Cuisinart Custom 14-Cup Food Processor (DFP-14BCNY)

The Custom 14 is the food processor for most kitchens: one bowl, one chopping blade, one slicing disc, one shredding disc and two levers. America's Test Kitchen named it the winner again in its August 2026 update, and Consumer Reports lists it among its recommended full-size models in its March 2026 ratings. It suits a household that makes coleslaw, pesto, pie crust, pizza dough, bread crumbs and hummus, and wants to pull the machine out without opening the manual first.

It also works for kitchens short on cabinet space. The three blades live inside the 14-cup bowl, so there is no accessory case to store, and Consumer Reports puts the machine at about 15 inches tall, low enough to sit under a standard upper cabinet.

Skip it if you want to set slice thickness yourself, or if most of your food processor work is small amounts such as one shallot or a single batch of mayonnaise. The Breville Sous Chef 16 and the Cuisinart Pro Custom 11 cover those jobs better.

Chopping control is the first strength. ATK's testers cut carrot, celery and onion into quarter-inch mirepoix and got uniform pieces, helped by a pulse lever that stops the blade the moment you let go. In ATK's dye test, where drops of yellow and blue food coloring are spun into plain yogurt for 30 seconds, it was one of only a few machines to produce solid green with no streaks, a sign that the blade reaches nearly everything in the bowl. TechGearLab's chopping results were less flattering: onions came out mostly even, carrots less so, and the lab scored chopping 6 out of 10.

Power for dough is the second. TechGearLab found it the fastest machine in its group at mixing pizza dough, with no sign of motor strain, even though there is no dough blade and the S-blade does the work. ATK's abuse test, a double batch of heavy, sticky dough, also went through cleanly. ATK's view is that a dough blade is not needed on a good processor, and this one supports that.

Shredding, slicing and noise come third. Consumer Reports gives it a top rating for shredding and calls it one of the quietest models it has tested. TechGearLab measured 61.5 dB at 3 feet, against 96 dB for the Hamilton Beach 10-Cup it tested, the design now sold as the Hamilton Beach 70733. The same lab found its feed tube the largest in the group: whole test tomatoes fit, and its potato slices were the best of the lot.

Cleanup is simple. The bowl has smooth walls with no ridges to trap flour, and TechGearLab lists the bowl, lid, blade and discs as top-rack dishwasher safe. ATK recommends washing blades by hand to keep them sharp, which is quick here because the chopping blade is one piece.

The blade has changed. ATK noticed that the current chopping blade leaves slightly bigger gaps to the bottom and sides of the bowl than the version it tested before. The practical effect is that a single batch of mayonnaise would not emulsify, because the blade could not reach the egg yolks. A double batch worked, and ATK found no other side effects. TechGearLab's mayonnaise also failed. If you make small emulsions often, the Pro Custom 11's lower blade is the better tool.

The discs are fixed. You get one 4 mm slicing disc and one medium shredding disc; thinner slices, thicker slices or fine shreds mean buying extra discs. TechGearLab counted this as the main trade-off against the Breville, whose slicer adjusts.

There is no mini bowl, so a clove of garlic or a small handful of herbs rides around in a 14-cup bowl. Nut butter is slow, too: TechGearLab needed about 19 minutes and a scrape to get a usable result.

A note on history. In December 2016 Cuisinart recalled the four-rivet chopping blades on about 8 million food processors sold from July 1996 to December 2015, after reports of blade pieces breaking off into food. A machine bought new today falls outside those dates. If an older Cuisinart sits in your cupboard, check its blade and contact Cuisinart for the free replacement.

The Cuisinart Pro Custom 11 is the same idea in a smaller size: the same lever controls, 3 fewer cups, a slightly smaller motor (625 W against 720 W by ATK's figures), plus a second, thinner slicing disc and a flat lid. ATK made it its Best Buy. Choose the 11 if you cook for one or two and make sauces; choose the 14 for batch prep and big families.

The Breville Sous Chef 16 adds a 1,450 W motor, a 2.5-cup mini bowl, a 24-setting slicer, a French fry disc, a timer and a feed chute up to 5.5 inches wide. ATK calls it its upgrade pick but noted lid crevices, multi-part blades and a large accessory box. The Custom 14 handles the everyday jobs about as well with far less to store and clean. All four are compared on our best food processors list.

The Cuisinart Custom 14 is still the default answer: big enough for any home batch, strong enough for double dough, quiet, and simple enough to use every day. Its weak spots are fixed discs, no mini bowl and a redesigned blade that needs a double batch for mayonnaise. If those matter, look at the Pro Custom 11 or the Breville; if not, this is the one to buy.