Everybody knows that vegetables are an important part of our everyday diet. However, it can be tricky to find the time to prepare veggies properly, especially on a regular basis. I’ve personally found great success in utilizing a commercial vegetable chopper in addition to my beloved chef and paring knives.
These handy devices cut my prep time in half and often come with built-in storage containers so I’m able to store my pre-cut veggies the night before.
I’ve also learned how to infuse vegetables into meals in new, inventive ways. From zucchini pasta to cheesy cauliflower, these choppers are definitely worth a try.
Top 6 Vegetable Choppers
Here are my top picks for vegetable choppers out on the market today.
1. Fullstar Vegetable Chopper
Fullstar offers this vegetable chopper in 3 different colors, so you’re sure to find one to match your personal sense of style. Notably, this set comes with 4 different interchangeable blades so you’re able to prepare a variety of fruits in veggies.
I personally love using the spiral blade for making zucchini noodles. The built-in storage container is pretty handy as well, and the sharp stainless steel blade means my food is prepped in no time at all.
Pros:
- Rust-resistant stainless steel
- Shock-proof ABS graded plastic
- 100% Money-Back guarantee should you be unsatisfied
- Accessories all fit inside the attached storage container so you don’t lose any of the 7 included pieces
- Comes with cleaning tools and is dishwasher safe
Cons:
- Storage container holds only up to 5 cups at one time
- Tougher vegetables may have to be cut in half before inserting into the slicer
2. Mueller Onion Chopper Pro Vegetable Chopper
Mueller’s onion chopper is built to reduce tears from the stinging fumes of onions, though the stainless steel blades are strong enough to cut a variety of veggies.
I love the push handle on this chopper which makes it easy to push the firmest onions through the blade without a whole lot of extra effort.
This chopper has a lifetime warranty and is BPA free, so you can feel good about preparing food for your whole family with it.
Pros:
- Comfy push handle
- Sharp stainless steel blade
- Backed by a lifetime warranty
- FDA certified
- Attached storage container
Cons:
- Compact size may make it more difficult to chop larger foods
- Locking tab needs to be secured in a very particular manner, handle assembly with care
3. LHS Vegetable Chopper
This chopper conveniently comes with 5 different blades for a variety of dishes. Notably, you can disassemble the chopper completely without a lot of hassle and stick them in the dishwasher for a thorough clean.
I find this feature particularly useful as little bits of raw veggies will often get stuck in the grates of choppers, which can be difficult to remove from just washing these by hand. There’s also an attached 1.2L container for easy storage.
Pros:
- 5 blades for maximum chopping flexibility
- Comfortable push handle
- Included hand-guard for added safety
- Dishwasher safe
- Included cleaning scraper
- FDA approved and BPA free
Cons:
- Somewhat difficult to switch between blades
- The compact size means that some veggies must be precut
4. Vidalia Chop Wizard Pro Max
If you find yourself constantly dicing onions, this is the perfect veggie chopper for you. The compact size makes this chopper easy to fit within your cabinet, and the sharp blades cut through onions with ease.
I love the rubber guard that lies over the blade and makes this cutter not only safer but also easier to clean. The included container also has handy measuring marks so you can know exactly how much food you’re preparing.
Pros:
- BPA free and ABS grade plastic
- Compact size for easy storage
- Blade cover for added safety and easy cleanup
- Handy measurement marks
- 3 different included blade sizes
- Included cleaning scraper
Cons:
- Not suitable for cutting larger vegetables
- Extra blades do not all fit in the provided container
5. The Original Vidalia Chop Wizard
This is the chopper known for starting it all, and with good reason: the chop wizard cuts through onions and soft-fleshed vegetables with ease.
I love the compact size of this veggie chopper, and its dishwasher-safe construction makes it easy to clean. It also comes with a dicing blade for finer cuts and the push handle is a great safety feature.
Pros:
- Included dicer blade
- Dishwasher safe
- Included storage container
- Container marked with measurement values
- Push handle for added safety
- Compact size for easy storage
Cons:
- Flexible blades mean that this chopper must be used fairly gently
- Less overall storage space for prepped foods
6. ZYLISS Zick-Zick Classic Food Chopper
If you’re tired of accidentally cutting your hands on chopping blades, this veggie chopper is the one for you. The handheld chopped cuts food vertically, adding a degree of separation between you and the blades.
I love this chopper’s handle lock feature which keeps my kitchen safe when it’s not in use. The chopper is also dishwasher safe and can be entirely disassembled to ensure a thorough clean.
Pros:
- Stainless steel blade
- Vertical chopping to protect fingers
- Compact size for easy storage
- Blade lock feature
- Can be disassembled for cleaning purposes
- Includes storage cup and lip
Cons:
- The small size makes it limited to cutting small amounts of vegetables
- Must be used with a cutting board—no attached storage container
Why invest in a Vegetable Chopper?
For those of you who have never used a vegetable chopper before, it may seem like an extra expense that you don’t need in your kitchen. However, you may find that a vegetable chopper will make your overall cooking process easier, allow for new inventive cooking techniques, and improve your dishes.
Here are a few of the many reasons that a vegetable chopper will become a valued piece of equipment within your kitchen.
Reducing prep time
If you’re like me, cooking is the last thing you want to think about when you come home after a long day at work. My veggie chopper has made my cooking process seamless and allows me to cut my prep time in half.
Perhaps my favorite thing about my slicer is the included storage bin. I’m big into meal planning on the weekends, so this makes cooking throughout the week a breeze.
It should be noted, however, that sometimes I’ll preemptively slice my vegetables into smaller chunks to that they fit properly in my chopper. The initial cutting is still part of the process, but that doesn’t mean that my chopper is inefficient.
Vegetable choppers are perfect for getting your food from the fridge to your plate in no time at all.
New ways to Enjoy Veggies
I’m lucky enough that my current vegetable chopper includes the trendy spiral blade. This blade can help transform zucchini, squash, even eggplant into thin, long noodles. Not only do these noodles taste delicious, but they have much fewer carbs than traditional pasta and give you a healthy serving of vegetables without even knowing it.
Moreover, I never knew how easy it was to make my own Pico De Gallo salsa from home until I got my chopper. In a lot of ways, committing to this chopper will help you rethink your relationship with vegetables as a whole, and you may find yourself eating them a lot more often as I have.
With a multitude of interchangeable blades, the possibilities are endless for what you can do with your vegetable chopper.
Improve Your Cooking
As much as I love cooking, I’ve never thoroughly mastered the art of chopping fruits and vegetables in an even and consistent manner. For better or worse, now I don’t have to! My chopper does it for me, and as a result, I produce tastier, more professional dishes.
Consistent chopping allows for your food to cook more evenly often resulting in a tastier end result. Moreover, finer cuts allow raw foods’ natural delicious flavors to permeate throughout your dish, which can be time-consuming and difficult to achieve on your own.
You’ll find that your veggie chopper will improve your cooking by default and give you cleaner, finer cuts with every use.
What to Look For in a Vegetable Chopper
There are a lot of factors that go into finding the perfect vegetable chopper for your home, so it’s important to proactively consider these variables before adding one to your shopping cart. Here are a few things to consider before purchasing a professional-grade vegetable chopper.
Intended Use
Before purchasing your vegetable chopper, consider your potential product’s intended use. For example, some choppers are marketing specifically towards onions and will translate well to cutting similarly sized vegetables, like a tomato.
However, this chopper will not work as well for long, narrow veggies like squash and zucchini. For me, it’s worth it to invest in a chopper that is large enough to break down a variety of foods. I also know I want to make the spiral blade a priority, as my family loves the taste and appearance of properly cooked zucchini noodles.
Consider blade hardness and what you chop the most often. While most choppers are able to cut fleshy vegetables like peppers with ease, you may have to look for a heavy-duty chopper for cutting hard veggies like carrots without a lot of hassle. How you intend to use your chopper will greatly affect your purchasing decision.
Manual vs Electric
Regular vegetable chopping, even for those with professional-grade veggie choppers, is not for the faint of heart. Arthritis and sensitive muscles can affect your ability to cook efficiently. If you suffer from sensitive wrists or hands, you may want to consider investing in an electric vegetable chopper.
If you cook as often as I do, it’s understandable that using a manual chopper can get tiring. Make sure you’re always making your physical health a priority by investing a product that’s perfect for your specific health needs.
I prefer a manual chopper since I like having more control over the exact cut of every vegetable but I definitely see the benefits of trying out an electric version. Make sure to prioritize whatever works best for you and your home!
Storage
While larger choppers may allow more vegetable cutting options, a lot of times they can take up a lot of cabinet or counter space which is limited real estate, to say the least. You’re definitely going to want to take this into account, especially if you live in a compact city apartment as I do.
Moreover, vegetable choppers have extra sharp blades by nature. If you have small children or pets around the house, you’re going to want to take the extra precautions necessary to ensure that your vegetable chopper is stowed away properly.
I love when all of a chopper’s interchangeable blades can fit within the provided container; it certainly keeps things much more organized. In this case, size does matter for a variety of reasons.
Safety features
Safety is perhaps the most important thing to consider when cooking in the kitchen. These products are designed for efficiency, but as you would with any piece of cooking equipment, you want to make sure you’re using them slowly enough to prevent injury. Luckily, many of these vegetable choppers have a number of embedded safety features to ease this process.
One of my favorite features on my vegetable chopper is the hand-held push lever. Not only does this allow me to use less pressure to achieve my desired chop, but I’m also able to protect my hands from the sharp blade.
Vertical choppers are also great for this reason. In general, it’s always a good idea to wear a pair of cut-proof gloves while operating your vegetable chopper just in case. These gloves will allow you to work faster without having to worry as much about your personal safety.
In general, make safety features a priority while picking out a vegetable chopper for your home.
Marked Measurements
Though this feature may seem small and somewhat insignificant, I’ve found it to be particularly handy, especially when meal prepping. If you’re planning to store your precut veggies in the included container attachments of your food chopper, look out for this handy feature.
Cleaning
Cleaning is a particularly important factor to consider when picking out your vegetable chopper as many of these devices are prone to getting minuscule bits of food residue caught in between the crevices of the plastic.
Look for vegetable choppers that can be deconstructed and washed in the dishwasher. Some chopper kits also include cleaning brushes or tools, so look out for those as well. My chopper has a removable rubber protector around the blade which acts as a safety feature and also makes it a lot easier to clean.
Make sure your prospective vegetable chopper is able to cut with ease. It will certainly save you time in the long run and allow your chopper to work longer and faster with proper care.
Warranty
Like any blade, vegetable choppers’ sharpness will naturally fade with time. Unlike traditional knives, there’s not really a way to regularly sharpen the blades of choppers, so if possible, find a chopper that has a covered warranty. This way, you can easily replace the blade and continue enjoying your vegetable chopper for years to come.
Worst case scenario, many of these choppers offer replacement blades at a pretty affordable price, so keep that in mind if you start to see wear on your equipment.
Ways to Use Your new Vegetable Chopper
Obviously, you can use your vegetable chopper to assist in traditional cooking preparation tasks, but what else can you do? Here a few ways to use your vegetable chopper that you may not have considered.
- Chopping Fruits: I ardently love fruit salad and my vegetable chopper does just the trick. Remember that you’re not just limited to vegetables—any fruit with a soft, fleshy exterior will work just as well. Enjoy chopping up bulk fresh apple slices with ease!
- Slicing Cheese: Shredding cheese can be pretty time consuming, but sometimes necessary for cooking. Look for a chopper that has a shredder attachment to lower your overall cook prep time in more ways than one. Plus, grating your own cheese ends up saving money and often tastes better than pre-shredded options.
- Veggie Noodles: This is perhaps my favorite use for my vegetable chopper. Veggie noodles are great, tasty ways of introducing extra veggies into your diet, and it can be great fun experimenting with different flavors and shapes of veggies. Make sure you search for veggie choppers with an included spiral attachment. For the best results, use long, starchy vegetables like zucchini, eggplant, and squash for veggie “pasta”.
Vegetable Choppers Make Cooking That Much Easier
Finding a vegetable chopper that’s perfect for you and your home can sure be a hassle, but it certainly doesn’t have to be. Just make sure you’re paying attention to the buying guide carefully to ensure that you’re considering all the possible factors that go into picking out the perfect piece of equipment.
As you’ll soon learn, these handy devices make cooking easier as well as more fun. Enjoy using your new tool and enjoy veggies in ways you’ve never have before!