KitchenAid Mixer Review

This post has been sitting in my drafts folder for a long time. Since I just posted my Baking Essentials Review, I figured now would be a good time to post this as well.

One of the most used items in any baker's kitchen is their hand and/or stand mixer. I bought a hand mixer for myself when I was single and bought my townhouse, and registered for a stand mixer when I was engaged. My parents generously bought us the stand mixer. I registered for a 6-quart bowl lift model because that's what my mom had and what I was used to using (I actually had been using one of her old ones before she bought us one). I'm from a big family and I was used to baking at least 2 recipes at a time of anything I made, so the larger mixer made sense. Fast forward 6 years and I now have a husband and two children and I find myself baking mostly in single batches for us, with the occasional double batch for holidays or family parties. I love my stand mixer, but it doesn't mix small amounts in the big bowl as well as it mixes larger amounts. I recently began doing some research to find a smaller mixer that would be more for my everyday use, while keeping the 6-quart mixer for the times when I need to bake more than one batch of something. While I would not normally consider "downgrading" items in my kitchen, after using the larger stand mixer for several years I often wished I had a smaller one, especially over the past year as I have baked more with my toddlers. The smaller one also weighs less and I can more easily move it around the kitchen or onto the table where my kids can help me. My 6-quart mixer is big and heavy and cumbersome to move so it stays in the corner of our countertop and I move it out slightly to use it, then move it right back into the corner when I'm finished.

The hand mixer I have is the KitchenAid® 9-Speed Digital Hand Mixer in white. This is a great hand mixer and I use it often, always in my OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls. I like having 9 speeds instead of 5 or 7 offered on other models. I use this mixer whenever I can because it's easier to mix batter without having to scrape down the sides of the bowl so much since you can move the mixer around while holding it. I use this for cheesecake batter, cake batter, frosting/icing, pudding, whipped cream, and other light batters.

For thicker batters, larger batches, cookie dough and bread or pizza dough, I use my stand mixer. The stand mixer we were given by my parents is the KitchenAid® Professional 600 Stand Mixer in Blue Steel, which is a blue/grey color with a matte finish. When I registered for this mixer, I chose this color because our wedding colors were navy and grey. Not knowing what our future kitchen would look like or what color scheme we would have, I registered for mostly white and navy colored kitchen items and this mixer color went very well with them. I later used gift cards to purchase the KitchenAid® 6-Quart Glass Bowl with Lid and Mixing Tools. I like using this bowl when my kids are watching me bake. It is big and heavy compared to the stainless steel bowl though. I like that it has a lid so I keep this stored with my mixer on the countertop with the tools inside the lid and they don't get all dusty, and the stainless steel bowl and tools are stored in a cabinet.

The smaller stand mixer I purchased in the summer of 2021 is the KitchenAid Artisan® Series 5 Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer in Aqua Sky, a pretty turquoise color with a glossy finish. Turquoise and teal colored items have slowly taken over my kitchen over the years, and coordinate well with all of the navy items we also have. I also purchased the 5 Quart Tilt-Head Glass Bowl, as I know my kids will love being able to see the ingredients mixing together, and I like having an extra mixing bowl. This glass bowl has a ton of bad reviews, but so does the glass bowl I purchased for my 6-quart mixer and I've had no issues with it, so I was willing to give it a try. I also purchased the Stainless Steel 3 Piece Kit, to have a set for each bowl but also because I don't like the coated beaters that come with the 5-quart mixer. They should just stop making the coated beaters (which tend to chip over time) and provide the stainless steel ones with every mixer.

I have now owned the 5 Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer over two years, and I love it! The smaller size is a lot more manageable for me, it mixes better because there is not as much batter or dough left untouched at the bottom of the mixing bowl, it handles double batches well, and the bowls are easier to wash since they're smaller. I've made several double batches of cookie dough for Christmas and everything fit perfectly fine in the 5 Quart bowl. I thought I would have to use the bigger mixer for double batches so I am happy to find out I don't need to. I also love having the option of the two different bowls. If dough needs to rise or batter needs to be refrigerated after it's mixed I can keep it in the mixing bowl and use the other bowl for something else (this especially comes in handy when making a lot of different types of cookies). The glass bowl is also just a lot of fun for kids, so they can see how the ingredients come together. My boys love watching me bake using that bowl. My only complaint is that sometimes after mixing, the bowl can be difficult to twist out.

There are a ton of attachments that can be used with KitchenAid mixers. I have three. One was a wedding gift from my mom's cousin, the KitchenAid® 3-Piece Pasta Roller Attachment Set. This set is great for making homemade spaghetti. I also have the KitchenAid® Pasta Cutter Attachment (Set of 2) which has two more cuts of spaghetti. I also have the KitchenAid® Food Grinder Attachment which was a bridal shower gift. My husband wanted this attachment but neither of us have used it yet. I have debated also purchasing the KitchenAid® Pasta Press Attachment, but have not done so yet because I've heard it's difficult to clean and I'm not sure that I would use it much at all. A few of my cousins have made pasta with that attachment and it was really good. An added bonus of having two mixers is that when I use my KitchenAid pasta attachments, I can use the roller attachment on one mixer and a pasta cutter attachment on the other mixer, rather than having to keep switching the attachments.

I love my KitchenAid mixers. They are high quality and last for a very long time. They are definitely an investment, but one that is very worth it if you bake often. If I had to go back and choose just one at this point in my life, I would choose the 5 Quart because it is more suited to the baking that I do. The 6 Quart is more of a workhorse, which is nice to have at times but not completely necessary for me. I hope my review helped you decide which one or ones would be best for you!