The Best Food Processors for Fast, Easy Meal Prep

Kudos to the moms who prepared special occasion dinners before the age of food processors because, to be honest, we’re unsure how they managed it. Whether you’re preparing for holiday hosting season or looking to revamp your kitchenware in a way that caters to #momlife — aka having very little time to actually concentrate on what’s going on in the kitchen while still keeping an eye on your little one — investing in one of the best food processors can completely transform your cooking game. From chopping to blending, these devices make meal prep so much easier. 

If this is your first time shopping for a food processor, you’re in for a treat, but in order to find the best option for your kitchen, there are a few details to consider — the first being counter space. Sure, you could easily resort to storing your food processor in a cabinet if you have the room, but we guarantee you’re going to want this kitchen accessory accessible at all times. By evaluating how much space you have for storage before you purchase, you can search for a device that fits your limitations. 

The next step is to figure out what sort of features you’re looking for in a food processor. There are advanced options that include all kinds of accessories (think bowls, blades, discs, shredders), food processors that simply chop and dice, and machines that do all that and more, like blend ingredients together. Whatever your preferences and needs, there’s a food processor out there that’ll take your cooking game to the next level. 

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1. Hamilton Beach Bowl Scraper Food Processor

Moms need all the help they can get in the kitchen, which is why the Hamilton Beach Bowl Scraper Food Processor is our top pick. When we say this food processor does it all, we mean it. Long gone are the days when you’d need to pre-chop your veggies before tossing them into your device — Hamilton’s food processor does this step for you. But the most impressive feature of Hamilton’s food processor is that you don’t have to keep pausing, lifting the lid and pushing down pieces of food off the sides into the bowl. The device is self-scraping for a more efficient, quick blending. Hamilton’s is an extremely powerful food processor. Not only does it eliminate a bunch of grunt work for you, but it does so on a 450-watt motor. Choose from low speed, high speed or pulse settings, and switch up the interchangeable blades depending on whether you need to chop, mix, slice or shred your ingredients. The best part? The dishwasher-safe lid, bowl and blades make clean up just as simple as the food preparation.

2. Cuisinart Food Processor

Cuisinart gives the phrase “fast food” a whole new meaning with this heavy-duty food processor that operates on 720 watts and can hold up to a whopping 14 cups of food at once. It’s the perfect device for moms who love to entertain and/or those feeding a larger-sized family on the regular because not only does it make processing large batches of food a breeze, it eliminates prep work on your end so you can spend more time actually enjoying the dishes you prepare. Since the Cuisinart food processor features an extra-large feed tube, pre-chopping your ingredients is no longer necessary. It comes with three stainless steel blades for chopping, mixing, slicing, shredding, emulsifying, pureeing and even kneading dough, and is powered by intuitive on/off pulse buttons. Bonus: Everything but the base of the device is machine-washable.

3. Ninja Express Chop Professional

Food processors can be huge devices that eat up a ton of counter space, or they can be relatively smaller, compact and get the job done without all the bells and whistles of a mega machine. The Ninja Express Chop Professional was designed to do the basics — mince, dice, chop, blend and puree — and do them well. Operating on 200 watts of power, the device is mighty powerful but isn’t messy thanks to its no-slip base and slash guard that keeps juices and pieces of food well contained. It also comes with a storage lid to pop on top of its bowl to keep any foods you don’t want to use right away fresh.


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