KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor review: powerful, versatile and insanely sharp

In T3’s KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor review, I put this versatile food processor to the test to see if it lives up to its reputation… and it’s safe to say this is one of my favourite appliances I’ve tried this year.

The best food processors chop, grate, pulse and pulverise food quickly and without breaking up a sweat. While there are some foods you should never put in a food processor, the majority of processors make light work of whatever you throw into it, and the KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor is no exception.

The KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor 5KFP0921 (to give it its full name) is dubbed as a “compact, highly versatile 2.1L food processor to help busy cooks do more.” As a fairly slow and faffy cook, the KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor has definitely come in handy in my kitchen… here’s my full review.

• Buy the KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor at KitchenAid
• Buy the KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor at Amazon

KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor review: Unboxing

The KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor arrived in a large box with lots of recyclable packaging, which I always give top points for! In the box was the food processor base, work bowl with hinged lid, another hinged lid with feed tube and food pusher, multi-purpose S blade, dough blade, 4mm slicing and shredding disc, julienne disc, fridge lid, whisk accessory and drive adapter… wow!

I tried out the KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor in the Almond Cream colour but there’s plenty of colourways to choose from including Matte Black, Onyx Black, Pistachio, Contour Silver and the iconic Empire Red that KitchenAid is known for. All the attachments came with protective packaging, like strips of tapes over the sharp parts of each accessory. I definitely appreciated this as I’m incredibly clumsy and would have probably accidentally cut myself without those measures in place!

KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor review: Design and features

The KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor has a 2.1-litre bowl which isn’t the biggest (4L) from KitchenAid but it also isn’t the smallest (1.19L). I found the capacity to be perfectly adequate for whizzing up herbs and vegetables, and it could take a large amount of ingredients packed in loosely and tightly.

The base of the KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor is sleek and simple, and the controls are pretty self explanatory. Once you attach the Snap & Go bowl and latched lid, you can choose between two different speeds (high or low) and there’s a Pulse button for quick and precise bursts of power. The easy-press buttons are straightforward and have illuminated LED controls for a more user-friendly experience.

With the KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor, KitchenAid has thought of everything and comes with multiple attachments that chop, slice, grate, stir, whip, whisk and puree anything you put in it. It also comes with a julienne disc which has different shapes and length of grates for thin and even cuts. The attachments are all expertly designed and are insanely sharp.

Despite the plethora of accessories that come with the processor, everything about the KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor is sleek, compact and takes up very little space in your kitchen. All the accessories can fit inside the bowl and the cord isn’t too long, so it can be wrapped around the base so it can fit into the smallest of spaces. The design of the KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor is iconic and attractive so if you want to look at it all the time, it’ll fit nicely on your countertop.

KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor review: Performance

I was very excited to try out the KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor, mainly because I’ve been a huge fan of the KitchenAid brand for a while. After trying a few of my favourite recipes in it, I’ve started to use the KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor regularly and favour it over other cooking techniques like my hand blender and pestle and mortar.

The best thing I made with the KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor was pesto. I make pesto at least once a week and found the processor with the multi-purpose S blade easy to glide and munch through the pine nuts, basil and olive oil. I did find that it needed a good glug of liquid but it powered through everything quickly, easily and smoothly. The same can be said for breadcrumbs and I enjoyed using the dough blade to make cinnamon rolls, which came out amazingly.

One negative I had was the S blade was a bit too sharp. Of course, on food this sharpness was very much appreciated but my fiancé's finger was less happy about it! If you’re clumsy, it’s worth keeping this in mind and maybe wrapping up the blades to prevent any accidental cuts or the blade dulling quicker.

Some of the attachments and main bowl were a little tricky to clean, and the cable could be a little longer, but overall, I can’t complain about this processors’ performance. I loved having all the attachments at the ready to make salads, sauces, coleslaw and bread dough so if you need a versatile cooking appliance, the KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor is definitely one to consider.

KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor review: Price

The KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor is £199 and available to buy at KitchenAid and select retailers like Amazon, B&Q and Lakeland. I’d say the KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor is reasonably priced, especially considering its many attachments and performance. I’ll definitely have the KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor in my kitchen for a while and expect it to last a long time.

KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor review: Verdict

Honestly, I have nothing bad to say about the KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor. It does its job well, has an admirable performance and it can do much more than many of its competitors. The design of the KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor is attractive, iconic and high quality, and its attachments have been meticulously designed for all your chopping and food preparation needs.

KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor review: Alternatives to consider

A good alternative to the KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor is the Bosch MUM59340GB Kitchen Machine. It has a good amount of accessories, just like the KitchenAid 2.1L Food Processor and acts as a food processor and stand mixer in one. Both appliances have a similar price tag, although the Bosch model is pretty big and bulky!

If you want a cheap food processor, the NutriBullet Magic Bullet Kitchen Express is affordable, compact and easy to use. It’s a 2-in-1 blender and processor and has a nice design with lots of accessories to play with.