Whether you’re in a rush, you’re a busy parent packing your kid’s lunch, or you’re cooking for an elderly parent, preparing meals can feel more like busywork than crafting creative cuisine. Particularly with fruit or vegetable salads, cutting up ingredients can be time-consuming.
Enter the vegetable chopper. These gadgets can save you time and effort by reducing how much you actually have to cut by hand. And many of them are inexpensive, costing little more than $20.
The question is, how well do they actually deliver on that promise of saving time and effort? To find out, we picked six of them, ranging in price from $19 to $75, and I used them at home to slice carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, melons, apples, and cucumbers, as well as cheese and cold cuts.
The vegetable choppers I tried out for this evaluation are nearly identical in concept. They have a small grid of metal blades in a square shape measuring roughly 3x3 inches, depending on the model, with a basin to catch what gets shoved through the teeth of the grid. You put larger chunks [halved, quartered, etc.] of a vegetable or fruit on the grid and swing a hinged clamp over top that pushes the food through the blades.
In some cases, depending on the density of what you’re attempting to slice and the design of the chopper, the amount of force required might feel like a workout. Some of the choppers include swappable inserts with smaller or larger grids for smaller or larger chunks, and some included other tools like julienne cutters and graters.
But none of them created uniformly sliced results, especially with round vegetables like tomatoes or cucumbers. Also, while some of these choppers were able to mince vegetables and fruits, the softer the food, the more you’d end up with a mash rather than precisely cut-up pieces.
Most of the choppers I tried fall within a narrow price spectrum, with the exception of the model we bought for $74.95 from Williams Sonoma. Spoiler alert: It is better than the rest, if not perfect. But if you’re going to use one of these frequently it could be worth the upcharge, and yes, that’s despite the fact that other models we tried had add-ons and widgets.
In our evaluations, a choppers’ stability is pretty highly weighted because each of them has to stay still under the force of pushing food through it. Choppers that felt flimsy or that squibbed around under that pressure felt like a mess or an injury waiting to happen. Cleanup gets a thumb on the scale as well, since the choppers that were easier to mop up afterward are actually labor-saving—and the ones that made a mess aren’t saving anyone time and got a demerit.
Compared to traditional knife cutting, SnapChop™ will allow you to quickly chop, slice or crush all types of vegetables such as cabbage, onion, tomato, garlic, carrot, potato, and more.
It's Really Easy to Use
A simple two-step operation to get your favorite vegetables in no time
SHARP & SAFE
The stainless steel blades are razor sharp to get prep work done without efforts SnapChop™ is also equipped with a handguard to keep you safe.
A LARGE CAPACITY PERFECT FOR FAMILY
A Large Container & Colander Basket
The container has a capacity of 1.5L to hold a large volume of vegetables.
A colander basket is also included allowing you to clean the vegetables right after you've done your cuttings.
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Photo: Amazon
Confession: If a dish involves numerous ingredients or lots of knife work, I tend to let [aka make] my husband take the lead instead. So when I recently stumbled across videos of a vegetable chopper on TikTok that users claimed was game changing, we both knew I needed to check it out for myself.
Made by Fullstar and available at Amazon for just $24, the veggie chopper and spiralizer is a fairly simple machine consisting of four interchangeable blades [small, large, spiral, and ribbon] that can cleanly split apart onions, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and much more. To use it, all you need to do is place the vegetable in question on top of the blade and press the lid down; the chopped food pieces go directly into a collection tray placed underneath, so there's no need to bring out a cutting board or other container.
Courtesy of Amazon
To buy: Fullstar Vegetable Chopper, $24 [originally $40] at amazon.com
I'd seen multiple TikTok videos of users raving about the gadget's sharp blades and ultra-quick chopping process, so I was cautiously optimistic before giving it a go. As mentioned, my knife skills are… minimal, so the idea of a device that could majorly cut down on all that time and stress was highly intriguing. I decided to test out the chopper on a night where we were making a big salad, since there'd be plenty of ingredients at play. After setting up the larger blade in a matter of seconds, I cut off half a cucumber [so it would be able to fit] and placed it on top. I closed the lid, wished for the best, and was greeted a moment later with a few dozen perfectly-sized pieces of cucumber waiting in the collection bin.
Food & Wine / Rachel Simon
Following that success, I used the chopper on carrots, peppers, onions, tomatoes, as well as a potato we were planning on using for the following night's dinner. Everything came out at just the right size and took hardly any effort, minus peeling the onion and taking out the pepper seeds ahead of time. The only slight mishap was with the tomatoes, which shot juice out in all directions as I was closing the lid. Not ideal, certainly, but when I shut the chopper with a bit more speed and strength next time, the problem was totally solved.
When I was all done chopping, I emptied the foods out of the collection bin and into a bowl for serving. As for cleaning, the chopper comes with two brushes and a scraper to get out any tiny food particles left behind, but it's dishwasher-safe, too. I just popped the plastic bin and the blades onto the top shelf of the dishwasher at the end.
Food & Wine / Rachel Simon
Honestly, I'm wowed by the simplicity and convenience of this device, which saved me so much prep time and took away all the anxiety I'd normally feel while getting veggies ready. I can see why it has over 32,400 five-star ratings on Amazon and is a bestseller in its category — it's just as much of a game changer as everyone in those TikTok videos said.
I'll be using this chopper for many salads and other meals to come, and I know my husband will be thrilled to have a bit more help in the kitchen. Grab your own while it's 40% off at Amazon.
What is the best slicer for vegetables?
Swissmar Börner V-Power Mandoline. ... .
Mueller Multi Blade Adjustable Mandoline. ... .
Oxo Chef's Slicer [discontinued] ... .
Oxo Good Grips Chef's Mandoline Slicer 2.0. ... .
Dash Safe Slice. ... .
Microplane Adjustable Mandoline Slicer. ... .
Gramercy Adjustable Mandoline Slicer..
Is a vegetable slicer worth it?
If you're hoping to save time in the kitchen or just want to avoid chopping, a mandoline slicer is an excellent, inexpensive tool to consider. It can even help those who are new in the kitchen and aren't sure how to slice and dice consistently.
What is the best tool for shredding vegetables?
Most vegetables can be shredded with a box grater, a hand grater, or a food processor—however, cabbage, lettuce, and other leafy greens can just as easily be shredded with a knife.
What is a good brand of vegetable chopper?
Read on to find out which vegetable chopper ranks as the best on the market today..
Fullstar Deluxe Vegetable Chopper White 9-in-1. ... .
Fullstar Vegetable Chopper with Container. ... .
Fullstar Compact Vegetable Chopper. ... .
Mueller Onion Chopper 4 Blade Pro Series. ... .
Fullstar Onion Chopper Hand Chopper Black..