Cuisinart 14 Cup Custom Food Processor review

The Cuisinart 14 Cup Custom Food Processor has a 720-watt motor that easily completed all of our tests, but it’s also the quietest model we tested. Reaching just 65.2 dBA, this machine is an excellent pick if you’re looking for a versatile model with an ultra-quiet operation. 

Other perks like its extra-large feed chute and easy paddle controls make it one of our top picks for the best food processors as you will see in our Cuisinart 14 Cup Custom Food Processor review.  

Cuisinart 14 Cup Custom Food Processor: Price and availability

The Cuisinart 14 Cup Custom Food Processor is available from Bed Bath & Beyond and Williams-Sonoma for $249. While it’s a higher-priced model, it carries a three-year limited manufacturer’s warranty. It comes in black, stainless steel, and white. 

Cuisinart 14 Cup Custom Food Processor review: Design

The Cuisinart 14 Cup Custom Food Processor features a simple yet effective design. It’s aesthetically pleasing with its clean lines and modern style. Unlike most other models, which feature push buttons, this machine features two generously sized paddles at its base, one for on, and one for off/pulse. They’re easy to use, even when your hands are wet or slippery, and they add to this model’s clean finish. There’s no option to increase or decrease the machine’s power. 

Measuring 9.75 x 7.75 x 15.75 inches, this machine is on the smaller side, but has a solid feel. It weighs 20 pounds, which is heavy given its size, so it does require some strength to move around. In comparison, the Magimix Food Processor 14 Cup measures 10 x 16.75 x 8.25 inches and weighs 17 pounds.

This food processor features a bowl with a handle that locks so it’s in the center of the machine’s front. The bowl locks in easily, and this positioning makes it ideal for right- and left-handed cooks.

This machine lacks some of the extra accessories and features of others, but it still puts in a top performance. It includes a slicing disc, shredding disc, and a blade for chopping and mixing. The feed tube is generously sized and features a removable inner feed tube with a pusher for smaller ingredients. The machine’s design may be more basic when compared to other models, but it easily handled all of our tests. It would benefit from a dough blade and either an adjustable or multiple slicing blades for more versatility.

Cuisinart 14 Cup Custom Food Processor review: Performance

This food processor only comes with one power setting, but that didn’t matter for any of our tests. 

This machine was one of the best at mixing cookie dough. It quickly and thoroughly blended butter and sugar together, a task that other machines struggled with. It also handled the addition of flour with no issue or strain. The result was a thorough, even blend and dough that was light and soft. (The baked cookies were also some of the lightest and softest that resulted from any of our tests.)

When pureeing hummus, this food processor excelled again. It easily mixed the hummus and required only occasional scraping. There was no buildup underneath the blade, and the finished hummus was smooth and the consistency was fine. 

The machine’s quiet operation was particularly valuable during this test, since we could let it run for the required three to four minutes at a time without the noise becoming overwhelming. In fact, this machine reached just 65.2 dBA, making it the quietest model we tested. Our top pick, the Magimix Food Processor 14 Cup, was the second-quietest at 79.2 dBA.

This machine also handled shredding and slicing tasks easily. It sliced a whole russet potato in just two seconds, an incredibly fast process. The slices were on the larger size, but consistent. It also sliced a carrot in six seconds, again with consistent results.

Shredding cheese was also easy — the machine took approximately 10 seconds to shred a ⅓-pound block of cheddar cheese. It produced even shreds. Everything was processed during these tests, with no excess food catching in the discs or lid.

The food processor also easily chopped an onion in eight seconds. We had to slice the onion in half to fit it into the chute. 

The two halves bounced around a fair bit because of the larger bowl size. However, the resulting pieces were evenly chopped.

Cuisinart 14 Cup Custom Food Processor review: Ease of use and cleaning

This machine may have a more basic design, but it’s very easy to use. There’s no question about how to operate the paddles on the front, and the bowl fits on and aligns easily. 

The food processor’s weight makes it slightly cumbersome to move around, but it also keeps it firmly in place on the counter. The chute includes a pusher and insert, but these pieces are all easy to clean by hand if needed.

Inserting the blade or adding the discs is easy and relatively intuitive. The discs align easily and simply drop down onto the disc stem. All of the machine’s detachable parts are dishwasher safe for easy cleaning.

The base also easily wipes clean, though our stainless steel model did require buffing to avoid streaks as it dried. The compact size makes it easy to store, and the accessories fit inside the bowl to save additional space.

Cuisinart 14 Cup Custom Food Processor: Verdict

The Cuisinart 14 Cup Custom Food Processor has a powerful motor and easily handled all of our tests, including quickly blending cookie dough. It did all of this while also being the quietest model we tested. The grating and slicing discs worked well, and the machine is easy to assemble, disassemble, and clean. While it doesn’t have the wide array of accessories that some other food processors have, its value is in its simplicity and its ease of use. 

This food processor is backed by a three-year limited manufacturer’s warranty. While its price is on the higher side, it puts in a professional performance that can easily handle the demands, including the high-capacity needs, of a home cook. We ranked this food processor third overall because of its consistent performance and quiet operation. It’s quieter than our top pick, the Magimix Food Processor 14 Cup, and only slight differences, like the Cuisinart’s lack of extra attachments and its single power control pushed it down into the third-place rank. 

If you’re looking for a food processor at a lower price point, consider the Hamilton Beach Bowl Scraper 10 Cup Food Processor. The Hamilton Beach Bowl Scraper 10 Cup Food Processor was our fourth-place pick, and despite its lower price point, it offered plenty of power and performed well in most tests. The lower price does come with some disadvantages, including a loud operation and limited attachments.