A food processor cooker is worth considering if you often make recipes that involve chopping or blending, mixing and cooking, and would find it useful to bring these steps together in one appliance. If your main aim is to automate the cooking, a multi-cooker may be a better fit. And if your current appliances already cook the food you make, a food processor could help with preparation without requiring you to replace your whole set-up. In every case, compare the usable capacity, which tasks will still need to be done by hand, cleaning and access to recipes.
The right choice depends mainly on which steps you want the appliance to handle, not just how often you cook.
For soups, sauces, slow-cooked dishes and recipes with several steps, a food processor cooker can reduce the need to transfer ingredients between appliances. Make sure its usable capacity and accessories suit the quantities and dishes you usually prepare for your household.
If you rarely chop or blend ingredients in your appliance, a multi-cooker is a more direct solution for pressure cooking, steaming or slow cooking. UFC-Que Choisir notes that these appliances generally do not stir food, so some steps will still need to be done by hand.
You may already be able to make some of your usual dishes with a blender, food processor or cooking appliance. Before deciding whether integrated cooking would add anything, identify the tasks that still make you switch between appliances regularly.
Start with a few recipes you make often. Their preparation, cooking and cleaning steps will show you which features really matter. Pairing a food processor with your existing cooking appliances is another option if preparation, rather than integrated cooking, is your main priority.
| Priority | What to check | For my needs |
|---|---|---|
| Combining steps | For each recipe, separate out chopping or blending, stirring during cooking and the cooking modes themselves. UFC-Que Choisir notes that a multi-cooker generally does not stir food. | I often make smooth soups or blended sauces. If I choose a multi-cooker, I’ll check which appliance I’ll need to finish preparing them. |
| Time and guidance | Check the guided steps, manual settings and any input needed between stages. Programmed cooking and preparing an entire recipe are not the same thing. | I’d like to spend less time at the hob, without assuming that a programme will take care of the whole recipe. In a survey published in January 2020 of 1,695 UFC-Que Choisir newsletter subscribers who owned a food processor, 52% of respondents felt that their food processor cooker saved them time at the hob. This reflects their experience, rather than a promise for another household. |
| Recipes available | Check which recipes are available for the model you’re considering, the terms of any subscription and which functions you can use without guided cooking. | If on-screen instructions would help me cook regularly, I’ll also consider how I’d prepare my usual dishes without the service. |
| Capacity | Compare the total volume, usable capacity and fill limits for each recipe. Magimix lists a total capacity of 4.8 L and a usable capacity of 3.8 L for the Cook Expert XL Connect. | I cook several portions at once. The bowl’s stated total capacity doesn’t tell me how much soup or slow-cooked food I can actually make in one go. |
| Cleaning and space | Check the dimensions, how the accessories can be stored and the cleaning instructions for the bowl, lid and blades. Check separately which accessories are included and which are optional. | If I’m going to cook often, I need to be able to make space for the appliance and clean the parts I use after making my usual recipes. |
| Existing equipment | Compare the functions already covered by your blender, food processor and cooking appliances. Identify any steps that still require transferring food between appliances or keeping a close eye on it. | My appliances may already prepare and cook these dishes. I’m looking for a repeated task that a new appliance would genuinely make easier. |
A multi-cooker can handle the cooking without necessarily blending soup or stirring a sauce. According to UFC-Que Choisir, food generally still needs to be stirred by hand.
Write down the steps involved in three recipes you make often, then check which ones the appliance you’re considering can handle and which still require another utensil.
The total volume may be greater than the amount you can use for a particular preparation. For the Cook Expert XL Connect, for example, Magimix gives a total volume of 4.8 L and a usable capacity of 3.8 L.
Compare the fill limits for your soups, slow-cooked dishes and steamed food, rather than relying only on the headline capacity of the bowl.
If guided cooking is a big part of why you’re choosing an appliance, access to the service and its renewal terms will affect everyday use. Vorwerk describes Cookidoo as a subscription service.
Look at the recipes available and check the appliance’s manual functions before choosing a model for its screen.
A food processor cooker will offer different benefits to a household that already has a blender and a multi-cooker than to one that prepares and cooks every step separately.
Make a list of your appliances and their accessories. Then consider whether integrated cooking, stirring or guided recipes would solve a problem that comes up regularly in your kitchen.
These ranges illustrate different ways of cooking. The features mentioned apply to the specific models listed, not every appliance from each brand.
The range includes the Companion food processor cooker, which combines preparation and cooking, and the Cookeo multi-cooker, which focuses more on cooking modes.
The Cook Expert XL Connect combines cooking with food preparation functions, including chopping, grating and kneading.
The Thermomix TM7 focuses on guided cooking on screen and the Cookidoo recipe service.
This selection includes two food processor cookers designed to combine preparation and cooking, followed by three multi-cookers to consider if cooking is your priority. Compare their features with those of the appliances you already own.
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Worth considering if you’d like to combine preparation and cooking for your regular meals. The product name specifies an XL bowl, built-in scales and a large touchscreen. Check the usable capacity for your recipes and the terms for accessing guided recipes.
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If you’re considering making recipes with several steps in one appliance, compare its functions with the dishes you usually prepare. The product name specifies built-in scales and a touchscreen. Check the fill limits, cleaning instructions and access to recipes.
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Consider this if you mainly want to programme the cooking rather than prepare ingredients in the same appliance. The product name specifies 1 200 W and 12 preset menus. Check the fill limit for your dishes and how you’ll blend soups or sauces.
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This option is for households mainly looking for a cooking appliance. Before choosing it based on its stated 7.1 L capacity, check the fill limits and which preparation steps you’ll need to do separately.
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Worth comparing if your recipes mainly call for programmed cooking modes. The product name mentions a frying function, nine menus and two pressure settings. Confirm the usable capacity of the model on sale, and plan to prepare or blend ingredients separately if needed.
No. Terms vary by service and model. Vorwerk describes Cookidoo as a subscription service for Thermomix, while Moulinex advertises a free app for the Companion XL YY4591FG. Check which recipes are available for the model you’re considering and what you can do without the guided service.
Start with the usable capacity and fill limits for your recipes, then look at the total volume. For the Cook Expert XL Connect, Magimix lists 3.8 L usable capacity out of 4.8 L total. The capacity of a steaming accessory should be compared separately from that of the bowl.
Not necessarily. A multi-cooker can cook ingredients without blending them. UFC-Que Choisir notes that these appliances generally do not stir food. If your recipes need to be blended, check the specific function of the model you’re considering or keep a blender for that step.