The 8 Best KitchenAid Attachments, Tested and Reviewed

How We Tested KitchenAid Attachments

We've tested KitchenAid stand mixer attachments in several ways—both in our official testing lab and in the kitchens of experienced at-home testers. We've noted how they fit onto the machine, the ease of use, how well they work, the ease of cleaning, and more. Because each attachment is different, we've made lots of varieties of food like pasta, ice cream, veggie noodles, cookie dough, and more.

What to Look for in a KitchenAid Attachment

Types of Attachments

Pasta Rollers, Cutters, and Presses

Pasta sheet roller: Unless you’ve had decades of practice learning from an experienced Italian nonna, you’re probably not going to be able to roll out perfectly thin and even sheets of pasta with much ease. This is exactly why the pasta sheet roller is one of the most popular mixer attachments for both home and professional cooks. 

With eight thickness settings, the pasta sheet roller attachment accommodates your roughly rolled dough and sheets it to your desired thickness. At a maximum width of 6 inches, the pasta sheets are perfect for lasagna sheets or ready for cutting into noodles or ravioli.

While some people are comfortable slicing their pasta dough into noodles by hand, KitchenAid also provides pasta cutter attachments in four different widths that make slicing pasta consistent and efficient. The cutters work the same way as the sheeter (and require pre-sheeted dough). The downside is that the different widths are not sold individually but rather as part of different sets—which can get expensive if you don’t plan for which pieces you’d like to use.

Two-piece set: Includes a medium-large-width lasagnette and very small capellini cutter. 

Three-piece set: Includes the pasta sheet roller as well as a small spaghetti and medium-width fettuccine cutter.

Five-piece deluxe set: Includes the pasta sheet roller and all four pasta cutters. 

1-inch ravioli maker: The ravioli maker plugs into the hub of your KitchenAid for stability but is a hand-cranked machine. Using pre-sheeted pasta dough, the ravioli maker attachment creates pockets of whatever filling you place in the filling hopper, pressing and scoring the dough around the pockets into consistent ravioli shapes. Reviews of the ravioli maker are mixed, with some praising the convenience of the machine filling the pasta and others mentioning that traditional ravioli presses are just as convenient for a fraction of the price. 

Gourmet pasta press attachment: Extruded pasta is a different ballgame. Instead of sheeted pasta cut into noodles, pasta dough is pressed through a patterned die to create noodle shapes (similar to spritz cookie presses). The gourmet pasta press attachment comes with six discs that extrude pasta into round spaghetti, bucatini, rigatoni, fusilli, and large and small macaroni shapes. Pasta dough is pressed through the top feeder and then cut with a wirecutter at the base when it has reached the desired length. If you’ve never made extruded pasta before, you’ll likely get the hang of feeding and cutting the dough quickly.

Grinder Attachments

KitchenAid makes two grinder attachments: one heavy-duty all-metal set with extras and one mostly plastic grinder made for light- to medium-duty home use. Grinders are great for those interested in making their own sausages, chorizo, or even easily grinding hard cheeses, vegetables for salsa, and breadcrumbs.

Metal food grinder: This kit includes three sizes of grinding plates, a larger detachable food tray, and a plunger as well as two sizes of sausage stuffer attachments and a cleaning brush. The metal grinder attachment is meant to be refrigerated before and in between meat-grinding projects for cleaner grinding. 

Plastic food grinder: This grinder includes two grinder plates and is mostly dishwasher-safe. An attachable sausage stuffer kit and a larger food tray are sold separately.

Fruit and vegetable strainer set with food grinder: This is the same plastic food grinder set with two grinding plates as listed above, with an additional fruit and vegetable strainer is attached to the front to help process ingredients for soups, sauces, chutneys, and jams. 

Juicers

Citrus juicer attachment: KitchenAid makes two styles of juicers for different juicing intensities and budgets. On the lower end of the price spectrum in a classic reamer-style citrus juicer attachment, juicing a quart of fresh orange juice for breakfast is a breeze compared to a hand juicer.

Food Processors

Food processor attachments: KitchenAid makes two food processor attachments for the stand mixer, but these aren’t your typical single-blade food processors meant for just chopping nuts. These are smaller versions of commercial types of food processors that include disks for slicing, julienning, and shredding. The upgraded model includes a dicing kit and a carrying case for the discs. If you start with the base model attachment and find that you want to use the dicing kit and disc case, KitchenAid offers them separately to complete your collection. 

While generally not as powerful as other standalone food processors on the market, most users love it for its convenience and range of uses while taking up so little space.

Peelers and Spiralizer Attachments

Vegetable sheet peeler: This is basically a pasta sheeter attachment, but for vegetables and apples. If you’re interested in a veggie sheet lasagna, veggie wraps, or creative pastry applications, the vegetable sheet peeler will churn out smooth sheets that would otherwise be next to impossible to make by hand.

Noodle blade accessory: Just like the pasta cutter attachments, the noodle blade accessory is here to slice your beautifully sheeted vegetables into noodle shapes. It must be used in conjunction with the vegetable sheet peeler attachment. 

Fresh prep slicer/shredder: Shredding carrots for carrot cake? Cheese for a Super Bowl’s worth of nachos? Or pounds of potatoes to serve latkes to the whole family? Give your arm a break, put the box grater and mandolin away, and let the slicer/shredder do the work for you. The large and small grating attachments, as well as the slicer attachment, do all of the same work with minimal effort. 

Five-blade and seven-blade spiralizer: These spiralizer attachments will produce the long vegetable tendrils you love for veggie pasta and fresh salads, and they include a peeler blade to make quick work of those apple and potato skins that would otherwise slow your cooking down. The peeler attachment can be used in conjunction with the slicing blades for efficient prep. The five-blade set includes two slicing blades, two spiralizing blades, and the peeling blade. The seven-blade set includes an additional slicing and spiralizing blade, which can be purchased separately if you decide to start with the five-blade model. 

Grain Mill Attachment

Grain mill: This one’s for the serious bread bakers and exploratory pastry cooks out there. The KitchenAid grain mill attachment is easier to use than a hand-cranked grain mill and much less expensive than other standalone grain mills that can easily cost double the price of this attachment.  KitchenAid claims that the grain mill will process grains such as wheat, oats, corn, and rice in textures ranging from “cracked” to extra-fine. 

Scale and sifter: This attachment aims to streamline the baking process by scaling and sifting dry ingredients like flour, granulated sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda directly into your KitchenAid mixing bowl. Most reviewers love using it, but some were turned off by the large price tag—and others found it more tedious to use than typical scaling. 

Bowl Attachments

Precise heat mixing bowl: This incredibly precise heated bowl can be attached to your KitchenAid mixer, but it also works as a standalone heating bowl. You may think that’s mighty fancy for fondue, but this bowl was designed and engineered for more complex and precise projects, including proofing bread and tempering chocolate. With a max temperature of 222 degrees, you can also slow-cook foods over several hours and heat delicate sauces like Béarnaise without risking scorching them on the stovetop. These attachments aren’t built for the power hub connection but instead are specialty mixing bowls that heat or freeze, using your stand mixer to keep the contents of the bowl moving. 

Ice cream maker bowl: Spinning up to 2 quarts of ice cream or sorbet in under 30 minutes, the ice cream maker bowl is a convenient and space-saving ice cream making solution for those who enjoy making ice cream periodically at home. The bowl freezes for 24 hours and can be attached to either head-tilt or bowl-lift style machines (but, unfortunately, it isn’t compatible with the Artisan Mini mixer). Once assembled, the special paddle attachment spins your ice cream base until it's soft, aerated, and chilled. To completely freeze your ice cream, you may need to finish chilling it in the freezer for an hour or two. 

Because the bowl must be completely frozen before churning, you’ll only be able to spin one ice cream at a time—allowing the bowl to refreeze after washing and between uses. Depending on how often you use the ice cream bowl, you may choose to store the bowl in the freezer so it’s ready whenever you are.

Other Attachments

The popularity of KitchenAid attachments has spawned several compatible off-brand products, including a slew of pasta sheeters and cutters, grinders, slicers, and shredders. KitchenAid makes the most comprehensive and reliable attachments for their stand mixers, but other brands have developed attachments that are occasionally lower-priced or have slightly different features from the name-brand attachments.

Key Considerations

Price

Most KitchenAid attachments don’t come cheap. If price is a major consideration when looking for an additional piece of equipment, it’s a good idea to compare the attachment you’re interested in with other stand-alone machines that do the same job. Many times, you may find a separate machine that costs less than the attachment, but you might sacrifice convenience, craftsmanship, or possibly storage space—all good things to consider when judging the overall value of your equipment. 

Warranty Information

All of the KitchenAid attachments come with a one-year hassle-free warranty. The warranty covers any out-of-the-box defects (which happen—so keep your receipts) as well as malfunction during proper use. The warranties do not cover your machine if it’s been used outside of the home environment or shows signs of misuse; in some cases, they don't cover additional parts for repairs.

When looking to purchase an attachment, consider the vendor's return policy. Some stores have a flexible return policy and will replace an attachment if it isn’t working properly without involving the manufacturer directly. 

Maintenance

When it comes to cleaning your attachments, every piece is cleaned differently. Some attachments, like the pasta sheeter and cutters, are very delicate and need to be cleaned entirely by hand or with a damp cloth. Other pieces can be cleaned in the dishwasher. Some attachments will need to be disassembled and washed partially by hand. Refer to the user manual for exact cleaning instructions.

FAQs

Do KitchenAid attachments work on all mixers?

KitchenAid attachments only work on KitchenAid mixers and will not work on mixers produced by other brands. That said, most KitchenAid attachments are designed to work on almost every KitchenAid mixer, regardless of the model. The attachments that connect to the mixer at the hub on the front of the mixer work on multiple models. There are a few exceptions though, so it’s best to check the attachment specifications before making your purchase, especially if you’re using an older model of KitchenAid mixer, or the mini tilt-head model.

Which attachments come with a KitchenAid?

KitchenAid mixers come equipped with three attachments, including a whisk, paddle, and dough hook attachment. Some KitchenAid mixer models come with a pouring shield that attaches to the bowl, and some do not. 

How many attachments are available for KitchenAid mixers?

There are currently around 12 attachments listed on the KitchenAid website, not including additional bowls and standard attachments. There are also many additional designer and standard bowls and attachments. This includes bowls and attachments for both existing models and previous stand mixers models that are no longer in production.

Why Trust The Spruce Eats?

Donna Currie is the author of the cookbook Make Ahead Bread and specializes in product reviews and kitchen gadgets, so she knows a thing or two when it comes to KitchenAid attachments. Donna has written countless roundups and reviews for The Spruce Eats, including the best instant-read thermometers, espresso machines, spiralizers, and more.

This roundup was updated by Katya Weiss-Andersson, a writer and editor with nearly a decade of experience as a professional chef, and Jenny Kellerhals, who has worked as a professional pastry chef in NYC kitchens for over a decade.

Amanda McDonald is an editor at The Spruce Eats and has over eight years of experience researching, writing, and editing about all things food — from what new products are at the grocery store to chef-approved hacks that keep tricky leftovers fresh for days. She updated this article to include the most up-to-date information.