Ninja Professional Food Processor review

The Ninja Professional Advanced Food Processor is a versatile food processor that accomplishes a lot with just a few attachments. Designed to be compact yet powerful, this food processor includes storage for its disc attachments and weighs less than 8 pounds. It mixes dough, slices, purees, and more, and its auto settings help you to quickly choose the right option for the food you’re working with. 

You’ll see from our Ninja Professional Food Processor review that the machine’s space-saving design comes with both pros and cons. 

Ninja Professional Food Processor review: Price and availability

This food processor is a budget-friendly choice that can do the work of several kitchen appliances, including a mixer and a grater. The Ninja Professional Advanced 9-Cup Food Processor with Auto-iQ is available from Bed Bath & Beyond and from Ninja for $149.99 (and even less with a Bed Bath and Beyond coupon code), or you can save on the price direct from the retailer with one of our Ninja promo codes. It is available in grey. 

Ninja Professional Food Processor review: Design

The Ninja Professional Food Processor features a rectangular base that conveniently takes up minimal counter space. Measuring 7.32 x 9.88 x 15.55 inches, this food processor will fit easily within a cupboard for storage. It features a matte gray finish and a clear bowl attachment with a handle. 

This food processor includes three discs: The crinkle cut disc, grating disc, and reversible slicing and shredding disc mean you can accomplish a lot. Those discs fit neatly within the included plastic storage container. The container is useful for keeping the discs organized and it protects you from cutting yourself on the blades.

The machine is equipped with four presets: Chop, Puree, Dough, and Disc. Those presets simplify its use; you just have to push the corresponding button for the function that you want. All in all, this food processor features a modern design that’s ideal for kitchens, including those with limited storage and counter space.

It’s worth noting that this food processor is quite lightweight — weighing just 7.65 pounds, it’s easy to carry, lift, and place on a counter. While that lightweight design could lead to stability issues and “walking” while in use, this unit features four suction cup feet that adhere to the counter without you having to press down on the food processor. Those feet provide a surprisingly secure hold; the food processor didn’t walk or move during any tests. The downside is that it can be slightly difficult to move the processor from the counter once you’re done, but wrapping one arm around it and giving it a firm tug proved to be a successful technique.

Ninja Professional Food Processor review: Performance

The Ninja Professional Advanced Food Processor offers plenty of power, but our tests revealed varied results, particularly when using the disc attachments. 

This food processor’s 9-cup capacity easily handled a full batch of cookie dough. It thoroughly and evenly mixed the dough at each stage, including when just a small amount of butter and sugar were combined in the bowl. It handled the addition of flour well, and after scraping the bowl just once, it proceeded to thoroughly mix the dough, leaving it soft and airy. 

When mixing hummus, the puree mode only ran for about two minutes before shutting off, and had to be repeatedly restarted. It did create an even puree, but the hummus never got truly smooth, even after pureeing the completed mixture for six minutes. Other food processors, like the Magimix 14-Cup Food Processor, produced a smoother, lighter puree in half the time.

Using the disc attachments produced mixed results. The feed chute is small, so we had to cut a russet potato in half to fit it through. The slicing disc easily cut through the potato, taking about 15 seconds to slice both halves. The slices were even and consistent, and there was no strain on the motor.

Slicing a carrot using the same disc was more difficult. As the carrot, which was inserted whole, was sliced down to the final inch, the last chunk of carrot turned sideways and became lodged in the disc’s blade. The blade seemed to wobble and become unstable during this process, but the slices that were produced were even and consistent.

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Grating cheese also proved problematic. The grating disc again appeared unstable, and the 6-ounce block of cheddar cheese seemed to push down on the edge of the disc. The food processor took about 13 seconds to shred the cheese, but large chunks remained on top of the disc. Restarting the processor failed to grate those chunks.

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This food processor made short work of an onion, and here’s where the benefits of its settings really shine. While other food processors quickly crossed the line between chopping and pureeing, this food processor’s chopping setting works in quick, approximately three-second bursts. Each round features a brief pause in between, and after three rounds, the onion was finely and consistently chopped. We just shut off the setting once the onion was chopped to our pleasing, and there was no risk of turning those pieces into a puree.

This food processor definitely has power. It never struggled to operate, and the motor never seemed to strain. The discs do produce inconsistent results across different types of foods, but we were able to complete all of our tests, save for the carrot and cheese pieces that became trapped in and on top of the discs.

Ninja Professional Food Processor review: Ease of use and cleaning

The Ninja Professional Food Processor is largely easy to use. The bowl fits easily onto the base, and locking it in quickly becomes intuitive.The same is true of the lid, which creates a firm lock, but which can also be easily disengaged. The lid features a rubber gasket that creates a great, secure feel. It helps to prevent leaks and also minimizes slippage and noise as you’re locking the lid into place. 

The processor includes a chopping blade and dough blade, both of which easily fit into the bowl. Three discs, including a grating, crinkle cut, and slicing/shredding disc sit on top of a disc spindle. That spindle easily fits into the bowl. All of these components align easily, and interchanging them is fast and intuitive. 

The Ninja Professional Advanced Food Processor features four presets that take some guesswork out of its operation. Presets for chopping, pureeing, mixing dough, and using the discs operate at the single push of a button. Pressing the button a second time stops the operation. Additionally, it comes with a low, high, and pulse option, which are equally intuitive to use.

This food processor is relatively easy to clean. Its attachments are dishwasher-safe, though it’s recommended to only clean them in the top rack. It’s easy to wash the bowl by hand, though the dough blade does have numerous ridges that require some scrubbing.

Ninja Professional Food Processor review: Verdict

There are plenty of reasons to like the Ninja Professional Advanced Food Processor with Auto-iQ. Its preset settings give you precise control over functions like chopping and mixing dough, so you don’t have to worry about manually choosing the right options. Its attachments make it a versatile machine, and it easily powers through tough foods like carrots or a batch of cookie dough. 

While this food processor does have some issues with disc stability, it still performed well in most of our tests. It’s compact and lightweight, and at $149.99, it’s a great choice if you’re looking for versatility. If saving space isn’t an issue, though, then consider our top pick, the Magimix Food Processor 14 Cup. Measuring 19.5 x 10.5 x 20.5 inches, the Magimix is much larger than the Ninja, but it also offers greater versatility. The Magimix includes three bowls plus a knife blade, dough blade, blendermix, egg whisk, 2mm and 4mm slicing and grating discs, a spatula, and an instruction and recipe book, making it ideal for both large and small food preparation tasks. Like the Ninja, it also includes a storage box to keep those accessories organized and clean.