We want a food processor. We don’t have counter space for it to live on, so it would need to be light enough for moving from cabinet to counter and back. We have room in the cabinet for a 14"x14" footprint. I’m willing to pay handsomely for durability and ease of cleaning.
Can anyone suggest a good fit for these requirements?
How many people are you cooking for? What are you making?
I’ve been happy with my Cuisinarts, I have a small Classic from the '90s that I still use, recently got a larger 14 cup for work.
I’ve also been very happy with my Cuisinarts (I’ve a couple after upgrading to larger sizes).
Light is a tough one for food processors. I don’t find any of them too heavy to move, but none of them are “light” since the bases need to be heavy enough to keep it in place while it is running. My senior parents have stopped storing theirs in the lower cupboard because it is too heavy to lift from that position for them.
Another Cuisinart fan here. The company builds a solid motor, offers exceptional customer service and keeps parts/accessories avail for years.
I would recommend visiting a local box store on footprint. The height of the fp with all parts in place inside your cabinet is going to be equally important.
I keep the base, bucket and tube insert in the pantry and the blade accessories in an appliance drawer.
I agree with others here that Cuisinart is the way to go. I used to have a prep 11 plus. I “upgraded” to a Kitchenaid. One with two bowls and lots of attachments and hate it. It does not do a good job of chopping at all. I could drop a few cloves of garlic in the Cuisinart and get them pretty well chopped. The kitchenaid can’t do it even in the small bowl. The Kitchenaid also does not chop as uniformly and I often have to stop it to push ingredients down into the bowl. The Cuisinart was also better at mixing dough. I do not remember the Prep 11 being very heavy but I am not sure it will meet your height requirement. If all you want to do is chop stuff maybe their 4cup model would work for you but I don’t think it has slicing and grating disks if that is what you are after. I also can’t see it working for dough.
I am also a Cuisinart fan. I keep mine assembled in a bottome cabinet and move it to the counter when I’m going to sue it. I keep the bowl and top on it so it’s ready to go when I pull it out. The only thing I don’t do is leave the chopping blade mounted and ready to go. I’ve read somewhere that you shouldn’t leave it on for an extended period of time, so I just keep it turned sideways in the bowl and put it on the spindle right before I’m going to use it.
I got mine 18 years ago, and it’s still going strong.
Another vote for Cuisinart - I’ve been using mine since the early 90’s. It’s an 11 cup size which is perfect for my needs. I also have a small one for little jobs.
I have not used a Cuisinart. I have the Breville 12cup Sous Chef and absolutely, without question, recommend it!!! It’s not too big, comes with a double-sided grating disc, a slicing disc that’s totally adjustable, a plastic dough hook for pizza and cookies and a mini-bowl and blade that works with the same lid as the larger bowl. I use it all of the time.
What are you going to use it for?
It would be good to know your height and capacity/uses variables.
Myself, I’ve had a small capacity (5 cup) KitchenAid KP350 for over 20 years. (Actually, I gave it to my son when he went to college, but I liked it so much, I got a replacement for myself on EBay–those older machines, made in France, have sturdier motors–heavy things for their size).
These days whenever I have any question like this I take a look at Wirecutter. They have reviewed just about anything and everything you can imagine and generally their reviews are good.
In reply to those who want clarifications:
Number of people: There are three of us, though we occasionally cook for potlucks.
Uses: Not replacing a mixer. We have a kitchen-aide mixer that I am completely content with for dough and batter (and don’t use for much of anything else). We have a decent blender. My wife wants to make falafel, and hummus, and I forget the third thing she always brings up. We had one years ago, a white plastic thing I don’t recall the name of, which broke after one or two years. I liked it for hummus, and sometimes for chopping some types of vegetables.
Size: 14" square footprint available in the cupboard. height: lots. ~2 feet? By the time it gets that tall it will be too heavy.
Weight: We can lift things. The kitchen-aide mixer, for instance, lives in the same cupboard. I just don’t want something much heavier than that.
But it sounds like lots of people say Cuisinart! I’ll look at those at a department store.
Maybe pesto?
I’m with you. My original Cuisinart was great - I’m talking first ones! Later, larger ones I’d gotten broke down. Finally got myself a Breville 12 cup sous chef and its amazing! It’s not light, but I keep it on the counter with the bowls, but the top is in the cabinet with the blade case, so I don’t have to move the base.
Glad you love your Breville. I also have their smart oven and Handy Mix Scraper–excellent tools. As you say, not light but they do the job very, very well!
I have the smart oven and the immersion blender. I love their products! By dad has their toaster oven and he’s in love with it. He makes everything in that thing!
That oven is handy!!! 4 baked potatoes, 10" pie plate…it can fit a lot and is great for our household of 2. Spread the Breville love! 
Cuisinart 11 cup. I’m on my 3rd one since 1985. Couldn’t live without it.
An 11 year lifespan? That doesn’t seem all that great.
I suppose it depends how heavily used they were. Some people use their food processors once a month and some people use theirs everyday (sort of like our cars too)
