I’m not going to lie—I used to side-eye recipes that called for a food processor to knead dough. No matter how many times I used one to cut butter into flour for a pie crust or whip together flour and water for pizza dough, it just never yielded great results. Then we got the Cuisinart 14-Cup Food Processor. Not to be hyperbolic, but the low-power model we previously had felt like a toy in comparison. All of a sudden our pie crusts were flaky, our pizzas were tall and puffy, and mixing pasta dough was no longer a chore. 

The beauty of the Cuisinart is in its simplicity: its heavy base keeps it anchored to the counter, its powerful motor dices, cuts, chops, and slices in mere seconds, and it has just two switches (on/off and pulse). That’s it. It has an S-shaped blade, a slicing disk, and a grating disk, so you can swap one out for whatever you’re tackling and it’s ready to go. We use it for a lot of things: aforementioned doughs, chopping mirepoix, dicing sofrito, making mayonnaise, and grating hard cheeses. While it’s undoubtedly powerful, in our testing it could still slice potatoes precisely, and the motor stops spinning the moment you lift your finger from the pulse switch. It’s quiet, too—no more leaf blower-loud kitchen prep.

FAQs

How do you use the Cuisinart food processor?

The Cuisinart food processor is easy to set up and use. Just attach the mixing bowl to the base, seat the blade over the motor, and lock the lid on. Once the lid is locked, the safety latch is engaged and you can either run it continuously with the on/off switch or use the manual pulse option.

How much does the Cuisinart food processor weigh?

The Cuisinart Food Processor’s base is heavy-duty (it weighs 18 pounds!), which keeps it planted on the counter. The rubber feet on the bottom also help stop it from jumping around. 

What can I use my food processor for?

The Cuisinart’s S-shaped blade can chop or dice vegetables, and it can also mix pie dough, pizza dough, and pasta dough. You can also switch out the blade for the slicing disk, which can neatly cut things like potatoes, carrots, and tomatoes into rounds, or swap for the grating disk to process cheeses quickly.

Why We’re the Experts

• Jesse Raub was the commerce writer for Serious Eats.
• He worked in the specialty coffee industry for more than 15 years and is also an avid home cook.
• We’ve separately tested (and re-tested) food processors.