5 Best Food Processors, Tested by Food Network Kitchen

Cuisinart is to food processors what Kleenex is to tissues — the brand has become a descriptor for the item itself. No wonder this model is our choice for most home cooks. The design is smart and straightforward; clearly a lot of thought went into pre-troubleshooting.

The 13-cup bowl is on the larger side, so you can go ahead and double that pie crust recipe — and the processor also comes with a 4.5-cup bowl to tackle smaller jobs. The slicing blade adjusts to 7 different thicknesses and the reversible shredding blade allows for fine or coarse grating. Even the manual is spiral bound to make it easier to use.

This processor has three speeds — high, low and pulse — and we found that these functions allowed for even control depending on the task. We found that it easily and uniformly diced an onion, made short work of grinding Parmesan, and pulled together pie crust in a few pulses. However, if you’re making emulsions or need to incorporate ingredients fully, like with pesto, it may take a longer to process on the high setting than more powerful models. The reversible slicing and shredding disc was easy to install thanks to the manual’s clear directions. It easily sliced half a zucchini with the help of the plastic food pusher. One thing to note: the feed tube isn’t very wide, so if you’re processing a lot of vegetables or fruit at one time, be sure to cut them accordingly and perhaps allow for a little extra time.

We appreciated the twist-free design on this processor, which was intuitive to use and allowed the work bowl to easily click into the base. The flip-up lid easily latches over the work bowl, but we found that the food pusher that nests inside the feed tube often fell out, so either remove it or take extra care opening the lid after processing.

Let's say you're looking for a solid food processor with a full-size capacity and plenty of functionality: This is a fantastic choice. It's thoughtfully designed (we love that the shredding and slicing blade is one unit, and the bowl has a pour spout — so smart!), and the 12-cup size means it can handle a wide range of jobs.

You only have one option for slicing thickness, but it works very well; it made quick work of a zucchini with nearly no waste. The same is true of the shredding blade — only one thickness, but very efficient. The buttons (one for slice/shred, one for puree/mix and one to pulse) offer different levels of power so each job gets done the way you want it to.

Best if money and space are no object: Breville Sous Chef 16 Pro, $319.95 This is the Ferrari of food processors, almost as good as having an actual human sous chef in your kitchen. They thought of everything for this one — different-sized feed chutes so you can slice or shred thick or thin items easily, 24 slicing thickness options, 5 cutting disks so you can make anything from French fries to julienne vegetables, a timing function — even the caddy that holds all the accessories is thoughtfully labeled, so you know what everything is at a glance. If the 16-cup-capacity bowl is too much for the job at hand, grab the 2.5-cup mini-processing bowl. The one thing to note is that it takes up nearly as much space as an actual Ferrari—this is not the model for small kitchens or anyone without a lot of counter space.