Best Mixers of 2018

Why Trust Us?

We charged into 120 hours of hands-on testing for all 10 of the mixers we chose after researching stand mixers and coming up with name brand electric mixers from well-known manufacturers. We wanted each test to be fair, so we measured all ingredients precisely, timed everything precisely and graded each mixer on the exacting standards we set for great results in foods and great value in a mixer.

We also sought advice from the experts. We checked in with Teresa Hunsaker, family consumer science educator at Utah State University Extension, to see what the typical home consumer should look for in a stand mixer. She strongly recommends that each individual think first about what they'll be using the mixer for most of the time and go from there when looking for features.

We also tracked down Lynnette Nielsen, bakery manager at Dick’s Fresh Market in Bountiful, Utah, who has worked as a commercial baker for almost 40 years. Given her extensive experience with giant commercial and home countertop mixers, Nielsen knows exactly what she would want in a home mixer: Power.

Without the oomph to make plenty of revolutions, a mixer cannot do the job it should, according to Nielsen.

We also looked at the website for renowned lifestyle expert Martha Stewart, who began her career in that area as a caterer and certainly knows her way around a kitchen. When discussing different mixer attachments on her website, Stewart said she is especially partial to the paddle attachment to tackle heavy jobs.

How We Tested
Our in-house testing took 120 hours for 10 mixers, checking for motor power, design, attachment effectiveness and overall performance. This involved multiple ingredients for 20 loaves of bread and 10 batches of chocolate chip cookies, as well as dozens of eggs to get a total of 40 ounces of egg whites.

We used each mixer to knead a two-loaf bread dough for 10 minutes using the dough hook attachment. After that, we felt the dough to see how elastic and smooth it was, and looked for any remaining bits of dough that might have stuck to the bowl. We awarded top grades to mixers with the smoothest and most resilient dough, and the cleanest bowl since that means everything was properly mixed.

Using the paddle attachment, we made a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough in each mixer using the paddle attachment. We especially noted whether the mixer provides a splashguard, a slow start feature and a folding feature, which lets you incorporate the chocolate chips without grinding them into sprinkles. We gave top marks to mixers that did not expel flour everywhere as we added dry ingredients, folded the chips in gently and, most importantly, fully incorporated all the ingredients.

We used the whisk attachment to whip 4 ounces of room-temperature egg whites to examine each mixer's ability volumize egg whites by whipping air into them. The best mixers created the greatest amount of poufy volume we measured and did this in the time we set, which was 4 minutes. 

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