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Perhaps you, like so many of us, purchased a food processor with pesto in mind. These babies are admittedly perfect for blitzing garlic, herbs, nuts, and olive oil, but once you’ve exhausted your pesto capacity (one can only eat so much spaghetti), what happens next? Don’t let your food processor take up space on your countertop, collecting dust, looking over at the blender longingly. Make that clunky hunk of machinery earn its keep in your kitchen. Here are 7 unexpected things your food processor can do.
Making a lattice top is tricky. Mixing the pie dough doesn’t have to be. Photo: Christopher Testani
Make Pie Crust
Sure, our grandmothers would wag a finger at us for this one, but when making dough, you don’t have to cut butter into flour by hand. In fact, using a food processor to whip together dough is basically fool proof. Use a knife to chop the butter into small pieces, then add it to the machine along with the flour, salt, and sugar. Pulse in short bursts until the butter has been blitzed into smaller pieces and is evenly distributed throughout the dry ingredients. Stream in ice water through the top as you pulse a few more times, until the dough forms a crumbly ball. From there, you can proceed as usual. (We’re still waiting on a machine that will roll out our pie crust for us, but until that day, you’ll have to take care of that with a regular old rolling pin).
Make onion dip with 100% less tears. Photo: Danny Kim
Chop Onions
When precision doesn’t matter (soup, quiche, weeknight stir-frys), you can definitely get away with chopping your onions in a food processor. Just peel, chunk the onion into a few big pieces, toss them into the food processor, and let ‘er rip. If you’re looking for perfectly uniform pieces, this isn’t the best method, but if you just need a lot of onions fast, there’s no better way, and yes, we know about the Slap Chop. This also works like a charm with garlic, ginger, and turmeric root.
Smooth like butter. Err, squash. Photo: Marcus Nilsson
Purée Squash
Roasted or steamed winter squash makes a great, creamy purée. Once it’s cooked to tenderness, add it to the bowl of your food processor along with any other seasonings (maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon for sweet purées; salt and pepper, herbs, chile pepper for savory) and a little liquid, like oil or cream, to loosen it up. Then, serve it as a savory dinner side, add to oatmeal in the morning with a little too much maple syrup, or use it as the base of a stew. Oh, and we almost forgot the most important thing: dip.
Yeah, nobody’s got time to chop a ton of these by hand. Photo: Ted Cavanaugh
Make Tapenade
A good tapenade has a chunky texture. The pulse option allows you to mix ingredients like cooked beans, olives, garlic, oil, and vinegar without turning the blend into precocious baby food.
Now you’re ready for this jelly. Photo: Joanna Sciarrino
Whip Up Nut Butter
Nut butter is one of the easiest supermarket staples you can make at home. All you have to do is… purée nuts. Roast them first for the best flavor, and be sure to let them cool completely before processing so they don’t gum up the blade. Once they’ve been pulverized, you can let the machine run and stream in sweetener like maple syrup, agave, or honey. A pinch of sea salt and baking spice, like cinnamon or nutmeg, wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world, either.
A whole lot of slaw, not a whole lot of work. Photo: Christopher Testani
Prep Slaw
A box grater is fine for small jobs, but when you’re making a big batch of salad, lentils, or slaw, the grating attachment that comes with most food processors really comes in handy (you didn’t throw yours out, did you?). Beets, carrots, and cabbage are all prime candidates for this tool; chop them into smaller pieces first so they fit through the feeding tube.
Crispy and delicious. Photo: Romulo Yanes
Make Hash Browns or Latkes
You’ll be grating potatoes for days if you want to make this excellent salt and vinegar rösti , potato pancakes or diner-style hash browns. Save yourself the trouble by breaking out that grating attachment. Just remember to squeeze any excess water from the grated potatoes before frying them.
Now you have no excuse for not making French Onion Soup. Photo: Eva Kolenko
Grate Cheese
Hard cheeses, like Parm and Pecorino, can definitely be grated in a food processor. As with the veggies, chunk it into smaller pieces so it’ll fit through the tube. Don’t try this with soft or semi-soft cheeses. Just… trust us.
Related: When to Use a Food Processor, Blender, Immersion Blender, or Stand Mixer
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