Cuisinart DLC-2A Mini Prep Plus 3-Cup 250-Watt Food Processor

by Cuisinart

• 250-watt food processor with 3-cup plastic work bowl
• Chops and grinds with patented reversible stainless-steel blade
• Simple push-button control panel; durable, yet lightweight plastic body
• Dishwasher-safe bowl and lid for quick cleanup; spatula included
• Measures approximately 8 by 5 by 9 inches; 18-month limited warranty

Product Details

View the Product Manual [PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.2 x 5.6 inches ; 3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000645YM
• Item model number: DLC-2ABC
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (658 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #303 in Kitchen & Dining (See Top 100 in Kitchen & Dining)
  • #3 in Kitchen & Dining > Small Appliances > Food Processors

Product Description

Color: Brushed Chrome

Included components of the Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus Processor

Pulse controlled buttons

Why Is This The Perfect Mini Processor For You?

The Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus Processor handles a variety of food preparation tasks including chopping, grinding, puréeing, emulsifying and blending. The patented auto-reversing SmartPower blade provides a super-sharp edge for the delicate chopping of herbs and for blending and puréeing other soft foods. The blunt edge offers a powerful cutting surface to grind through spices and other hard foods. Pulse activation gives maximum control for precision processing, whether chopping or grinding. Spatula, product manual and recipe booklet included.

Using Your Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus Processor

The powerful high-speed 250-Watt motor works hard and fast to accomplish any small job with ease. Chop herbs, onions, garlic; grind spices, hard cheese, purée baby foods; blend mayonnaise and flavored butters, all with the same compact appliance. The Mini-Prep Plus Processor takes up minimum counter space and stores neatly on the countertop or in a cabinet.

Best Practices When Using Your Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus Processor

Size

Always cut large pieces of food into smaller pieces of even size – about 1/2-Inch. If you don't start with pieces that are small and uniform, you will not get an even chop.

Quantity

You don’t want to overload the 3-Cup work bowl. Use the quantities given in the included recipe section of the product manual. As a rule of thumb, remember that after being processed, food should not reach more than 2/3 of the way up the central hub of the blade assembly.

Selecting the Right Operating Control

Use the Chop function for chopping, puréeing and mixing. It’s the best option, for example, when chopping soft, fragile food such as herbs, celery, onions, garlic and most cheeses. It is also the right choice for puréeing cooked vegetables, making mayonnaise and mixing salad dressing. Pulse action is best when you are using the chop function. Two or three pulses are often enough.

Use the Grind function for grinding spices, and for chopping hard food such as peppercorns, seeds, chocolate and nuts. Continuous-hold action is best when you are using the grind function.

Adding Liquid

You can add liquids such as water, oil or flavoring while the machine is running. For example, you might want to add oil when making mayonnaise or salad dressing, or you could add vanilla or alcohol when making frozen yogurt. Pour the liquid through one of the two openings in the cover.

Removing Food From the Sides of the Bowl

Occasionally food will stick to the sides of the bowl as you process. Stop the machine to clear food away. After the blade has stopped moving, remove the cover, and use the spatula to scrape the food from the sides of the bowl back into the center.

Cleaning and Storage

Read to clean up? No problem! To simplify cleaning, rinse the work bowl, cover, and blade immediately after each use, so that food won’t dry on them. Wash blade assembly, work bowl, cover, and spatula in warm soapy water. If you have a dishwasher, you can wash the work bowl, cover, blade assembly, and spatula on the top rack.

The Mini-Prep Plus Processor stores neatly on the countertop in a minimum of space. The hidden cord storage underneath the motor base will help to keep excess cord off the countertop. Store the unit assembled to prevent loss of parts.

Easily dice tomatoes in seconds!

Just a Few of the Many Foods You Can Prepare

Food Item	Operation/Technique	Comments/Notes
Seeds and Dried Berries	Grind. Pulse to break up, then process continuously to desired consistency.	Coriander, cumin, dill, fennel, sesame, poppy, and juniper berries
Herbs, fresh	Chop. Pulse to chop to desired consistency.	Rinse and dry completely. Remove leaves from stems to chop.
Onions	Chop. Pulse 5-10 times to chop to desired size.	Peel; Cut into 3⁄4-inch or smaller pieces of similar size.
Mushrooms	Chop. Pulse to chop to desired consistency.	Choose firm, fresh mushrooms. Cut into quarters or even-size pieces, no larger than 3⁄4-inch.
Nuts	Chop. Pulse to chop to desired consistency.	Toast nuts first for maximum flavor. Allow to cool completely before chopping.
Vegetables, cooked	Chop. Pulse 5-10 times to chop, then process continuously until desired consistency is reached.	Cook vegetables until tender. Process to a smooth purée for baby food or sauces; may need to add liquid for consistency.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1,917 of 1,930 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Cuisinart Vs. KitchenAid Mini Choppers September 25, 2004

By S. Burch

Color Name:White|Amazon Verified Purchase

When I starting searching for a mini-chopper I was surprised by the huge rating difference between the Cuisinart DLC2 and the KitchenAid KFC3100, so I bought both and did a side-by-side comparison. The only explanation I can give for the ratings difference is that Cuisinart buyers must have higher expectations. For most operations they have nearly identical performance and for some operations the Cuisinart is the clear winner.

Onions: Many Cuisinart reviewers panned its performance here, claiming it made onion purée, but most KitchenAid reviewers praised its onion chopping ability. I found almost no difference between the two. Maybe its an issue with the instructions - for chopped onions you must use a few short pulses. A few more pulses and you get minced onion - more than this and both give you onion puree. I wouldn't say either is great at chopping onions, but both are equally mediocre.

I also tested chopping nuts, and making breadcrumbs with similar results. Both performed about the same for a course chop, although the Cuisinart produced a more even chop on the nuts, but its when you want a really fine chop that the Cuisinart starts to shine. The first reason for this is the grind feature found only on the Cuisinart. This spins the blade in the opposite direction which allows the flat, back-side of the blade to impact the food. More importantly, it redistributes the food, so if you've got a couple of chunks that refuse to be chopped, a short pulse in the opposite direction helps it drop into the blade. For perfect, fine breadcrumbs I alternate between the normal chop mode for a few seconds, and grind for one second.

The other reason the Cuisinart gives a better fine chop is that it does a much better job of cycling the food through the blade.... This is a real key when you're working with softer foods like spreads, pâtés or purees. When I made a cream cheese spread in both choppers the Cuisinart did a far quicker and better job of pulling the ingredients down the center and into the blade. The KitchenAid kept larger chunks bobbing on top. If you're making dips, spreads or baby food, the Cuisinart is the hands-down winner.

On the practical side, both choppers were equally easy to clean. Both have small holes in the lid for pouring in liquids on the fly, but only The KitchenAid has a slot for dry or thick ingredients - if that's important to you. Overall, I found the Cuisinart easier to use for several reasons. First, the Cuisinart blade drops on easily, while the KitchenAid blade is keyed and I found myself turning it several times before it dropped in. Second, the KitchenAid lid must be removed first before you can lift off the bowl, but on the Cuisinart, the bowl and lid can be detached as an assembly. Finally, the Cuisinart blade has a "handle" that extends to the top of the bowl like a popsicle stick allowing you to remove the blade without getting your fingers in the food.

After all my testing, I really can't understand the large ratings difference between these two. Neither is perfect - you'll never get a perfect, even, course chop with things like onions or chocolate, but they do come in handy. For many uses either one will give you pretty much the same results. Because of its advantage with softer foods and its ease of use, I recommend the Cuisinart. Read more ›

265 of 267 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars I love my MiniPrep, it's a great help! November 28, 2005

By Vyshtia VINE™ VOICE

Color Name:Brushed Chrome

I got this as a gift from my boyfriend and have been using it regularly. This is one of those things that you don't think you ever need (and I did give this topic extensive thought), but once you have it, you would really miss it.

The good is that it is really good at FINELY chopping things.

The bad is that it is really good at FINELY chopping things.

Keeping this in mind, I've learnt when to use and when to just use my knife. For instance, when chopping walnuts for banana bread, I put a cup of walnuts into the processor and hit "Chop" - it immediately chopped the walnuts into good sized chunks, but there was a couple of walnuts that didn't get cut yet, so I hit the "Chop" button a couple more times, but that turned the rest of the walnuts to a very small almost "powder" consistency. I tried it again, with about the same results. I guess I could try putting in less walnuts at a time, but then that would defeat the purpose of "less work" since I'd have to put in a small amount, chop, dump out the first batch, repeat. It's much easier in this case to do a coarse chop with knife. Chopping Mushrooms in this device also was lacking, it kind of made a mushroom puree.

Where it shines though is in my daily meals where I'm making some kind of pan sauce. Just about all my pan sauces or pan meals start with butter/oil, then saute'ing some garlic and onions. I'll just peel a few cloves of garlic, coarse chop an onion, dump it all into the MiniPrep, and presto, it's done! When I'm ready to dump it into my pan, just remove the co, remove the blade and use a mini-silicone spatula to dump the contents directly into the pan. A quick rinse of the lid, blade, and work bowl, and the processor can be put away. That can't be any easier....

For larger meals and more ingredients, it's great to just coarsely chop your items, dump into the processor, let it do it's work, and then fill up your prep bowls with the different ingredients - making everything easier once you're cooking.

I find the "Chop" and "Grind" feature to be pretty much the same thing, just in opposite directions. The opposite direction thing is helpful to get the food to drop down to the blade. If you don't put too much in the processor, once the piece is chopped, it gets flung to the sides of the work bowl and sticks there, creating empty space for the unchopped foods to drop into the blade. Everything gets chopped evenly...it just gets chopped very finely too.

The entire unit is very easy to use and clean. The blades are extremely sharp, so be careful when washing those. The clear plastic work bowl does get a little scratched up and not so clear anymore after a bit of use...but then, it's a work bowl. The buttons are under a protective plastic, sealed - so no chance of anything getting under the buttons, just a quick wipe and it's clean!

Overall, the unit is small, solid, quiet, easy to use, and easy to clean. It's great for fine chops to puree, not so great for coarse chops/dice. Perfect size for meals for 2 people. For making larger meals you may want to look at the larger cup sized processors, or just make a couple of batches. Read more ›

228 of 246 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars so... you want a food processor? July 14, 2002

By S. Rasco

Color Name:White

I have the Mini-Prep and I have the big guy version, but I use the MP 10x as much. It does everything! Want chopped garlic? peel a couple heads, add 2-3T of olive oil and about a 1/4-1/2tsp. of salt. It keeps in a jar in the fridge and tastes a heck of a lot better than the store kind! Fresh herbs, nuts, peppers without burning hands...it's great! When I'm done, I just rinse it out. This is my favorite appliance after my blender, and if this made smoothies and margaritas, it would be my favorite!

194 of 209 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't buy this...get the Kitchenaid KFC3100 instead!! March 26, 2004

By k_a_od

Color Name:White

I had this Cuisinart DLC Miniprep first, and was not happy with it. I wanted a small food processor primarily to chop up an onion and some garlic cloves, and with the Cuisinart, I pretty much ended up doing almost all of the chopping before I put the food in the processor, otherwise large sections wouldn't get cut.

After reading the reviews here about how the Kitchenaid has the reverse sprial action which pulls down the food, I thought I'd try that one, and it's true!! The Kitchenaid KFC3100 is a superior product! Now I can just cut the onion into quarters and throw in whole garlic cloves and it cuts them all up perfectly. If your not sure which of the two products to buy, get the Kitchenaid KFC3100!

90 of 94 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A time for every seasoning......, July 30, 2006

By Southern Review

Color Name:Brushed Chrome

A time for every seasoning......and a utensil for every purpose. The Cuisinart Mini Prep does not serve well as a primary processor for heavy jobs. That was not its intended design, or function. It is not a parmesan cheese grater nor does it compete with a sharp French knife for uniformly chopping onions.

I obtained my first mini prep as a promotional gift with a DLC-7 purchase. For many years they have been contributing to my cooking enjoyment as a problem-free, complimentary team in a busy kitchen. When their lexan lids eventually chipped, (which admittedly is a major cause of aggravation with Cuisinart's products) I opted to replace them rather than spend up to 50% of their new cost for replacement bowls. I upgraded the old DLC-7 that is still mechanically perfect, with a MP-14 TM Limited Edition.

The Mini Prep perfectly compliments larger processors.

The mini prep makes delectable, creamy homemade sauces and dressings. It performs equally well making pesto, creamed butter, chopped fresh herbs, including garlic, chopped nuts, small portion purees, deviled eggs, spreads, and speedy fresh salsas. It has a fast and slow lever whose function I like because they may be "pulsed" on and off with an instantaneous response. This offers a demanding cook tremendous control over several types of prep functions conducive to small processors.

Mini Prep seems perfectly designed to make small portions of emulsified sauces and dressings, such as cilantro mayonnaise for grilled fish, or a dollop on fresh grilled corn salad.

Here is a basic example of how I use this workhorse.

Herb mayonnaise: place dry seasonings, a dab of honey, poupon mustard, flavored vinegars, or lemon/lime juice in the jar. Pulse to mix. Add about a tablespoon (who measures?...) of Just Whites, dry pasteurized egg whites to the liquid (no cholesterol, calories, or salmonellae fears) ---pulse to mix---add a hand full of fresh herbs (cilantro, or dill, or tarragon is nice)----pulse to chop slightly. Then use the wonderfully designed lid that holds oil and has two holes on the top that will drizzle in the oil of your choice, without opening the lid, or fiddling with additional attachments that drizzle oil. You have the additional control to shift the motor speed instantaneously from high speed, to slower, or pulse mode, in direct accordance to your temperamental sauce's precise requirement as it thickens.

Result: Restaurant quality chef's sauces come together effortlessly in minutes! Large processor's work bowls are too large for this type of job. One must repeatedly scrape the bowl's sides, and the motors are additionally too powerful to make small portions described above as successfully as the Mini Prep's performance.

The Mini prep is very lightweight which makes it a delight to store in the pantry. It assembles and disassembles quickly and effortlessly. I especially love the function of the two (tiny) holes on the lid, along with the ease of the lid's removal for ingredient additions. The design and function permit those who love to cook an opportunity to enjoy their creativity in the kitchen without fighting with obstinate, dysfunctional appliances.

It is a great convenience and a breeze to use. I love this little workhorse. Read more ›