A stand mixer can make or break many a multi-step recipe, but these kitchen tools can also tend to be bulky, loud, and rather expensive. If you’re not constantly using your big mixer and are looking for something a bit more ergonomic and cost-effective, you should try a hand mixer. A hand mixer requires only a little bit of elbow grease and helps you mix your ingredients with ease — and with much less effort than mixing entirely by hand. If you’re looking for the perfect hand mixer to add to your kitchen appliance collection, look no further. Here’s a list of all our favorite options of the year.
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Breville Handy Mix Scraper Hand Mixer
This hand mixer is one of the most intuitive on the market. It has a smart interface that is able to detect what kind of attachment you’re using, and the mixer will adjust the speed accordingly to ensure that whatever you’re mixing will be perfectly blended. The 240-watt DC motor delivers high torque even at lower speeds.
The Breville mixer’s beaters are rubber-coated, so they act as scrapers and will mix all the way to the edges of the bowl without making those unappealing clanging noises. The Breville Handy Mix Scraper features a built-in timer, helping you maintain accuracy when dealing with recipes that require precise mixing for a certain amount of minutes or seconds, and there’s even a built-in light to help you see the ingredients more clearly, even when cooking in a kitchen that’s poorly lit.
KitchenAid 9-Speed Digital Hand Mixer
This hand-held version of the popular KitchenAid stand mixer has an impressive nine speeds, allowing you to easily combine large ingredients with slow stirring or blend watery ingredients with fast whipping. Speed one is perfect for combining chunky foods, while speed nine is ideal for whipping meringue. This hand mixer is well known for being easy to use, as it has a Soft Start Feature, which gradually brings the beaters up to your selected speed setting to help minimize splattering.
Cord getting in the way when you’re cooking? You can lock it to the left or right side of the mixer, giving you maximum angle control whether you’re a righty or a southpaw and no matter how your counter is arranged. Plus, you can quickly remove any attachments from the KitchenAid 9-Speed Digital Hand Mixer by simply pressing one button with one hand. Unusual for a hand mixer, one of the attachments is a stick blender, making it extra useful for pureeing soups in the pot, making milkshakes, and other tasks blenders are better at.
Cuisinart 9-Speed Handheld Mixer
The thing that immediately sets this handheld mixer apart from the others? It comes with a storage case that fits directly onto the mixer and snaps shut to hold all the accessories in one place. You’ll get beaters, a chef’s whisk, dough hooks, and a spatula, so you get pretty much all the accessories you’d need to do some serious mixing in the kitchen. The mixer features nine different speed settings, with three of the settings offering a low-start feature to prevent splattering. You can easily adjust speeds while using the mixer, thanks to one-touch speed control.
The Cuisinart 9-Speed Handheld Mixer also comes with a three-year limited warranty, so you can rest assured that you’re covered if something malfunctions. Use the included recipe book to try new foods, or choose one from the millions of recipes online that require mixing (we’d start with a delicious meringue pie).
Oster HeatSoft Hand Mixer
True to its name, the Oster HeatSoft has an onboard thermal element that sends warm air directly into your ingredients as you beat them, which lets you start preparing foods at the drop of a dime. Think about it — a normal stick of butter may need to sit out for 20-30 minutes before it’s soft enough to cook with. Say goodbye to those long wait times, as the HeatSoft will melt that butter almost instantly.
The 270-watt mixer also has seven different mix speeds, as well as an extra boost button for pushing a little more power into whatever mix preset you’ve chosen. The Oster HeatSoft Hand Mixer’s easy eject lever makes it simple to remove the rugged full-sized beaters when it’s time to clean up (beaters, dough hooks, and whisks are hand-wash only), and a snap-and-go storage case makes it quick and easy to stow the Oster away until your next baking session.
Black+Decker MX600T Performance Hand Mixer
The Black+Decker MX600T boasts five different speeds — stir, combine, mix, blend, beat/whip — and a power boost. The 250-watt motor makes it perfect for mixing batters, sauces, and doughs. It features an ergonomic grip for comfortable use, and the heel of the mixer is designed to rest upright on the counter or sit on the edge of the bowl. The durable nylon beaters are also removable and dishwasher safe for easy cleanup. The mixer comes with its own storage case that uses the MX600 itself as a snap-on cover, so you’ll always have a place to stow the mixer and its accessories.
Krups Electric Hand Mixer
Silence is golden, especially in the wee hours of the morning when one may want to whisk some eggs. The keen folks at Krups know this, which is why this particular mixer features one of the quietest motors on the market. But ingenuity doesn’t stop there. Choose from over 10 different mixing presets, from light fluffing to rugged beating. There’s also a turbo boost and a pause function for stopping the built-in timer to add in more ingredients to your mixing bowl.
The silicone whisks help to cut down on noise while keeping your mixes even and smooth, and they’re dishwasher safe, along with the included dough hooks and beaters. Stow away the Krups Electric Hand Mixer in a cinch with the snap-and-go storage case that holds the mixer, cord, plus all your accessories, helping you net more counter space if you’re at a loss for space in your busy kitchen.
