There are very few kitchen gadgets that are as useful and versatile as a hand mixer. In fact the hand mixer was the original blender and dough beater, and there are several other functions that human ingenuity has added to what can be achieved with a hand mixer. Of course, the secret is to find a hand mixer that has all the more important features. Things like accurately selecting the speed can greatly influence what you can do with a hand mixer. There is also the fact that the more power a hand mixer can muster, the stronger the materials it is able to crush can be. So, for example, you can use a long cup and a simple hand mixer to make a smoothie or even ice chips for ice cream. But then again the more versatile a mixer is, the more expensive it will get. That is why when putting together the following list of the best hand mixers available on the market, we also looked at how much each one of them costs, and for what type of users and functions it made sense to actually spend that much money. Those considerations went into creating the in depth reviews we have prepared for you right after the list, so make sure to scroll down and check those out.
1. Conair Cuisinart Smart Stick
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The first hand mixer we decided to start our list is not the best in terms of features by any stretch of the imagination. However, it is so reasonably priced, and so close to what some of the best hand mixers we are going to feature next, that we decided to use it a base line. The feature that first drew us to it is its powerful 200 watt motor. That is double and more than what most other hand mixers in this price point can do. That means it can crush ice into chips with ease, and it can handle any other type of food from eggplants to chickpeas, for incredible humus salads, to chopping up walnuts, and to blending all sorts of creams. Still the fact that it only has a blade means it cannot be used for dough or for a really creamy mayonnaise. It is perfect though for making any type of cream soup your imagination can come up with and it is incredibly easy to operate and clean.
2. Cuisinart HM-90S Power Advantage Plus 9-Speed Handheld Mixer with Storage Case
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Cuisinart are also the manufacturers of the most expensive handheld mixer on our list, the Cuisinart HM-90S Power Advantage Plus 9-Speed Handheld Mixer with Storage Case. Although it is one of the most expensive hand mixers you could find, it is definitely worth the money. It has a digital speed setting display that ranges from 1 to 9, and it has a set of beaters, whisks and hooks. That means you can start from a bowl of flower, set the mixer on its lowest setting, and keep adding water, eggs, and milk to create a perfect dough. It can also be used to quickly beat egg whites or cream, and you can even use it to smooth out imperfections in every type of cream. However, it cannot crush ice and you cannot use it as a blender, so we see our first 2 products as representative for the whole market, and encourage you to buy one of each, even if it is exactly these 2.
3. KitchenAid KHM512ER 5-Speed Ultra Power Hand Mixer
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If you are thinking of buying a mixer with almost the same capabilities as the Cuisinart HM-90S, but at a significantly lower price, your best choice would be the KitchenAid KHM512ER 5-Speed Ultra Power Hand Mixer. It only has 5 speed settings, and, for the money, you are only getting the set of beaters. That means you will need to buy separately the dough hooks, if you ever decide to go into making your own bread, and you will also need to buy the whisks if you want to get particularly soft mayo and other creams of that sort. There is also the fact that the KitchenAid only has 5 speed setting so you will need to be more careful as you start working with it, and, if you were to buy all the other accessories, you will end up paying as much as you would have on the Cuisinart. But, then again, we all have to operate under specific budget restrictions.
4. Hamilton Beach 62695V Power Deluxe Hand Mixer
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There is an even more affordable alternative to the KitchenAid hand mixer, the Hamilton Beach 62695V Power Deluxe Hand Mixer. It is one of the most powerful mixers on the market, at 275 watts of power, and it even has 6 different speed settings. However, even on the lowest speed setting we found that it was going too fast to start preparing a good dough, which is why this is only our 4th choice. The other great feature of this hand mixer is the fact that its body was designed to rest against the bowl very comfortably. And there is also the fact that it comes with its own set of beaters and whisks, but it does not have its own dough hooks.
5. Proctor Silex 62509RY 5-Speed Hand Mixer
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The last entry on our top 5 best hand mixers list, is the Proctor Silex 62509RY 5-Speed Hand Mixer. It is an incredibly cheap mixer, but is also a very weak mixer at just 100 watts. It actually comes with its own set of dough hooks, but we found that, even on its slowest speed setting, it will throw part of the flower out of the bowl, so you need to start mixing by hand and only once you have something resembling a dough, use the hand mixer to actually beat the dough.
6. Hamilton Beach 59765 2 Speed Hand Blender
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As we head into the second part of our list, it is only fair that we should mention a very sturdy competitor to the first type of hand mixer that we featured on top of our list. The Hamilton Beach 59765 2 Speed Hand Blender may not be as stylish as the Cuisinart, but it does come with its own whisk and its own chopping bowl. And in case you missed all the popular ads on TV let us reassure you that we have tested it and the mixing bowl will chop an onion, without leaving you in tears.
7. VonShef Professional 250W Hand Mixer
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As long as you are not bound to the idea of having a high visibility brand hand mixer, one of the cheapest alternative for a very powerful and complete unit is the VonShef Professional 250W Hand Mixer. As the name suggests it is very powerful, at 250 watts, and it comes with the complete set of beaters, dough hooks, and whisks. It has 6 speeds, and, when set on its minimal speed, we did manage to start creating a dough from scratch. On its higher setting, it can turn roughly cut egg plants or chickpeas into a very smooth paste. Plus, we have to admit that the VonShef is one of the more beautiful hand mixers on our list.
8. Oster 2500 Inspire 240-Watt 5-Speed Hand Mixer
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An even cheaper alternative to the VonShef we have just talked about is the Oster 2500 Inspire 240-Watt 5-Speed Hand Mixer. Here you do not get the set of whisks, and the start speed of the mixer is too great to safely start making a dough. Then again, it is a very powerful hand mixer and very few people actually use this type of a mixer for dough making. Rather it is used for salads, vinaigrettes and different types of flavored mayonnaise. And for each of those instances, the Oster is a fairly good choice.
9. Cuisinart CHM-3R Electronic Hand Mixer 3-Speed
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As we get closer to the end of our list we can talk about some of the more eccentric hand mixers you could buy. The Cuisinart CHM-3R Electronic Hand Mixer only has a 3 speed setting, which makes it almost useless for dough making, except that it was designed to cut through cold butter with ease. So if you are planning to make shortbread or any type of dough that involves the use of cold butter, then this is your best choice. It actually is better than any other mixer on this list at making a butter rich dough.
10. Hamilton Beach 64650 6-Speed Classic Stand Mixer
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Our last feature is a hybrid between a stand mixer and a hand held mixer. We believe that, unless you have a very strong reason why you do not like stand mixers, this is the best choice because there are plenty of recipes where, even with the use of a hand mixer, it can take a long time for everything to come together as it should. The Hamilton Beach 64650 6-Speed Classic Stand Mixer can be used also as a hand mixer, and it has the great advantage of being priced well into the hand mixer category range.
