Oster Planetary stand mixer review

The Oster Planetary stand mixer is one of the smaller units we reviewed, but it still stood out for its powerful kneading and 12-speed control.

Oster Planetary stand mixer review
(Image: © Amazon)

Top Ten Reviews Verdict

The Oster Planetary stand mixer provides thorough mixing, and does well with most dough recipes, but it falters a bit when trying to whip egg whites.

Pros

  • +

    Kneaded bread dough as effectively as larger, more powerful mixers

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    Dishwasher-safe parts

  • +

    Good for those looking for a compact mixer

Cons

  • -

    No additional attachments for sale

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    Not the best for whisking power

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If you're looking for the best stand mixer for a casual cook and baking enthusiast, the Oster Planetary stand mixer is a great compact option. It comes at a lower price tag than its more high-end rivals, but it also delivers less in terms of add-on options and capacity. The Oster Planetary stand mixer comes with a stainless steel mixing bowl of 4. 5 quart capacity and includes a stainless steel whisk, non-stick beater, dough hook and splash guard. Featuring a 12-speed control panel for precise mixing, beating, whipping, kneading, we found that the Oster Planetary stand mixer is 

Oster Planetary stand mixer review: Performance

You get a splashguard with the Oster Planetary mixer, which helps protect you from clouds of flour or splashes of cream as the mixer incorporates various ingredients that you pour into it. It also has a slow start function – you can begin the mixing process at the first, lowest speed and then increase up to a maximum of speed of 12, for whipping or aerating. There are handles on the bowl that make it easy to move around, and it’s safe to clean in the dishwasher, as are the attachments.

As you may expect with electric mixers, you get a paddle, whisk and dough hook attachment. However, that is as versatile as your Oster stand mixer gets – there are no compatible attachments that you can buy separately. This stands the Oster Planetary stand mixer apart from its competitors, as rivals such as the KitchenAid 5 Quart Tilt-Head Artisan Stand Mixer  come with meat grinder, juicer and spiralizer attachment add-ons. The Oster Planetary stand mixer won't be replacing other kitchen appliances any time soon, but it's still a high-performing stand mixer for kneading dough, mixing cake and other home baking functions. After all, many will already have the additional kitchen appliances they need, making the ability to multi-task with a stand mixer irrelevant when buying

A two-year warranty covers any defective parts your mixer may have. From the manufacturer’s website, you can access FAQs, user manuals and recipes. You can also contact customer support by phone or contact form on the site.

Oster Planetary stand mixer review: Features

Oster’s stand mixer is one of the smaller units we reviewed, but it still stood out while kneading enough dough for two loaves of bread with its dough hook in 10 minutes. The result was a well-worked dough that, by sight and feel, was smooth and elastic – just the right texture to make great bread. It also picked up all the bits of dough along the 4.5-quart stainless steel bowl, which means its planetary movement (with the attachment orbiting and the bowl rotating) works quite well and the attachment touches almost every part of the mixing bowl.

Unfortunately, we got varied results with one of our other kitchen tests, namely whipping egg whites, although this Oster model performed beautifully when mixing chocolate chip cookie dough. When we tested this mixer during a cookie dough test, the ingredients for the dough came together quickly and easily, but, as with many other models we tested, this one left a bit of butter on the sides of the bowl.

We also put this mixer to an egg white test, whipping 4 ounces of room-temperature egg whites. Unfortunately, our egg whites took a while to reach stiff peaks. However, it's still a lot less effort and time than you'd spend if you whisked by hand! If you want a mixer that aced all our tests and is reasonably close in price to the Oster, take a look at the KitchenAid Classic Plus.

Should you buy the Oster Planetary stand mixer?

The Oster Planetary Stand Mixer is not the perfect overall choice for a mixer, and it cannot replace several other appliances in your kitchen since you can’t buy attachments such as juicers, ice cream makers and the like. However, it handles itself well with smaller amounts of dough and general mixing tasks, and can serve as a useful kitchen tool for the casual everyday cook.

Linda Thomson

Linda Thomson, whose loves are kids, books, music, good food and classic films, has been a professional writer her entire working life. This includes four newspapers, one magazine and plenty of online publishing. She no longer writes for Top Ten Reviews, although you'll still see her work across a number of articles on the Top Ten Reviews site.