Food processors can be a blessing for people who dread meal prep tasks like chopping, mincing, dicing, or shredding ingredients by hand, which is why they’re a great purchase for every home cook! A good machine can take on various kitchen tasks and make them simpler and faster by providing consistent results for so many different meals.
However, as there are several models out on the market, choosing the best product for your kitchen can get confusing. Scroll down to see our choice for the best food processor Australia has to offer.
The Best Food Processors in Australia in 2022
After doing extensive research and checking out several models, we present our top six picks:
- QUAD BLADE SYSTEM: Chop to the top, without pureeing the bottom. Cutting with four blades reduces processing time by cutting on separate planes
- MULTIPLE CHUTE OPTIONS: The extra-wide feed chute cuts longer slices and makes processing faster and easier. The mini feed chute prevents long thin ingredients like carrots from tipping over during slicing
- VARIABLE SLICING DISC: Cut it up with 24 settings that let you choose the thickness of your slices from paper thin 0.3mm up to a thick and substantial 8.0 mm
- HEAVY DUTY INDUCTION MOTOR: the Kitchen Wizz 15 Pro features a direct drive, high torque 2,000 W motor to easily handle the toughest jobs in the extra-large 16 Cup (3.6 Litre) capacity Bowl
- MINI BOWL: For finer chopping tasks, the 2.5 Cup (1 Litre) mini processing bowl is the perfect size for small quantities of ingredients
- Includes stainless-steel slicing disc, shredding disc, and new chopping blade
- 720-watt large-capacity food processor with intuitive "on" and "off/pulse" buttons
- 14-cup Lexan work bowl; extra-large feed tube; small and large pushers
- Spatula, instruction/recipe booklet; dishwasher-safe parts
- Product Built to North American Electrical Standards
- POWERDRIVE TECHNOLOGY Finer blending and faster performance for tasty and super smooth results with this small kitchen appliance
- IMODE TECHNOLOGY Delivers precise results and is easy to use on a variety of tasks. Select your speed setting: pulse, low speed and high speed, to create your ideal recipe with the touch of a button
- ADVANCED SMART SPEED The harder you squeeze, the more power you get. Featuring an extra-large control button for better handling and comfort
- SPLASH CONTROL Enhanced splash control technology prevents splashing and keeps your kitchen spotless while making soups or sauces
- EASYCLICK SYSTEM PLUS You can quickly change attachments as you are cooking; it gives you the versatility to blend, chop, whisk, mash and puree ingredients effortlessly
- Multifunctional perfect for slicing, grating, chopping, kneading, whisking and blending
- Powerful 950 W motor automatically adjusts it's power depending on what's in the bowl
- Large 3L capacity, ideal for large families
- Quiet Mark accredited
- 30 year motor and 3 year parts guarantee
- The ideal size for everyday use, quickly handling small volumes and little jobs.
How we picked
Each food processor has its own unique feature and several factors that make it more or less efficient. Then comes individual preferences and needs.
But, the question remains: how can you determine the right food processor for yourself?
Read on as we discuss the most essential features that you should consider when buying one.
Capacity/Size
To understand the right bowl capacity for you, you need to consider the quantity of food you are likely to prepare in the food processor and the frequency of use. If you cook regularly and have a standard sized family, it will be better to get a larger capacity that is preferably 3 L or above. Similarly, a 1 L capacity bowl would suffice if you live alone.
In addition to the capacity, you also need to consider the size. If you have a smaller kitchen or limited counter space, choosing compact models would be better.
Watts
The number of watts of the motor is an indication of how powerful your food processor is. You should always look for strong motors that are capable of processing tough ingredients or even mixing dough.
Food processors with low wattage aren’t durable and can stop working when you’re in the middle of prepping dinner for friends or family. This will eventually cause a total wastage of your effort and money.
Control/Settings
A food processor has limited controls, but there are models that offer specialized features like dough-making, whipping, and so on. If your budget permits, you can look for advanced machines that have these features in addition to the on, off, and pulse controls.
Besides this, you should make sure that the control panel has smooth inset buttons that can be easily pressed or clicked.
Availability of Attachments/Blades
The entire working and versatility of food processors are heavily dependent on the blades. Hence, you should look for models that support a variety of interchangeable blades.
The standard attachments in every food processor are best for chopping, shredding, slicing accessories, while specialized ones include Julienne blades and French fry cutters. You can even find models that come with reversible blades that can be great for saving storage space.
Furthermore, many models come with grating and slicing discs of different sizes to process food to different ranges of textures. Even whisking and beating blades are available!
You should check whether the food processor you plan on purchasing has the necessary blades and attachments that you would use when baking or cooking using a food processor.
Ease of Cleaning
Food processors are those kitchen appliances that can be a pain to clean if you aren’t careful when shopping for one thanks to their elaborate parts. Our recommendation would be to look for products that are compact, dishwasher-safe, and have removable parts that can be easily disassembled and assembled.
Budget
Food processors, in general, have a wide price range – you can get models at $1500 as well as models that cost just $50.
The price depends on different factors like the number of features it has, capacity, power of the motor, and of course, the brand. While we aren’t against splurging, you should still be practical when buying a food processor. It wouldn’t make any sense to get a very expensive model if you don’t plan on using all its features.
Similarly, a budget-friendly option might not be durable enough for regular use. Your main aim should be to consider your budget and look for options that meet your needs.
The Best Food Processors in Australia for 2022
Top Pick: Breville (Sage) The Kitchen Wizz 15 Pro Food Processor
For uncomplicated cooks, kitchen equipment needs to be versatile, user-friendly, and durable – all attributes that the Breville The Kitchen Wizz 15 Pro Food Processor exhibits. In Australia, it's branded Sage, but it's the same device.
This food processor has two settings: on and pulse. Due to this simplicity, everyone can use this machine, whether a beginner or a pro.
Although we would have preferred for the food processor to have more than one power setting, it still isn’t a major deal-breaker for us. However, you might face difficulty when processing tough fibrous ingredients like broccoli or kale due to limited control.
It can handle a wide range of food prep tasks like kneading, grating, pureeing, slicing, chopping, and shredding, and comes with a powerful motor along with eight precision tools for boosting functionality. While it does all that, its smaller footprint ensures that the appliance doesn’t take up much space.
The precision tools include a Julienne disc, whisking disk, micro-serrated disc, dough blade, mini blade, and a French fry cutting disc. Moreover, the variable slicing disc lets you choose the width of your slices. There are a total of 24 thickness settings that range between super thin 0.3 mm to a thicker 8 mm.
You get an extra-large 3.6 L capacity bowl that can easily handle different kinds of ingredients, but it doesn’t mean that you have to prep huge amounts only when using the food processor.
If you want to process a smaller batch of ingredients like herbs, you can use the 1 L mini possessing bowl instead. In other words, it's a 2-in-1 appliance – a food processor and a mini food processor.
Another useful feature of this machine is its two feed chutes: one is extra-wide and the other is a mini size. The former is more suited for cutting longer pieces, which is why you don’t need to chop the ingredients beforehand, while the latter can be used for slicing thin ingredients like carrots.
The best food processor needs to be easy to clean, which is why this one comes with time-saving cleaning supplies like a cleaning brush and plastic spatula for scraping leftover ingredients from the sides of the bowl. You can store these cleaning tools, as well as the attachments, in the complimentary storage box to reduce clutter.
Some parts of the appliance are also compatible with the top-rack dishwasher. But, Breville recommends you hand wash all the components for more durability.
We also liked Kitchen Wizz 15 Pro's Quad Blade System that can effortlessly chop to the very bottom without pureeing the ingredients. The fact that there are four blades greatly reduces the overall processing and mixing time.
It has an efficient direct drive, high torque 1,200 W motor, which not only is more powerful than its rivals but also has a solid 25-year warranty. The other parts of the appliance too have a 2-year warranty. Considering the steeper price tag of this AU$599 food processor, this takes the risk out of your investment to a large extent.
On the whole, we’re confident that the Breville The Kitchen Wizz 15 Pro Food Processor can handle all your food prep requirements – large as well as small – and has a variety of useful tools that enhance its functionality. A heavy-duty induction motor, long warranty, and a dual timer with LED display seal the deal to make it our top pick.
Runner Up Pick: Cuisinart DFP-14BCWNY 14-Cup Food Processor
We chose the Cuisinart DFP-14BCWNY 14-Cup Food Processor for its versatility and effectiveness. If you have a big family, or you often cook for multiple people, this food processor could be a great choice for you.
In addition to the powerful motor and large working bowl, the appliance has an extra-large feed chute and premium quality blades that help it perform all kitchen-related tasks from slicing and mincing to grating and pureeing with ease.
The working bowl has a 3 L capacity with a well-secured lid that minimizes leakage problems with wet and powdery ingredients. The wide feed chute can easily handle larger ingredients like whole potatoes and carrots which will save you lots of time.
Looks-wise, this food processor is very pared down featuring a rugged motor housing, excellent build quality, and simple, user-friendly design. The control panel is straightforward, with only two buttons on the interface.
The operation is uncomplicated and intuitive. You can use the buttons to turn on or turn off the machine, with the ‘off’ button doubling as the pulse function of the appliance.
The device comes with a wide array of useful and convenient accessories and discs as well. Using the shredding disc, chopping blade, and slicing disc, you’ll be able to do various kitchen tasks whether it’s grating cheese, slicing fruits or mincing vegetables. You can also make pie crust or whip purées and sauces.
It has powerful blades made out of stainless steel that along with a strong 720 W motor can process ingredients without getting too hot or jammed. There is the option to purchase a dough mixer attachment if you want to use the appliance for mixing dough, but it will cost you more.
However, the Cuisinart DFP-14BCWNY 14-Cup Food Processor does have its share of cons.
The 720 W motor isn't as powerful when compared to the 1,200 W motor of Breville's. Also, you might face problems with this food processor if you have limited counter space due to the bulky design. It is also difficult to carry due to the 7.85 kgs weight of the appliance.
At the same time, it‘s this sturdy and well-insulated structure that prevents the powerful motor from getting too noisy or rattle around when you operate the machine. So, you can overlook this con if you have a larger kitchen.
Other Options
Braun MultiQuick 9 Hand Blender & Food Processor
Heads up: The Braun MultiQuick 9 Hand Blender & Food Processor isn’t a traditional food processor – it’s actually a hand blender that has a small food processor attachment.
It has a sleek, stainless steel construction that features a safety button on the top of the motor, along with another button to let you control the speed. The EasyClick system Plus helps to connect and disconnect the accessories quickly.
The other technologies include SplashControl for mess-free operation and Advanced SmartSpeed for optimal control over the power. You also get a PowerBell Plus, which is an extra milling blade.
It's best for blending frozen fruit, creating smoothie concoctions, home-made baby food, and similar tasks. In addition to this, you can use this mini appliance for mincing, chopping, and dicing. Keep in mind that you'll need a little practice to be able to work the food processor properly.
Admittedly, the 1.5 L capacity isn’t much, but you get a host of accessories like a whisk, 350 ml chopper, 600 ml beaker, masher, chopping tool, slicing insert, shredding insert, and a Julienne insert that makes this food processor a worthy addition to our list. You can use the kneading hook accessory for making pastries as well!
Keep in mind that the mini chopper is better suited for small batches of food as otherwise, it will puree your ingredients at the bottom if not used at the right speed.
The Braun MultiQuick 9 Hand Blender & Food Processor has a 1000 W motor which is decent enough to let it perform a wide range of kitchen tasks effortlessly. Also, thanks to the EasyClick system Plus, you can pack away the accessories when not in use which makes its footprint smaller.
But, the fact that it‘s hand-held and doesn’t give neat slices didn’t work for us. We would have preferred a speed lock feature as well to have better control when using the appliance.
Australians have given this $209 hand-held food processor 4.3 out of 5 stars on ProductReview.com, which verifies their approval for the product. Many customers have loved its multi-purpose design that comes with several inserts and a powerful motor.
Magimix 4200 XL Food Processor
The Magimix 4200 XL Food Processor offers great flexibility and comes with three different bowls, eight tools, and a brilliant blending functionality to help you tackle different tasks and ingredient quantities.
The main bowl has a 3 L capacity, 0.6 L less than our top pick, but is still sufficient for doing prep tasks like mixing, chopping, kneading, mincing, slicing, and grating.
The midi bowl and mini bowl have a 2.6 L and 1.2 L capacity respectively. While you can use the midi bowl for slicing and grating vegetables, fruits, or cheese, the mini one is more suitable for chopping smaller batches or finer ingredients like herbs.
You also get a knife blade, egg whisk, dough blade, two slicing discs (2 mm and 4 mm), and two grating discs (2 mm and 4 mm). However, it’s the exclusive ‘blendermix‘ which is our favourite tool since it gives it blender-like features that can be used for making soups, smoothies, and pancake batter. You can store these tools in the safe blade box to keep them well-organized when not in use.
The appliance has two feed tubes: an extra-large chute and a smaller chute. The larger chute is certainly quite convenient and saves pre-chopping time with its capability to handle large whole vegetables and fruits.
It has a 950 W motor fitted into an ergonomically designed model. The motor operates quietly and is self-adjustable to ensure a uniform speed. The control panel has a simple layout with buttons to let you choose between an automatic power setting and a pulse setting.
Despite the fact that you can prepare a variety of food items ranging from bread and cakes to pastries and tarts, cleaning this food processor shouldn't be a problem. It has an elegant design that makes it easy to wipe clean while the components are dishwasher-safe.
You get a three-year warranty on the parts and a 30-year warranty on the motor, but there are reasons – solid reasons – why this isn’t as good as our top pick.
At $799, the Magimix 4200 XL Food Processor is nearly $200 costlier than the Breville, but this doesn’t mean it has better features (other than the three bowls and blendermix). In comparison to our top pick, Magimix has a lesser bowl capacity, just two thickness settings as opposed to Breville’s 24 options, and a less powerful motor.
Nevertheless, if you have a bigger budget, this food processor could be a good purchase because of size processing flexibility, blending functionality, and access to Magimix’s free app that contains hundreds of recipes.
Hamilton Beach 70730 Food Processor
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KitchenAid KFC3516ER Food Processor
- The ideal size for everyday use, quickly handling small volumes and little jobs.
Why Should You Buy a Food Processor?
If you want your kitchen chores to be easier and faster, you should seriously consider adding a food processor to your kitchen. Grinding, mixing ingredients, chopping, shredding, slicing, blending, or pureeing – this appliance will take care of it all and save you time and effort.
It’s designed to be multifunctional which makes it a solid replacement for other small kitchen appliances. Here’s a complete list of functions that you can do on your food processor:
Chop – Chopping is one of the most time-consuming chores before you start cooking. But, food processors can do this meal-prep task within minutes once you press the on button.
Dice – Just like chopping, dicing tomatoes and potatoes for making a dressing or a salad can be very time-consuming, which food processors make light of.
Slice – You’ll never have to worry about uneven slicing of vegetables or fruits once you get a food processor. Moreover, several models offer a range of sizes of slice discs that can help you get the perfect cut without wasting any time.
Puree – A feature similar to that of a blender, most food processors have the ability to puree ingredients. This can be useful for preparing dips, sauces, marinades, or soups.
Dough Mixing and Kneading – We have to warn you that mixing and kneading dough on a food processor takes practice, but once you do master it, your kitchen efficiency will be boosted like never before! So, don’t run away from the initial difficulty.
You might get a dough blade with some models, but several users have also found regular blades to be just as good. This will mostly depend on your personal preference.
Grate – Yes, you can do away with the traditional box grater! Nearly all food processors have a grater that can be used for grating cheese or other ingredients.
Grind – You can use these appliances for grinding restaurant-quality ground meat using beef, chicken, or lamb at the comfort of your home. We would recommend using the pulse function to achieve the perfect texture and consistency without any damage to the blades. This can be a life-saver if you frequently make sausages or mince recipes. Grinding nuts or whole grains into flour is easier too.
Zest – Have you also felt that buying a hand-held zester is a complete waste of money other than the time you had to bake that citrus cake? After all not only are they difficult to use and clean, but even the results aren’t very impressive. Thankfully, zesting is another task that this appliance can do efficiently.
Food Chopper vs. Food Processor: What‘s the Difference?
A chopper is a standalone appliance that, as the name suggests, is only used for cutting ingredients. Now, a chopper is cheaper than a food processor, but you won’t get a slicing disc and several other accessories that could help you when doing prep tasks.
In comparison to a chopper, food processors are more powerful and have a slicing disc as well as a shredding disc. Sometimes, the shredding disc is reversible, which makes it good for slicing and shredding.
Blender vs. Food Processor: What’s the Difference?
Many people make the error of confusing a food processor with a blender when in reality, both the appliances serve different purposes.
While a food processor has razor-sharp blades, a kitchen blender has blunt blades. Although both have powerful motors, food processors are mainly used for chopping and mixing ingredients, kneading dough, grinding, mincing, and shredding.
Blenders though are specifically designed for handling liquids. You can use the appliance for making soups, smoothies, and so on.
What are the Different Food Processor Settings?
There are two base settings of this appliance – pulse and puree.
The pulse function is best for chopping dry ingredients on short bursts. For example, if you have large or tough ingredients, you can use the pulse setting to bring them down to a manageable size.
In fact, even if you want to puree your ingredients, it’s recommended that you pulse the ingredients first to protect the blades.
Contrarily, the puree setting works continuously. Whether you want to make tomato puree or pesto, this should be your go-to setting. It should further be noted that many models have high and low puree settings. While the former will emulsify your ingredients more, the latter will give you chunkier ingredients or a rough puree.
What’s the Best Way to Clean a Food Processor?
As a food processor is an elaborate appliance, you do need to put in some effort when it comes to cleaning. There are several parts that have to be removed, soaked, and then carefully hand washed.
But, it isn’t all bad news!
There are easy-to-clean models available if the idea of scrubbing fragile parts doesn’t appeal to you. Also, as the parts are removable, you can pop most of them into a dishwasher.
Food Processor Safety 101
The following are a few rules to remember when using a food processor to prevent kitchen mishaps:
- Don’t stick your hand into the appliance with the blade is running
- Always take the blades out first and thoroughly clean them with care
- Never leave your food processor unattended
- Make sure that only the dishwasher-safe parts are put into the dishwasher
- Ensure that the lid is firmly secured when the food processor is in action
- Don’t forget to unplug the appliance after every use
The Bottom Line
The above-mentioned food processors have been chosen after taking into account several factors. Whether you want something affordable, or a model featuring a powerful motor with a longer warranty – we have them all.
Out of the six, our two top picks, Breville The Kitchen Wizz 15 Pro Food Processor and Cuisinart DFP-14BCWNY 14-Cup Food Processor are packed with several features that let them perform a wide range of kitchen tasks. Additionally, they are also top-quality and have long warranties that protect your investment.
- Best Food Processor in terms of Value: Breville The Kitchen Wizz 15 Pro Food Processor
- Best Food Processor for Versatility: Cuisinart DFP-14BCWNY 14-Cup Food Processor
- Best Food Processor for People on a Budget: Hamilton Beach 70730 Food Processor
- Best Food Processor for Small Kitchen Preps: KitchenAid KFC3516ER Food Processor
- Best Hybrid Blender and Food Processor: Braun MultiQuick 9 Hand Blender & Food Processor
- Best Food Processor for Functionality: Magimix 4200 XL Food Processor
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