I finally got myself a (mini) food processor, what are some good but simple meals to make using them?

[u/buff-n-tuff-afropuff]

I live in a very small apartment in a literal/ food desert, so I have to do most of my shopping at the dollar store. I get what little produce (corn, carrots, lettuce, zucchini, onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and avocados. They usually have no fruit besides lemons and limes) I can from our local carne. I also get chicken, spices, and fresh cheese there.

I've made meatballs (chicken, I don't eat red meat/pork) and black beans burgers so far, but I want to get my mileage out of this thing. It's hard with my limited availability to a lot of my previous favorite ingredients, but I still want to eat well. I'm not opposed to trying things that require a higher skill level, I just don't have access to very many ingredients.

[u/SusieShowherbra]

Salsa. Hummus. All the bisques. Cauliflower puree with roasted garlic and Greek yogurt.

[u/buff-n-tuff-afropuff → u/SusieShowherbra]

Oh yes, I completely forgot about hummus. Definitely adding it to the menu. I'll have to see if I can get my hands on some fresh cauliflower. Will frozen work?

[u/SusieShowherbra → u/buff-n-tuff-afropuff]

Yes. Roast it first.

[u/buff-n-tuff-afropuff → u/SusieShowherbra]

Awesome!

[u/mortandrickyYY → u/SusieShowherbra]

Would I need to thaw the frozen cauliflower first? Doesn’t the texture change?

[u/SusieShowherbra → u/mortandrickyYY]

Yeah I would thaw almost all the way, then roast at a high-ish temp (425° F) until you start getting brown crisp bits on the edges. Then food process with roasted garlic, s & p, and add some tempered yogurt at the end

[u/mortandrickyYY → u/SusieShowherbra]

Interesting! Never tried this. Will give it a go, thanks.

[u/nightcheese88]

Pesto and chimichurri! I love chimichurri on beef but it’s also good on chicken, shrimp, potatoes, zucchini… I’m sure plenty of other things too!

[u/buff-n-tuff-afropuff → u/nightcheese88]

Oh pesto is 100% on my list! I'll try chimichurri, I've only eaten it once or twice but remember liking it. Thank you.

[u/Bamboomoose → u/buff-n-tuff-afropuff]

For the pesto - Sub out the pine nuts for walnuts instead, much cheaper and it’s amazing how similar in flavor they are / easier to find!

[u/lilroguesnowchef → u/nightcheese88]

I use chimichurri on my lightly sauteed green beans.

[u/DarklingGlory]

There is a woman on Instagram called dollartreedinners and she posts tons of recipes with things you can get at Dollar Tree. Please check her out, she's put together a lot of wonderful ideas.

[u/Desuisart]

Do you have an air fryer? 1 can of chicken, 1 cup of cheese, a pinch of pepper. Blitz it in the food processor until it looks like a dough. Form the mixture into 8 balls and air fry them @ 400 for 12-14 mins. Keto chicken nuggets!

[u/buff-n-tuff-afropuff → u/Desuisart]

Yum! Definitely gonna try this next week, thank you!

[u/2workigo]

You could get real creative with hummus flavors.

[u/justasque]

Hummus, or similar pureed-beans-with-spices things. There are a lot of recipes out there; I sometimes like to do black beans with cumin and lime juice. Here’s a recipe for one with chickpeas. (No tahini in it, so it’s not hummus, but still a nice dip.)

To the food processor add 1 clove peeled garlic. Whiz (meaning run the food processor) to chop it a bit. Add 1 can chickpeas, drained (but keep the liquid), 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice (from an actual lemon or from a bottle of lemon juice). Whiz until somewhat smooth. Add a bit of pepper. Whiz. Taste. Does it need more lemon? Add a wee bit. Whiz. Is it still too thick? Add some of the liquid from the chickpea can, about a tablespoon. Whiz until as smooth as you want it to be.

Divide the puree into single or double serving containers. Freeze all except the one you want to use today and tomorrow. Perfect for grab-and go snacks - take carrot sticks to dip in it. Also nice in a rice bowl instead of a sauce.

[u/BbybunBia]

Falafel

[u/buff-n-tuff-afropuff → u/BbybunBia]

Oh yes, definitely on the list!

[u/bobsredmilf]

pureed sauces and dips of all kinds! fresh tomato sauce! i use mine to make pie crust — it works for a variety of simple doughs! smoothie bowls! romesco! refried beans! nut butter! finely dicing veg for anything (salsa)! soup! i love mine i use it all the time <3

[u/JeanetteTheChipette]

I made chili paste for my kimchi with mine! I also made an amazing pineapple adobo sauce for pork tenderloin or chicken. My husband makes chopped salads with our mini food processor (he pulses one ingredient at a time and then mixes it all together in a bowl).

[u/badmoon72]

I use my mini kitchen aid every day. I reach for it to chop onions, garlic, ginger etc when cooking. It super convenient when making soups 😊 I’ve also used it for pie crust & baking like no bake protein balls

[u/IceCreamFloatSeaGoat]

Do you have a grater attachment? It's grate (lol) for quickly grating zucchini that can be used in zucchini bread, fritters, or just thrown into any dish including eggs and grilled sandwiches for an easy vegetable. Same for carrots. 

I also use my food processor to blend soups. It's not quite as convenient as a stick or standard blender, but it works in batches. I made this the other day (no harissa because I couldn't find it, you can use hot sauce or just skip it): https://www.ourhappymess.com/red-pepper-carrot-soup/

Finally, a can of blended white beans (cannellini or whatever) thinned with some broth makes a really tasty, nutritious creamy pasta sauce. 

[u/IvynBae]

Hummus

[u/nvmls]

Anything with shredded cheese, it's so fast to do in a food processor. You can also use it like a blender to make smoothies. If you can get squash, chicken broth, and milk you can make something like butternut squash soup, you'd just need to peel, cube, and roast the squash then put everything in the food processor.

[u/Olderbutnotdead619]

Hummus, mayo out of hard-boiled eggs, mayo out of soft tofu, all sorts of salsas, soups of all sorts

[u/poppyjean70]

Edamame hummus is good too!

[u/Consistent_Elk9676]

Definitely all the sauces! Chimichurri, pesto, salsas, hummus, baba ghanoush, etc. you can also use it to chop or grind nuts to add to dishes.

Congrats and have fun!!!

[u/hogua]

Falafels

[u/Normal-Detective8308]

Lebanese toum but make sure you adjust the anounts

[u/IceCreamFloatSeaGoat → u/Normal-Detective8308]

Do you know if this can be frozen? The recipes I see are for massive amounts. I love toum, but not to the point where I can commit to a cup a week. But I think cutting down the recipe too much would be dicey because the emulsion won't work if there isn't enough volume of ingredients to reach the blades. I've run into that issue trying to make mayo in the food processor.

[u/Traditional-Tour37]

Nutella, chocolate covered Katie has a good recipe. 

There are also date based snacks bars

[u/ttrockwood]

So look up imperfect foods or make trips to a store with decent produce so you get leafy greens and some cabbage or cauliflower or other options

Lentils walnut meatless balls are a favorite , or poszole with all black beans and tomatillos and green peppers and cabbage

[u/buff-n-tuff-afropuff → u/ttrockwood]

I unfortunately don't have a reliable vehicle that can get me to an actual grocery store or I would, and a lot of those delivery services don't operate where I live so they aren't an option :(

[u/kbaseball93]

Blend a can of cannelini beans with a bag of frozen spinach, lemon juice, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Heat in sauce pan and Pour over pasta. Super tasty.

[u/lyta_hall]

Green and red pesto, hummus, ice-cream, chicken meatballs, falafel

[u/cuirbeluga]

“Finally”.. what did you need a processor for ?

[u/buff-n-tuff-afropuff → u/cuirbeluga]

Making the black bean burgers mostly. When I lived in the city I could just buy them, but now I'm making my own. I know there's ways to do it without a food processor, but I didn't enjoy the texture of those.