Vitamix Has a New Attachment to Turn Your Blender into a Food Processor — And It’s Seriously Brilliant

Every once in a while, a new kitchen gadget comes around and causes me to do a double take … because it’s just so brilliant. It doesn’t happen often. I’ve spent more than 12 years working as a market editor in the food space, so I’ve seen a lot of silly products. Usually, I find, if we’ve managed to wait decades for something, we probably do not need it. That said, today marks the release of Vitamix’s brand new 12-Cup Food Processor Attachment, and I can’t believe this didn’t exist sooner!

Buy: 12-Cup Food Processor Attachment, $200 at Vitamix

The new attachment fits on the motor base of all Ascent and Venturist Vitamix machines, and it has SELF-DETECT technology, which means the base wirelessly connects to the food processor and automatically makes any necessary power adjustments. Simply place the attachment onto the base and, boom, your high-powered blender is now a high-powered food processor! And you don’t have to store yet another base to yet another machine.

Just like other top-line food processors, this guy comes with different discs and blades so it can precisely chop, shred, mince, and more. It can slice a delicate tomato, churn peanuts into peanut butter, knead dough, make pâté, emulsify dressing, chop herbs into pesto, pulverize stale bread into breadcrumbs … the list goes on.

Execs at the company got the idea for the attachment while they were reviewing some research: While many Vitamix users proudly keep their blenders on the countertop, food processors (the base, the container, the blades and discs, and storage cases) get relegated to the pantry, a nearby closet, or even the basement. With that in mind, the appliance pros set out to design a food processor that’s just a simple, lightweight accessory with a small footprint. They wanted something that could be stored nice and compactly (so all the blades nest inside the container). And they wanted something that wasn’t annoying to clean (most of the pieces can go in the dishwasher!).

I’ve been using mine for about a week now (the best perk of my job is that I get products before they come out!) and I have to say, I love that this turns something I already have into another useful tool. I was actually between food processors, as my (very) old mini one recently broke. I had been wanting a larger one but I was worried about having to find the storage space. Now I don’t have to store quite as much. So far, I’ve used this to shred cheese (this will surprise no one who knows me), whip up this ridiculously yummy pesto, and make peanut butter. So far, I am incredibly impressed! Stay tuned for a more in-depth review, coming soon!

The new attachment is available now at Vitamix.com for $200 (Note: The motor base must be purchased separately.)