What do you use your food processor for?

[Melaine]

I am considering getting one. I have never had one before but now we are following a strict Whole Foods diet and I am thinking it would be really helpful. I do hate to have another appliance though! What do you use yours for?

[mmsmom]

I have the Ninja system which has a blender, smoothie jars and a food processor in one. I use the food processor to make pizza dough and pie crust and when I need to shred a large amount of vegetables or cheese. It’s one appliance I could probably do without but will keep since it is part of the system.

[JBaxter]

I also have the ninja system also. I use it to make smoothies but also chop onions and really what ever else needs chopped

[Aishe]

I don't use it as much as I used to since we got a Vitamix, but I do like having it. I despise grating so I always use it for that, even if it's just a carrot or two. It makes very quick work of grated cheese if you ever make homemade pizza (not sure if that's allowed on a Whole Foods diet). I always use it for pie crusts and for some cookie doughs. It's actually pretty useful for bread dough as well. I almost never use it to slice or chop stuff with one exception: I buy big bags of peeled garlic at Costco, then finely chop in the food processor and freeze. Actually, that's probably how I use it the most. As I said, it's nice to have, but it's definitely not something I would consider a necessity.

If you buy a used one, you should know that there was a recall recently on the blade for several Cuisinart models. They send out a replacement pretty quickly, though.

[abh5e8]

I use mine a lot and I should say we generally follow a whole foods diet. Hummus, shredded cheese, chopped and grated and sliced veggies, diy nut butters areas the main things I use it for.

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[urquie]

Chopping pecans for baking and oatmeal
slicing cabbage (slicer blade makes longer pieces that shredding blade)
slicing carrots and celery for soup (recently started slicing onions too)
slicing chicken kielbasa for soup (ends up coin size unless I cut it in half the long way first, for half moons)
chopping onions for soup
Shredded cheese
chopper blade for hummus (too hard to get it out of the vitamin)
slicing pepperoncini (Costco size jars of whole pepperoncini)
chopper blade for Ina Garten's awesome Szechuan Noodles sauce
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/szechuan-noodles-recipe-1915669
Chopper blade for gazpacho, but it's been a long time
Chopper blade for cutting butter into dough (biscuit)

[hillview]

I don’t use it that often — I just got one for Christmas as there was a huge sale. I have a cuisinart. I had a mini prep that I use for things like nuts (for say the top of a cake). It is easier to clean vs my vitamix. I used it for a cream cheese and salmon spread for example. That said I cook daily and use it maybe once a month. Another thing I’ve used it for, shredding carrots for carrot cake. Shredding cheese for large cheese involved things (it is super fast vs doing it manually — that said I could do these by hand)

[PunkyBoo]

We also have the ninja system one. I use it infrequently for grating zucchini for our favorite zucchini bread, and often for banana "ice cream".

[123LuckyMom]

Grating, chopping, slicing, mixing some batters. Mostly I use it for chopping/mincing. I probably use mine at least once a week, often more.


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[zukeypur]

We also have the ninja system one. I use it infrequently for grating zucchini for our favorite zucchini bread, and often for banana "ice cream".

How do you grate zucchini in yours? Mine only came with a processing blade. I still have my old food processor for the slicing and grating disc. I got my Ninja system from Costco.

I just used mine for hummus.

[PunkyBoo]

How do you grate zucchini in yours? Mine only came with a processing blade. I still have my old food processor for the slicing and grating disc. I got my Ninja system from Costco.

I just used mine for hummus.
Hmm, I also got it at Costco and it came with several blades, including the grating one.

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[Globetrotter]

I recently found my old cuisinart and was wondering the same thing! I
Don’t think I EVER used the slicing or grating blades, only the chopping function.

[okinawama]

For the size and hassle of cleaning, if it weren't for it being gifted to us, we wouldn't own one. My family and I follow a whole foods diet, and I use it once or twice a year.

[athompson]

I have a KitchenAid food processor and I love it. I had a lower-end one for years and I wish I'd gotten this one sooner.
We use ours most often for:
making peanut butter
guacamole
making pizza crust
pesto
chopping, grating, slicing vegetables
grating cheese
grating zucchini for bread and muffins
grating cabbage and carrots for slaw
hummus
Shredding, slicing or grating potatoes
Making mayo and butter are on my list, but I haven't done that yet.

[specialp]

Mainly for riced cauliflower (I hate frozen and the pre-riced kind you find in the produce section which is more cubed), nuts, oatmeal to make pancakes, onion (if chopped in here, kids can't detect it), and occasionally cheese.

Like it, glad to have it, use it probably 1 or 2x per month, but it would be a first to go if I had to give up kitchen appliances due to space.

[bw52]

I use mine for making pie crust and grating large amounts of cheese and potatoes.

Use it for other things too, but those I do more frequently.

[Kindra178]

I totally want one to grate cheese! I hate cleaning off preshredded cheese off plates. Following and ty for posting!


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[mikala]

I use it to grate cheese, make pesto and salsa, chop nuts. I like to grate my own cheese because it's often cheaper and doesn't have added anti caking ingredients that can make sauces and dips gritty.

I use it anytime I need to slice a lot of vegetables into thin slices like cucumbers, potatoes, celery, beets. We make a ton of slaws in the summer using fresh veggies.

[specialp]

make pesto

I forgot about pesto. We do use it a ton in the summer to make pesto.

[barkley1]

For the size and hassle of cleaning, if it weren't for it being gifted to us, we wouldn't own one. My family and I follow a whole foods diet, and I use it once or twice a year.

Same. Honestly, I'd never get my money's worth if I had bought it. I shred cheese sometimes, make slaw (that my family won't eat) once or twice a summer. It's just heavy, a hassle to get in and out of the cabinet, and takes up a lot of space in the dishwasher.

[Myira]

For the size and hassle of cleaning, if it weren't for it being gifted to us, we wouldn't own one. My family and I follow a whole foods diet, and I use it once or twice a year.

Absolutely the same here. We have owned a KitchenAid one for years and I finally moved it to the utility room since it was just occupying counter space. I own a Vitamix which we use mainly for smoothies and a magic bullet(I hate this thing, but it has a small footprint, easy to wash & rinse) that I use for a making a quick dip, puree etc.

I recently got this manual chopper https://www.amazon.com/ZYLISS-Easy-Chopper-Manual-Processor/dp/B00UZEZ196/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1517408803&sr=8-2&keywords=zyliss+chopper+mini, so I use it to chop onions or make salsa or guacamole.

[nfceagles]

For those of you looking for slicing and grating, I recently bought a salad shooter when my cheese grater broke and I was looking for something easier to do large quantities. It works great for that stuff. I put a Costco size block of cheese through it, shoot it into a gallon ziploc bag, and use that for shredded cheese.


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[kep]

I pretty much just use ours to grate cheese. I am really picky about how our veggies are chopped that I usually just do them by hand. It’s also usually faster for me to just chop with a knife than to have to clean the food processor.

[jgenie]

We had one FOREVER and we never used it. It was part of a blender set and the base burned out so we trashed it. I keep trying to talk myself into buying a replacement but I keep thinking back to all those years we had one and never used it and decide against it. Post back if you get one and end up using it a lot!!


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[Melaine]

Thanks for all the responses! You guys totally confirmed exactly why I am torn about this purchase. The two particular recipes I wanted to make right now are Lara Bars and black bean brownies. I made the brownies in the blender and they were ok but I know the FP would have worked better. I am not even sure if I should try the Lara bars in the blender. Maybe I should google that. It really might be something I just use for the short time while my daughter and I are on these pretty strict elimination diets, so maybe the solution is to try to find one on at a thrift store.

[urquie]

I forgot about homemade Lara bars, they are super easy to make in the food processor. :-)

[Aishe]

Thanks for all the responses! You guys totally confirmed exactly why I am torn about this purchase. The two particular recipes I wanted to make right now are Lara Bars and black bean brownies. I made the brownies in the blender and they were ok but I know the FP would have worked better. I am not even sure if I should try the Lara bars in the blender. Maybe I should google that. It really might be something I just use for the short time while my daughter and I are on these pretty strict elimination diets, so maybe the solution is to try to find one on at a thrift store.

Do you know anyone who could lend you a FP, just to see how you like it?

Alternatively, the Hamilton Beach food processors get great reviews and are very inexpensive compared to Cuisinart or Kitchenaid. Maybe try one of those? The 8 cup is only $30: https://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-70740-8-Cup-Processor/dp/B00755KNCS/

[lizzywednesday]

I have a Cuisinart brand MiniPrep that I use primarily for chopping/grinding nuts and chopping pre-made candied fruit peel.

I also have a larger processor that includes all the fancy discs and a smaller bowl attachment (so, I guess I could get rid of the MiniPrep), but we've so far only used it to make (nut-free) pesto and a cream-cheese, berry, and yogurt fruit dip (both recipes from Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes.)

Many recipes I've got, especially for stuff like pie crust, have instructions that call for the use of a food processor, too. It's useful for stuff I don't want to over-handle, though I don't often think about it before I do!

Until recently, I usually forgot I had it, but have pulled it out to keep it in the kitchen, rather than in a closet, in the original box.

I usually use my blender for smoothies, sauces, and marinades.