Cuisinart Elemental 8 Cup Food Processor review

The Cuisinart Elemental 8 Cup Food Processor is an economically priced machine that still offers plenty of versatility and a solid performance. Its 350-watt motor is on the lower power end, but this food processor easily completed most of our tasks. 

Its smaller size and lightweight design makes it a practical option for many cooks, especially those who need to lift it into and out of a cabinet frequently. Thanks to its large buttons and overall design, it’s easy and intuitive to use as you will see in our Cuisinart Elemental 8 Cup Food Processor review. That’s why it’s one of our best food processors. 

Cuisinart Elemental 8 Cup Food Processor review: Price and availability

The Cuisinart Elemental 8 Cup Food Processor is available from Bed Bath & Beyond for $99.99. It’s backed by a two-year limited warranty and is available in a gunmetal finish. 

Cuisinart Elemental 8 Cup Food Processor review: Design

The Cuisinart Elemental 8 Cup Food Processor features a compact design, measuring 7.6 x 9.58 x 15.19 inches. Its sleek lines and rounded corners create an aesthetically pleasing look, and the machine is more compact than many others. The rubberized buttons offer excellent traction, even when your hands are wet, making for easy operation. The buttons offer pulse, low, high, and off settings for a simple operation that still gives you control of the machine’s intensity. 

The gunmetal finish is a neutral color that will fit in with many decor schemes, including kitchens with stainless steel appliances. The food processor takes up relatively little counter space, so it could easily be left on display. It also weighs just 10.2 pounds, so moving it around takes little effort. Its suction cup feet create a secure hold against counter surfaces, so though it’s a lighter food processor, it doesn’t walk or wobble. It also features a 30-inch cord, making it easy to reach available plugs.

This food processor includes both an 8-cup and a 3-cup work bowl, as well as a chopping blade, fine/medium slicing disc, fine/medium shredding disc, mixing blade, dough blade, and food pusher. The assortment of accessories add to its versatility and overall value, but the machine lacks any sort of accessory storage container.

Cuisinart Elemental 8 Cup Food Processor review: Performance

This food processor completed most of our tests successfully and with ease, even with the lower-power 350-watt motor. The motor never felt underpowered, and the machine never strained, even when mixing cookie dough. 

This machine easily pureed hummus, resulting in a smooth and even blend. In fact, it was one of the best performers on this test, likely due in part to its smaller capacity that made for a more consistent puree. 

It performed equally well when it came to slicing. It sliced an entire russet potato in five seconds and produced nice, even slices. The large feed chute meant we were able to feed the potato in whole, which helped to minimize prep time.

The food processor also easily sliced a carrot in six seconds. The slices were consistent and the two slicing blade widths gave some control over the thickness.

When it came to grating cheese, this food processor had mixed results. It worked its way through a ⅓-pound block of cheddar in just five seconds. While the cheese was grated well and evenly, a lot was pushed up into the lid during the grating process, particularly between the base of the feed chute and the edge of the lid.

Image 1 of 2

The dough blade mixed cookie dough well and easily. The machine seemed to struggle a bit when we added in the flour at the end, and it took a while to fully mix that in. However, ultimately, the dough was well-mixed and smooth.

Chopping an onion wasn’t as successful as the other tests. The blade mainly tossed the onion around, and we let the machine run for 20 seconds before the onion was chopped. The chopped pieces were inconsistent, with some being close to pureed and others being much larger pieces.

This food processor reached 83.4 dBA, making it one of the quieter models that we tested. The quietest model, the Cuisinart 14 Cup Custom Food Processor, reached 65.2 dBA.

Cuisinart Elemental 8 Cup Food Processor review: Ease of use and cleaning

Many factors contribute to this food processor’s overall ease of use. Its large chute saves on pre-cutting, and the food pusher gives you control over shredding and slicing. 

The bowl easily aligns and locks onto the base, and once in place, the handle is centered in the front. This design is advantageous to both right- and left-handed users. The lid also aligns and locks into place easily without requiring any real force. The attachments are intuitive to use, dropping into place and naturally aligning themselves. The blades fit securely on the spindle and are easy to insert and remove.

The buttons are large, rubberized, and easy to use, too. While the food processor lacks in extra controls like more speed settings and slicing thickness adjustments, its somewhat simple design makes it easy to use. It’s not as intimidating as more complex models can be, and it’s a great choice for a cook looking for their first food processor.

All of the removable parts are dishwasher-safe, making for easy cleanup. The buttons wipe down easily, and the body is quick to clean without leaving behind any streaks.

Cuisinart Elemental 8 Cup Food Processor review: Verdict

The Cuisinart Elemental 8 Cup Food Processor offers great value. It’s economically priced, but performed well in most of our tests. It also comes with a decent assortment of accessories that make it suitable for most food preparation needs. While it under-performed when chopping an onion, it demonstrated plenty of power when slicing and shredding, and its puree capabilities were particularly impressive. 

This machine’s design makes it easy to use and saves time with cleanup, too. It’s a lightweight model, but it doesn’t feel cheap or unsteady. Instead, it’s an ideal choice for cooks who need a space-saving design and a food processor that’s easy to lift and store away when not in use.  Its performance is consistent, much like the performance of our top pick, the Magimix Food Processor 14 Cup. While the Cuisinart isn’t quite as versatile as the Magimix and lacks its large capacity, its smaller size may be advantageous to cooks working within smaller kitchens. 

If you’re looking for a food processor with a larger capacity, consider the Cuisinart 14 Cup Custom Food Processor, which offers a similarly impressive performance but with a 14-cup capacity to support the preparation of larger recipes.