Pickori's Take
- The Breville Paradice 9 is our pick for batch cooks who want a processor that genuinely dices. Its premium is easiest to justify when cutting many uniform pieces, rather than washing or peeling, is the chore you want gone.
- Adjustable slicing plus a dicing grid give you control over texture that a basic chop-and-shred machine cannot.
- Already own a processor that works? Upgrade when the knife work it leaves behind is mostly cubing and slicing for dishes you make every week.
- The dicer makes chunky cubes, not fine mince; minced onion still comes from the S-blade or a knife.
- If your main need is bowl room for dough and dips, a larger, simpler processor is the better buy.
A 9-cup Breville built around dicing
Picture a tray of potatoes and squash cut to a consistent size for the oven, with slaw already shredded on the side, and very little of it done at the cutting board. That is the job the Breville Paradice 9 is built for. Plenty of food processors chop, slice and shred. Few dice.
Officially the BFP638BSS1BNA1 in brushed stainless steel, the Paradice 9 is the smallest of Breville's dicing models. Its closest relative is the Breville Sous Chef 9, which shares its slicing, shredding and chopping tools but sells the dicing kit separately.
Breville builds the same idea at 12 and 16 cups. Choose the 9 when your heavy lifting is vegetables processed in rounds and your doughs and dips stay modest; our size guide covers when bigger mixtures or more dice sizes justify stepping up.
This is a premium machine, and the premium pays for cut choices rather than bowl volume. Larger, simpler processors hold more for less money. The Paradice makes its case to cooks whose bottleneck is cutting vegetables to the right size, not mixing big batches.
Cut choices that put texture under your control
The grid is the headline. An S-blade chops by tumbling food past a spinning blade, so it yields a spread of sizes that shrinks the longer it runs. A dicing grid pushes firm vegetables through a fixed lattice, so pieces come out close to one size. These cubes are about half an inch: right for roasted roots, hash, minestrone and grain bowls, too large for salsa or fine mirepoix.
Matched size helps because it gives you control, not because it synchronizes cooking. Half-inch carrot and half-inch potato still cook at different rates. What you gain is predictability within each vegetable, with fewer scorched slivers beside underdone chunks, and a clear basis for starting harder roots first.
Slicing is the quieter strength. One disc runs from pickle-thin to gratin-thick without a swap, which is what lets the Paradice stand in for a mandoline. Add the reversible shredder and a single session can turn out thin slices, coarse shreds and cubes, each cut for its own dish.
Keeping every part together inside the bowl removes the hunt for a disc or blade in a separate box, which makes the specialized tools easier to reach for on a busy night. It does not make dicing effortless: the grid still has to be fitted before use and cleared afterward, and the machine itself still needs a cupboard or counter spot.
Where the Paradice 9 delivers, job by job
Slicing, shredding and dicing firm vegetables are the jobs that justify this machine; chopping, dough and purees are capable extras. Here is how each one holds up.
| Workload | Outlook | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly slaw and sliced vegetables | Its most convincing everyday job | Tom's Guide's reviewer made slaw weekly over a year and leaned on the adjustable disc instead of a mandoline. Thickness control on one disc is what makes that substitution practical: thin for slaw and pickles, thick for gratin, no swap. |
| Dicing firm vegetables | Usable cubes, plus a clearing routine | Reviewers turned carrots, potatoes and pumpkin into usable cubes, and each reported final pieces left in the grid. Firm produce is the input to plan around; cleanup is analyzed in the section on catches. |
| Cauliflower rice and coarse chopping | Pulse territory, not grid territory | Small, irregular pieces are S-blade work, where short pulses set the size. Expect a range of sizes rather than grid uniformity, which suits cauliflower rice, breadcrumbs and rustic salsa. |
| Pastry and yeast dough | Capable within sensible batches | TechRadar reported good pastry and I'm Tech made focaccia. Mixtures must fit and move for the whole run, so batch size should follow Breville's recipe guidance rather than the bowl's nominal volume. |
| Purees, dips and nut butter | Results vary by recipe | TechRadar succeeded with nut butter and roasted pumpkin puree. Tom's Guide found a bean dip slightly grainy, though it needed no scraping, while an herb sauce came out creamy. Judge by the dishes you make most. |
Cut results are not uniformly glowing. Independent reviewers got usable cubes from carrots, potatoes and pumpkin, while one selected owner reported disappointing firm-tomato and raw-potato dicing and uneven S-blade onion mincing. Our view holds: for regular batch prep of firm vegetables, the Paradice is worth it, and how you feel about clearing the grid and the textures it produces will shape how satisfied you are.
Where the Paradice pulls ahead is control over cut size and shape. Thin slices, coarse shreds and cubes suit different dishes, and having all three ready lets one session produce components cut for their own purpose. That is a stronger reason to buy it than speed.
Guiding produce through the Paradice 9, and when to bother
Day to day, this is a machine you guide rather than force. The wide chute takes cabbage wedges and large potatoes with little trimming, while a narrow inner chute keeps carrots and cucumbers upright for neat rounds; Breville also points hard carrots and pumpkin pieces toward it. Controls are just Power, Play/Stop and Pulse, and the large pusher acts as an interlock that stops the motor when removed.
Pressure is the habit worth learning first. Breville advises light pressure for soft foods, medium for firm ones and no forcing, and notes that firmer tomatoes and avocados process better than soft ones. Cheese follows similar logic: I'm Tech found firm cheese shredded well while a softer Gouda needed chilling, and TechRadar saw remnants left after shredding.
The bigger workflow question is when to set it up. Assembly and washing are fixed costs, so the payoff grows with how much you process at once. I'm Tech's household found a knife quicker for a carrot or two and the processor worthwhile for a whole bag. Stack several vegetable jobs into one session and wash once at the end, keeping raw meat out of that sequence.
That math is personal, though. If the machine is already assembled from another task, or knife work is tiring or uncomfortable for you, running it for a single onion can be perfectly sensible.
Before choosing a home, check the assembled height against your upper cabinets. A processor that fits the counter but not the clearance ends up in a cupboard, and hauling it out tips the math back toward the knife.
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Clearing the grid, hand-washing and the onion question
Plan for food left in the grid. The hands-on reviews we drew on all reported final pieces staying in the lattice after dicing, with Tom's Guide seeing it with potatoes and TechRadar calling the clearing fiddly. Breville includes a cleaning tool, and its safe method is specific: unplug the machine, remove the dicing blade, and clear the grid with the cleaner while it sits in the bowl, never with fingers or a knife.
Onions raise three separate questions. The grid makes uniform chunky cubes, suited to soups, stews and roasting. Fine minced onion is S-blade work, and chopping by blade produces irregular pieces. Then there is the onion trapped in the grid at the end. Owner reviews on a retailer listing, mostly syndicated from Breville's site, show the split: one owner liked the onion cubes but still found remnants after using the cleaner, another praised carrot, celery and onion cubes, and a third was unhappy with firm-tomato and raw-potato dicing and clearing, uneven S-blade onion mincing, and a bowl and caddy that stuck. Others praised the storage and quiet running.
Good output and effortless cleanup are different purchase promises. The evidence supports the first for firm vegetables; it does not establish the second, and a few reports cannot tell you whether any particular jam is normal. If clearing stays persistently difficult on your unit, raise it with Breville rather than accepting it.
Washing is the larger routine commitment. The U.S. manual calls for hand-washing the gearbox, caddy, food pusher and pusher lid, and limits the bowl and lid to occasional top-rack runs to protect the plastic and interlock. Follow the manual over any broader dishwasher-safe marketing.
Reviewers' verdicts diverge in a telling way. TechRadar questioned the premium for basic functions, while Tom's Guide, after long-term use, valued weekly slaw, adjustable slicing and in-bowl storage. Our read is that the price looks sensible when the specialized tools work every week and steep when the machine mostly chops. Those hands-on reports, like I'm Tech's, covered UK Sage or Australian versions; care guidance here follows the U.S. manual for this model.
Recipes and prep sessions that suit the Paradice 9
Match the attachment to the texture each dish needs. Our crunchy cabbage-carrot slaw is a natural first project for the shredder and slicer, and potato gratin, quick pickles and hash browns follow the same pattern.
A typical weekend session shows why cut choice pays off. Slice cucumbers thin for pickles, shred cabbage for slaw, dice potatoes and squash for a sheet pan, then pulse herbs into a sauce. Each component gets the texture its own dish wants, and nothing has to cook together for the session to be worthwhile.
The S-blade covers the rest. Cauliflower rice depends on short pulses, as do pesto and breadcrumbs, while our flaky food processor pie dough shows the blade cutting cold butter into flour. Yeast doughs such as focaccia go to the dough blade.
Paradice 9 or Sous Chef 9: how often will you dice?
These two machines share almost everything except the dicing kit, which the Paradice includes and the Sous Chef 9 offers as an extra. Nothing about the Paradice name implies better results on shared tasks, so the decision comes down to cubes.
If diced potatoes, squash or carrots appear in your cooking most weeks, the Paradice is the simpler purchase. If your processor would mostly slice and shred, the Sous Chef 9 does that work for less and leaves dicing as a later add-on.
Bundle pricing shifts, so compare the Paradice 9 against the Sous Chef 9 plus its dicing kit when you buy. Close totals favor the Paradice. A meaningfully cheaper separate route is reasonable too, once you confirm where the add-on kit will be stored.
Replacing a working processor: cut choices or more bowl room?
Start with your dishes, not the attachment count. Think about the meals you cook most and the knife work still left after your current processor has done its part. If what remains is cubing potatoes for roasting, squash for soup or carrots for a stew, the Paradice targets exactly that chore. If your machine already covers what you cook and the leftover work is small or fine cutting, a new processor adds parts more than it removes effort.
Be clear about where your prep time actually goes. The dicer does not wash, peel or trim anything; those steps stay with you. The upgrade is most compelling when cutting many pieces to one size is the tedious part, as with a sheet pan of root vegetables or a big pot of chunky soup, and least compelling when scrubbing and peeling dominate the evening.
If what you really want is room for mixtures, look at a different kind of machine. The Cuisinart Custom 14 (DFP-14BCNY) is a useful benchmark: a 14-cup bowl with a fixed 4 mm slicing disc, a medium shredding disc and a chopping/mixing blade, and no dicing kit or adjustable slicer in the box. Cuisinart lists every part except the base as dishwasher safe.
The trade is clear. The Cuisinart buys bowl room and simpler washing; the Paradice buys texture control and dicing. Bakers and dip makers who rarely dice are usually better served by the bigger, simpler machine, though a larger nominal bowl does not mean a doubled recipe fits, so check each model's recipe and fill guidance. Our meal prep food processor guide covers options in both directions.
9, 12 or 16 cups: choosing a Paradice size
Capacity means two different things. For slicing, shredding and dicing, output can be emptied as you go, so the 9-cup bowl works through a bag of carrots in rounds. Dough, dips and purees must fit and move for the whole run, so their limit comes from Breville's recipe and fill guidance for each model, not from a simple ratio of bowl sizes.
The Paradice 12 adds bowl room and a wider 5.2-inch chute but keeps the same single dice size. It suits cooks who want larger single-bowl mixtures, within that model's guidance, and less trimming of big produce.
The Paradice 16 can justify itself for either of two reasons: the most capacity in the family, or a choice of 8, 12 and 16 mm grids. It also adds a mini bowl and blade and a French fry disc, kept in separate accessory boxes, so budget cupboard space beyond the machine. If neither the capacity nor the dice choice changes what you cook, the 9 is the efficient pick.
Who this product fits
The Sunday batch cook
Someone prepping a week of lunches can slice, shred, dice and pulse in one session and wash once at the end. This is the routine the Paradice 9 is built around, and where the dicer gets used often enough to justify both its price and its cleanup.
The cook who finds knife work tiring
For someone who finds long stretches of chopping tiring or uncomfortable, the Paradice can be worth assembling even for modest jobs. Handling parts, guiding the pusher and hand-washing still take effort, so consider how those steps suit you before committing.
The weekend baker
A cook whose processor mostly makes pie dough, focaccia and big batches of hummus gets little from the grid and adjustable slicer. A larger, simpler machine such as the Cuisinart Custom 14 fits that pattern better. The Paradice 12 only makes sense if weekly vegetable prep is part of the picture too.
Breville Paradice 9 Food Processor FAQ
What size dice does the Breville Paradice 9 make?
One size, roughly half-inch cubes, which suit roasting, soups and chunky salads. For finer cuts, pulse with the S-blade or use a knife. Within the family, only the Paradice 16 adds other dice sizes.
Can the Breville Paradice 9 dice onions?
It can cube them at the same chunky size as other vegetables, which works for soups and roasting. It is not a fine-mince attachment; minced onion comes from the S-blade, with less uniform pieces. Expect some onion left in the grid, as our cleanup section explains.
What is the difference between the Paradice 9 and the Sous Chef 9?
The dicing kit. The Paradice includes it, while the Sous Chef 9 sells it separately. Our head-to-head explains how to choose.
Is the Breville Paradice 9 dishwasher safe?
Not as a routine. Breville's U.S. manual calls for hand-washing several parts and only occasional top-rack runs for the bowl and lid. See cleanup and care for the details.
Is the Breville Paradice 9 quiet?
Some owners describe it as quiet, and one reviewer published a decibel figure without stating distance or test conditions, so it cannot be compared meaningfully with other machines. We would not buy it for quietness; its stronger case is cut choice and organization.
Should I buy the Paradice 9, 12 or 16?
Choose the 9 if your main work is vegetables processed in rounds and your doughs and dips are modest. The 12 suits cooks who want the same cutting tools plus more room for mixtures and a wider chute, and the 16 is for buyers who want maximum capacity or several dice sizes. Our size guide walks through the choice.
Is the Paradice 9 the right processor for your kitchen?
For regular batch cooks, yes. The Paradice 9 takes the repetitive cutting out of weekly prep and gives you cubes and slice thicknesses a basic processor cannot. Its cost is a grid to clear and a hand-wash routine.
If cubes are occasional, the Sous Chef 9 is the better value. If dough and dips are your main jobs, a larger, simpler processor such as the Cuisinart Custom 14 serves you better. And if you want these cutting tools with more capacity or more dice sizes, the Paradice 12 or 16 is the one to price out.
Sources and research notes
Our assessment combines Breville's U.S. specifications and care instructions, independent evaluations of the Paradice 9, and Pickori's analysis of everyday preparation, storage and value. Our editorial standards.
Independent evaluations
- Sage (Breville) Paradice 9 reviewTom's Guide
- I blended everything but the kitchen sink with the Breville Paradice 9 food processor, here's how it faredTechRadar
- Breville Paradice 9: slice, shred, dice, mince, puree, mix and all you knead reviewI'm Tech
- Breville the Paradice 9 Food Processor owner reviewsTarget (owner reviews largely syndicated from Breville)
Official product information
- Breville the Paradice 9 Food Processor (BFP638BSS1BNA1)Breville
- the Paradice 9 BFP638 Instruction Book (US)Breville
- Breville the Sous Chef 9 Food Processor (BFP610)Breville
- Breville the Paradice 12 Food Processor (BFP738)Breville
- Breville the Paradice 16 Food Processor (BFP838)Breville
- Cuisinart Custom 14 Cup Food Processor (DFP-14BCNY)Cuisinart