I tested 5 of KitchenAid's most popular attachments, including the pasta maker and meat grinder — here's what you need to know before you buy any of them

Making pasta from scratch is a lot easier with the KitchenAid pasta roller and cutter attachment, which rolls out even pasta sheets and noodles with minimal effort.

Pros: Easy to clean, smooth rolling action to stretch out dough, takes up minimal storage space

Cons: Price 

If you're going to attempt homemade pasta, an electric pasta maker will save you hours with a rolling pin. Manual pasta makers also do the trick, but after using the KitcheAid Pasta Attachment, I can't imagine going back to anything with a handcrank. The basic pasta set from KitchenAid comes with a pasta roller, fettuccine cutter, and spaghetti cutter. 

I used each setting on the roller and the two cutters with an egg pasta recipe from Serious Eats. The roller and both cutters fit six-inch wide sheets of dough, which is about standard for pasta makers. I found that the cutter attachments produced evenly sized and shaped strands of pasta every time.

This is by far the easiest attachment to set up because each piece is self-contained. You slot the roller or cutter into the attachment port and you're ready to go. The only design issue I noticed was the pasta roller's adjustment dial – the arrow doesn't line up exactly with the numbers, so I sometimes was one setting off from my intended one. 

Since you can't wash these pieces with water, the set includes a brush to help clean out excess flour or bits of dough. Pasta dough shouldn't be too sticky when it goes through the roller and I found the cleaning process to be quick and easy.

At $219.99 for the basic set, this attachment is almost as expensive as the mixer itself. This is slightly higher than other electric pasta makers. The three pieces are hefty stainless steel, but they're single-purpose. The KitchenAid manual specifically notes that you shouldn't use the pasta set for anything other than pasta dough. 

Switch up how you cook produce with the KitchenAid Spiralizer attachment – the blades easily pass through zucchini, apples, and more.

Pros: Simple construction, blades work smoothly through apples, zucchini, and potatoes

Cons: Blades have trouble with tougher produce

Spiralizing can help diversify the way you treat produce by allowing you to turn zucchini into noodles or make tornado potatoes at home. The KitchenAid spiralizer attachment has three parts: the attachment's main body, the skewer, and the blade. I tested the five-piece set that includes small and large core slicing blades, a peeling blade, and medium and fine spiralizing blades. The seven-piece sets also include thin slicing blades and extra-fine spiralizing blades.

It's easy to put together – after you attach the main body to the mixer, you just slot in the skewer and blade. The spiralizer does come out the furthest from the stand mixer out of the attachments I tested, but since it doesn't add height and you can place a bowl directly under it, I found it easy to manage. 

Each of the four blades powered through apples, zucchini, and white potatoes easily, creating fun and evenly shaped spirals. Though the blades are top-rack dishwasher safe, they were perfectly clean after blasting them with water and some light scrubbing with a scouring pad.  

None of the blades were sharp enough to spiralize sweet potatoes, though. I got halfway through one with the spiralizing blade before it stopped and couldn't go further, even with me manually spinning the sweet potato. When the blade gets stuck, the food is pushed further onto the skewer which chews up the base of your produce.

Out of all the blades, the peeler required the most effort to operate, and I found the peeling process less than smooth. Especially for unevenly shaped produce, I needed to push the peeler into the food to get started. It worked well for the apple, taking off all of the peel and none of the actual fruit, but I still had to guide the blade to get initial contact.

The KitchenAid Shredder/Slicer Attachment is a solid option for low volume and occasional shredding, but go with a food processor if you're looking for greater efficiency and capacity.

This attachment did not stand out among the others I tested. It did its job, slicing and shredding evenly sized and shaped pieces of carrots, mozzarella cheese, and Yukon potatoes. However, issues with the design brought this attachment down in my rankings. 

The attachment is basically made up of two perpendicular tubes – the vertical one holds the feeder, where you insert whatever you're shredding, and the horizontal one holds (and rotates) the blade. The shredded material comes out of the horizontal tube and drops into your bowl from almost a foot above the counter. I found that this is not a controlled fall, and if you don't use a bowl with tall enough sides, wayward pieces will end up on the floor and countertop. 

Another issue was the small feeder opening. At only 1.5 inches wide, vegetables have to be cut into thin sticks. This significantly slows down the shredding process not only because you are dealing with fewer vegetables at a time, but also because you may have to stop and recut your pieces. 

Design flaws aside, this attachment does work as intended and is much easier to clean than a box grater. Additionally, the price is comparable to other small food processors. If you're not shredding too often and don't want another appliance, this attachment is a good compromise.  

If you're new to grinding meat, the KitchenAid attachment is easy to set up and clean, and provides an even grind.

Pros: Durable metal construction, easy to set up, smooth grinding action

Cons: Bulky storage case

Having never ground meat before, this attachment was the most foreign and intimidating to me. I appreciated how easy it was to put the parts together, thanks to the clear instructions in the manual. The grinding screw slots into the attachment body, followed by the blade, grinding plate, and collar that keeps everything together. 

Even with several connection points, the attachment felt secure and steady during testing. I put the attachment through its paces by grinding two pounds of beef chuck with each of the grinding plates and making chicken-apple sausage. There was a noticeable difference between each grind size, with the biggest jump from medium to coarse. 

The food tray comes 4.5 inches above the KitchenAid's highest point. I'm 5'1" and I could just see the edge of the top of the tray, but not the opening to the feeder tube. This wasn't a problem until I tried the sausage stuffer. When I needed to have one hand managing the casing, it was difficult to get the leverage I needed to guide and push meat into the grinder.  

This grinder does not have a reverse function, which other electric grinders use to get rid of clogs. I had no clogging issues with the grinding plates. However, while making the chicken sausage, I had to clean out the feeder tube a few times. 

Though I didn't test the plastic version, I think it is worth getting the metal grinder. One of the things I liked most about the metal one was how sturdy it felt. While processing meat, I could use a lot of force with the food pusher and the attachment wouldn't wobble. Still, the biggest advantage of the metal attachment is that you can refrigerate it, which makes for a smoother and more even grind. 

Everyone likes a two for one deal, and this KitchenAid attachment gives you a functional kitchen scale and hands-free sifter in one package.

Pros: Hands-free sifting, scale can be used separately, no overflowing ingredients

Cons: Complicated to assemble

For an attachment that performs fairly simple tasks, this was the most complicated one to put together. There are six main parts: the sifter housing, ingredient hopper, digital scale, sifter, swivel chute, and scale plate. The sifter housing is the attachment base – it connects to the mixer port and holds the sifter and swivel chute. The digital scale sits on top of the sifter housing. 

If you're weighing ingredients, you insert the scale plate and place the hopper (or your own bowl) on top of it. To sift, you remove the plate and slot the hopper into the scale base. A dial on the side of the hopper releases the ingredients into the sifter below. To test how these functions worked in tandem, I assembled the attachment and made a basic vanilla cake batter using the scale and then the sifter to mix the dry ingredients. 

There are a few solid benefits to using this attachment. First, you get a compact and accurate kitchen scale that you can use independently of the attachment. Second, sifting becomes a hands-free and a cleaner process. I could walk away while the mixer was sifting to check the next step in the recipe and come back to sifted dry ingredients. No flour spilled over the edge of the chute. It's easy to clean, too – since you only sift dry ingredients, you just spray down the separate pieces and lay them out to dry. 

This attachment grew on me the more I used it, but I have some lingering reservations. Sifting is often only a small part of baking – I don't really want to unbox, construct, clean, and then repackage an attachment just for that. In an effort to combine multiple functions into one attachment, the sifter/scale becomes a little unwieldy. 

We evaluated each attachment based on ease of cleaning, storage, set-up, and price. We also tested attachments for their specific functionalities.

Storage: Most attachments, especially those with multiple parts, come with their own storage containers. The sifter, spiralizer, and meat grinder boxes take up the most space, while the pasta maker's is the most compact. You could store the attachments in different boxes, as long as you keep all the tiny pieces and blades organized. 

Cleaning: We cleaned each attachment based on the manufacturer's instructions, and then noted how clean they were and if they exhibited any surface changes.

Set-up: We considered how easy the attachment was to put together and disassemble, and whether the manual's instruction were helpful. If the attachment had interchangeable blades or cutters, we noted how easy it was to switch them in and out.  

Price: Since you cannot use these attachments without a KitchenAid stand mixer, we considered only the price of the attachment. We compared it to the price of other standalone appliances that perform the same function.

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