Whether you’re a beginner cook or a chef in training, having the right tools and kitchen appliances can make any job so much easier. And while there are some kitchen gadgets that may seem more necessary than others (give us a great chef’s knife over a garlic mincer any day), hand mixers are an invaluable tool.
If you want to whip up the tastiest whip cream (maybe with a hint of liquor or fruit flavor?), emulsify your own aioli or just mix up that cookie batter without the extra elbow grease, the best hand mixers do all that and more. You can also store them more conveniently than, say, a stand mixer, and these days they come with all sorts of attachments. Want to find the best hand mixer for you? Read on for our favorite picks.
What To Look for in the Best Hand Mixers
Attachments: Standard hand mixers come with beater attachments, but the best hand mixers also come with a whisk attachment for easy whisking and emulsifying. Some include dough hook attachments or may offer a chopping cup as well.
Weight: Lightweight hand mixers don’t typically clock in at anything above four pounds, but if you’ve got hand or wrist issues it’s worth double-checking the product weight before purchasing. After all, you’re going to be holding the machine so you want to make sure it’s comfortable and light enough for your grip.
Power: Depending on what you’re going to use your hand mixer for, you’ll want to ensure it can pull its weight. Some hand mixers power up to 350 watts, which is as powerful as some of the best stand mixers out there. On average you’ll probably want a unit that boats anywhere between 200 and 250 watts to cover your basic kitchen needs, or a 150-watt unit if you need something simple and quieter.
Warranties: If you plan on spending more money on your hand mixer and want to make sure it lasts as long as possible, definitely check whether the product in question has extended warranty options. Most hand mixers typically come with a one-year, limited manufacturer warranty, but because they tend to be on the less expensive end of kitchen appliances you won’t find many warranties that stretch beyond that.
Storage: If you’ve got a smaller kitchen and are big on storage hacks, look for a hand mixer that has a clip-on base for attachments.
Price: If you want a basic hand mixer for standard tasks, you can spend less than fifty bucks. Higher-powered models trend closer to $100, and some of the top-line hand mixers will cost you even more.
When To Use a Hand Mixer Versus a Stand Mixer
Stand mixers are one of the most useful kitchen appliances out there (especially if you’re into baking), but they’re not always practical. Maybe your kitchen is small and you don’t have room for bulkier items. Or perhaps your kitchen can handle a stand mixer just fine, but you don’t want to deal with all the extra dishes the bowl and attachments cause. Or maybe you’re just feeling lazy and you really don’t want to lug your mixer out from under the counter to use it on a simple task.
If any of those sounds like you, a hand mixer is totally … well, handy. Whether you want to quickly emulsify a sauce, whip up whipped cream, quickly cream some butter and sugar for a batch of cookies or concoct your own salad dressing, the best hand mixers are lightweight, easy to store and simple to clean. That makes them a must-have in any and all kitchens where cooking actually occurs.
The Best Hand Mixers
1. Cuisinart 9-Speed 220-Watt Power Advantage Plus
BEST OVERALL
No matter what kind of hand-mixing task you have in front of you, this powerful and practical machine will get it done. The extra-long beaters are self-cleaning and free of center posts, which makes them even easier to wash. Meanwhile, the slow start-finish helps to eliminate those pesky splatters around the rest of the kitchen. The unit also comes with a chef’s whisk, dough hooks and a spatula, plus a recipe book because who couldn’t use some ideas when trying out a new tool? The nine-speed unit is a bit heavier than others on this list at 4.3 pounds, but we do love how easy it is to store thanks to the accompanying storage case.
2. Hamilton Beach 6-Speed Electric Hand Mixer with Whisk
BEST BUDGET
This small but mighty machine checks lots of boxes with its 250-watt design, a snap-on storage case for easy storage, a whisk attachment and six speeds for a variety of uses. The built-in bowl rest feature is also a nice bonus since it cuts down on mess and eases the job, but our favorite part is that the unit comes in under a cool $25. Amazon users give it top ratings for how easy it is to hold, clean and use, and it’s easily the site’s favorite hand mixer with more than 47,000 reviews.
3. Breville Handy Mix Scraper Hand Mixer
SMARTEST HAND MIXER
If you’re looking for one of the best electric hand mixers that also intuitively does most of the work for you, you may want to consider the Breville. This model is equipped with nine speeds (plus a turbo boost) and features a “Handy Mix Scraper” that detects which attachment you’re using and automatically recalibrates to the optimal speed. The whisks come with silicon feet so there’s less clanging and banging, plus there’s a built-in timer to keep track of the task at hand. This machine also comes with scraper beaters and dough hooks, making it one of the most well-rounded of the bunch.
4. KitchenAid 9-Speed Digital Hand Mixer with Turbo Beater
MOST ATTACHMENTS
If you’re looking for a hand mixer that comes with lots of options, this nine-speed model comes with tons of attachments. There are the standard beaters (turbo beaters, actually), but it also has a blending rod, dough hooks and a whisk, all of which are dishwasher safe and can be stored together in the accompanying storage bag. We’re also fans of the “soft start” feature, which cuts down on splatter, and we like that you can grab one in multiple colors to suit your own kitchen and style.
5. KitchenAid Cordless 7 Speed Hand Mixer
FAVORITE CORDLESS
Whether your kitchen doesn’t have the most accessible power outlets, you’ve already got appliances in those slots, you’re left-handed or you just like a cordless machine, this seven-speed hand mixer promises to make up to 200 chocolate chip cookies on a full charge. The rechargeable lithium-ion battery is lightweight (the entire thing weighs just over two pounds) and according to reviewers, it’s a quiet but efficient model. Unfortunately, there are no attachments and you do need to ensure it’s charged before use, but otherwise, this is one of the best cordless hand mixers out there.
6. Electric Hand Mixer by Cuisinart
RUNNER UP
Another cord-free hand mixer model, the Cuisinart comes with five different speeds and will mix that dough for up to 20 minutes before it needs another charge (plot about two hours for it to reach max power). We like that the electric hand mixer is sleek and stylish. One of our favorite features, however, is that it only weighs one pound, which helps with aching wrists while baking up a storm.
7. BLACK+DECKER Helix Performance Premium Hand Mixer
BEST BEATERS
There are few hand mixers on the market with this kind of innovative beater design, which makes this unit another top pick. The helix design on these nylon-reinforced beaters is meant to maximize beater overlap and churn ingredients in both directions, ensuring it covers every last scrap of surface area. It also comes with two dough hooks and a wire whisk, so you can use it for a variety of tasks. Meanwhile, the reduced starting speed and special turbo boost are nice features for cutting down on clean-up and time, and it all comes in a smart storage case for easy storage.
8. Braun Electric 350W 9-Speed Hand Mixer
BEST ELECTRIC
This super powerful hand mixer is so heavy duty it even comes with a two-cup chopper and sturdy dough hooks. That makes it an ideal tool for salads (chop your veggies and then make an easy dressing), or any kitchen task that might involve several chopping and mixing steps. We’re also confident in this machine’s ability to mix together delicious pizza dough or bread since it’s just as powerful as many stand mixers out there, but you can also store this a lot more easily thanks to the four-pound design, swivel cord and accompanying storage bag.
9. Mueller Electric Hand Mixer
RUNNER UP
The Mueller hand mixer features slightly less power than the Braun, with 250 watts. However, it comes with a handy storage case, so when all the attachments aren’t in use they also aren’t hitchhiking around your cupboard. The model comes with five speeds plus a turbo-boost for all of those heavy-duty baking assignments, but what we love most is you can easily throw it in a bag if you’re heading to a friend or family member’s house to bake, too.
10. Smeg Hand Mixer
BEST SPLURGE
If you love the retro look with tons of updated features and tech, Smeg is where it’s at. This fancy hand mixer comes with many bells and whistles, not to mention seven different color options. Sure, the unit is a bit costlier than most, but with an LED display to count down minutes or seconds and a ton of attachments (wire whisks, beaters, dough hooks), it gets the job done in style. It also only weighs 2.5 pounds and comes with a storage bag, so it stashes away easily when you’re done mixing up all those concoctions.
11. Hamilton Beach Professional 7-Speed Digital Electric Hand Mixer
QUIETEST MODEL
If you’ve got roommates, kids with nap schedules or another person within your living quarters who might not appreciate the noise your mixing habits inspire, this quiet model may be the solution. It comes in at a subtle 150 watts and features soft scrape beaters to further reduce noise. It also comes with a slow-starting speed to minimize splatter, whisk and dough hooks and a lockable swivel cord for right- or left-handed use, making this a handy and well-rounded pick.
12. Hamilton Beach Professional 5-Speed Electric Hand Mixer
BEST SLOW-START MIXER
There’s nothing worse than when you go to mix your whipped cream or frosting, but the machine starts too fast, and your walls are covered with splatters. Avoid that irritating situation with this handy Hamilton Beach hand mixer, which has a built-in slow start feature attached to all five of its speeds. It comes with beaters and whisks to get lots of jobs done, plus a handy snap-on storage case to keep all those pieces organized when not in use.
13. Dash SmartStore Compact Hand Mixer
MOST COMPACT
Not a lot of kitchen storage? Not a problem with this crafty hand mixer, which is sleek and specifically designed for easy storage. The slim design weighs just over two pounds and stores flat with the beaters inside, making it ideal for dorms, travel, RVs or small kitchens. Because it’s so small it is only 150 watts, but if all you’re looking for is a basic machine for simple doughs, whip cream or sauces, this will definitely do the trick.
14. Oster 270-Watt Hand Mixer with HEATSOFT Technology
HEATED OPTION
If you’re the type to forget to let the butter come to room temperature before getting your bake on, this innovative, heated hand mixer may be your new favorite thing. It heats butter 12 times faster than leaving it on the counter for 30 minutes would, which is ideal for the last-minute cookie makers out there. The beaters can be a bit tricky to snap into place, but once you do the machine offers five speeds and a powerful turbo boost feature to quickly and easily beat all batters into submission.
15. Ovente Portable 5-Speed Mixing Electric Hand Mixer
MOST PORTABLE HAND MIXER
If you’re looking for one of the best budget hand mixers that also happens to be super portable, the Ovente has you covered. It has five speeds to tackle a variety of tasks and packs 150 watts into your palm with each use. The beaters also pop out with the push of a button for a super simple clean, it’s lightweight and ergonomically designed, and the snap-on case makes it easy to transport to wherever your baking session happens to be.
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