22 Food Processor Recipes That Basically Make Themselves
There's so much more you could be doing with this appliance.
Expert consulted: Susan ChoungSenior Food Editor
Tucked away in a corner of your kitchen counter or in the depths of a cabinet is a small but mighty appliance that you should probably be using more often—the food processor. While it's great for making pesto and pie dough, there's so much more it can do. With the right attachment, this magical kitchen appliance can chop, slice, shred, mix, and purée a wide array of ingredients, making you life in the kitchen so much easier. If you're looking to save time and energy in the kitchen, these food processor recipes are as delicious as they are easy to make.
It's also the tool to reach for when you have a pile of cheese or vegetables to shred. Skip the box grater and use the food processor's shredding disc to grate root vegetables for latkes. It's faster, easier on your arms, and keeps the blade far away from your fingertips.
Scroll through these recipes for plenty of reasons to put this kitchen workhorse into regular rotation all year long.
Mushy Pea Pasta Salad
Food creator Hailee Catalano puts the food processor to clever use in this light, bright pasta salad. A few quick pulses turn peas, olive oil, salt, and pepper into a chunky mash that coats every bite of pasta—no tedious mashing required.
Get the Mushy Pea Pasta Salad recipe.
Green Curry–Cilantro Spatchcock Chicken
Everyone loves a spatchcock chicken because it allows you to cook a whole bird in about half the time. But in this recipe, the real magic happens in the food processor-friendly sauce.
Color-Pop Beet and Carrot Slaw
Skip the box grater and shred carrots and beets in the food processor instead—a faster, less messy route to this colorful slaw. No more red-stained hands!
Tapas Night Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Roasted red peppers, garlic, and a few flavorful extras get whirred together in the food processor for a silky, vibrant sauce in just 15 minutes. Spoon it over pasta, vegetables, chicken, potatoes, and more.
Creamy Passion Fruit Cheesecake
The crust is just as important—if not more important—than the filling in a good cheesecake. Fortunately the food processor makes quick work of bringing graham cracker crumbs and melted butter together.
Creamy Roasted Squash Puree
It doesn't get much easier than this simple side dish. To make this sweet, smooth butternut squash puree, simply roast the veggie, then blend it in the food processor.
Get the Creamy Roasted Squash Puree recipe.
Shrimp and Sweet Corn Grits
Take advantage of a bounty of summer corn by making your own "grits." Use a food processor to break down the kernels from about 10 ears of corn until they're almost smooth.
Get the Shrimp and Sweet Corn Grits recipe.
Crispy Skillet Carrot Latkes
Rather than shredding an entire pound of carrots by hand—and staining your fingers orange—let the food processor to do the hard work for you.
Get the Crispy Skillet Carrot Latkes recipe.
Creamy Kale Pasta
Meet your new favorite pesto recipe, which swaps baby kale for traditional basil and replaces the nuts with cottage cheese. The result? A creamy sauce for pasta that's protein-packed and vitamin-rich.
Get the Creamy Kale Pasta recipe.
Tri-Tip Steak With Salsa Verde
The right sauce can take a steak dinner from meh to memorable. Here, parsley, basil, and capers get a quick whirl in the food processor to create a zippy Italian-style salsa verde while the steak rests.
Blueberry Cornmeal Crumble Pie
This isn't your ordinary blueberry pie. Both the filling and topping are made with a little bit of cornmeal, which is a delicious contrast to the sweet and juicy filling.
Herbed White Bean Dip
Making a creamy, crowd-friendly dip in a food processor is pretty much a no-brainer. And with this recipe that packs in some leafy greens, it's not boring either!
Get the Herbed White Bean Dip recipe.
The Easiest Chicken Casserole Recipe
Not only is every element of this casserole made from scratch, but it only requires 20 minutes of hands-on prep work—including a quick blitz in the food processor for that buttery, crunchy cracker topping.
Key Lime Pie
We'll never turn down a slice of classic Key lime pie but something about this version—with a chocolatey crust made from Oreos crushed in the food processor—is so much more exciting.
Get the Key Lime Pie recipe.
Green Tahini Dip
No cooking required for this vibrant dip, which features a trio of herbs, some lemon, and homemade tahini, all of which are blended up in a food processor.
Get the Green Tahini Dip recipe.
Homemade Pizza Dough
If you've always wanted to make pizza at home, it's now easier than ever: Just stick all the ingredients in a food processor to make dough that rivals your favorite restaurant's.
Get the Homemade Pizza Dough recipe.
Homemade Pesto
Forget store-bought pesto in a jar — you only need 10 minutes and a few ingredients to make the best-ever pesto right at home. It's perfect for pastas, sandwiches and more.
Get the Homemade Pesto recipe.
Parsnip-Potato Latkes With Quick Sautéed Apples
Oftentimes, the worst part about making latkes is all the grating. Luckily, you can use the grater disk of your food processor to shred the potatoes, parsnips, and onion for this fried dish.
Get the Parsnip-Potato Latkes With Quick Sautéed Apples recipe.
Muhammara Dip
Looking for a tasty party appetizer? This Turkish-inspired dip is packed with rich flavors from roasted red peppers, walnuts, and garlic.
Get the Muhammara Dip recipe.
Arugula Pesto Crostini
Forget about the basil! The bright, peppery notes of arugula are fantastic in this rich and fragrant spread.
Get the Arugula Pesto Crostini recipe.
Susan (she/her) is the Senior Food Editor at Good Housekeeping, where she leads wine, spirits, and drinks coverage and helps shape food content across platforms. In the Kitchen & Cooking Lab, she develops and rigorously tests recipes, drawing on experience that spans Food & Wine, Food Network, three meal kit companies, a Brooklyn wine shop, and Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. A graduate of Brown University, she has also collaborated on over a dozen cookbooks and cocktail books.
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