Honest Review: KitchenAid 5 Cup Cordless Food Processor

This 5-cup cordless food processor is great if:

• You make a lot of recipes where a full size food processor is too big, but a mini food processor is too small.
• You have a small kitchen and don't have space for a full size food processor. The 5 cup bowl will be big enough to do a lot of your basic chopping and processing tasks.
• Your kitchen is awkwardly configured and it's not easy to set up appliances near the outlets. Or if you don't want to have to be near an outlet to use it.
• You can't lift heavy appliances and don't have space to leave a big food processor out on the counter. At just 3 pounds, this 5-cup cordless food processor is easy to lift and carry.
• You live alone or with one or two other people and make a lot of small batch meals and recipes.

What's in the box:

• 5-Cup Food Chopper Bowl with Pour Spout
• Locking Food Chopper Lid with "Drizzle Basin"
• Cordless Food Processor base with 2 speed settings
• Two-piece stainless steel blade
• Plastic whisk attachment
• Charging cord

Battery life:

• Battery type: Rechargeable lithium ion
• Charge duration: According to the KitchenAid Review Team, "The food chopper when fully charged will hold the charge for 2 hours while in use." In my experience, most of the time, you don't need to be running it for longer than a minute at a time, so the battery life feels very long. But when truly running it non-stop (e.g. making mayonnaise) I found the battery life felt much shorter than that and needed recharging sooner than expected.
• How long to charge: 2 hours for a full charge. After about 10 minutes of charging, it has enough power to be used for a brief period — 5-10 mins of active use or less. This is plenty of time for most chopping tasks!
• Use while charging: You can't use the KitchenAid 5 Cup Cordless Food Chopper while it's charging.

The pros of the 5 cup cordless food processor:

• Long battery life. With a charge that lasts for two hours of active use, you can honestly go months before you need to charge it again. I had mine for two months before the charging light turned on and three months before I needed to charge it.
• You can use it anywhere. The cordless design means you don't need to be standing next to an outlet in order to use it. This is the biggest selling point, imo. You can even carry it around with you while you're running it and still have a hand free thanks to...
• One-handed operation. To run the food processor, simply press down on the tab at the top of the handle. Gentle pressure is all it needs.
• Small footprint. With a base that's just 5.25" across and a tall, narrow bowl, the 5 cup food processor takes up very little space on your counter and in your cupboards.
• The two-part blade is easy to clean. The blade is two parts — a tall center column and then a ring with curved chopping blades on either side that slides onto the column. Being able to take the two pieces apart makes it much easier to clean around the base of the blades.
• Dishwasher safe. Everything except for the base of the food chopper is dishwasher safe.
• You can use the 3.5 cup bowl and blade on it. If you already have the 3.5 cup mini food processor or the 5 cup corded food processor, the bowl and blade and lid will all work on the cordless food processor base. This is my personal favorite pro!!! I love that KitchenAid made them interchangeable.
• The lid can be aligned and locked in place with just one hand. Perfect if you have arthritis or dexterity issues. I find I do usually need two hands to twist the bowl off the base, but it's nice that opening the lid can be done one handed if needed.

The CONS of the 5 cup cordless food processor:

• No locking blade. When you tilt the food processor to pour, the center column and blade will slide forward. They don't lock into the bowl to stay in place while pouring.
• Too small to handle tough doughs. If you're hoping to use this 5 cup food processor to make pie dough, pasta dough, or pizza dough, you will be disappointed. The bowl is too tall and narrow and also too small to handle tough doughs well. You could probably do a very, very small batch dough in it, but there are other easier methods than using a food processor in those cases.
• You need to keep track of the charging cord. Since you don't have to charge the KitchenAid 5 cup cordless food processor that often, you'll want to make sure you put the charging cord somewhere you'll remember it (crucial in an ADHD kitchen like mine). This is the downside to its long battery life! If you do misplace your charger, you can order a replacement from KitchenAid.
• Can't be used while charging. The charging port is to the left of the sliding switch on the front of the food processor. It slides left and right when you move the switch. It only lines up to reveal the charging port itself when the switch is slid all the way to the left into the "off" position. Charging is fast, but it is frustrating that you can't use it while it charges.
• It can't run on its own. Because you need to be actively squeezing the handle in order for it to run, you can't walk away from it while it's running. There is no "stay on" setting or switch. This is the same for the 3.5 cup and 5 cup corded models.
• Slight delay before it starts. When you press down on the handle to start the food processor, there's a slight 1-2 second delay before it begins. It can feel a little weird if you're trying to do quick pulses. This is such a minor "con" I almost didn't include it.

Here's what happened:

Cordless 5 Cup Chopper vs Corded 3.5 Cup Chopper

The biggest differences between these two models are:

• Bowl and overall size. One is smaller than the other.
• Power source. One needs to be charged, while the other one doesn't. The 3.5 cup chopper has a cord that coils neatly into the base, while the 5 cup cordless chopper has a detachable charging cord that you need to keep track of.
• Cost. The 3.5 cup food chopper retails for $54.99 compared to the cordless 5 cup model which retails for $99.99, though you can usually find both on sale for less.
• Colors. The 3.5 cup chopper is available in 10 colors, while the 5 cup is only available in 7.
• Attachments. The 3.5 cup chopper has just one blade, while the 5 cup chopper comes with interchangeable blade and whisk attachments.
• Speeds. The 3.5 cup chopper has two speed settings: chop and puree, while the 5 cup chopper has two speed settings marked by numbers.
• Handle. A small difference but the corded model has a black handle that connects back to the base at the bottom. The cordless model has a clear handle with an open bottom.

Other than that they both have the same small footprint and clean lined design.

The four biggest differences between these two models are:

• Power source. One needs to be charged, while the other one doesn't.
• Cost. The cordless model retails for $99.99 while the corded 5-cup food chopper retails for $64.99 on the KitchenAid site.
• Colors. The cordless 5-cup food chopper is available in 7 colors (Empire Red, Black Matte, Passion Red, Blue Velvet, Matte Charcoal Grey, Onyx Black, and White) while the corded model is available in 6 colors (Empire Red, Black Matte, Contour Silver, White, Matte White, and Onyx Black).
• Handle. The corded model has a black handle that connects back to the base at the bottom. The cordless model has a clear handle with an open bottom.

If you're prone to losing charging cords, on a tighter budget, aren't interested in making emulsifications, or really want that locking center column, then the smaller corded food chopper is right for you. Both are great small appliances, you really can't go wrong either way.

But if I only had one, I'd choose the cordless 5 cup food chopper.