
What’s impressive about Ninja’s BN650UK food processor isn’t its ability to chop, and slice, and puree, and mix, but its ability to do all of those things really, really well. It’s powerful, compact (though, still fairly generous in capacity), and is super easy to use thanks to the auto programmes.
The stainless steel blades are double-stacked for precision slicing, and the chute lid allows for adding ingredients as you go (it’s a little narrower than we’d like, though). In addition to the chopping blade, it comes with a slicing/grating disc and a dough blade, perfect for at-home pizza making – you can even use the BN650UK to grate your cheese for the topping.
It’s easy to clean, with dishwasher-safe parts, and excellent value for money, if you ask us.
Capacity: 1.3L
Pros: Powerful, aesthetic
Cons: Heavy, expensive
Really and truly there’s not much the Magimix 4200XL can’t do. It excels at slicing, mixing, whisking, grating, mixing, mincing, and kneading, and it comes with a BlenderMix attachment, too, for whizzing up smoothies and soups.
You’d think that, given its many feature offerings, it may be a fairly complex appliance to operate, but that actually couldn’t be further from the truth. There are just three buttons: auto, pulse, and stop, and it’s as simple as that.
Visually, the 4200XL is quietly appealing – it looks smart and modern, and it comes in a few colours so there’s sure to be a model that suits your kitchen scheme.
The three-bowl system makes the process off food processing more efficient, as you’re able to select whichever size works best for your ingredients, and the large chute lid allows you to tweak recipes along the way.
Capacity: 2.1L
Pros: Compact base, lightweight
Cons: Feeding chute quite small
If you don’t want to compromise on quality but counter space is at a premium in your kitchen, the 5KFP0921, KitchenAid’s powerful, yet surprisingly compact, food processor may just be for you.
For reference, it’s almost kettle-like in size (a touch bigger, but the base circumference isn’t far off), and is super easy to store – all accessories fit snuggly inside of the bowl, and the cord can be wrapped up underneath.
Convenience isn’t all the KitchenAid’s 2.1L processor offers, though. It can chop, slice, shred, julienne, knead, mix, and puree with its range of quality blades and accessories.
It’s easy to operate – there are just three buttons, two speed options and pulse – and its no bother to clean, either, as many of the parts are dishwasher-safe.
Capacity: 0.83L
Pros: Compact, 2-in-1 food processor and blender
Cons: No storage box for the parts
Don’t let its modest size fool you – the Magic Bullet food processor is a force to be reckoned with. And, for such a compact piece of kit it does a whole lot.
It can chop, and slice, and mix as well as many of the more advanced models, and it also comes with a blender attachment too (which is just as high quality), for smoothies and shakes. It’s impressively powerful for its size, making light work of chopping all manner of ingredients, and it’s super easy to clean too.
It takes up minimal worktop space – perfect for small kitchens – and it comes complete with travel cups and to-go lids so you can take your smoothie out and about with you.
For the price, it’s excellent value for money – our only little gripe is that there’s no storage box for the parts.
Capacity: 3.9L
Pros: Generous capacity, variety of attachments and accessories
Cons: Takes up a lot of space
Bosch’s MultiTalent food processor is the perfect blend (pardon the pun) of powerful and practical. It has a fiery 1200 W motor, so it tackles tough ingredients with ease, and it has a very generous 3.9L capacity too, for batch-prepping meal ingredients or making food enough for the whole family.
It comes complete with 11 attachments and accessories, which enable it to chop, slice, grate, puree, mix, whisk, whip, blend, and knead. Don’t let your other appliances hear us say this, but its do-everything nature is likely to relieve all other of your food prep gadgets from their responsibilities. Why have three or four separate appliances, when you could have one that does it all?
It’s easy to both operate and care for – most of the parts can be cleaned in the dishwasher, and it comes with a bag for storing blades to keep them in good nick – and you can even shop for additional attachments too, to expand its abilities.
Capacity: 520ml
Pros: Compact, efficient, easy to store
Cons: Basic – no extras or accessories, small capacity
Whilst it doesn’t have the swag of some of the more advanced models, what Lakeland’s Mini Food Processor excels at is chopping and combining small amounts of ingredients efficiently, before tidily tucking into a cupboard corner. It’s a no-frills appliance, but that’s what’s quite charming about it. There are no fancy functions or additional accessories – just one bowl, one blade, one dial, and a surprising amount of force behind it. It does a great job of whipping up pestos and dips, and it’s ideal for anyone experimenting with homemade baby food, too.
It’s, not surprisingly, very compact – the perfect appliance for anyone living in close quarters – and is easy to store, requiring minimal countertop or cupboard space. And, for under £50, it’s super value for money.
Capacity: 3L
Pros: Built-in scales, multiple blades and accessories
Cons: Expensive
Kenwood’s MultiPro lives up to its name as an all-in-one wonder. It comes with standard discs for chopping, slicing, and grating, and it also has a dough blade, a whisk, a folding tool, and blender jug. Really, you’d be hard-pressed to find a type of food prep it doesn’t do. Speaking of, it even comes with a citrus press – and that’s not nearly its niftiest feature.
It has built-in scales, so you can weigh ingredients directly into the bowl (bakers, take note), and an Express Serve attachment, separate to the main bowl, which allows you to speedily dice produce directly into a pan or onto a serving dish. The ThermoResistant glass blender attachment is heat- and cool-compatible, so you can whip up a soup or an ice-cold smoothie with ease.
The control panel appears more complex than many other models, but it’s very easy to navigate once you’ve familiarised yourself with the symbols. And, bonus: it comes complete with a SmartStore bag to keep the discs – and wandering fingers in cupboards – safe.