The best stand mixer is one of the most versatile kitchen appliances. A mixer can whip up wonderful desserts, knead the dough, and more. But some mixers are better than others. Discover what to look for in a stand mixer here.
Disclaimer: This is my personal opinion - none of the companies that make these products are paying me anything to share this view. The links below are affiliate links that earn me a commission when you use my links. Using my link does not affect the price of your purchase (it does help me pay for my blog)
Stand mixers are one of the few kitchen gadgets that are a pleasure to use. These come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and features and can be found in a number of places, usually at a range of different prices.
Which is the best stand mixer for you? As a home baker who bakes often my stand mixer is like my baking buddy. It can make or ruin my mood too! I think it is one of the most important tools a baker needs to make her baking life a lot easier.
10 things you need to look for in your stand mixer.
- Your personal needs - Why and what do you need your stand mixer for? This is very important because it will help you decide the type of mixer to buy For example -
- You can buy a stand mixer such as the K-Mix or Kitchen-Aid classic that does the basics of mixing, kneading, and whipping. Or
- Or, you can buy one with a few additional features such as a built-in weighting scale, a heating pad for melting chocolate, and Bain-Marie, as well as proofing doughs.
- These days you can even buy stand mixers that allow you to buy a few attachments such as making pasta, meat grinders, sausage maker, blenders, etc.
- Quality - buy from a company that you know has good quality products. Don't buy an unknown brand that may be price effective in the short term but more expensive in repairs later. Sometimes some brands won't have the spare parts either.
- Durability- You want to buy something that you know you can use over and over and over again.
- Buy something that you know will stand the extra load on those baking days when you have more items to prepare.
- And, buy one that can take the load of heavy dough such as Whole Wheat flour and Fondant.
- Attachments - It is worth taking a moment to think here.
- Cake - There is a reason why they call this the cake mixer it really is amazing to make cake batters with the paddle attachment.
- Bread - the dough hook will make baking bread fun. It really is a game-changer for creating the dough.
- Whipping - If you've whipped meringues or heavy cream by hand then you know there is NOTHING better than using the whisk attachment to simplify your life.
- Size - This can be confusing but a very important decision. Which size do you need?
- If you just bake for family and friends then go with the regular basic 5 Quarts bowl.
- If you bake large batches then you may want to choose the 7 Quarts Bowl.
- And of course, my favorite is to buy one with two bowls such as my Kenwood Titanium Chef Patisserie XL.
- Looks - This is subjective. My wish list had many a few gorgeous stand mixers which look so pretty but either did not fit in my budget or did not have the feature I was looking for which is why it is very important to understand your needs before you go shopping.
- Price - Again this is something. Personally, I'd say make a list of the features you need and then make a list of the stand mixers. From there, filter them out based on price range.
- Attachments - Often these will come with bonus prices with the mixer but you can also buy them individually whenever you need them. The most important to ensure is that the mixer you buy has the ability to use these attachments.
- Noise - Most stand mixers come with a heavy motor for durability which means they are usually loud. I usually chose to use my mixer during the day so it doesn't bother anyone. A hand mixer is less noisy than a stand mixer.
- Warranty - My advice on warranty - get it! Always look for the best and long warranty. Things happen and no matter how best the quality sometimes its' best to have that extra security.
For over 20 years I used my Kenwood K-Mix. It was still good and running but I wanted to buy myself the Kenwood Titanium Chef Patissier XL so I gave my old machine to a family member who is still using it almost every week. In the past, I have often used the Kitchen Aid - Artisan during my travels teaching cakes.
The types of stand mixers are in plenty. The two brands that I have used and recommend, are Kenwood and Kitchen-Aid. Having said that of course, some other popular brands are Cuisine Art, Hamilton, and Sunbeam.
Well, depending on where you are in the world most brands will have different models in their part of the world. So, if you are in the US the model numbers will be different from the ones in England and Europe. So the best way to choose your stand mixer is to look for the features.
To me the main difference is hand-free! A hand mixer had to be hand-held throughout the time of the mixing which can be difficult and uncomfortable over a long time. With the stand mixer, you can do other things while the mixer is on.
Endless things!! The stand mixer with the basic attachments can be used for cake, bread, mousse, cream, and more. When used in combination with other attachments the possibilities are endless such as making pasta, grinding meats, blending, dicing veggies, etc.
Most stand mixers have the basic features of making batters and whipping creams for your cakes and frosting. I would suggest ensuring you have the following.
1. The splash guard - which really helps when working with powdered sugar. Kitchen Aid or Kenwood K-Mix
2. The Flex beaters for Kitchen Aid - they help with scraping the sides of your bowl.
3. If you do baking demos or baking videos like me then having a see-thru glass bowl for the stand mixer works amazing. And Kitchen Aid KSM105GBCMC 5-Qt. Tilt-Head Stand Mixer with glass bowl and flex edge beater - metallic chrome.
Top personal picks
Basic, simple, easy to use, and affordable - Perfect for the home baker.
Kenwood KMC011 5 Quart Chef Titanium Kitchen Machine, Stainless Steel ( US)
![""]("https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=vesarofca-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=B0172AFROY")
![]("//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B0172AFROY&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=vesarofca-20&language=en_US")
- 5QT solid stainless steel work bowl with rugged handles, easy to remove from the machine. dishwasher safe (along with all the tools)
- Four built-in speed hubs allow you to add Kenwood attachments
- Includes 3 professional-quality, stainless steel bowl tools: power whisk, dough hook, the unique K-Beater (specially designed for maximum mixing performance)
- 5-Qt. stainless steel bowl with a comfortable handle offers enough capacity to mix dough for 9 dozen cookies or 4 loaves of bread in a single batch.
- Includes coated flat beater, coated dough hook, 6-wire whip, and 1-piece pouring shield. The flat beater and dough hook are dishwasher-safe.
- the Kenwood kMix stand mixer with glass bowl offers a stylish blend of color, retro design, and classic Kenwood reliability for all your cooking.
- Alongside the 5L glass mixing bowl is a 1000w motor,
- With over 10 optional attachments you can do more in the kitchen like pasta rolling and meat grinding, protect your kitchen sides with the supplied splash guard
- 3 versatile attachments let you do everything from kneading pizza dough to mixing cookie dough and whipping cream.
- features a 5.5-quart capacity with a 500-watt motor, die-cast metal construction, and 12-speeds
- Includes chef’s whisk, dough hook, flat mixing paddle, and splash guard with pour spout
- Optional attachments: Pasta extruder, pasta roller and cutters, ice cream maker, meat grinder and spiralizer
For those who want something more...
Kenwood KMM021 7QT Chef Titanium Kitchen Machine - US customers
- Four built-in speed hubs allow you to add Kenwood attachments
- 7QT solid stainless steel work bowl with rugged handles, easy to remove from the machine. dishwasher safe (along with all the tools)
- Includes 3 professional-quality, stainless steel bowl tools: power whisk, dough hook , the unique K-Beater (specially designed for maximum mixing performance)
- Kenwood Titanium Chef Baker XL, (UK customers)
- 1200W Powerful ChefMotor Digitally controlled ChefMotor with fold function.
- EasyWeigh Scales Weigh directly into the bowl.
- Over 25 accessories. Attach them to your Chef and you can blend, slice, spiralize, grate, juice at low speed, and much more
- The Kenwood food mixer includes a set of 3 stainless steel utensils, a K-beater, a dough hook, and a whisk, all dishwasher safe
- Kenwood Titanium Chef Patissier XL (UK customers)
- Exclusive 7L EasyWarm Bowl
- 6 x SimpleTouch Presets - prove dough, melt chocolate, or mix a cake at the touch of a button
- EasyWeigh Scales - weigh directly into the bowl
- Nesting DuoBowl - For baking convenience; never limit your creativity with 7L and 5L stainless steel bowls
- BakeAssist 2.4" Touch Screen - With easy-to-use navigation
- Kenwood Cooking Chef KCC9060S (UK customers)
- Ultimate creativity with induction heating
- Features 20 pre-set cooking programs to master complex pastries and delicate sauces, casseroles, pizza dough, and flavourful slow cooking.
- Change settings with a temperature range of 20C - 180C you're in control
- The mixer boasts 1500 watts of power combined with high precision control and tackles any task from whisking and mixing to stirring and folding.
My favorite accessories
I hope this has been a helpful post and hope it helps you with your next shopping for Stand Mixers. If you have any more suggestions or experiences to share with us please do in the comments below. We would love to hear.
Maxwell
Very useful article. I just got myself a Kenwood because you have a Kenwood and I follow all your recipes. Thanks
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Maxwell. Aww, Congrats on your new buy. I think you are going to have fun with this new toy. Thanks for coming back to write this feedback. Have a lovely day.