13 Magical Ways to Use a Food Processor

Posted by Brent Furdyk on September 26, 2016

You already know your food processor can chop and mix, but have you ever made butter? How about ice cream? These are just some of the things you can make with absolute ease and a little creativity, to harness the power of your food processor and put it to work.

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Butter

Unless you're Amish, you've probably never churned your own butter. By using your food processor, however, you can skip the churning and turn heavy cream into fresh, homemade butter in just 10 minutes.
MattCC716/Flickr Creative Commons

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Bread Crumbs

Instead of throwing away that hard, stale piece of bread, throw it into your food processor — you'll never have to buy bread crumbs again! For added flavour, toss in some herbs and seasoning.
missy/Flickr Creative Commons

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Salsa

Fresh, zesty salsa is right at your fingertips. Add some fresh tomatoes, peppers, cilantro or whatever else you'd like and let your food processor do the rest — as fine or chunky as you'd like.
Neeta Lind/Flickr Creative Commons

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Shredded Potatoes

The next time you're craving some yummy potato latkes, keep your cheese grater in the drawer and use your food processor to shred all those potatoes. Your knuckles will thank you!
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Veggie Burgers

Whether you use chickpeas, black beans or some other type of base, you can whip up your own veggie burgers in a jiffy. Add your own spices to ensure they taste exactly the way you'd like.
Julie Magro/Flickr Creative Commons

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Ground Meat

If a non-vegetarian hamburger is more to your liking, why not kick it up a notch by grinding your own beef, using whatever cut you'd prefer.
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Easy Sorbet

Cut up some ripe mango and puree in your food processor. Freeze the pureed mango and whip up in the food processor and enjoy the frozen, fruity result anytime you like.
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Ice Cream

Bet you didn't know you could make ice cream in a food processor, did you? Well, it's true! First, freeze your base (heavy cream if you're more concerned with flavour than calories) in a freezer bag. Once frozen, blend in the food processor until smooth and creamy. Add flavour — anything from fruit, to peanut butter, chocolate syrup — to create your own unique flavour.
Nick Ares/Flickr Creative Commons

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Cookie Dough

Mixing up a batch of homemade cookie dough can be time-consuming and messy — so let your food processor do the heavy lifting instead.
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Nut Butter

Add peanuts and press the button. Making peanut butter is just that simple. Do the same thing with almonds, pecans or any nut of your choosing to create your own homemade, gourmet nut butter.
Neil Conway/Flickr Creative Commons

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Hummus

That can of chickpeas in the back of the cupboard can easily become a delicious bowl of hummus. Just add some fresh garlic and spices, and get ready to dip!
jules/Flickr Creative Commons

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Mayonnaise

Food processors are ideal for emulsifying, the process that transforms any type of oil (olive oil and canola oil are natural choices) into fresh, creamy mayo.
Joy/Flickr Creative Commons

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Pesto

Blend fresh basil with garlic, pine nuts, olive oil and pecorino cheese, and voila! Instant fresh and flavourful pesto. Brent Furdyk is a freelance writer in Vancouver.
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