Think about how much time it takes for you just to prep meals. Food chopping is one of the most time-consuming steps for most recipes. And that’s to say nothing of the time it takes to actually to the cooking.
But what if you could cut your prep time in half? If you haven’t invested in a good manual food chopper then you may be unnecessarily wasting time in the kitchen. So today we are going to be taking a look at the 7 best manual food choppers currently available.
Mueller Austria Pro-Series Onion Mincer Chopper
Editors’ Choice: 4.8 out of 5.0 stars
This manual vegetable chopper pretty much does it all. It has a chopping square for quickly dicing up onions, apples and garlic. Plus it has a horizontal slicing blade that you can run cucumbers over for uniform slices.
You can even grate cheese with this chopper. There are 5 interchangeable blades and everything you slice, cut, grate or chop falls conveniently into the large-capacity plastic reservoir.
Sedhoom Manual Vegetable Chopper
Editors’ Choice: 4.8 out of 5.0 stars
This model is very much like our last one but it comes with 23 different blades. There are 4 grid blades that cut medium and small slices. Then there are blades for julienne cuts, curly cuts, spiral cuts, ribbon cuts and grating of various fineness.
It’s easy to operate with one hand and the reservoir container has rubber feet on the bottom so it doesn’t slip around on the counter top. There is also a hand guard you can use while slicing to protect your fingers from being cut.
Cuisinart CTG-00-SCHP Stainless Steel Chopper
Editors’ Choice: 4.8 out of 5.0 stars
If you’re looking for a simpler hand chopper this Cuisinart model would be a great investment. It’s compact at only 8.25” tall and 3.88” in diameter. The blade is made from stainless steel and stays sharp for a long time.
And it’s super easy to use. All you do is load your ingredients into the chopping cup and press down on the top handle. Press down a few times for a course chop, or press down multiple times for a finer chop.
ZYLISS Easy Pull Food Chopper and Manual Food Processor
Editors’ Choice: 4.8 out of 5.0 stars
With this manual vegetable chopper you get a nice, big reservoir bowl. It can hold up to 3 cups or 25 ounces of ingredients. This is a manual pull chopper so you just load your ingredients, pull the cord and repeat as necessary.
There are 2 stainless steel blades that are offset for even chopping. There are also booster arms at the top and bottom of the spindle to keep food from sticking to the bottom. Overall this kitchen hand chopper cuts very evenly.
The Pampered Chef Food Chopper
Editors’ Choice: 4.8 out of 5.0 stars
This is another push down chopper with zig zag style stainless steel blades. It measures about 9 and a quarter inches tall by 3 and a quarter inches in diameter. The blade is made of stainless steel and it’s safe to use in the top rack of your dishwasher.
And the cool thing is that the chopping pad doubles as a lid for the reservoir so you can use it like a Tupperware container.
Ultra Chef Express Food Chopper
Editors’ Choice: 4.8 out of 5.0 stars
This is a crank operated manual chopper for vegetables, mixing liquids, juicing and slicing. The main chopping lid makes large cuts. But you can also fit finer dicing blades on top of the bowl. It comes with a fruit juicer attachment, whipping blades and an egg separator.
This is a very versatile chopper. The 5 cup bowl can fit a ton of ingredients and is made of clear plastic so you can see the progress of your chopping, mixing or whipping. The bowl has a handle so it’s easy to hold in place while chopping.
OXO Good Grips One Stop Chop Manual Food Processor
Editors’ Choice: 4.8 out of 5.0 stars
This is a great food processor for chopping, mincing and pureeing. It features 3 stainless steel blades and is operated with a top-mounted crank. And you can operate with one hand thanks to the locking lid and bottom suction cup that binds it to your counter top firmly.
The whole thing is dishwasher safe which is nice because crank-operated food processors are usually tough to clean.
Manual Food Chopper Buying Guide
It’s always a good idea to be realistic about your chopping needs when shopping for the best manual food chopper. But here are some more factors to consider.
Dishwasher Safe
If the chopper you have your eye on is crank or plunger operated, it would be a good idea to make sure it’s dishwasher safe because these types of processors are hard to clean by hand.
Chopping Nuts?
If you tend to chop a lot of nuts we recommend going with one of the plunger-type models on our list. Crank and pull type processors are very hard to chop nuts with.
Replacement Blades
If you can, try to buy a model that has interchangeable or replaceable blades – even stainless steel doesn’t last forever.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the best manual food chopper?
A: Zyliss and Cuisinart make some of the most well-received choppers on the market. But obviously, we like the Mueller Austria grid chopper that we highlighted at the top of our list
Q: What is the difference between a food chopper and a food processor?
A: Usually when people are referring to a food processor, they are talking about an electric device. The term “food chopper” is usually reserved for devices that you operate by hand like the products on our list.
Q: Do I really need a food processor?
A: Food processors can really save you time in the kitchen. But a manual food chopper can be just as effective; especially if your chopping needs aren’t that demanding.
Some Parting Advice
If you are looking to save time in the kitchen then definitely check out one or all of the items on our list of the best manual food choppers. Keep in mind the amount of ingredients you usually chop at one time and how many people you meal prep for.
This will be a good guide as to how big of a chopper you should get. And our list has various sized choppers so it would be a great place to start your shopping. Chop safe and chop well!
