The 5 Best Electric Mixer Attachments

You made the leap. You went out (or clicked "Buy Now") and got yourself a KitchenAid mixer. This ingenious contraption is the mainstay of plenty a kitchen – and with good reason. By buying a few attachments for your KitchenAid mixer, you can prep restaurant-quality food in a matter of minutes without toiling, aching, and sweating to do the dirty work like peeling and shredding. The attachments we've included in our list rank among the five best currently available. Take a look!

KitchenAid Pasta Roller + Cutter

The Spaghetti Monster

Able to craft pasta noodles in just minutes with minimal cleanup required, this one's a no-brainer for spaghetti and fettuccine lovers.

Best Overall

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When it comes to pasta, most of us just assume the only way to eat it is to buy it in a box at the store or at a restaurant. But have you ever thought about making it yourself? This set allows you to make spaghetti, fettuccine, or even lasagna from scratch by utilizing its stainless steel rollers and cutters. All you need to do is take your fresh pasta dough, run it through the roller to flatten it into a sheet, then switch the attachment to the fine cutter (spaghetti) or the thick cutter (fettuccine). From there, your pasta is ready to be boiled and served. The whole process should take just minutes, and cleanup is very minimal thanks to the streamlined and simple design of this set.

Pros:

Don’t need to hold mixer in place with one hand while using it
Made in Italy
Great gift for pasta-lovers with a KitchenAid

Cons:

May be a tad difficult to clean nooks of the fettucine cutter
Not the cheapest option

KitchenAid KFE5T Flex Edge Beater

Just Beat It

Those planning on working with batters, sauces, or other thick, viscous foodstuffs will benefit greatly from this flex edge beater.

Best for Frequent Use

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Tired of having to scrape the bowl of all its residual contents whenever you prep something thick or doughy like batter? Me too. While I’m not about to second-guess my adherence to a no-waste philosophy, I am sick of that tedious bowl-scraping ritual. So why not do away with it completely and let your mixer take care of it for you? The KitchenAid Flex Edge Beater does just that – it scrapes flush against the sides of the bowl with its tilting, flexible edge to ensure that the contents don’t get stuck around the bowl’s perimeter, but rather get mixed in with everything else. It’s such an effective, simple add-on that many out there are left wondering, why isn’t this part of the KitchenAid’s stock design?

Pros:

Great for making brownies or cookies
Can be cleaned in dishwasher
Great benefit at little cost to you

Cons:

Rubber may crack with extended use

KitchenAid FreshPrep Slicer/Shredder

No Need for a Five Finger Filet

Rather than slog through the painstaking tedium of slicing and shredding veggies, this attachment lets you kick back and relax.

Best Versatility

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Whether it’s peeling carrots, shredding lettuce, slicing cucumbers, or dicing scallions, we believe we’d be hard-pressed to find many moms out there who enjoy this task. How much can something be when a small lapse in attention can result in a cut to your finger? Not to mention, those with arthritis or other structural issues may find it difficult or painful to slice and shred. Enter the FreshPrep Slicer/Shredder. Respected by home chefs, admired by KitchenAid attachment engineers, and feared by vegetables everywhere, this attachment is virtually plug-and-play: just pop in the proper-sized shredder, dial in the speed you want, and shred away.

Pros:

Can also be used for cheese
Great for salad lovers
Unparalleled ease of use

Cons:

Takes up a lot of kitchen space
Not ideal for small blocks of cheese

KitchenAid KSM1APC Spiralizer

The People's Favorite

Though its range of use is a bit limited, those who enjoy what it can do tend to become loyal champions of this attachment's abilities.

Best Convenience

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In recent years, spiralizing veggies has become something of a phenomenon. And with good cause! If you’ve ever had the honor of tasting a properly-prepared bowl of zucchini noodles, you’ll understand why. Into veggies into noodles or similarly-spiralized shapes is super easy when you’re using this attachment by KitchenAid. All you need to do is mount the vegetable (let’s use zucchini as an example) onto the skewer, place the peeler on the blade carrier, and then insert the spiralizer blade. From here, you simply align the blade with the zucchini, turn the mixer on and slowly increase the speed as the blades get to work. A few seconds later, voila! Zucchini noodles!

Pros:

Also includes a corer for fruit
High-quality metal blades
Very convenient for those who intend on using it often

Cons:

Must be aligned accurately for good results
A bit of a niche attachment

KitchenAid KICA0WH

We All Scream for Ice Cream

Bring the ice cream truck home with you and thrill your kids by installing this attachment onto your stand mixer.

Best for Dessert

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Save the best for last, right? With this attachment, you and your family are looking at homemade ice cream on demand. Once you connect the included dasher to the stand mixer’s rod, all you need to do is pour your batter into the included freeze bowl, set it to speed, and let it do its thing. From start to finish (including batter prep) you’re looking at only thirty minutes – 20 of which consist of you and your family sitting around with eyes bigger than your tummies, drooling at the hypnotic sight of your ice cream batter being spun.

Pros:

Can make up to 8 cups of ice cream in one go
Also great for sorbet
Cleans easily
1-year replacement warranty on parts

Cons:

Ice cream isn’t as hard as soft-serve varieties until frozen
A bit of a learning curve

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between KitchenAid’s stand mixer and their food processor? Can I use these attachments on both interchangeably?

Well, they’re very different machines designed to perform different functions. As such, you likely won’t be able to fit attachments made for the stand mixer onto the food processor. Unforunately, most of these attachments are made for the stand mixer and the stand mixer alone.

Do I really need any of these?

When we talk about needs, we really don’t need very much. So on a literal level, of course not. But if you see yourself, for example, making a lot of ice cream, or making zucchini noodles very frequently, then these attachments will save you a lot of time and effort. At the end of the day, they are designed to make your life easier – even if it’s just by a tiny bit.