Reviews You Can Rely On

Breville Sous Chef 16 Pro Review

Our favorite overall model excels at chopping, shredding, and mixing, and it's exceptionally easy to clean
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Breville Sous Chef 16 Pro Review
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Price:  $500 List
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Manufacturer:   Breville
By David Wise and Austin Palmer  ⋅  Nov 29, 2024
83
OVERALL
SCORE


RANKED
#1 of 10
  • Chopping - 20% 9.0
  • Mixing - 20% 9.0
  • Pureeing - 20% 8.0
  • Shredding - 15% 8.0
  • Slicing - 15% 7.0
  • Cleaning - 10% 8.0

Our Verdict

The best of the best, the Breville Sous Chef 16 Pro earned the top score and blew away the rest of the competition with unparalleled performance. This food processor took home the top score in the majority of our metrics and is the perfect choice for those who want the top-performing model. However, you'll have to pay for it; this kitchen gadget has a significantly higher retail price than many of its competitors. See how the other models we tested ranked next to the Sous Chef 16 Pro in our best food processor review.
REASONS TO BUY
Best at chopping
Mixing
And shredding
Easy to clean
REASONS TO AVOID
Expensive
New Version Available
Breville replaced this model in its lineup with the Sous Chef 16 (minus the Pro). Details below.

Compare to Similar Products

 
Awards Editors' Choice Award
Best Overall Food Processor
Editors' Choice Award
A Close Second Best
Best Buy Award
Best Bang for the Buck
Best Buy Award
Best on a Tight Budget
Best Buy Award
A Compact Bargain Option
Price $500 List
$499.95 at Amazon
$449 List
$449.00 at Amazon
$250 List
$237.07 at Amazon
$55 List
$54.99 at Amazon
$120 List
$99.99 at Amazon
Overall Score Sort Icon
83
82
66
64
64
Star Rating
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Bottom Line Chops up the competition in every metric, but at a high priceProvided you're prepared to pay its steep price, it efficiently handles anything you can throw at it while being a formidable and adaptable contenderBest overall performing model for the priceIt won't slice down the competition but will chop up its price tagDelivering excellent performances in the majority of our tests, we think this is a great kitchen appliance for anyone shopping for quality on a limited budget
Rating Categories Breville Sous Chef... Magimix 4200XL Cuisinart Custom 14 Hamilton Beach 10-Cup Ninja Professional
Chopping (20%)
9.0
6.0
6.0
7.0
6.0
Mixing (20%)
9.0
9.0
6.0
5.0
6.0
Pureeing (20%)
8.0
10.0
8.0
9.0
7.0
Shredding (15%)
8.0
8.0
6.0
6.0
7.0
Slicing (15%)
7.0
8.0
7.0
5.0
7.0
Cleaning (10%)
8.0
8.0
6.0
5.0
5.0
Specs Breville Sous Chef... Magimix 4200XL Cuisinart Custom 14 Hamilton Beach 10-Cup Ninja Professional
Largest Bowl Size 16 cup 12.5 cup 14 cup 10 cup 9 cup
Time to Make Nut Butter 10 min 3 min 19 min 10 min 7 min
Motor 1200 Watt 950 Watt 720 Watt 450 Watt 850 Watt
Decibels at 3 ft 67.5 dB 62.5 dB 61.5 dB 96 dB 80 dB
Accessory Storage Case Yes Yes No No No
Measured Weight of Base 15.5 lb 14.6 lb 12.4 lb 3.1 lb 4.5 lb
Dimensions 18" L x 8" W x 11" D 9.5" L x 8" W x 17" D 10.75" L x W: 7.75" W x 15" D 8.5" L x 10.5" W x 15.5" D 7.3" L x 9.9" W x 15.6" D
Speed Control On/Off/Pulse Stop/Auto/Pulse On/Off/Pulse High/Low/Pulse/Off Chop/Puree/Dough/Disc/Low/High/Pulse
BPA Free Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Mini Bowl Blade Yes Yes Yes N/A N/A
Feet Smooth Rubber (Non-Skid) Textured Rubber Smooth Rubber Suction Cups Suction Cups
Cord Storage Internal None None Internal External Cord Wrap
Slicing Disc Adjustable to 8mm 2mm and 4mm discs Non adjustable Non adjustable Non adjustable
Shredding Disc Fine and Medium 2mm and 4mm discs Medium Medium Non adjustable
Dough Blade Yes Yes No No Yes
Whipping Attatchment Yes Yes No No No
Citrus Juicer No Yes No No No
Dicing Kit No No No No No
Built-in Bowl Scraper No No No Yes No
French Fry Disc Yes No No No No
Julienne Disc Yes Yes No No No
Model # BFP800CBXL 4200XL DFP-14BCNY 70730 BN600/BN601

Our Analysis and Test Results

The Breville Sous Chef 16 Pro.
The Breville Sous Chef 16 Pro.
The Breville Sous Chef 16 Pro we tested for this review (left), next to the updated Sous Chef 16 (right).
Updated Sous Chef
Breville now offers the Sous Chef 16 as a replacement for the Sous Chef 16 Pro we tested in this review. The updated version has a 1450W motor in place of the old 1200W motor. The bowl has been updated to a BPA-free version that is designed to withstand falls and being banged around in the kitchen. It has a new button interface, and it's also $50 more expensive than the previous version. Our affiliate links point to this updated machine, but our review is still in reference to the previous version we tested, the Sous Chef 16 Pro.

Performance Comparison


breville sous chef 16 pro - the breville, a high scorer in our fleet.
The Breville, a high scorer in our fleet.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Chopping


One of the most essential tasks for a food processor is effectively chopping food — creating small, uniform pieces that are distinct, not a mush. The Breville excelled in this category, earning a top score.


We chopped onions, carrots, and nuts and compared the level of precise control afforded by the “Pulse” button on each model to determine scores, rating the food tests on the quality of the finished product. The Breville produced onions that were as close to perfect as we could hope for, with essentially all the chopped onions being of uniform size.

breville sous chef 16 pro - the perfectly chopped onions produced by the breville.
The perfectly chopped onions produced by the Breville.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

There were no other models that chopped onions with the same level of consistency. It only took five pulses to produce a nice even chop. The trend continued with the Breville tying for the top score in our almond test. It quickly reduced the almonds to a uniform chop without pulverizing them into dust, and there were only a few whole almonds remaining after six pulses. This model doesn't have a perfect amount of control with the “Pulse” button, as it spins for a brief moment after releasing the button.

breville sous chef 16 pro - the plastic mixing blade installed on the breville.
The plastic mixing blade installed on the Breville.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Mixing


The Breville led the pack in our mixing metric. This model made pizza dough, pie crust dough, and mayonnaise from scratch without any struggle or incident.


It made very consistent pizza dough, tying for the best of the group. The Breville's blade is on the smaller side, so it took a little longer for the dough to start balling up, but everything was fine once it got there. This model's motor didn't sound upset, and the machine didn't shake or vibrate while mixing the dough. It did a similar job with pie crust dough, taking five pulses to achieve the perfect consistency. We found no flaws in the dough when it was rolled out, and it made one of the best pie crusts. This model also mixed mayonnaise easily, producing a high-quality finished product.

Pureeing


We had a panel of testers rate the hummus, tomato sauce, applesauce, and nut butter produced by each of these kitchen appliances. In addition, we filled each bowl to its maximum liquid fill line and ran the machine to conduct a leak test.


The Breville made very good hummus. It also made exceptional almond butter after 10 minutes of grinding and required no intervention on our behalf. It produced one of the best nut butters in the group. It performed slightly above average at making applesauce, requiring about 10 seconds longer to achieve the desired consistency, and produced a finished product that was a little chunky. It was a similar scenario with tomato sauce, where it created a finished product that was great but wasn't as smooth as some other models.

breville sous chef 16 pro - the seal was sufficient to keep all of the water inside the bowl.
The seal was sufficient to keep all of the water inside the bowl.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

The Breville passed the leak test with flying colors, largely due to the lid's rubber gasket. It took about five and a quarter cups of water to fill the bowl to the marked maximum fill line, and no water escaped.

breville sous chef 16 pro - the shredding blade installed on the breville.
The shredding blade installed on the Breville.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Shredding


Regaining the top spot, the Breville earned a high score for its outstanding shredding performance. We compared each machine's shredding variation and their performance at shredding cheese, potatoes, and carrots to create the scores. Even though the Breville faltered slightly at shredding cheese, it did a good enough job at shredding carrots and potatoes and had an adjustable shredding disc to net the top spot.


It has a fine and medium setting on its shredding disc. It's very efficient at shredding cheese, leaving almost none stuck between the lid and the shredding disc. However, only about 50% of the cheese was shredded; the rest was more crumbled. A two-pound block of cheese did fit in the feeding tube without trimming. Though it got off to a bit of a rocky start with shredded cheese, the Breville regained some ground and did the second-best job at shredding potatoes.

breville sous chef 16 pro - the breville did a great job shredding potatoes, but not quite the...
The Breville did a great job shredding potatoes, but not quite the best.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

It left behind two small un-shredded slices and had nice consistent shreds. Continuing its upward trend, it tied for the highest score for shredding carrots.

breville sous chef 16 pro - the breville did tie for the highest-quality shredded carrots.
The Breville did tie for the highest-quality shredded carrots.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

The shredded carrots were even, crisp and didn't clump together, and only a small slice of carrot didn't make it through the shredding disc.

breville sous chef 16 pro - the slicing blade all set up and ready to go on the breville.
The slicing blade all set up and ready to go on the Breville.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Slicing


We evaluated the quality of the sliced tomatoes, potatoes, and zucchini produced by each machine and the ease of adjusting the slicing disc to determine the rankings.


The blade was easily adjustable, with each number representing the slice thickness in millimeters. The tube on the Breville easily fit even our largest tomatoes, and the slices were of very high quality, tying for the best of the group with a handful of other models.

breville sous chef 16 pro - the breville's sliced tomatoes were on par with the top scorer, but...
The Breville's sliced tomatoes were on par with the top scorer, but the quality dropped when it came to slicing potatoes and zucchini.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

The Breville also produced very good sliced potatoes, though not the best, as there was a small amount of taper present on the slices, but the cuts were smooth. The zucchini slices were about average, with the same taper present on all of them.

breville sous chef 16 pro - the components of the breville drying after our cleaning test.
The components of the Breville drying after our cleaning test.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Cleaning


The Breville was the easiest to clean out of the group. The blades and discs are both dishwasher-safe, as well as the bowl and lid, but it's not recommended regularly. However, the large food pusher is not dishwasher safe, so something to watch for when it comes time for cleanup. The blade is long and one of the easiest to clean of the group and has a large opening, making it easy to clean the inside where it attaches. The bowl was smooth on the inside with no little details to trap food. The lid was equally easy to clean, with no small places to entrap food scraps.

breville sous chef 16 pro - all of the included accessories with the breville.
All of the included accessories with the Breville.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Should You Buy the Breville Sous Chef 16 Pro?


The Breville is the best food processor in our test. It performs phenomenally at chopping, mixing, and shredding while still doing great at pureeing and slicing. There weren't any areas where this machine noticeably fell flat. If it's within your budget, we think you can't go wrong with the Sous Chef 16 Pro.

breville sous chef 16 pro - the best of the best, the breville took home top scores.
The best of the best, the Breville took home top scores.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

What Other Food Processors Should You Consider?


The Sous Chef 16 Pro is the cream of the crop and our favorite food processor, but there are other models from our group worth considering. If you already own a Vitamix blender, that brand's 12-Cup Attachment utilizes the same motor, effectively cutting down on kitchen clutter and freeing up storage space. If you can't quite stomach the Breville's price tag, the Hamilton Beach 10-Cup or Ninja Professional may be more in line with your budget. Both were affordable and high-performing models in our testing.

David Wise and Austin Palmer