Food processors can quickly and easily make anything from peanut butter to pizza dough. They’re must-have appliances, especially if you’re cooking for a crowd.
With its roomy processing bowl, versatile presets and the highest wattage at its price point, the Ninja BN601 Professional Plus Food Processor Kitchen System with Auto-iQ promises to take meal prep to the next level. Plus, weighing in at less than eight pounds, it’s easy to take in and out of your cupboards. We wanted to see if the Ninja BN601 Professional Plus Food Processor delivered both power and consistent results, so we put it to the test. Here’s what we learned.
To test the power and versatility of this Ninja food processor, we used it for a variety of meal prep tasks over several weeks. Our tester puréed sauces, chopped up salad ingredients, shredded cheese and even made naan in the Ninja BN601.
The Ninja BN601 Professional Plus has a 9-cup processing bowl and a 1000-peak-watt motor. Its motor is so powerful it can mix up to two pounds of dough in 30 seconds. It offers four Auto-iQ preset processing programs to chop, purée, shred or make dough with the touch of a single button. All of its components are BPA-free and dishwasher-safe.
The Ninja BN601 Professional Plus costs $99.99 and is sold by Kohl’s and Amazon.
The Ninja BN601 Professional Plus has an intuitive locking bowl and suction-cup feet that help keep this lightweight food processor from “walking” while it’s in use. It has a roomy feed chute with a pusher and three uniquely designed processing blades: a dough mixer, a four-bladed chopper and a reversible slicing/shredding disk. The blades were impressively sharp, and the cord wrap worked well when it was time to put the food processor away.
We appreciated that the Ninja BN601 Professional Plus wasn’t as loud as some other food processors or blenders we’ve tested. Its 9-cup work bowl isn’t very large in comparison to some food processors, but it was wide enough to use comfortably.
The Auto-iQ programs lived up to their claims, delivering nicely puréed pesto and rapidly shredded cabbage in our tests. The dough feature also worked quite well. Within a surprisingly short amount of time, the Ninja BN601 served up a well-mixed ball of naan dough. However, the motor seemed to be working especially hard on that setting, making us wonder if frequent use would be sustainable in the long run.
While the four Auto-iQ presets performed well, we found the pulse feature lacking. Its controls didn’t feel responsive enough during our testing, which led to overprocessed ingredients. The puree setting was also the least intuitive of the four presets. It can take a long time to puree some foods, and some users felt that the results never reached the velvety uniformity required in some recipes.
As with many food processors, the blades in the Ninja BN601 are incredibly sharp. You should handle the blades with caution, especially during cleaning. Also, despite its comparatively lightweight, the Ninja food processor’s height may make it tricky to store.
Despite a few features that take some getting used to, overall, we were impressed by the Ninja BN601 Professional Plus. While it wasn’t as dependable as a blender for finely puréed foods, it’s the best food processor for shredding vegetables and cheese in a flash. If you’re looking for a workhorse appliance that will cut down on meal prep time without taking over your counter space, the Ninja BN601 Professional Plus is a great choice.
Black & Decker 8-Cup Food Processor
This affordable food processor is a great introductory pick for a new chef. Its 8-cup processing bowl is similar to the Ninja’s and it comes with a stainless steel chopping blade and slicing/shredding disk, but it is louder and less powerful.
Cuisinart DFP-14CGRY 14-Cup Food Processor
The 14-cup bowl in this trusted model can handle larger volumes of food, and it offers user-friendly settings, an extra-large feed tube and several accessories — but it’s much pricier.
Hamilton Beach 12-Cup Stack & Snap Food Processor and Vegetable Chopper
This large yet affordable food processor is easy to use and store, and it comes with separate slicing and shredding discs for more versatility. However, its 500-watt motor may not be powerful enough for some foods.
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Laura Duerr writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
