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I got a 3-cup Cuisinart miniprep a few years ago and it's been great, though I found the capacity to be a little small (the new version is 4 cups). If you're a party of two, 4 cups will probably serve you well.

I do sometimes wish there were different blades available for grating or dough-mixing.

If you have the storage space I would definitely recommend the "standard" size Cuisinart. Sorry I don't know the exact capacity but I'm sure you know what I mean.

If you get a smaller one you may find yourself halving recipes and struggling to fit your ingredients. The units are pretty good looking too so if it is too big to fit in a cupboard it doesn't look bad on an exposed shelf or even on top of a cabinet or refrigerator.

thanks for this entry! you probably helped me saved about 100~150 dollars from buying a new and bigger food processor. I was really contemplating of getting a 7-cup or bigger food processor for making pie dough, and that definitely sounds a little wasteful in terms of spending money on one device for only 1 purpose (I am sure it will come in handy later on, but I haven't needed a big food processor to make any baked goods)

I am a big fan of food processors. I rarely use them to chop vegetables, because this a task I enjoy doing with a knife or mandolin, but there are still many things that a food processor is great for. One of the best uses for a food processor is pureeing things. If you plan to puree liquids you should keep in mind that when filled close to capacity many food processors leak, which could cause problems and danger if you are processing hot soup.

When it comes to brands I am firmly in the Kitchen Aid camp. I recently sold my Cuisinart food processor and replaced it with a Kitchen Aid. The Cuisinart was hard to clean and overly complex for the simple tasks it was designed to perform. It also leaked even when only filled half way. The Kitchen Aid I purchased is an 11-cup model which comes with a smaller bowl option. This has satisfied all of my food processor needs.

The first food processor I owned was purchased at a garage sale for $5. I'm not sure what brand it was, but it was more than enough to do the job, and I wish it was still around. I only replaced it because a friend broke it in what I considered an abusive act. If you are on the fence about a food processor I recommend that you find a used one, so that you can establish how you feel about them before committing.

amazing timing on this post- i was just looking into buying a food processor too! looks like linens 'n things is having a going out of business sale and there are some good cuisinarts on sale!

I always tell people to buy the biggest size you can afford. I have a 12-cup KA, that comes with a 4-cup mini bowl and I use both many times a week.

I don't think I would've been happy with anything smaller because I've always found uses that fill it up. Pureeing soups, making dips, salad dressings, and of course double crust pie dough. Not to mention the blades that come with larger processors that allow you to shred and slice with ease. Mine even came with a juicer attachment.

http://www.qvc.com/qsearch/search.aspx QVC often has easy pay options in order to break payments up over several months, and I've found their prices comparable or better than what's on amazon for most products.

Agreed on getting the standard size if you have the space. We have a Cuisinart (unsure of capacity) and it had a smaller bowl you can insert and use if you need to chop/blend a bit of something.

I recently bought the Cuisinart mini-prep processor from Williams Sonoma that I just love. It does everything I need it to do (I generally am cooking for myself or one other). It was cheaper than the one from Amazon, and came with an additional prep bowl and cover. Doesn't take much space at all.

as a wedding gift, we received the large Kitchen aid mixer but realized it was just too much. We returned it and got the Cuisinart duo blender/processor instead. It's fantastic! It has two separate pieces, one for the blender and one is the processor and it's everything we need. I'm a fairly new cook so I don't do anything fancy so it suits our needs.
Tabitha @ http://www.fromsingletomarried.com

I just ordered a KitchenAid 12 cup a couple of days ago, when Amazon had a good sale on it. I bake pies often, as well as prep vegetables in large quantities, and feel that the food processor would speed things up a lot. I do have a 2 cup chopper and it's fine for small quantities of nuts or breadcrumbs, but isn't so good for large volumes. The 12 cup also has a mini-cup for smaller applications.

I love my standard size Kitchenaid, it also comes with the mini 4-cup bowl and I use both all the time - quick breadcrumbs for stuffing, shredding zucchini for z. bread, shredding cabbage and carrots for cole slaw, grinding up chickpeas for hummus or white beans for the great white bean dip they posted on here from Mark Bittman, among other things. Most of these end up being too large for the 4-cup bowl so I predominantly use the large bowl and am glad I have it.

Forgot to add, Cooks Illustrated now rates KA food processors higher than the Cuisinart ones.

I think you're making a mistake if you hope to get more than one cup capacity out of the mini-prep (like the red kitchen-aid in the pix). I would never consider it for baking. You need a bigger capacity than that. Even if you managed to get 2 cups of contents into it, there wouldn't be enough room for the ingredients to whizz about. For any heavy duty work, you need the bigger bowl.

Which is not to say that the mini-prep is useless. It can do things that the bigger bowls cannot. The mini-prep are really useful for smaller amounts of herbs and veggies, where in a bigger bowl, the would slide underneath the chopping blades, and not get chopped at all.

So both are good. But, if you have to choose one, get the bigger one. Tasks that only the smaller can do, can also be done by hand with a decent knife and some patience.

Also, keep an eye out for those BB&B coupons they always stick in the newspaper ads or the junk mail that you recycle without looking at it ;) 20% off on one of these babies is a deal!

I would have to say that if you have a choice, you should get the 12 cup KA FP. As others have noted, it has the smaller work bowl (4 cup) that you can definitely get a lot of use out of for smaller things. But as yaheardme said, when you're pureeing liquids, you would go crazy trying to make soup in a 2 or 4 cup processor. You'd have to fill the thing up over and over and over again to finish a normal six or eight cup soup!

It can be annoying cleaning the thing sometimes, but for the most part you can throw everything in the dishwasher (except the blades, and we all know super sharp things don't belong in a dishwasher anyway!).

My mom has always been a diehard Cuisinart fan, and when I got my first food processor, I went that route without question.

When I had to replace it (after a move that included divesting myself of most of my kitchen), I did some research, and in a radical move, settled on the Kitchen Aid and have never looked back. I got the 12 cup model that comes with the 4 cup mini bowl. The mini bowl is perfect for a batch of hummus or pesto, and the 12 cup bowl is great for everything else.

When my boyfriend (who does most of the cooking) saw I went with the KA, he was initially distrustful, but now loves it.

I'm very happy with the KA one that has the mini cup for smaller amounts. It also does grating and fine slicing and I use it at least once a week for something.

I love my 7 cup Cuisinart. I don't use it to chop unless I need like 8 cups of shredded carrots, but pie dough is a snap and soups are easy enough, even though I have to do them in shifts. I'm also a big fan of the safety features and 'lid snap'.

I am a cuisinart guy and 7cup is the way to go. I understand the investment and the space but, i think it makes all the difference. You have options with a 7 cup that you will never get at 3 or 4. Like baking, large soup batches, that summer pesto that you freeze. And Cuisinart customer service far exceeds KA if problems occur....in my experience.

I purchased a 3-cup KitchenAid food processor about 5 years ago, when I was still a single girl cooking for one. Now that I cook and bake for two (or more) on a regular basis, I'm definitely glad I received a Cuisinart 7-cup food processor this past year. It's the perfect size for bringing together doughs quickly. There's only been one instance where I thought it would be helpful to have had a larger work bowl - for everything else, it's been just fine so far. Also, I'm glad I have the 3-cup tucked away in the cupboard, for when I just need to whip up a quick batch of pesto.

I strongly suggest getting a medium-sized food processor (6-7 cups) with a smaller bowl (1-3 cups). I have a KitchenAid (though I hear Cuisinarts are excellent as well) with this option and it's great. It provides a little extra flexibility and doesn't take up any additional cupboard space.

I would stay away from the mini-prep because it doesn't have a feed tube. I have the smallest Cuisinart with a feed tube and it's been fine. Once in a while I wish I had a larger capacity model but I have limited counter space so I make do.

Just putting in another vote for the full size KithchenAid. I use the mini bowl a lot but it's nice to have the larger bowl for pureeing soups.

*Would like to say that Cuisinart makes a pretty good coffee pot.
And the only thing I have not been able to do without a knife (or spoon) is successfully cream together sugar and butter. It is very hard to do without a food processor or mixer.