The Best Food Processors for 2026: Cuisinart, Breville and Mini Choppers
By Claire Whitmore. Last updated October 2026.
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A food processor turns the slowest parts of cooking into a few seconds of noise. It dices onions, shreds a block of cheese, rices cauliflower, whips up hummus and kneads pizza dough, all without a knife. The best ones are simple, sturdy and heavy enough to stay put on the counter. The worst skate around, stall on dough and hide food in crevices you can’t clean.
Our picks are based on Wirecutter’s food processor guide, updated in September 2025, which has tested machines since 2013 on onions, carrots, tomatoes, parsley, garlic, almonds, mayonnaise, pizza dough, shredded mozzarella and sliced potatoes, and consulted cookbook authors Jean Anderson and Norene Gilletz. We also note Good Housekeeping’s lab, which has tested more than 80 food processors since 2011. We haven’t tested these ourselves, and prices change often.
Quick answer: the Cuisinart Custom 14-Cup is the food processor to buy for most kitchens. Choose the Cuisinart Core Custom 13-Cup for adjustable slicing, the Breville Sous Chef 16 if you cook big, involved recipes several times a week, and the Cuisinart Core Custom 4-Cup Mini Chopper for small jobs and sauces.
Our picks at a glance
| Pick | Best for | Capacity | Warranty | Approx. price* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cuisinart Custom 14-Cup | Best overall | 14 cups | Three years | About $250 to $270 |
| Cuisinart Core Custom 13-Cup | Adjustable slicing | 13 cups | Three years | About $250 to $270 |
| Breville Sous Chef 16 | Premium, big-batch cooks | 16 cups plus mini bowl | Two years (30 years on motor) | About twice our top pick |
| Cuisinart Core Custom 4-Cup Mini Chopper | Small batches, sauces | 4 cups | See manufacturer | About $65 |
*Prices from Wirecutter’s buying links at the time of writing.
The best food processors
1. Cuisinart Custom 14-Cup: best overall
Best for: most home cooks who want a reliable, easy-to-clean workhorse.
This has been Wirecutter’s favorite since 2013, and its secret is simplicity: one bowl, two buttons (on and pulse) and three attachments, a stainless S-blade, a shredding disc and a slicing disc. It chopped, shredded and emulsified everything well, handled juicy tomatoes, shredded soft mozzarella without gumming up, and made a firmer mayonnaise than any other full-size model tested.
At roughly 18 pounds with the bowl, it stays planted even while kneading double batches of dough. Its 750-watt motor is less powerful on paper than some rivals, but that didn’t affect performance, and at about 75 decibels it was 15 to 25 decibels quieter than the other picks. It’s about 15 inches tall, so it fits under most cabinets, and the attachments store inside the bowl. Staffers report machines lasting more than a decade, and one editor still uses a decades-old hand-me-down.
Pros
- Excellent all-round results
- Heavy, stable base
- Quietest of the picks
- Easy to clean and store
Cons
- Less precise on delicate herbs
- Fixed 5 mm slicing disc
- No storage case for attachments
2. Cuisinart Core Custom 13-Cup: best for thin slicing
Best for: cooks who want an adjustable slicer and a few more settings.
The Core Custom 13-Cup performs much like the 14-Cup but adds an adjustable slicing disc that works like a mandoline, a reversible grating disc, several food-pusher sizes and four controls (mix, low, high and pulse). On its thinnest setting it made translucent potato slices, though a little less evenly than the Breville.
All the blades and discs nest on a spindle inside the bowl. It took longer to dice almonds and onions, rocked a little while kneading dough (suction feet kept it from moving), and measured about 96 decibels, the loudest of the full-size picks. It’s a great choice if the 14-Cup is sold out or this one is on sale.
Pros
- Adjustable slicing disc
- Smart nested storage
- Lighter at about 11 pounds
- Three-year warranty
Cons
- Slower to dice
- Louder
- More nooks in the lid to clean
Best for: serious cooks who make large, prep-heavy recipes several times a week.
This is the luxury option. Its 1,450-watt induction motor and nearly 20-pound base kneaded pizza dough without moving an inch. Its sharp blades produced the finest, most even parsley in testing and came closest to clean shreds of soft mozzarella, and its adjustable slicing disc churned out consistent 1-millimeter potato slices.
It comes with a large storage case of extras: a dough blade, a mini S-blade and mini bowl, a french-fry disc, an adjustable slicer and a reversible grater. Some of those are superfluous, and the case is almost as big as the machine. It’s nearly 18 inches tall, about twice the price of the Cuisinart, and has a two-year warranty, though the motor carries its own 30-year warranty. Good Housekeeping, notably, names the smaller Breville Sous Chef 12-Cup its best overall.
Pros
- Superb precision on herbs and slicing
- Very powerful and stable
- 30-year motor warranty
- Huge accessory set
Cons
- Expensive
- Takes lots of counter and storage space
- Some accessories rarely get used
4. Cuisinart Core Custom 4-Cup Mini Chopper: best mini chopper
Best for: small batches, dressings, mayo and chopping a single onion.
A full-size processor can leave a single onion unevenly chopped. A mini does it better. This 4-cup model is a half-cup to a full cup bigger than most minis, so a halved onion drops right in, and its two drizzle holes sit in a deep channel across the lid, which made it the easiest mini for emulsions like mayonnaise.
It diced garlic, tomato, onion and almonds evenly, but tore parsley. It’s loud, at about 100 decibels when running empty. If perfectly chopped herbs matter more than sauces, Wirecutter suggests the KitchenAid 3.5 Cup Mini instead.
Pros
- Roomy for a mini
- Excellent for mayo and dressings
- Base buttons, easy to use
Cons
- Uneven on herbs
- Loud
How to choose a food processor
Size. For most households, 13 to 14 cups is the sweet spot. Go to 16 cups only if you regularly cook for a crowd. A mini chopper is a useful second machine even if you own a full-size model.
Attachments. You need a sharp S-blade, a slicing disc and a shredding disc. Dough blades and fry discs are optional; Wirecutter found the metal S-blade kneads dough just as well.
Weight and motor. A heavy base keeps the machine steady during dough and tough vegetables. Light machines tend to wander across the counter or stall.
Feed tube. Look for a wide tube for blocks of cheese or potatoes and a narrow inner tube to keep carrots upright for even slices.
Cleaning. Fewer parts and fewer hidden channels mean less trapped food. The bowls on these picks are dishwasher-safe, but hand-washing helps prevent the plastic from warping.
Food processors we’d skip
- Hamilton Beach 12-Cup Stack & Snap: chopped decently, but grated cheese got trapped in parts of the lid and handle that can’t be cleaned, and it walked across the counter while kneading.
- Ninja Professional 12-Cup XL: fine on onions, weaker on tomatoes, almonds and parsley, with no drizzle hole and trouble kneading dough.
- Magimix by Robot-Coupe 14-Cup: chopped less evenly, let thin items fall sideways in the wide feed tube, stalled on pizza dough and was noisy.
- Breville Sous Chef 12: good, but it didn’t beat the picks and its 12-cup bowl is more limiting.
Food processor or blender?
They overlap less than you’d think. A food processor is the champion of prep: chopping, slicing, shredding and kneading. A high-powered blender is better for smoothies, soups and very smooth purees. If you already own a Vitamix Ascent or Venturist, Vitamix’s 12-Cup Food Processor Attachment is serviceable, but Wirecutter wouldn’t buy a Vitamix just to get it. Our Vitamix vs. Blendtec comparison covers the blender side.
FAQ
Do I need a dough blade?
No. Wirecutter has kneaded dough with the standard metal S-blade for years and doesn’t consider a plastic dough blade essential.
Can food processor bowls go in the dishwasher?
The bowls on these picks are dishwasher-safe, but hand-washing helps keep the plastic from warping over time.
How long should a food processor last?
A good one can last many years. Cuisinart’s machines have a strong reputation for durability, and replacement parts are sold on Cuisinart’s site.
Is a mini chopper worth it if I have a full-size processor?
Yes, if you often prep small amounts. A mini handles one onion, a little pesto or a cup of dressing more evenly and is easier to clean.
The bottom line
The Cuisinart Custom 14-Cup is the food processor most people should buy: simple, stable, quiet and proven over more than a decade. Choose the Cuisinart Core Custom 13-Cup for adjustable slicing, the Breville Sous Chef 16 for the most precision and power, and the Cuisinart Core Custom 4-Cup for small jobs.
