You’ll find replacement bowls, food pushers, blades, and various other attachments for the Cuisinart Custom 14 and the Breville Sous Chef 16 Pro (though we should note that they can be quite expensive). You can sometimes find cheaper, secondhand parts on eBay, but just be sure you get the right model number. Another drawback to the Sous Chef is that it made a slightly looser mayonnaise than the Cuisinart Custom 14 and the mini processors we tested. Also, its mini bowl insert did not chop almonds evenly, so we recommend using its 16-cup bowl for this task. This mini, 3.5-cup processor is too small for making bread dough or coleslaw, but it’s the ideal size for chopping one onion or making small batches of mayo or vinaigrette.
For folks who like to do a lot of prepping ahead, extra bowls with covers are available for separate purchase. The KitchenAid chopped more evenly than the other mini processors we tested, and it did so quickly. It diced onions more consistently than the Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus, and it chopped a quartered tomato evenly—we had to cut a tomato into smaller pieces to get the same results using other models. The Food Chopper also minced parsley cleanly, whereas the Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus tore it, causing it to oxidize faster. One task this processor doesn’t excel at is chopping whole almonds evenly, but that’s typical of most mini choppers. We’ve been long-term testing the Cuisinart Custom 14 since 2013, and it remains a workhorse in the kitchen.
At 3.5 cups, it takes up minimal counter space; even snug kitchens should be able to fit this on the counter without issue. The Cuisinart’s three-year warranty on parts and five-year warranty on the motor aren’t the best among the models we tested, but they’re still pretty good. And Cuisinart’s food processors have cuisinart choppers a solid reputation for overall durability—anecdotally, we know of some that have lasted for decades. By contrast, our upgrade pick, the Breville Sous Chef 16 Pro, comes with a plethora of disks and accessories, requiring more storage space. At only 15 inches tall, the Cuisinart should also fit under most cupboards.
To help you find the best food choppers for all your kitchen prep, we sent top-rated choppers to our experienced product tester. Each one was carefully assessed during hours of home kitchen testing and used to chop nuts, garlic, and various vegetables. Then, the food choppers were all rated on design, ease of use, size, ease of cleaning, convenience, overall effectiveness, and overall value.
Most mini choppers don’t have hefty bases like full-size processors do, and the Food Chopper is no exception. However, at just under 2 pounds, it has a slightly heavier base than other mini models, which helps keep it stable. And we didn’t notice any straining or stuttering of this model’s 240-watt motor, even when it was chopping a fibrous jumbo carrot. As long as you don’t try to use the Food Chopper for heavy tasks, such as making nut butter, we don’t think there’s much risk of burning out the motor.
This processor also comes with a limited one-year product warranty and has a 25-year warranty on the motor—by far the longest warranty on a motor of any of the models we tested. This KitchenAid comes with relatively few parts and it disassembles easily for cleaning. We especially appreciate that the bowl has a handle, since we struggled cuisinart air fryer oven to remove bowls that didn’t have one, especially when we were working with greasy hands. The Food Chopper is covered by a one-year warranty, which is standard for appliances in this price range, and you can get the base in a wide range of colors. Most blades are made of stainless steel, because they can withstand rust or corrosion.
If you don’t want to store the attachments in the bowl, it would be worthwhile to purchase a case for about $30. Christine Cyr Clisset is a deputy editor overseeing home coverage for Wirecutter. She previously edited cookbooks and craft books for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and she started reviewing kitchen gear back in 2013. She sews many of her own clothes, which has made her obsessive about high-quality fabrics—whether in a dress or bedsheets.
However, since this was the only task this model excelled at, we don’t think it’s best for most people. One Wirecutter staffer, who was initially skeptical of the large, 14-cup bowl capacity, has said that so far their Cuisinart hasn’t been too small or too large for any preparations. Another staffer (who admitted to being a little rough on her machine) replaced her Cuisinart with a new one after 11 years of use. Meanwhile, senior kitchen and appliance editor Marguerite Preston still uses a decades-old Cuisinart Custom 14 that she inherited from her parents.