Hamilton Beach 12 Cup Stack and Snap Food Processor review

The Hamilton Beach 12 Cup Stack and Snap Food Processor is affordably priced at under $60, and it features a unique design. Rather than rely on the traditional process of twisting and locking the bowl and lid into place, this machine has a bowl that stacks on top of the base, and a lid that locks in place, no swiveling required. It’s very user-friendly and includes graphics and guides right on front of the machine, making it a good choice for anyone who’s looking for their first food processor. 

As you will see in our Hamilton Beach 12 Cup Stack and Snap Food Processor review, the performance was a little hit and miss. But, the design is so ideal for first-time users, that it made the list as one of the best food processors.

Hamilton Beach 12 Cup Stack and Snap Food Processor review: Price and availability

The Hamilton Beach 12 Cup Stack and Snap Food Processor is available at Amazon for $59.99. It is available in a silver and black finish and comes with a one-year limited warranty.

Hamilton Beach 12 Cup Stack and Snap Food Processor review: Design

The Hamilton Beach 12 Cup Stack and Snap Food Processor has a compact, practical design, and measures 15.95 x 11.81 x 10.63 inches. It weighs less than nine pounds, so it’s easy to lift and store it away when you’re done using it. Its silver finish will complement stainless steel appliances in your kitchen, and its suction cup feet help to keep the machine securely in place during use. 

This food processor is designed to provide more guidance than most others. The buttons are clearly labeled with each function, including slice/shred, puree/knead, and pulse to chop. There is a visual guide on the bowl that highlights the included accessories and their appropriate use.

The machine is designed to make it easy to use. Its bowl drops straight down onto the base, with no need to swivel and lock it into place. The lid also features two flaps that lock straight down onto the bowl, saving you from the process of trying to rotate it into place.

This food processor comes with a stainless steel S-blade, a reversible shredding and slicing disc, and a dough blade. No accessory storage box is included, but the machine is equipped with a cord storage function that helps to keep your counters looking neat. This is particularly helpful for anyone who wants to keep it on display.

Hamilton Beach 12 Cup Stack and Snap Food Processor review: Performance

This food processor produced mixed results during our testing. The 500-watt motor seemed to be plenty powerful and never strained, but many of the resulting foods were inconsistent. 

The food processor easily chopped an onion in seven seconds. There were a few larger pieces remaining, but for the most part the onion was well-chopped. 

The machine did similarly well during our hummus puree test. While it was very loud, it produced a smooth and even blend. A bit of the mixture remained underneath the blade, but scraping the bowl solved the issue.

The food processor’s slicing performance was mediocre. It sliced a russet potato fairly well in eight seconds, but large chunks of potato were stuck to the blade, making for inconsistent results. The larger feed chute meant we were able to feed a smaller potato through without pre-chopping.

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The results were similar when we used the machine to slice a carrot. The slices were inconsistent in thickness, and chunks of carrot were caught on the slicing blade.

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Grating cheese also proved troublesome. The machine grated a ⅓-pound block of cheddar cheese in 12 seconds, but lots of cheese remained stuck on top of the blade. The results were also inconsistent, with some grated pieces being unusually long.

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While the machine may have struggled with some tests, it did very well mixing cookie dough. It produced an even, thorough mix and didn’t strain when we added flour in.

The machine reached 90.1 dBA, which is in the higher end of the volume range. The loudest food processor, the Hamilton Beach Bowl Scraper 10 Cup, reached 93.9 dBA.

Hamilton Beach 12 Cup Stack and Snap Food Processor review: Ease of use and cleaning

This food processor is designed to be easy to use, but the end effect is mixed. 

The visual guides on the machine are helpful, especially for a first-time food processor user. The ability to drop the bowl straight onto the base instead of rotating and locking it is also very convenient, and it makes the bowl easy to install. The spindle easily drops into place, and the blade and discs simply fit over the spindle for an easy installation. 

The snap-on lid, while well-intentioned, was cumbersome and difficult to use. Snapping the latches closed requires some significant hand strength, so this food processor isn’t the best choice for anyone with reduced hand strength or arthritis. The process of snapping those latches closed and then opening them again felt time-consuming when compared with rotating and locking a lid into place.

Using the machine is overall intuitive. The directions are user-friendly and the manual includes plenty of information and helpful diagrams.

The machine cleans up easily with dishwasher safe accessories. However, when we wiped down the base, we found that the silver front panel streaks easily.

Hamilton Beach 12 Cup Stack and Snap Food Processor review: Verdict

The Hamilton Beach 12 Cup Stack and Snap Food Processor takes a different approach to the fundamentals of food processor design with varying effects. Some elements of its design, like the stack-on bowl, are helpful and time-saving. Other elements, like the snap-on lid, felt cumbersome, but they might be appreciated by cooks who don’t use food processors often. 

The machine put in a mixed performance. It excelled in some tests, like mixing cookie dough, but didn’t fare well in others, like chopping and shredding. It would benefit from some additional accessories and perhaps a redesign of the shredding and chopping blades to enhance its performance. Still, it’s a solid, affordable machine that might be the right choice for someone who’s looking for their first food processor. The Hamilton Beach 12 Cup Stack and Snap Food Processor lacks the versatility and consistent performance of our top pick, the Magimix Food Processor 14 Cup. It is also much louder, reaching 90.1 dBA, while the Magimix Food Processor 14 Cup reached just 79.2 dBA.

If you’re looking for a food processor that includes more accessories, consider the Ninja Professional Food Processor, which includes a crinkle cut disc, grating disc, reversible slicing and shredding disc, chopping blade, dough blade, disc storage case, and a recipe booklet.