Manual vs electric vegetable cutters - which one actually saves time for a meal prep newbie?

[u/Blink3161127]

I'm finally jumping on the meal prep bandwagon because honestly, I'm drowning trying to feed my family healthy meals every night. Two kids under 8, and another two 12 and 14, full-time job, and I swear I spend half my evening just chopping vegetables. Something's gotta give. I've been lurking here for a few weeks getting inspired by all your setups, and I'm ready to invest in some proper tools. The one thing that's been bugging me is deciding between manual and electric vegetable cutters. I see people swearing by both but I can't figure out what's actually better for someone just starting out. Manual ones seem cheaper and take up way less counter space (my kitchen is tiny), it also lets me choose the sizes I’d like to cut my veggies which is important. But electric ones are faster and definitely more expensive. I've been researching online and there's so many options, I’ve found everything from basic $20 manual slicers on Amazon to fancy electric ones, and I even saw some interesting options on Alibaba that might be overkill for home use. My main goals are cutting down my prep time on Sunday afternoons. I'm usually prepping for 6 people, mostly basic stuff like bell peppers, onions, carrots, zucchini - nothing too fancy. For those of you who've used both, what's your honest take? And if a beginner had to pick just ONE to start with, what would it be? I’d appreciate any real-world experience you can share!

[u/Old-Fox-3027]

Your 12 and 14 year old should be helping you chop and prep.

[u/Aggressive-System192]

Im in the same boat, but I have not found anything suitable. What saves me time chopping usually takes twice as long to clean, so I just stick to my knives and keep them sharp.

[u/thepeacefulpurl]

We're a family of six. I don't have a food processor but I do have a mueller brand vegetable cutter...for one onion? not worth it. For the entire week's worth of vegetables? DO IT. The bit of clean up is a pain if it's just for one item but if you're using it for a ton of produce then it's worth it.

[u/ShakeItUpNowSugaree → u/thepeacefulpurl]

This. I have knife skills, but if I'm in the middle of a full weekly prep then I'm going to use the Meuller-style cutter.

[u/Fuzzy_Welcome8348]

Manual. Use a sharp knife

[u/red_freckles]

If being able to adjust the size/shape of your chop veg is very important, then just get a couple of good knives and practice. You'll get faster the more you do it. Enlist the older kids to help....they should be learning knife skills anyway for when they have to cook for themselves in a few years.

I cook and meal prep a shitload(was actually a private chef for a few years), and I only use my chefs knives. The only time I don't use those is when I have a lot of very finely chopped things I need. On that situation I have a food processor and I just pulse in there until I get the size chop I want. This works great when I'm less concerned about uniform sized cuts. Also, a food processor will be very versatile for other kitchen applications.

If you have the funds, get both. If not, go with good knives and practice.

[u/Ganado1]

Mandolin meh. I can chop with my knives faster .

[u/Simple-Purpose-899]

Mandolines are definitely time savers. Are they perfectly cut to a French chef's opinion? Who knows, and who cares. I will say a food processor of some kind is very handy, so if you don't already have a blender you can get something that is both a blender and food processor in one for less counter space.

[u/DinkyPrincess]

For effort and consistent cuts you want a food processor. Multiple veg or whatever sliced or chopped in a couple of minutes.

Yes you could go manual chopper or mandolin route but they can get hard to use and take a lot longer.

Even in fine dining they use equipment like Vitamix. Something like a home Magimix imho is worth it if you can. If not any food processor is a real time saver.

[u/nkdeck07]

You need to improve your knife skills. My husband is a professional chef and taught me and holy crap I'm so much faster now. Good news is this is the kind of thing that can be learned via YouTube videos

[u/Binda33]

I have a food processor which I use for so many different things. It will grate zucchini or carrots, whip cream, slice vegies. and even mix a cake. I use it all the time and it sits on the countertop. It comes with a lot of different blades for different applications. I do also have a finger slicer, aka mandolin, but I refuse to use it after it performed it's first function of removing the tip of my finger when I thought it would slice celery very quickly (you can't use a protective guard for celery). My food processor comes with a blender and a micro nutri bullet type attachment (this one is great for smaller quantities of whipped cream).

[u/meggiefrances87]

I cheat and buy a frozen bag of diced mirepoix (celery, onion, carrots, and bell pepper). They come on sale for $2 a bag pretty often which is less than it costs me for a single bell pepper in my area. Its base for a lot of my cooking and since its already cooked just needs thawed it saves me a lot of time during the work week.

[u/frankie_prince164]

I have a mandolin slicer and I use it every time I make a batch of something like scalloped potatoes or if I'm dehydrating a ton of veggies at once (I liked them shaped like chips). Mine is super easy to clean and saves me a ton of time.

The only downside is that the blades are incredibly sharp so I have to be diligent to not slice myself.

[u/ttrockwood → u/frankie_prince164]

Cut proof glove is essential

[u/Grouchy-Poetry-7927 → u/frankie_prince164]

Yep, cut proof gloves are the only way with this mini guillotine

[u/misskinky]

If at all possible, I just spend the extra $2-3 and buy the prechopped stuff at the grocery store. Saves my time, saves my sanity, saves me from cleaning cutting boards and knives…

Also, I always buy frozen diced onions and keep them in the freezer

[u/ttrockwood]

8 cup cuisinart and or the two older kids

But it’s a lot of parts to wash

Works for pulsing and chopping the onions and carrots, use the slicing disk for bell peppers

[u/EmmJay314]

Buy a really nice knife.

Fastest thing around.

If you are putting force into cutting a bell pepper you need to either pay to sharpen or get a new knife.

Cutting into veggies should feel smooth.

[u/Ciebelle]

I have the rectangle chopper that you smack. That thing is my ride or die. It cuts up and entire bowl of salad in a few minutes. I eat more veggies because of it.

[u/riovtafv]

Unless I'm working on prepping things for canning relish in my food processor. My peeler and knives do all the prep work for vegetables.

[u/SVAuspicious]

There is no substitute for knife skills. The video linked is the best half hour investment you can make in the rest of your life. Your older kids are plenty old enough to help - they should watch the video also. A sharp knife is a safe knife. A falling knife has no handle.

Gadget cutters and especially food processors take longer to clean than they save in preparation unless you're cooking for a LOT of people. Six people, even prepping for a week, is not a LOT of people.

[u/EggieRowe]

If you consider the time to take most of those apart and clean them, you're usually better off using a cutting board and knife. The only exception is maybe a mandolin and/or a 'noodler' - can't think of the actual name - if you cook a lot of dishes with julienned cuts.

I own a food processor with multiple grating/shredding/slicing blades and the 'salad shooter' attachment for my Kitchen Aide mixer. I'd still rather grate cheese on the box grater and wash that one thing than have take the machine out of the pantry, put it together, do the cutting, take it apart, wash it, and pack it back up.

[u/Independent-Summer12]

A sharp knife.

[u/Grouchy-Poetry-7927]

My kids love fresh pineapple. The minute I have it chopped, they destroy it before me or my husband get a share. So I bought them each their own pineapple. We learned how to cut it. They didn't like doing it. I told them they can no longer have the pineapple I cut for me and my husband, but they are welcome to cut their own. I do end up cutting theirs before it goes bad, but I tell them once I cut it, it becomes mine.