The best mini choppers for speedy kitchen prep

A mini chopper can chop, mince, purée, mix and blend in seconds. It’s a smaller, cheaper alternative to a food processor. Read our expert review to find the best one for your kitchen.

When it comes to blitzing breadcrumbs, making flavourful and fragrant curry pastes, marinades and pesto, or whizzing up herby dishes like spring tabbouleh, mini choppers are an indispensable kitchen gadget that can make light work of time-consuming food prep tasks.

Designed to deal with smaller quantities, mini choppers are a compact and lightweight alternative to a food processor. Mini choppers typically come with just one blade for everyday chopping tasks, whereas food processors can come with a plethora of different attachments for different jobs.

If you’re not confident in your knife skills or you don’t want your eyes to stream when cutting onions, a mini chopper can produce the results you’re looking for. While they won’t dice food to Michelin standards, they do produce a rough chop ideal for the base of a classic chilli con carne or this chicken and chorizo ragu. They can also blend fine pastes or sauces like this smoky romesco sauce or vegan kale pesto.

How to choose the best mini chopper

What is a mini chopper?

Although some models look similar, a mini chopper should not be confused with a food processor. Mini choppers typically come in one of two key designs; either a smaller version of a food processor, with a button-controlled base, or a small device with a large bowl on the bottom and a pushable button on top.

What can a mini chopper be used for?

These small but mighty bits of kit can be used in many different ways. The ultra sharp blades will also render ingredients down to a wet paste, making them ideal for creating recipes like pesto. The strength of this small appliance means it can also work through hard veg, to create dishes like cauliflower rice, and even roasted nuts to pulverise them into a tasty homemade nut butter.

What to look out for when buying a mini chopper?

Not all mini choppers are made the same, so there are a number of things to consider before buying one:

Bowl capacity: Some mini choppers are very small, offering just enough space for an onion and a few extra ingredients. Others have larger capacities for bigger dips, sauces or pastes. Bowls up to 500ml are ideal for small chopping tasks. Anything above 500ml will process small and large (pre-chopped) ingredients.

Speed settings: Most mini choppers will come with just one speed setting, but some come with two. The lower speed is usually reserved for chopping things like homemade breadcrumbs, nuts to garnish an easy carrot cake or dried fruit to use in this fruity tabbouleh with feta. The fastest speed is used for pureeing, so ideal for guacamole, marinades like this chicken marinade or to whip up a Thai green curry paste.