TechRadar Verdict
The KitchenAid 13 cup / 3.1L food processor comes with all the accessories you need to shred, slice, chop, and mix – but there’s no whisk. The design is well-considered for the most part, with accessories that can be stored inside the work bowl, which attaches to the base easily, but the fixed handle position could prove problematic for some. It grated carrot, sliced cucumber and chopped onion efficiently, but it does not have capacity to mix enough dough for a standard loaf.
Pros
- +
Space-saving accessory storage
- +
Dishwasher-safe attachments
- +
Adjustable thickness slicing disc
Cons
- -
Limited capacity for some foods
- -
Fixed handle position
- -
No accessories available separately
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KitchenAid KFP1318 / KFP1319: two-minute review
This model has slightly different names and product codes in different territories:
US: KitchenAid 13 Cup Food Processor KFP1318 / KFP1319
UK: KitchenAid 1.7 L Food Processor 5KFP1318 / 5KFP1319
AU: KitchenAid 13 Cup Food Processor KFP1319
The products with 319 in their codes have an extra dicing accessory and storage lid. For this review, we tested both of the UK models. There may be minor differences between different countries' models.
When it comes to countertop kitchen appliances, KitchenAid is a firm and trusted favorite, so it should come as no surprise that the KitchenAid 13 Cup / 3.1L food processor has left an impression on us.
This KitchenAid 13 Cup / 3.1L food processor is available in two different configurations – the standard 13 Cup / 3.1L food processor (KFP1318), and an identical version but with an extra dicing accessory and storage lid (KFP1319). In the US and the UK, you can buy both versions, whilst only the dicer iteration is available in Australia. The current price of the KFP1318 is $169.99 / £237.15, and the KFP1319 is $239.99 / £239 / AU$369.
With both models, you’ll get an adjustable slicing disc, a reversible shredding disc, a multipurpose stainless steel chopping blade, and a dough blade. These all slot into a plastic storage caddy that fits inside the main bowl, providing a neat and easy storage solution. The size of this food processor is in line with similar models, it’s not exactly compact but it doesn’t take up a ton of space either.
Removing and replacing the work bowl is delightfully easy, the one-click system means you can simply push it down to fix the bowl in place, which is more convenient than the conventional twist closures. Unlike most food processors, the main lid is hinged, but is also removable. In the case of the KFP1319, this can be replaced with the included refrigerator lid, to store food without tipping it into a separate container.
The 13 cup / 3.1L food processor offers two speeds and a pulse button, and the lid contains three removable pushers for inserting different-sized foods. As an added bonus, everything is top-rack dishwasher safe so cleaning is a doddle. The parts are easy to hand wash, too. However, it proved tricky to remove the dried pastry mixture from the little indents and crevices in the fitment ring of the chopping blade. We found that ingredients with smaller particles, like the almond dust, and ingredients from the pastry mixture liked to migrate inside the fitment ring of the chopping blade. This didn’t cause any issues, but we had to pay particular attention to this area when we hand-washed the chopping blade between tests.
On test, it coped well with most foods, slicing, shredding, and dicing with ease. The sharp stainless-steel blade and the dough blade work well, but there are limitations to the quantity of foods like dough and beef that can be processed, despite it being one of KitchenAid’s largest food processors. With this in mind, perhaps it’s best suited to smaller households or people who don’t want to process big batches of food if these are ingredients that are used often.
Overall, we were happy with the performance of the KitchenAid 13 Cup / 3.1L food processor. It breezed its way through most of what we threw in it, is not as loud as some other food processors we’ve tested, and has a well-considered and convenient design. It gets a thumbs-up from us.
KitchenAid KFP1318 / KFP1319 review: price & availability
- KFP1318 list price: $169.99 / £237.15
- KFP1319 list price: $239.99 / £239 / AU$369
- Model available varies by region
The KitchenAid 13 cup / 3.1L Food Processor models available will vary depending on your location. Both models are available to purchase directly from KitchenAid in the US, and they can both be purchased in the UK too, but only KFP1318 can be bought from KitchenAid directly. Only KFP1319 is available in Australia. There are no optional accessories available to buy separately.
The current price of the KFP1318 is $169.99 / £237.15, and the KFP1319 is $239.99 / £239 / AU$369. Some of the KitchenAid products are on sale currently, and it's worth keeping an eye out for KitchenAid promo codes to help take the price down.
Small appliances like this often attract discounts during major shopping events like the Amazon Prime Day deals and Black Friday sales, so if you aren't looking to invest this much in a processor right now, it's worth coming back during those events to see what deals are available.
- Value for money score: 3.5 out of 5
KitchenAid KFP1318 / KFP1319 specifications
| Header Cell - Column 0 | KFP1318 | KFP1319 |
|---|---|---|
| Price: | $169.99 / £237.15 | $239.99 / £239 / AU$369 |
| Capacity: | 13 cup / 3.1l | 13 cup / 3.1l |
| Accessories: | Multipurpose blade, dough blade, adjustable sliding disc, reversible shredding disc | Multipurpose blade, dough blade, adjustable sliding disc, reversible shredding disc, dicing kit |
| Functions: | Chop, mince, puree, mix, slice, shred, knead, mix | Chop, mince, puree, mix, slice, shred, knead, mix, dice |
| Dimensions: | 8.75 x 8.75 x 18 inch / 222 x 222 x 464 mm | 8.75 x 8.75 x 18 inch / 222 x 222 x 464 mm |
| Weight: | 9lb / 4.4kg | 9lb / 4.4kg |
| Dishwasher safe: | Yes | Yes |
| Accessory storage: | Yes – storage caddy | Yes – storage caddy, but refrigerator lid must be stored separately |
KitchenAid KFP1318 / KFP1319 review: design & features
- Two speeds and pulse
- Easy to assemble
- All attachments can be stored inside main bowl
The KitchenAid 13 cup / 3.1L Food Processor itself is no bigger or smaller than other similar capacity models, measuring 8.75 x 8.75 x 18 inch / 222 x 222 x 464mm. What makes it feel smaller and more compact is the clever storage solution that we mentioned earlier. All of the accessories slot into the caddy which goes inside the main bowl, except in the case of the KFP1319 as the refrigerator lid will need to be stored separately.
The main hinged lid has three different size removable food pushers, ideal for lots of different foods. The lid removes easily from the bowl and can be replaced with the refrigerator lid to allow you to store food without decanting it into a different container if you have the KFP1319.
As we’ve already noted, the accessories include a stainless steel blade and dough blade. The slicing disc is adjusted via a knob on the lid, making it very safe and simple to adjust, and there are six thickness options to choose from. The reversible shredding disc offers thick as well as thin shredding. And the dicing accessory cleverly cubes all manner of foods to about 0.4 inches / 1cm dice. Setup is simple and apart from the dicing accessory, we rarely had to consult the manual to work out how to put it together. All removable parts are dishwasher-safe on the top rack.
The round base looks nice on the counter and it’s not too imposing. The KFP1318 is available in White, Contour Silver, Empire Red, Black and Matte Black in the US, but is only available in White in the UK. For the KFP1319 the same range of colors are available in the US. The same colors are available in Australia too, but instead of the White option there is Almond Cream.
A few design features are immediately noticeable, including a hinged lid that clips shut with a latch. Additionally, the bowl sits directly onto the base thanks to the one-click system, no awkward twisting motion to get it into position like you’ll see on many other food processors. Our only complaint is that the handle can only be positioned to the right, making it less comfortable for left-handed cooks, and less accessible for some, as they may be unable to use it due to this limitation.
- Design score: 4 out of 5
KitchenAid KFP1318 / KFP1319 review: performance
- Not too loud
- Excellent chopping, slicing and dicing
- Can only process smaller batches of meat and dough
We used the large side of the shredding disc for carrot and cheese and it sped through both, producing even shreds fast. A small disc of carrot was left un-shredded and a piece of cheese which amounted to about 13% of the total, but otherwise we were happy with the results.
The slicing disc is really easy to use and we like that the adjustment knob is on the lid, making it super easy to adjust the size of the slices. It sliced through half a cucumber in seconds, producing pleasingly even slices.
To try out the dough blade, we made a bread dough, but the instruction manual advises against processing quantities of dough larger than 13.5 oz / 384g, which isn’t even enough for a standard size loaf. We adjusted our recipe down to the right quantity but the dough blade was quite slow to combine the ingredients into a dough and required an extra splash of water to help it come together. The food processor wobbled a little when mixing the dough, but it wasn’t unstable.
The stainless-steel blade aced almost every task we gave it, finely and evenly chopping onion and breadcrumbs as well as mixing a smooth cake batter. Hazelnuts were very finely chopped but with a little powder. Almonds on the other hand were chopped unevenly, with large and small pieces and a fair amount of powder.
Cubed beef was no match for this blade, it took just seconds to turn it into finely ground meat. But the instruction manual advises that only 0.5lb / 225g can be chopped in one go, which is half as much as we intended to chop and quite a small quantity given the food processor's overall capacity.
Finally, we tried out the dicing accessory and we were impressed with how fast it diced two potatoes. We had to chop the potatoes in half to fit in the feed chute, but the results were excellent nonetheless and it really does make short work of this labor-intensive task.
It was loudest when shredding with our noise meter maxing out at 84dB, which is the equivalent to the noise experienced when a truck is traveling at 40mph, but during the other tasks, it averaged around 75dB, which is similar to sound level when a toilet is flushed.
- Performance score: 4 out of 5
Should I buy the KitchenAid KFP1318 / KFP1319?
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Value | Both models prove fairly pricey when purchased directly from KitchenAid, but other retailers such as Amazon sometimes offer them for a more attractive price. There are cheaper alternatives available, but with KitchenAid you know you're getting what you pay for. | 3.5/5 |
| Design | The design appealed to us thanks to its convenient in-bowl storage, and the one-click alternative to the more common twist-lock system. But the fixed position of the handle could make it less accessible to some users, and it can’t handle as much meat or dough as you’d expect. | 4/5 |
| Performance | This food processor had no problem chopping, slicing and grating most ingredients, and it wasn't overly loud when performing these tasks. It struggled to grate chocolate effectively though. | 4/5 |
Buy it if...
Don't buy it if...
KitchenAid KFP1318 / KFP1319 review: also consider
| KitchenAid KFP1318 / 9 | Magimix 4200XL | Ninja 3-in-1 Food Processor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price: | $169.99 / £237.15 / AU$369 | $449 / £340 / AU$899 | $179.99 / £149 |
| Capacity: | 13 cup / 3.1l | 14 cup / 3l plus smaller bowls | 9 cup / 2.1l blending pitcher, 64 oz / 1.8L work bowl |
| Functions: | Chop, mince, puree, mix, slice, shred, knead, mix | Blend, grate, slice, knead, mix, whisk | Chop, slice, grate, knead, mix, blend, puree |
| Speed options: | 2 speeds and pulse | Auto and pulse | Auto-IQ, low, medium high, pulse |
| Dishwasher safe: | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dimensions: | 8.75 x 8.75 x 18 in / 222 x 222 x 464 mm | 8.3 x 10.2 x 16.7 in / 210 x 260 x 425 mm | 255 x 190 x 480 mm / 9.96 x 7.52 x 17.64 in |
How we tested the KitchenAid KFP1318 / KFP1319
We spent time assembling the KitchenAid 13 cup / 3.1L Food Processor, reading the instruction manual and assessing the design and accessories.
To put the food processor through its paces we used the chopping blade and different speed settings to chop carrot, cucumber, onion, and almonds. We also used it to process bread to make breadcrumbs and combine flour, margarine, and water to make pastry.
We tested how easy it was to clean the processor parts by hand-washing, and using the dishwasher to establish how well the parts cleaned with either method.
Read more about how we test
- First reviewed March 2022, re-tested June 2024
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