The Best Food Processors of 2026

The Breville Sous Chef 12 is the best food processor of 2026 for most home cooks who prep for four to six people, thanks to a 1,440-watt induction motor, five color-coded attachments, and a 30-year motor warranty that no other pick in this guide matches. If you need the largest bowl instead, the Cuisinart Custom 14 holds 14 cups and Consumer Reports calls it one of the quietest models it has tested. Budget shoppers should look at the Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Duo Plus, which costs $81.99 and still ships with a second 4-cup bowl for small jobs.

Two more picks fill specific gaps. The KitchenAid 13-Cup Food Processor undercuts every other full-size, six-accessory processor here at $229.99, and Consumer Reports rates it strong for chopping and shredding, even though KitchenAid does not publish the motor’s wattage on its own product page. The Ninja CrushBOSS 3-in-1 is not a dedicated food processor at all: it is a blender, a travel tumbler, and an 8-cup food processor sharing one motor base, a fit for a small kitchen that would rather buy one $279.99 appliance than three separate ones.

How we picked

These picks come from published brand specs, a government recall database, and named third-party measurements, not from testing in our own lab. See how we score for the full method. We weighted five criteria: chopping and slicing at 30%, bowl capacity at 20%, discs and attachments at 20%, cleanup at 10%, and 3-year cost at 20%.

We read the manufacturer product pages directly: cuisinart.com, breville.com, kitchenaid.com, hamiltonbeach.com, and sharkninja.com. We also read TechGearLab’s lab-tested food processor review, which measured motor wattage and cabinet noise in decibels across eight models, including the Cuisinart Custom 14; Consumer Reports’ food processor guide, which lists a 500-watt figure for the KitchenAid 13-Cup that KitchenAid itself never states on its own spec page; and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s SaferProducts.gov recall database, queried directly for “food processors,” to confirm none of these five current models sits under an active recall.

What to look for

• Motor power of at least 600 watts for shredding hard cheese and dense root vegetables without the motor bogging down. Under 500W, expect the machine to slow noticeably on stiff bread dough.
• Bowl capacity of 11 to 14 cups if you cook for a family of four to six in one batch. Under 9 cups, plan on running the machine two or three times for the same recipe.
• At least three core attachments in the box: a slicing disc, a shredding disc, and a chopping or dough blade. A dicing kit is a bonus, not a baseline; it typically adds $30 to $60 when bought separately.
• A stated warranty of 3 years or longer on the full unit, not just the motor. A long motor-only warranty, like Breville’s 30 years, is a good sign, but check the shorter full-unit term too before you buy.
• Dishwasher-safe bowl, lid, and blades, confirmed on the brand’s own product page rather than assumed. Hand-wash-only parts add real minutes to weeknight cleanup.
• A noise figure under 65 dB at 3 feet if you have thin walls or prep before everyone else is up. TechGearLab’s lab tests show roughly a 35 dB spread between the quietest and loudest food processors it has measured.

FAQ

How much should I spend on a food processor?

Budget $80 to $120 for a basic 10- to 12-cup model with two or three attachments, like the Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Duo Plus at $81.99. Spend $230 to $300 for a full-size processor with a dough blade and a reversible shredding disc included, such as the KitchenAid 13-Cup or the Cuisinart Custom 14. Go to $450 or more only if you want the strongest motor and the longest motor warranty in the category, which is where the Breville Sous Chef 12 sits.

Is a bigger bowl always better?

No. A 14-cup bowl like the Cuisinart Custom 14’s is worth it if you batch-cook for six or more people, but it also takes up more counter and cabinet space and is slower to hand-wash than a compact model. For one or two people, an 8- to 10-cup bowl is usually enough, and a smaller machine is easier to store.

Can a blender-food processor combo like the Ninja CrushBOSS replace a dedicated processor?

It can for light use, but with real trade-offs. The Ninja CrushBOSS 3-in-1’s 8-cup food processor bowl is smaller than every dedicated processor in this guide, and its 1,850-watt rating is a peak-watt figure for the whole shared motor base, not a sustained food-processor-only spec. It makes more sense as a space-saving upgrade from a standalone blender than as a replacement for a high-capacity processor. See our best blenders guide for standalone options, and our blender cleaning guide for tips that also apply to the CrushBOSS’s pitcher.

How do I check if a food processor has been recalled?

Search the model name directly at SaferProducts.gov, the CPSC’s public recall database. We queried it for “food processors” on Sep 16, 2026, and confirmed none of the five models in this guide is listed. The most recent Cuisinart food processor recall, from December 2016, covered older four-rivet blades sold between July 1996 and December 2015, not the current DFP-14BCNY production.

Do food processors use much electricity?

No. Even at 15 minutes of use a day, a 720-watt processor like the Cuisinart Custom 14 costs about $33.51 in electricity over three years at the U.S. average residential rate of $0.17 per kWh, far less than the purchase price. A 1,440-watt Breville Sous Chef 12 costs about $67.01 over the same period. Unlike a refrigerator, a food processor draws close to no power when it isn’t actively running.

Why isn’t there a dedicated Ninja food processor on this list?

Because there currently isn’t one to recommend. As of September 2026, SharkNinja’s own site no longer lists a standalone Ninja food processor; the closest current product is the CrushBOSS 3-in-1 system covered above, which processes food but is sold, priced, and built as a blender-first appliance.