Kenwood
Quad Blade Chopper CH580
Test score
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The best food processors and mini choppers take the hassle out of food prep. But not all models are fit for purpose – we've found some that struggle with the most basic tasks, such as grating cheese and dicing an onion.
Food processors are designed to take the hassle out of food prep tasks and save you precious time in the kitchen. But they can vary massively in price, size and what they can do – and we’ve found some can be more of a hindrance than a help.
Read on for our picks of the best food processors and the best mini choppers we've tested, plus helpful buying advice to ensure you buy the best for your budget.
Go to our food processor reviews to see all the models we've tested.
We judge food processors on how well they chop, slice, grate, mix, knead and blend, as well as on how noisy they are and how easy they are to use and clean. The following models are the best we've tested.
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This food processor is brilliant at chopping, slicing and blending. It blasts through nuts, chops herbs finely and reduces onions to a uniform size. Plus, it comes with a two-in-one tool for kneading dough and emulsifying, so you can use it to prepare sweet treats and vinaigrettes, too.
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This food processor chops and grates well, but really comes into its own when slicing, mixing and kneading. And it's not just your stand mixer that you can do away with if you buy this model; it's also brilliant at blending soup and making smoothies – if you're looking for a single appliance that does it all, look no further.
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This food processor is another excellent all-rounder – in fact, its ratings never dropped below four stars in our tests. It comes with a reversible grating disk for fine and coarse grating, and you have a choice of two speed options per power setting (giving you a total of six settings to choose from). It's also as quiet as we've come across, so you won't disturb anyone in bed or working from home.
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To see more food processors we've tested, visit our food processor reviews.
There aren't many mini choppers better at chopping and puréeing than this. It's small and lightweight – at 24cm tall with a 0.9-litre bowl capacity – which makes it well suited to a crowded kitchen. It also has a whipping function, but we wouldn't recommend buying this model for this feature; the cream we whipped came out much stodgier than we'd have liked.
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This model makes light work of small chopping tasks. It ground down a handful of herbs in less than 30 seconds, with no rogue pieces stuck to the sides of the bowl – and because you can pop it in the dishwasher, it wouldn't be a disaster if there were. However, you can only use it in 60-second bursts before it has to cool down for another minute, so it's not the best option if you have a large family or you're catering for a crowd.
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To see more mini choppers we've tested, use the 'mini chopper' filter on our food processor reviews.
This video takes a look at the key things you need to consider when buying a food processor, from what size to go for to what features to look out for.
Full-sized processors usually come with a diverse array of attachments and can handle an impressive range of tasks. As well as chopping, slicing and grating, most can also whisk, whip, mix and knead. This is ideal if you also like to bake but don't have space or budget for a separate stand mixer. Some also come with a blender attachment for making soups and smoothies.
However, food processors can be large, bulky beasts and are often expensive. Bulkier models, or models with multiple parts, can also be more of an effort to clean.
Pros Come with a wide range of accessories, can handle most cooking and baking prep tasks in one machine, some come with a blender attachment, larger capacity – ideal for processing bigger amounts
Cons Tend to be expensive, take up kitchen space, can be fiddly to clean
If you only ever need to do small amounts of chopping or puréeing, a mini chopper might suit you better. Mini choppers are small, affordable versions of food processors. They take up much less space but are usually limited in what they can do.
Pros Affordable, compact, simple to set up, easy to clean
Cons Usually limited to chopping and pureeing, small capacity
Not sure exactly what you need? Head to our guide on choosing between a food processor, mixer or blender.
Make sure the food processor has the tools for the tasks you need to do. It’s worth buying a food processor with a jug blender attachment if you want the versatility of blending smoothies or soup as well as processing food. If you're buying a food processor, but like to bake, you may want to look out for a model that comes with a beater attachment for whipping and whisking and/or a dough blade.
All food processors come with a knife blade for basic tasks, but some models come with plenty more attachments. We've seen blenders, citrus juicers, dough hooks, grating blades, mills, mini bowls, shredding blades, slicing blades and spatulas.
Don't know your cubing disc from your Blendermix attachment? Read Food processor attachments explained.
Some food processors come with a lid that has a wider feed tube so you can process larger items, such as potatoes or cucumbers, without having to chop them up first.
Washing food processor attachments by hand can be a real pain. If you have a dishwasher, look for a model with dishwasher-safe accessories so cleaning will be less of a headache – but don’t forget to check the instructions before putting them on a hot wash. Some manufacturers warn against washing in temperatures above 40°C, and to avoid the drying cycle altogether, which can also cause the plastic to split.
If you don't have a dishwasher, use our reviews to find models that are easy to clean by hand.
Some food processors come with a wide variety of accessories, which can take up a lot of valuable kitchen storage space. If you think this is going to be a problem, look for a model with a storage box or storage compartment included.
A large-capacity bowl means you'll be able to make bigger batches. However, the bigger the bowl size, the more space it’s likely to take up in your kitchen. It’s also worth bearing in mind that bigger bowls can be more of a faff to clean by hand or may be awkward to fit in the dishwasher.
Use the capacities below as a rough guide when choosing a food processor.
Some models come with an additional mini bowl, which sits inside the main bowl and has its own blade – useful when you only want to process a small amount of food, such as herbs or nuts. Some models even come with a third midi bowl so you can pick the best size depending on how much food you're processing.
Food processors range massively in size and weight. Make sure you have enough kitchen counter space for the appliance you choose – think about the height of any cabinets above where you’ll put the food processor that may obstruct the feeding tubes or lids. If it's going to live in your cupboard, can you lift it in and out easily? Some are pretty hefty, weighing as much as 11kg.
This depends on which type of food processor you want. You can get a good mini chopper for around £20, but the popular brands often cost £60-70. Head to our mini chopper reviews to see top-scoring models for every budget.
Premium food processors can cost more than £400, but we've found brilliant models for less than £100.
If you have the budget to spend more than £100, you'll be able to get a model offering better build quality, longer guarantees and a quieter motor. More expensive models also tend to come with a wider variety of attachments, such as spice grinders, blenders and citrus presses. But be careful not to spend extra on fancy accessories if you’re only likely to use it for simple tasks.
Use the filters on our food processor reviews to compare models by features and price.