Best Food Processor: Cuisinart vs. Breville Sous Chef

A good food processor turns slow prep into seconds of work: cheese shredded, onions chopped, butter cut into flour for a flaky crust. A poor one leaves half a carrot riding on top of the disc, purees one side of the bowl while the other stays in chunks, and ends up in a cupboard because it takes too long to put together and clean.

This guide covers what separates the two, which size fits which kitchen, and three picks: a mid-size Cuisinart that does the everyday jobs with very little fuss, the Breville Sous Chef 16 for cooks who want every attachment, and a 4-cup Cuisinart for small batches.

As an Amazon Associate, Best Utah Real Estate earns from qualifying purchases.

Quick verdict

• Best for most kitchens: the Cuisinart 14-Cup Food Processor. A heavy, compact base, a sharp pulse, a one-piece chopping blade and a short list of parts that store inside the bowl. It has held its place against newer machines from Breville, KitchenAid and Ninja.
• Best for cooks who want every attachment: the Breville Sous Chef 16 Food Processor. The most even shredding and grinding of the large machines, plus an adjustable slicing disc and a full box of extras. It costs far more and takes far more room.
• Best for small jobs: the Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus 4-Cup Food Processor, for herbs, grated Parmesan, small sauces and mayonnaise. It chops only; it does not slice or shred.

The food processors side by side

Food processor	Shop	Capacity	Best at	Watch out for	Price tier
Cuisinart 14-Cup Food Processor	Buy on Amazon	14 cups	Everyday chopping, slicing and shredding with few parts	Fewer extras than the big kits	Mid-range
Breville Sous Chef 16 Food Processor	Buy on Amazon	16 cups	Even shredding and grinding, adjustable slicing, attachments	Big footprint, moisture can collect in the bowl handle	Premium
Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus 4-Cup Food Processor	Buy on Amazon	4 cups	Herbs, cheese, small sauces, mayonnaise	No slicing or shredding	Budget
KitchenAid Pro Line (16-cup)		16 cups	Even shreds, clean slices, thickness set on the machine	Expensive for what it does; pie dough clumped	Premium
Cuisinart Elite 2.0 (16-cup)		16 cups	Pie dough	Uneven shreds and slices, coarse grinding	Premium
Ninja food processor		Full size	Solid slicing and chopping for the money	Small chute, moisture inside the handle	Mid-range
Black+Decker budget food processor		Full size	Occasional use on a tight budget	Shaft fits under the bowl, grooves that trap water	Budget

What size food processor do you need?

Mini (around 4 cups). Small processors are for quick, small jobs: a handful of herbs, a chunk of Parmesan, a little pesto or dressing. Most only chop.

Mid-size (around 14 cups). This is the size most households use. It handles a batch of shredded cheese or a full pie crust, and a well-designed one stores its blade and discs inside the bowl.

Large (16 cups). The 16-cup machines are built around attachment kits: dicing, julienne, whisks, dough blades and mini bowls that nest inside the main bowl. They suit cooks who process big batches often. They also need roughly twice the storage space once the accessories are counted.

What matters most in a food processor

A heavy, compact base

Weight keeps the machine still during heavy mixing and dough. The Cuisinart's heavy base is the model to copy. Light machines make up for their weight with suction-cup feet, which hold well enough but have to be pried off the counter every time the processor needs to move a few inches.

Small gaps around the blade

The S-shaped chopping blade should sit close to both the side and the bottom of the bowl. Wide gaps let food slip past the blade, so some pieces stay large while others turn to paste.

A pulse button that bites

A good pulse gives a quick, strong burst that tosses everything in the bowl and then stops. A weak one spins gently for too long, and food rides around on the blade instead of being cut. Since food cannot be un-pureed, a sharp pulse matters more than extra speed settings.

A feed tube that fits the food

The feed tube should be wide enough to limit pre-trimming but narrow enough to hold food upright as it meets the disc. Inserts for skinny foods such as carrots are a plus. A carrot that tips over in a wide chute rides flat across the shredding disc and leaves a big unshredded piece on top. The Breville's smaller inner tube gave it more control with carrots, and the KitchenAid's removable insert did the same.

Simple controls and few parts

A one-piece blade that drops onto the stem is faster to use and easier to clean than a blade assembled from three or four parts, where food lodges in the joints. A chopping blade, a slicing disc and a shredding disc cover most of what a food processor does. A big box of extras is only worth it for a cook who will actually reach for them.

Adjustable slicing

Adjustable slicing discs set the thickness without swapping discs, from paper-thin cucumbers for pickles to thick slices for a vegetable tray. The Breville and the Cuisinart Elite 2.0 adjust on the disc itself; the KitchenAid Pro Line adjusts on the machine.

Cuisinart vs. Breville: how the big machines compared

Among the 16-cup machines, the Breville Sous Chef 16 was the most consistent overall. It shredded carrots into even strands with little waste, ground almonds into the most uniform texture, matched the best slicer for clean potato slices, and made a flaky, crumbly pie dough. The KitchenAid Pro Line also shredded evenly and sliced the cleanest potatoes, but its pie dough clumped together and its price is hard to justify. The Cuisinart Elite 2.0 was the letdown: carrots stuck on top of the shredding disc, slices left more scraps, and ground almonds were uneven on the coarse side, though its pie dough was as good as the Breville's.

The mid-size Cuisinart 14-cup is a different machine from that Elite 2.0, and it tells a different story. For everyday chopping, slicing and shredding it has stayed ahead of newer Breville, KitchenAid and Ninja models, thanks to its heavy base, tight blade fit, sharp pulse and simple parts, and it sits in a much lower price tier than the Breville. The Breville wins on attachments and the most even big-batch results; the Cuisinart wins on simplicity, storage and value.

Budget and mid-range machines

A Ninja food processor sliced more evenly than a Black+Decker budget model and performs well for the money, but its chute is small and water collects inside the handle. The Black+Decker does a decent job for occasional use, though its shaft fits under the bowl oddly and its grooves are hard to dry.

The picks in detail

Cuisinart 14-Cup Food Processor

This Cuisinart gets the basics right. The feed tube sits toward the back, which leaves a clear view into the bowl while it runs, and it comes with an insert for thin foods. The chopping blade is one piece, the gaps around it are small, and the pulse button delivers a quick burst and then stops.

The bowl and lid are plain, with no ledges where food gets stuck, and the blade and discs fit inside the bowl for storage. With the base on the counter and the bowl on a shelf behind it, it is quick to pull out and put away, so it gets used.

Cuisinart 14-Cup Food ProcessorCheck today’s price on AmazonBuy on Amazon →

Breville Sous Chef 16 Food Processor

The Breville is the machine for a cook who wants every job covered. The adjustable slicing disc is its best feature, moving from very thin cucumber slices to thick ones in a few turns. The shredding disc is reversible for coarse or fine shreds, and the kit adds extras such as a French fry disc. The chute has a narrow inner tube for carrots and a wide opening for big pieces of cabbage, with a safety switch that runs the blade only once the pusher is down.

It gave the most consistent shreds, chop and grind of the large machines. The chopping blade works fast and fine, so shorter pulses are needed for a coarser chop. Two drawbacks: water collects inside the bowl handle after washing, and the kit takes a lot of space.

Breville Sous Chef 16 Food ProcessorCheck today’s price on AmazonBuy on Amazon →

Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus 4-Cup Food Processor

A small processor earns its place on the jobs that are too small for a big bowl: chopping herbs, grating Parmesan, small sauces and mayonnaise. This Cuisinart has a small hole in the lid for drizzling oil, which most small processors lack and which makes emulsions possible. It does not slice or shred, so pair it with a full-size machine or a box grater for those jobs.

Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus 4-Cup Food ProcessorCheck today’s price on AmazonBuy on Amazon →

Food processor vs. blender

A food processor chops, slices, shreds and mixes; a blender purees. The wide, flat bowl of a processor never gets food as smooth as a blender's narrow jar, which keeps everything pulled down onto the blades. Food processors also have a liquid limit marked on the bowl because the center stem is open. For smoothies and silky soups, a full-size blender is the better tool, and an immersion blender purees soup right in the pot.

Tips for better results

• Cut food to fit. Halve or quarter food so it fits the feed tube and reaches the disc, and cut chunks to an even size for an even chop.
• Pulse slowly. Hold the pulse button long enough for the blade to reach full speed, then release. A couple of pulses too many turns a coarse mix into paste.
• Use the freezer. Freeze butter before cutting it into flour for a flakier crust. Chill meat before grinding and firm up cheese for about 15 minutes before shredding.
• Keep hands and tools out. Never push food down the feed tube with fingers or a spatula; use the pusher.

How to clean a food processor

• Hand-wash the bowl, lid and blade in hot, soapy water. The dishwasher fogs the clear plastic, which makes it hard to see the food, and dulls the blade.
• Loosen sticky messes by adding a little dish soap and hot water to the bowl and running it for a few seconds, then finish the bowl and blade by hand.
• Wipe the base with a damp cloth or all-purpose spray, always unplugged. Never put the base in water.
• Dry the handle and grooves. On bowls with hollow handles or deep grooves, tip out trapped water and let the parts air-dry fully.

Who should buy which

• Most home cooks: the Cuisinart 14-Cup Food Processor, for reliable everyday chopping, slicing and shredding with little to assemble or store.
• Daily cooks and big-batch prep: the Breville Sous Chef 16 Food Processor, for adjustable slicing, the most even results and every attachment.
• Small kitchens and small jobs: the Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus 4-Cup Food Processor, for herbs, sauces and mayonnaise.