What to know first
- 9-cup bowl hits a practical middle size: roomier than small processors, less bulky than 14 to 16-cup models.
- 625-watt motor and a heavier build (about 14 lb) point to a sturdy, stable machine for regular use.
- Extra-wide feed chute (120 mm) means less pre-cutting for bulky produce like potatoes and large carrots.
- Adjustable slicer with 24 settings gives you more control than a typical fixed-thickness slicing disc.
- Integrated storage caddy keeps the S-blade, slicer, shredder, and dough blade organized inside the bowl.
What the Breville Sous Chef 9-Cup Food Processor is
The Breville Sous Chef 9-Cup Food Processor is a mid-size, premium food processor designed for everyday prep: chopping, slicing, shredding, mixing, and making dough. It’s part of the same Sous Chef family as Breville’s larger 16-cup model, just scaled down for people who do not want a big-bowl machine taking over their kitchen.
In practical terms, a 9-cup processor is the size that makes sense when you cook often but you are not constantly feeding a crowd. It gives you more room than the small 7-cup style machines for things like hummus, pesto, pie crust, and shredded cheese, while still being easier to store than the large-capacity processors.
Breville includes the core attachments most people actually use: a micro-serrated S-blade for chopping, an adjustable slicing disc, a reversible shredder disc, and a dough blade. There’s also an integrated storage solution so those parts can live inside the bowl instead of rattling around in a drawer.
Why it stands out
The biggest day-to-day win is the feed chute. Breville lists a 120 mm wide feed chute, which is the kind of feature you notice immediately when you’re slicing potatoes, shredding carrots, or running chunks of cabbage for slaw. The wider the chute, the less time you spend pre-cutting food just to fit it into the machine.
The adjustable slicer is another real differentiator. Instead of a single slicing thickness, the Sous Chef 9 includes an adjustable slicing disc with 24 settings. That’s useful when you want paper-thin cucumber slices for a salad one day and thicker potato slices the next, without switching to a mandoline.
Breville also put thought into storage. The included storage caddy is designed to hold the main attachments (S-blade, adjustable slicer, reversible shredder, dough blade) inside the bowl. For a lot of kitchens, that’s what turns a food processor from “I should use this more” into something you actually pull out on a weeknight.
Finally, it’s not a featherweight. At about 14 lb, it’s substantial for a 9-cup machine. That extra mass usually translates to better stability on the counter when the motor is working and the bowl is full.
What it is like to own
If you’re buying a food processor to save prep time, the workflow matters as much as the motor. The Sous Chef line is built around making the machine straightforward to assemble and use, and the wide chute helps you move faster when you’re slicing and shredding bulky ingredients.
Storage is unusually tidy for a processor with multiple discs. The storage caddy fits inside the bowl, so you can keep the sharp parts together and reduce the odds that you skip using the machine because you cannot find the right disc.
On cleanup, the main thing to know is that Breville advises against soaking the work bowl and lid for long periods and recommends only occasional dishwashing for those plastic parts. If you are the kind of person who wants to toss everything in the dishwasher after every use, plan on more hand washing with this one.
What to know before you buy
A 9-cup bowl is a sweet spot for many kitchens, but it is still a limit. If you routinely make large batches of dough, shred big volumes of cheese at once, or prep for a crowd, you’ll hit the ceiling faster than you would with a 14 to 16-cup machine.
Also, do not buy any processor based on bowl size alone. The advertised capacity is not always the comfortable working capacity for liquids, dough, or bulky vegetables. With a 9-cup model, you should expect to work in moderate batches and avoid pushing it to the brim for messy mixtures.
Finally, this is a premium-leaning machine. If you only make pesto once in a while and otherwise live without a processor, you may be happier spending less on a simpler model and saving the counter and cabinet space.
The specs that matter
This is a practical middle size for everyday cooking. You get more room than small compact processors, but it is still easier to store than the big 14 to 16-cup machines.
Wattage is not the whole story, but it gives you a sense of where this sits in the lineup. It is designed to handle regular chopping, slicing, and shredding without stepping up to the much larger 16-cup model.
A heavier base tends to stay planted on the counter when you are shredding or slicing, which makes the machine feel more controlled in everyday use.
A wider chute means less pre-cutting. That is one of the clearest ways a food processor actually saves you time, especially with potatoes, carrots, and other bulky produce.
Instead of being stuck with one thickness, you can dial in slices for different jobs. It is a big quality-of-life upgrade if you slice vegetables often.
Attachments determine what the machine can do well without extra purchases. This set covers the core tasks most people buy a processor for.
If the blades and discs are easy to store and find, you are more likely to use the processor regularly instead of leaving it in the cabinet.
Who this product fits
You cook most nights and want faster prep without a huge machine
The Breville Sous Chef 9-Cup Food Processor gives you enough capacity to handle weeknight chopping and shredding, while staying closer to a normal countertop footprint than a 14 to 16-cup processor.
You make lots of salads, slaws, and veggie-heavy meals
The wide feed chute and reversible shredder make it easier to process bulky produce with less pre-cutting, so you can knock out a bowl of shredded carrots or sliced cucumbers quickly.
You care about slice thickness and presentation
The adjustable slicing disc with 24 settings lets you fine-tune thickness for different recipes, which is hard to get from processors that only include a fixed slicing disc.
Your kitchen storage is tight and you hate loose parts
The storage caddy keeps the main blades and discs together inside the bowl, so the machine stores as one organized unit instead of a base plus a pile of sharp accessories.
What else to compare
If the Sous Chef 9-Cup is not the right size or price level, these are the more sensible directions to go.
Breville Sous Chef 9-Cup Food Processor FAQ
Is the Breville Sous Chef 9-Cup Food Processor big enough for most home cooking?
For moderate batch sizes, yes. A 9-cup bowl is a comfortable everyday size for chopping, slicing, shredding, and making dips and sauces. If you routinely cook for a crowd or want big batch capacity, a larger bowl will be less limiting.
What attachments come with the Breville Sous Chef 9-Cup Food Processor?
It includes a micro-serrated S-blade, an adjustable slicing disc, a reversible shredder disc, and a dough blade. It also includes an integrated storage caddy to hold the attachments inside the bowl.
How wide is the feed chute on the Breville Sous Chef 9-Cup Food Processor?
Breville lists a 120 mm wide feed chute. A wider chute matters because it reduces how much you have to pre-cut ingredients before slicing or shredding.
Can you put the Breville Sous Chef 9-Cup Food Processor parts in the dishwasher?
Breville advises against soaking the work bowl and lid for long periods and recommends only occasional dishwashing for those plastic parts. If you want a processor you can run through the dishwasher constantly, plan on more hand washing with this one.
Should I buy the Breville Sous Chef 9-Cup or the Breville Sous Chef 16-Cup?
Choose the 9-cup if you want Breville’s premium design in a more manageable size for everyday cooking and storage. Choose the 16-cup if you regularly do large, involved recipes and want the extra capacity, and you have the space to keep a much larger, heavier machine.
Should you buy the Breville Sous Chef 9-Cup Food Processor?
If you want a premium food processor that you will actually use, the Breville Sous Chef 9-Cup Food Processor makes a strong case. The wide feed chute, adjustable slicer, and built-in storage are the kinds of details that make prep faster and ownership less frustrating.
Skip it if you need big-batch capacity or you want to lean on the dishwasher for constant cleanup. But for frequent home cooking in normal-sized batches, this is a smart way to get the Sous Chef experience without committing to a giant bowl and a giant footprint.